EP 120: 2026 Business Planning for Entrepreneurs: Future Self Identity, Limiting Beliefs, and the “How Can We” Framework with Debbie King

Most business plans fail before the first meeting because they use last year’s results to decide what is possible next. Sarah sits down with Debbie King, business strategist, executive coach, and author of Loving Your Business, about future self business planning as a more effective approach to strategic planning for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to stop letting past results limit your future business growth. Debbie questions the habit of treating prior performance as a ceiling and invites a different starting point for planning that begins with identity, belief, and vision. If your current results reflect who you have been, what changes when you plan from who you are becoming? The discussion turns to the quiet beliefs leaders carry about themselves, their teams, their market, and their offer, and how those beliefs shape decisions long before strategy enters the room. Which assumptions feel true simply because they are familiar? What might open up if you challenged them before pulling your team into the process? Debbie introduces the “How can we?” framework as a way to create forward motion without waiting for certainty, and the episode offers a grounded reset for entrepreneurs who want their 2026 planning to feel clear, focused, and genuinely expansive. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Future Self Business Planning for 2026 03:02 Why Past Results Limit Future Business Growth 09:01 How Beliefs Shape Business Results 17:57 Strategic Planning Begins With Inner Work 26:58 The “How Can We” Framework for Expansion 44:09 Decide, Act, Evaluate, Iterate Connect with Debbie King: Visit the Loving Your Business website Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Visit HiveCast Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm