The year isn’t over yet…

I know it’s still 2025, but let’s face it. The year is racing by us. I mean I feel like just yesterday it was April, and we were in the middle of tax madness, and I blinked, and now it’s September?! I don’t love it, but it’s what we’ve got, so we’re working with it, right?

Anyway, like I said, I know the year isn’t over. But that doesn’t mean it’s not time to start thinking about your 2026 planning! Especially as we approach Q4.

But Q4 is when I suggest planning for Q1!

I always suggest planning one quarter ahead at absolute minimum, especially for creative business owners. We’re a little chaotic (or if you’re like me, a LOT chaotic – hey at least I own it, right??) and that means that setting goals might feel a little too… structured. You don’t want to sit down and set goals, you want to make art, and everything will fall into place itself, right?

You might be right, at least for a little while. Early on in your creative business, it’s a lot easier to just kind of do things, and hope for the best. And the best might even happen, too! But as your business grows, that nonchalance gets less and less effective, and there just HAS to be some structure under the madness, even if it’s casual structure. So today, we’re walking through what I’d suggest for creative business owners, when it comes to setting goals for your 2026 year!

When you’re setting goals as a creative business owner, here’s what to think about!

I get that the masculine, structured side of business might not be your favorite part, but I promise these steps are designed to keep that in mind! And, not only that, but to help keep you motivated when the inspiration fire just… kinda dims. (Because trust me, I know what that’s like too!)

1 – Be Realistic

The first and most important element of goal setting as a creative business owner, is being realistic. And I get it – you’re a dreamer. Creatives always are! It’s a huge part of what makes us “creatives” in the first place. I mean, the stereotypes about artists come from somewhere, right? So when I say that you need to “be realistic” with the goals you set, I don’t mean “don’t dream big”. And I don’t mean “don’t set stretch goals” either! You should ALWAYS aim high. But when you’re formally setting up goals for things like your finances, or tasks to accomplish in any given time-frame… be realistic. Don’t expect yourself to be super-human. And also don’t expect yourself to go from starting your business, to half a million dollar years in the blink of an eye. It’s a recipe for not only stress, but also burnout, and frustration with yourself. If you want to set that as a stretch goal, do it. But give yourself realistic goal posts in the meantime! Make sure the targets you’re trying to hit make sense from a math perspective. Let’s say you’re a seller of handmade pottery online, and you want to go from making $5,000 per month, to making $15,000 per month. That’s a big jump – give yourself stepping stones to get there! Base them on what realistic growth looks like, and what you can REASONABLY take on, without burning out.

2 – Set Non-Financial Goals Too

Make sure when you’re setting those goals, that not all of them are financial! It’s really easy to pick numbers out of a hat, and aim for those. And that’s great! But as creatives… I know you’ve made it your job, and that’s amazing. But it’s not just about the money, right? Otherwise, you’d be doing something else! So it makes sense then, that if all of your goals are financial… they’re not going to feel super amazingly fulfilling, even if you meet ALL of them.

So set some goals that are non-financial! Even if that means you’re setting goals like “cut down to four days a week” or “get 12 commission orders in Q1 or 2026”. They, in fact, don’t even have to be business related at all! Because again, as a creative… you have to have time to rest. Otherwise, you’re going to expend all of your energy on your creative work, because it’s not like an office job, it draws from your soul. (Look at me, getting all spiritual on you!) You know what I mean – that feeling of being drained after a big project. So maybe even set some goals about rest, or reflection, or finding more time to spend with your family. That’s why you started a business in the first place, right? But again, make sure these are realistic. If you don’t have a team, and you want to spend more time with family, maybe don’t jump straight to “I’m going to cut down to ten hours a week” and expect there to be no impact on your income. Whether your goals are financial or not, you need something realistically achievable, so you have things to celebrate properly!!

3 – Schedule Regular Check-ins

Check ins are huge for creative business owners, because when it comes to setting and achieving goals, you’ve gotta measure your success at some point, right? (That was me being rhetorical again, because obviously you have to measure it!!) I suggest setting up a time in your calendar, maybe once a month, consistently, (it doesn’t have to be like, every week!) where you sit down, review your goals for the quarter, see where you’re meeting things, where you might need to adjust the goal post, and where you’re exceeding your own expectations!

It’s important that when you actually do these checkins, you stay both honest with yourself, AND kind. We’re not doing this to shame ourselves about what we’re doing wrong, it’s supposed to be as objective as possible. That’s a lot easier for corporate boards in offices, when they’re not the ones who are actually doing the work. The degree of separation means they can be a lot more objective, without it feeling personal. You need to be your own CEO, in your own imaginary board room! Look at where you’re doing really well, and how you can leverage that more. Look at where you’re falling short of your goals, and see whether you can shift things around so that those get more attainable! Even if it means moving the goalpost.

But most of all, make sure you’re kind to yourself. Creative work is HARD. It takes a lot from your energy, and it’s not reasonable to expect yourself to grow linearly over time, either. Anything from family stress, to medical stress, to a weird stretch in your friendships can impact the way you perform in your work. So above all: focus on being kind to yourself! It’ll make reaching your goals more sustainable.

4 – Get Organized

And finally, once you’ve set your goals, and you’re having regular checkins to review how you’re getting along with them… get organized! Make sure you’re consistently keeping up with your checkins, and you’re helping yourself to meet those goals in whatever ways you can. If adding some structure to your otherwise chaotic schedule might help, try it! If testing out a new to-do-list-system seems like it might help… try it!

Take notes on what’s working and what’s not, and through that process you’ll be able to refine how you work to meet your goals, and then eventually… it’ll be repeatable. You’ll have your own unique approach, that you designed through trial and error (because I’d love to tell you that there was a magical way to use someone ELSE’S system… but deep down you know that won’t work) that will help you meet your own realistic goals, on repeat, month after month.

Goal setting isn’t about shaming yourself!

At the end of the day, setting goals in your creative business isn’t about shaming yourself into achieving things, it’s not even about the goals themselves. It’s about being kind to yourself, letting the process be uniquely yours, and ultimately… growing as a business owner and an artist. And of course, if you’re a photographer and you’re looking for some support with this side of your business, I also have mentoring available to help you get where you want to go! So just reach out, and we can talk about how to help your business grow. 

Hopefully, this list has helped set you up for an AMAZING 2026!

Bonus: Take a look at just a few results that my AMAZING team of collaborators and me have gotten for our social media management clients!