The first quarter of 2026 was a doozy. Partial government shutdown, military actions, supply chain and commodity pricing issues, oil price fluctuations – we’ve had them all. If your business plan needs updating to manage against some or all of these risks, you should take care of that.
As we head into Q2, it’s time to look backward to evaluate what worked and what could be improved, and to document your plan for the next quarter.
From the executive summary of a survey of 307 small business owners and operators conducted by Revenued in February 2026:
Small business owners across the United States entered 2026 facing persistent and broad-based economic pressure. Three in four report that business costs are higher today than they were a year ago. Nearly two-thirds have fewer than three months of operating cash if revenues slow. Among the 61 percent who sought financing in the past year, more than half were turned away or left uncertain about whether they would qualify.
It seems like a good time to keep your mind on your money.
Know where you are
It would be prudent to take a careful look at your numbers, which is something many small business owners don’t do. How are your sales? What is your profit margin? How much cash do you have on hand? What does your sales pipeline look like? What is your conversion rate?
Information is power and will help put you back in control.
Cut unnecessary expenditures
Go through your monthly bills and see if there is anything you can cancel. Recurring payments are great for your vendors, but you might have forgotten that you are paying for software or other services you don’t need or use.
Understand cost fluctuations
What were the biggest cost increases for small businesses? According to the survey:
Respondents were asked which single cost category had increased the most over the past 12 months. Inventory and materials ranked first at 36.5 percent, outpacing all other categories by a wide margin. Labor and wages ranked second at 16.0 percent, followed by rent or real estate (10.4%), software and technology (8.5%), and interest or financing costs (8.1%).
Plan for Q2
In your year-end planning, you made some assumptions for 2026. Confirm that you still agree with your previous assessment, or adjust as needed.
To improve on profitability, or to help make up missed revenue, here are some questions you should ask:
- What drove results in Q1?
- Which products, services, or customer segments were the most profitable?
- What improvement could you make that would have the most impact?
Use Q1 results to decide where to double down, cut back, or fix bottlenecks. It’s a great time to improve processes and reduce friction within your business.
Wishing you a great second quarter.
