My 2027 planning process, from reflection to KPIs

I started planning 2027 in September.

That might sound early, but before Path, I spent years in corporate and marketing roles. In that world, next year's plan was always well underway before Christmas, and many of the businesses I worked for started even earlier.

That habit has stuck. I've learnt that the prework needs to be done before Christmas, so I can switch off, enjoy the break with my family and start the new year strong.

2026 has been a whirlwind

Path Allied Health grew its team and client base. We launched Path Connect, which now has nearly 400 allied health members, and by the end of the year we will have hosted more than 32 clinical and business development sessions.

Some projects this year were more successful than I expected. Some were less so.

2026 will be known as our trial-and-error year.

So, here's how I'm approaching 2027. I follow pretty much the same process each year because it works well for me. The planning skills I learnt during my corporate years still hold true today in allied health.

Why I start before Christmas

October and November are busy, busy. December is a quieter month while everyone winds down and switches off.

If I leave planning until January, I come back from leave stressed and feeling like I'm not hitting the ground running.

So I do the thinking in September and October, finish what I can before Christmas, then switch off.

I start with reflection

Before I set any goals, I look back at what actually happened.

What did we do? What didn't we do? What worked? What didn't? And most importantly, why?

I pull nine months of numbers too: revenue by month, new clients by source, client retention, clinician retention, monthly expenses and my own hours.

Then I sort everything into three lists:

• Continue: what worked in 2026 and deserves more of my time in 2027.

• Stop: what didn't work, drained my energy or cost more than it returned.

• Start: what I haven't been doing and now know I need to do.

  
  

The stop list is probably the most important one for me.

I have to watch my eyes aren't bigger than my stomach

I have ADHD, so I have no shortage of ideas and can get very excited about them.

The problem is that I can't do everything, because time, energy and money aren't infinite, even if I wish they were.

My goals for 2027 need to be achievable and leave me room to focus on my young family. My eldest starts primary school next year, which means two drop-offs and two pick-ups, including an earlier pick-up.

I set KPIs for every goal

Success needs to be measured. A goal without a KPI is just a wish, so every goal I set gets a number and a timeframe.

Rather than "grow Path Connect", the goal becomes a set number of members by a set date. Rather than "more new clients", it's a target number of new clients each month, and where we expect them to come from.

KPIs also make next year's planning easier. When I sit down to reflect, I'll know exactly what worked, because I'll have the numbers to prove it.

I map out the year

I put the things I already know about on the calendar: our Christmas closure, the slow restart in January, school holidays, public holidays and EOFY.

Having it all on one page helps me see where the quieter periods are and plan around them.

I'm ramping up our marketing now

I'm ramping up our Meta ads now rather than waiting until January.

Marketing works on a delay. The content, ads and referrer relationships I build now can have an impact months later.

I'm also looking at our reviews, referrer relationships and our content plan for the first part of 2027.

I want to know where our clinicians are at

Before Christmas, I'll be talking to our clinicians about 2027.

I want to find out where their heads are at and what their plans are for next year.

Are their hours changing? Is there something they want to develop? Do they want more or less of something?

Those conversations can change our plans too, so I'd much rather know before Christmas than find out in January or February.

So that's where I'm at

At the moment I'm looking back at 2026, pulling the numbers together and working through my continue, stop and start lists.

If you'd like a second set of eyes on your numbers or your 2027 plan, book a free discovery call with me. We'll look at where your practice is now and what would make the biggest difference next year.