Stop Wasting the End of the Year — 5 Steps to Get Ahead in 2026

The end of the calendar year can bring mixed emotions for business owners. Relief that targets have (almost) been met, concern about readiness for the busiest retail month of the year and even excitement at what’s to come next year. Regardless, founders surely know that the year’s end is not a time to wind down — quite the opposite. The weeks between now and Jan. 1 present a unique opportunity to capitalize on year-end momentum and lay the groundwork for next year’s growth.

Here are five ways founders can close out 2025 strong and set themselves up for success in 2026.

1. Dig deep to hit sales targets

For those founders looking to lock down sales targets for the year, this can be a stressful but very productive time. The fourth quarter traditionally offers the best sales conversion rates of the year as B2B buyers are rushing to exhaust budgets, consumers are in spending mode and decision-makers want to close deals before the holidays.

This is the moment to reach out to prospects who’ve gone quiet, offer compelling year-end incentives and follow up on pending proposals with renewed urgency. Whether you’re targeting enterprise clients scrambling to spend remaining budget or consumers looking for holiday deals, customers are never as receptive to making purchases as they are in these final weeks of the year.

2. Start streamlining operations

For many businesses, the holiday season brings either peak activity or a welcome slowdown. For businesses in the latter category, this is a valuable opportunity for focus time. Smart founders use these quieter moments to streamline operations for the year ahead. Look into how you can automate repetitive processes to increase efficiency, ask employees to document procedures that currently exist only in their heads, and upgrade systems that have become bottlenecks. Making these operational improvements now will compound your success in 2026, freeing up resources for growth rather than maintenance.

3. Set goals and align your team

As French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” The end of the year is the perfect time to set effective goals for the new year while ensuring your team is positioned to execute them.

When mapping out 2026 targets, balance optimistic growth projections with realistic resource constraints, and break up your goals into achievable milestones. Effective goal-setting requires honesty about your current position. Dig into the real numbers: revenue versus projections, customer acquisition costs, cash flow patterns and team productivity. This assessment might reveal uncomfortable truths, but it’s precisely this clarity that separates businesses that thrive from those that just survive.

Your goals mean nothing without the right team to execute them. Use this time for meaningful performance reviews, address any cultural issues that emerged in 2025 and plan investments in team development for the year ahead. The businesses that end 2025 aligned on their goals and are confident in their execution path, enter January energized for what’s ahead.

4. Strengthen your financial foundation

Every business owner knows that cash flow is king, making year-end the perfect time to fortify your financial planning. Start by projecting your monthly cash needs for at least the first half of 2026 and build contingency plans for different scenarios. Review your current expense structure and identify areas where you can optimize spending or reinvest savings into growth initiatives.

Financial reviews become even more critical if you’re looking to expand your business internationally in 2026. Taking your business global requires a fresh suite of financial tools that you’ll need to set up accordingly. Moving and managing money across borders also introduces currency considerations that many entrepreneurs underestimate. The last thing you want is to land a major international contract in March only to discover your financial provider can’t handle cross-border payments efficiently or conceals hidden fees that eat into your margin.

If you’ll soon be operating in multiple currencies, establish a multi-currency account, research foreign exchange risks in your target markets and identify providers that can move money internationally affordably, quickly and transparently.

5. Re-establish your competitive edge

New technologies, regulatory changes and shifting customer behaviors can reshape markets overnight. Use these final weeks to systematically analyze your competitive position. Start by gathering customer feedback from the past year — what did they love, what frustrated them, and what did competitors offer that you didn’t?

Consider conducting a formal competitor analysis: review pricing changes, new product launches and marketing messages from across your industry in 2025. This isn’t about copying what others do, but understanding how the landscape has shifted and where gaps exist. The goal is positioning yourself to capitalize on opportunities in real time rather than starting 2026 playing catch-up.

In short, use these final weeks of the year strategically. The work you do now won’t just determine how you finish 2025 — it will set the trajectory for your entire next year. While your competitors are mentally checking out for the holidays, you have the chance to gain ground that compounds throughout 2026. The businesses that treat the end of the year as a strategic opportunity rather than a countdown to vacation don’t just see more success — they create the conditions that make success inevitable.

The end of the calendar year can bring mixed emotions for business owners. Relief that targets have (almost) been met, concern about readiness for the busiest retail month of the year and even excitement at what’s to come next year. Regardless, founders surely know that the year’s end is not a time to wind down — quite the opposite. The weeks between now and Jan. 1 present a unique opportunity to capitalize on year-end momentum and lay the groundwork for next year’s growth.

Here are five ways founders can close out 2025 strong and set themselves up for success in 2026.