What You Should Be Doing Right Now in the Last Month of 2025 – 5 Rules Every Australian Business Should Follow

As the year draws to a close, Australian businesses are entering one of the most important periods of the year: the strategic reset. Whether you’re a small business owner, a solo operator, a founder, or work with a business coach or business mentor, the final month of 2025 can significantly shape your success in 2026.

From reviewing financials to planning next year’s strategy, here are the five rules I follow every year, no matter what industry I’m involved in. These principles apply equally to retail, e-commerce, trades, hospitality, professional services, construction, consulting, health, and start-ups.

1. Understand Your Seasonality

Understanding your business seasonality is one of the most overlooked strategic moves for Australian businesses.

Why It Matters

Every industry in Australia – retail, trades, tourism, hospitality, consulting experiences natural peaks and troughs. Analysing these patterns helps you forecast cash flow, prepare for slow months, and maximise busy periods.

What To Do Right Now

• Review month-by-month revenue for 2025 and highlight peak periods.

• Identify slow months early so you can prepare financially and operationally.

• Analyse external factors like school holidays, weather patterns, and public spending habits.

Helpful Tip

Create a simple seasonality calendar. Map your peak months in green, slow months in red, and transition months in yellow. A business coach or mentor often uses this as a foundational tool for forecasting.

2. Clean Up Your Balance Sheet & Reset Operations

The quiet December/January period is the perfect time for a financial and operational “spring clean.”

Why It Matters

A clean balance sheet gives clarity and confidence. Without accurate numbers, planning becomes guesswork.

What To Do Right Now

• Reconcile all accounts and catch up on bookkeeping.

• Chase overdue invoices and settle outstanding debts.

• Review subscriptions, software tools, and supplier contracts cut what you don’t need.

• Audit your assets: stock, equipment, licences, digital tools.

Helpful Tip

Use this time to reset business operations: document workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and simplify systems. Businesses that do this consistently start the new year significantly stronger.

3. Review What Worked and What Didn’t

Reflection is one of the highest ROI habits for business owners.

Why It Matters

Understanding what drove your wins and what held you back helps you make smarter decisions in 2026.

What To Do Right Now

• List your top-performing products, campaigns, or services.

• Analyse marketing ROI: ads, SEO, social media, partnerships.

• Review customer feedback, complaints, cancellations, and churn.

• Identify bottlenecks in operations, staff performance, or workflows.

Helpful Tip

Run an internal “End-of-Year Debrief.” Whether it’s you alone or your whole team, list:

• Top 5 Wins

• Top 5 Lessons

• Top 5 Opportunities for 2026

A business mentor will often refer to this as a “post-season performance review.”

4. Plan Your 2026 Strategy

Now is the time to design your roadmap for the new year.

Why It Matters

A business without a plan reacts to problems. A business with a strategy creates direction, growth, and clarity.

What To Do Right Now

• Set SMART goals for 2026 (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound).

• Develop a Q1 action plan your first 90 days determine momentum.

• Conduct scenario planning (best case, worst case, realistic).

• Decide what to scale, what to stop, and what to build fresh.

• Map your marketing and sales calendar around key seasonal events.

Helpful Tip

Don’t create a complicated 40-page strategy. A one-page strategic plan works best. Many business coaches use frameworks like:

• EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System)

• OKRs (Objectives & Key Results)

• The 12-Week Year

• SWOT Analysis

Choose one and stick to it.

5. Take Time Off – But Stay Stimulated

Year-end breaks are essential for recovery, but strategic rest matters.

Why It Matters

A tired business owner makes poor decisions. A recharged one thinks clearly, plans better, and leads stronger.

What To Do Right Now

• Block out time to disconnect from the business, even if it’s just a few days.

• Use light mental stimulation: read business books, listen to industry podcasts, consume market reports.

• Reflect on your long-term vision why you started and where you’re heading.

Helpful Tip

Use the downtime to upskill. Pick a short course in leadership, digital marketing, systems, finance, or sales. This is how many Australian entrepreneurs stay sharp while resting.

Final Thoughts

The last month of 2025 is your strategic launchpad for 2026. If you follow these five rules understanding seasonality, cleaning your financials, reflecting properly, planning intentionally, and recharging with purpose you will enter the new year with clarity and confidence.

Source: Mark Bouris