Annual Business Planning Outside the Calendar Year

Know that planning in your business from January to December doesn’t work for you and your business, and want to find out more about annual business planning outside the calendar year? For some businesses, and business owners, annual planning from January to December just doesn’t work or make sense. And whilst in December there is a lot of noise about annual business planning as people, and businesses, prepare for the Gregorian New Year, the reality is your year for planning doesn’t have to run January to December. The power of annual planning is about planning for an extended period of time (12 months) and for you starting those 12 months at another point in the year could be better. But there are a few things you do need to keep in mind. Keep on reading to learn more about annual business planning outside the calendar year.

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ANNUAL BUSINESS PLANNING OUTSIDE THE CALENDAR YEAR

Why the Gregorian Calendar Year Became the Default “Year” (But Why It Might Not be the best Year For Your Business)

Apparently the Greogrian Calendar was introduced in 1582, and then became widespread adopted after 1752 due to Great Britain and its colonies adopting it. Before the Greogrian Calendar there were other calendars, and as you’ll read later on there are still plenty of people around the world who follow other calendar and have different start dates for the new year. However, in the majority of the western world the Greogrian Calendar rules and with it December the 31st is seen as the end of the year and January 1st marks the beginning of a new year.

Over the years, New Year’s Eve celebrations have got bigger and bigger, and you might feel as if you are bombarded with people talking about New Year Resolutions and saying things like “New Year, New Me”. Marketing has tapped into this and in some industry (health and fitness for example) so much advertising happens around the new year to encourage people to stick to their resolutions and achieve their goals for the year.

On the whole, I love all that energy. Personally, I have a series of things I do to end a year and start a new one – including picking a word of a year and making a vision board. But just because something is popular and works for many doesn’t mean it automatically will be right for you and our business.

There are many reasons why having your year in business run January to December, and therefore create your annual plan January to December just doesn’t make sense or feel right.

Over the years, I’ve worked with plenty of business owners who didn’t want to plan January to December. Some of the reasons were:

Aligned with Financial / Tax Year – This is a common request for businesses that have a financial or tax year that doesn’t run with the calendar year.

Seasonality – Running a seasonal business where December and / or January was a peak period so there would be no time to plan and also they wanted to plan after the peak so they had all that data.
Life Commitments – December can be a very busy time of the year and therefore people don’t feel they have the time and headspace to properly plan.
Energy Cycles – This is especially common for business owners in the Northern Hemisphere. Planning in December doesn’t feel inspiring. They prefer to wait until they are out of the depths of winter and naturally are feeling more energised and optimistic.

The key thing to realise is that even if you are living by the Gregorian Calendar it doesn’t mean your business annual planning has to run Janaury to December. I help business owners to build their business on their terms and choosing what makes sense for your year is one way you can just that.

The Real Goals of Annual Business Planning (Regardless of When Your Year Starts)

I’ve seen business owners who in the middle of January realise they haven’t made time to create an annual plan for their business and then feel as if they have to wait until the next year. That absolutely isn’t necessary. When you do your annual planning and the span of your year aren’t the be all and end all.

The reason why annual business planning is important is because:

It gives you the opportunity to stop, review and reflect – It’s too easy as a micro business to always be in working mode. Head down, doing the work and keeping everything running smoothly. But for your business to get better, and better on your terms, you really do have to stop, look back, review and reflect. This is a key part of annual planning (and covered int he first part of my annual planning framework).
It will give you a clear direction – A key part of annual business planning is setting goals. Your goals will give your business a clear direction to move towards. This will help you to make other decision in the business faster as you’ll be able to quickly assess whether something is helping you move closer or further away from your goals.
It allows you to get clear on your strategy – There are so many ways to reach the same goal and when resources are limited (as they are in a micro business) it’s vital that you choose a strategy taking into consideration the resources you have available. This will enable you to take actions that compound, build momentum and together get better results than they would individually.
It gives you the opportunity to think about the next 12 months – This isn’t something business owners usually get to do. Too often the focus is on the next month or quarter. Looking 12 months ahead allows you to set bigger goals, embrace the seasonality of your business, and decide when you’ll take some time off.

As you can see there are multiple reasons why annual business planning is important. But it isn’t about when your plan starts. The power of annual planning is firstly in going through the annual planning process, and then in the annual plan you create.

WANT TO CREATE THE BEST ANNUAL POSSIBLE? DON’T DO IT ALONE. CREATE YOUR PLAN WITH ME, CHARELLE GRIFFITH, THE ANNUAL PLANNING QUEEN.

Since 2019 I’ve helped solopreneurs and micro business owners with annual planning. I’ve developed an annual planning framework that means in just one day I’ll help you map out how to achieve your business goals and have your best year yet in business.

You set aside one day and I guarantee that by the end of the end you’ll have crystal clear goals, a clear roadmap to achieve them and be excited for the year ahead.

For all the information and to book a Strategy Day click here.

Common Alternatives to January-December Planning

Hopefully by now you are totally on board with the fact you don’t have to plan January to December. So what are the alternatives? Technically you can choose to start on any day of the year. But as the Annual Planning Queen I have spent years helping business owners with annual planning and here are some of the common alternative business owners have decided to use for their year.

1 – Cultural and Global New Years

The 1st of January marks the New Year on the Greogorian calendar, but there are lots of other calendars that people follow around the year, and so it could make more sense for your business to align with another cultural or global new year.

Some alternative New Year Dates in 2026 are:

Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year – 17 February 2026
Mongolian New Year (Tsagaan Sar) – 17-20 February 2026
Balinese Hindu New Year (Nyepi) – 19 March 2026
Persian / Iranian New Year (Nowruz) – 20/21 March 2026
Baháʼí Naw-Rúz – 20 March 2026
Islamic New Year (Hijri New Year) – 16 June 2026
Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash) – 11 September 2026
Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) – 11-13 September 2026

2 – Tax-Led

I’m based in the UK and our tax year doesn’t run January to December. Here for corporation tax the year is 1st April – 31st March and for self assessment tax the year is 6th April – 5th April. If you are also based in the UK you might decide it makes more sense to do your annual planning aligned with the tax year.

ANNUAL PLANNING ALIGNED WITH THE UK TAX YEAR

In addition to my one-to-one annual planning Strategy Days I run a few Visionary CEO Planning “Days” per year. This gives business owners the opportunity to be guided through my annual planning framework, by me, but at the fraction of the price.

Given how popular it is to want to plan with the UK tax years and the Spring Equinox I’m running a Visionary CEO Planning “Day” (the live training is on one day, but you get support for a week) from Monday 16 – 23 March.

For all the information and to join click here.

3 – Seasonal

Another alternative for annual business planning is seasonal. Especially in the northern hemisphere, planning January to December when you are in the depths of winter might not result in the best plan. Some business owners prefer to plan spring to spring and will use (around) the Spring Equinox as their new year.

Another popular alternative in the UK is September. I put this down to people having that ‘back to school’ feeling even though they might not have been to school for decades.

4 – Business-Specific Planning Cycles

Financial Year – If your business has a different financial year to January to December you might decide to plan aligned with your financial year.

Seasonality – Depending on when your quietest and busiest months are you might strategically plan your year so you’ll have the time to plan properly.

5 – Personal Choice

As a micro business owner you have the power to choose to start your annual plan at any time. You might be influenced by personal priorities, the school terms where you live, or your travel plans.

CREATE YOUR ANNUAL PLAN WITH ME AT ANY TIME IN THE YEAR

I offer annual planning Strategy Days all year specifically because I know that it makes sense for businesses to plan at various times throughout the year.

In my annual planning Strategy Days we’ll either work one-to-one or with your team, and you’ll be guided through my annual planning framework, and get my expert advice, to ensure you have a plan for the year ahead that you have complete confidence in.

We’ll look at your offer suite, pricing, marketing, sales and operations to ensure you are well places to have your best year yet in business.

For all the information and to instantly book a Strategy Day click here.

How to Choose the Right Business Year Start Date for You

With so many alternatives you might be overwhelmed and thinking “What year should I use for annual planning?”. Here are some questions you can ask yourself?

When would I (and the team) have time to properly plan? – Ideally you want to have your plan ready before your year starts so you’d want to ensure in the 6 weeks before your year starts you’d have time to plan.

When is the peak period in the business? – If you experience strong seasonality in your business and have a key peak period, then this is a time of the year you’ve got to get right. It would make more sense to have at least your peak period to land at least a few months into your annual plan than right at the beginning.

When do I think I’ll be in the best headspace for planning? Annual planning requires you to look back on data, reflect on your experience, set goals, make tough decisions and plan for the future. You want to be in the right headspace. There might be a time of the year which to you just naturally has that ‘new year’ feeling and aligning with that will make a big difference.

How would my chosen business year work with the finances / taxes of the business? – If you are considering choosing a business year that is different o your financial year of your business or the tax year of the country your business is registered in then you’ll just want to think about the implications.

Annual Business Planning Around Your Chosen Year – Getting Started

You’ve seen that annual business planning outside the calendar year isn’t just possible, but actually can be a smarter decision for you and your business. Hopefully from everything you’ve read you’ve decided when would make sense for your business year to start from an annual planning perspective.

If you are lucky, it might be that your start date is pretty soon, but what if it isn’t?

If your chosen year starts within the next 6 months then I would recommend you create a 12-18-month plan. Then after that you can go back to annual planning.

If your ideal year starts in between 6 and 11 months then I would recommend you create a plan for the time you have until your next year starts.

Thinking back to what I wrote earlier about the goals of annual planning it isn’t about having the “perfect” 12 months ahead of you. There is immense power in going through an annual process, especially when you use the right one.

As long as you are creating for a 6+ months you’ll still benefit from a wider timeframe for your goals, stretching your thinking beyond the next month or quarter and being able to take your seasonality into consideration.

CREATE YOUR ANNUAL PLAN WITH ME AT ANY TIME IN THE YEAR

I offer annual planning Strategy Days all year specifically because I know that it makes sense for businesses to plan at various times throughout the year.

We’ll look at your offer suite, pricing, marketing, sales and operations to ensure you are well places to have your best year yet in business.

For all the information and to instantly book a Strategy Day click here.

That’s it. You now know about annual business planning outside of the calendar.

Creating an annual plan in your business from January to December is not necessary. If it doesn’t feel right for you or your business then you can decide another time of the eyar to be the start of your year. I’ve shared plenty of alternatives in this blog post, as well as given you questions to ask yourself to help you choose one that is right for you. And remember you can always change, This isn’t set in stone. Do what feels right now and see how you get on.

As the Annual Planning Queen, I would absolutely love to help you with your annual business planning.

You can hire me to help you plan on a one-to-one basis, or to come and lead an annual planning day for your whole team.

I also occasionally throughout the year run group planning days throughout the year.

To find out all the information about annual planning with me, The Annual Planning Queen, and choose what is best for you here.