Don't Regret 2026

In exactly 52 weeks, you’re going to close the books on 2026.

That version of you will either feel relief that you hit your growth goals... or regret that you spent another year running on the same treadmill.

We’re all aiming for the former. But how do you ensure you can look back on 2026 as the year you finally broke through the ceiling and hit your targets?

Here are the six shifts you need to make to get off the treadmill in 2026.

You simply can’t scale beyond a certain point if you’re the best technician in your company. 

The biggest obstacle for owners is the instinct to jump back into the field the second a problem arises. You know you can fix it faster and better than anyone else. But every time you grab your tools, you’re stealing time from your most important job: running the business.

The 2026 Action Plan:

Make 2026 the year you permanently exit the truck. Hire a service or installation manager to handle the fires so you can focus on financials, strategy, and growth. If you are still turning wrenches in December 2026, you’re working a job rather than running your own business. 

Jarod Smith at Clogbusters lives by a simple principle: "What gets tracked gets measured. What gets measured gets improved."

Most owners fly blind. They look at the bank account balance and use that as the only measure of winning. But to scale, you need granular visibility into what is driving that balance to go up or down. You need to know exactly where your leads are coming from, how efficiently your techs are completing jobs, and where your profit margins are leaking.

If you don't define exactly what winning looks like, your team can't help you win.

We all have those services we offer just because we've always done them. In 2026, you need to let the data make your decisions, even if it hurts.

Lacey Coleman runs a $9M HVAC business. One of the reason her business has scaled so quickly is because she is ruthless with data. She tracks everything, service call conversion rates, warranty callbacks, and call types by season.

She used this data to identify that a specific premium system was generating too many warranty calls. Even though that system had higher margins initially, the cost of callbacks and the damage to the brand weren't worth it. So, she killed the product line entirely.

The 2026 Action Plan:

Audit your 2025 data. What services or product installations had the highest callback rates? Which ones had the lowest margins? Stop chasing revenue that eats your profit. Focus on what you do best and cut the rest.

You can write the perfect business plan for 2026, but if your team is paid hourly, they likely lack the incentives to help you execute it.

When you move to a performance-based pay model, you stop being the manager who cracks the whip. You become the partner who provides the opportunity. Jarod Smith runs a 20% performance pay model at Clogbusters because his "A-plus players" want to know where they stand and want to bet on themselves.

The 2026 Action Plan:

Stop relying on annual reviews and discretionary bonuses. Move to a performance-based pay model. Give your team a scorecard where hitting your company goals (efficiency, reviews, membership sales) puts more money in both your pocket and your tech’s.

Owners know they should incentivize their team, but the math gets messy. Spreadsheets break. Techs get confused.

That’s why I built ShareWillow. We help you design and manage incentive plans that turn your employees into partners in your growth.

If you want to enter 2026 with a team that is as hungry for growth as you are, let’s talk.

👉 Book a strategy call to build your 2026 incentive plan. 

Every business owner wants more leads. But to ensure your pipeline is always filled with new potential clients, you need to think (and act) like a marketer. 

Brandon Fink has a background in eCommerce (managing over $750M in ad spend) and his approach to scaling his HVAC business is radically different to many others in the industry

Brandon approaches marketing like a tech or eCommerce business rather than a service business and tracks metrics most contractors ignore, like Customer acquisition cost by channel and 12-month LTV.

The 2026 Action Plan:

Stop treating marketing as an expense you throw money at when things get slow and build out a full marketing strategy using Brandon’s strategies and frameworks. Get the full breakdown of his approach in the below video: 👇

If you want to sleep better in 2026, you need to stop starting every month at zero. Predictable revenue is the best way to weatherproof your business against economic dips or seasonal slowdowns.

For service businesses, monthly revenue usually means selling maintenance plans. 

But here is the shift: Stop selling "maintenance agreements." As Jim Hinshaw told me, a maintenance plan sounds like a chore. Instead, you need to sell a Membership as a Membership sounds exclusive and valuable. 

The 2026 Action Plan:

Rebrand your maintenance agreement. Structure it as a small monthly payment (e.g., $25) that flies under the radar on a credit card statement. Make it a no-brainer for the customer and a safety net for your cash flow.