This week I ran my online planning day for pet business owners.
When people arrived, I asked them how ready they felt for 2027, out of ten. Most said about a five. By the end of the day, the average was nearer seven, and one person went from a three to an eight.
All we did was take a day away from the to-do list to look back, think about what is important, and get a plan down on paper.
You don’t need to have been there to do the same. Here are three of the exercises we worked through on the day, so you can have a go yourself.
Grab a notebook, a cup of tea and an hour.
If you’ve got your 2027 Pet Business Content Planner, have that to hand too, because there’s space in there for all of this.
Exercise 1: Look back at 2026
Before you plan next year, take stock of this one.
Split a page into four boxes: work, personal, health and wellbeing. In each one, write down everything you’ve achieved this year, big or small.
Then circle the thing you’re most happy about in each box.
Even if you’ve had a shocker of a year, there’ll be something there. Sometimes getting through a hard time is the biggest achievement of all.
Once you’ve got your list, ask yourself:
- What are you most happy about from 2026?
- What skills and strengths helped you achieve those things?
- Was there anything that surprised you?
And what’s the daftest thing you did this year?
Mine was ordering 500 planners and living with a pallet of them in my house until June. Writing yours down helps you learn from it, then let it go.
Exercise 2: Decide what you’ll start and stop
We can’t keep adding things to our load without taking something away. So, with your goals in mind, write down:
- What will you start doing in 2027?
- What will you stop doing, to make room for it?
On the day, the stop lists included doom scrolling, doing free work, going to shows that don’t make money, and working until exhausted before allowing yourself a rest.
Exercise 3: Fill in your Wheel of Life
Draw a circle and split it into slices, like a pizza or you can use this template.
Label each slice with an area of your life. I use work, relationships, health, wellbeing, fun and friendships, and finances, plus one or two of your own.
On the day, people added creativity, adventure, home, family and team.
Score each area out of ten for how it’s going right now, with one at the middle of the circle and ten at the edge and then join up the marks.
You’ll end up with a funny shape. Mine looked a bit like Cleopatra. The dips show you where the gaps are.
Then ask yourself:
- Where are your biggest gaps?
- What would make the biggest difference?
Nobody scores ten in every area.
When I first went freelance, my work and finances would have been a ten, but health and fun and friendships were a two, because all I did was work and eat Burger King in my car.
The point is to see where you are and decide what you want to change.
What else we did on the day
These three exercises were just the start.
On the day, we also:
- Chose one thing to focus on in each area of life for 2027, and why it matters
- Talked about the productivity loop, and why celebrating when you finish something matters so much
- Used the WOOP method to plan for when things turn to poo
- Mapped out the whole year on one line, from busy times and awareness days to school holidays and breaks
- Planned our campaigns for 2027, and what to do if we get stuck
- Made a start on January’s content in 20 minutes
- Heard from journalist Jenny Stallard about what journalists want from pet business owners
Everyone spent time in small breakout rooms, talking through their plans with other pet business owners and for a lot of people, that was the best bit.
You can get the replays if you’re part of The Planner Club and you can join here for just £30 a month.
If you’d like to plan the rest of your year, there’s space for all of it in my Pet Business Content Planner.
If this kind of support sounds good…
You can do all of this on your own, but it’s much easier with other people alongside you.
On the day, hearing what had worked for everyone else helped people just as much as the exercises did.
If you’d like that next year, here’s how:
- The 2027 Pet Business Content Planner has space for your goals, quarterly plans and campaigns, plus all the animal-related awareness days for the year. Get yours here
- The Planner Club is my membership for pet business owners, with a Q&A call and a planning and coworking session every month, and the online planning day every year. Find out more here
- My in-person coaching day is in Birmingham on 11 February 2027, the day before the Small Business Sunday event. It’s £220, including food. Book your place here
If you give the exercises a go, I’d love to hear how you get on.
Further reading
Should you buy my Pet Business Content Planner
What is The Planner Club and should you join?
How to manage overwhelm in your pet business
Why I am an accredited pet business coach
Why community matters when it comes to running your pet business
