■ A fortnightly business advice column by Whakatāne accountant and business adviser, Jason Lougher

New year, new me. Most business owners have tried it. Most have watched it fall over.

January rolls around, things feel lighter, and motivation shows up on its own.

After a break, with a bit of space, everything feels possible.

This is the year things change. The business will feel more under control. Decisions will come easier. The stress will ease.

And yet, the pattern is familiar.

Around 23 percent of New Year’s resolutions fall over in the first week.

By the end of January, about half are gone.

Only around 9 percent last the full year.

That’s not because people don’t care enough. It’s because motivation, on its own, doesn’t last.

That pattern isn’t limited to personal goals. Businesses do the same thing.

January often starts with good intentions. New initiatives. New systems. New priorities. Maybe a new piece of software, a new role, or a new way of doing things.

None of these are bad ideas on their own.

The problem is that they’re usually layered onto an operation that was already full.

Then the business starts up again.

The inbox fills. The phone rings. Staff are back. Customers want answers. Small issues need decisions. Bigger issues sit in the background, waiting for “when things calm down”.

The space that made January feel hopeful disappears, and the business slips back into its normal rhythm.

By February, the motivation has quietly faded.

That’s usually the point where business owners turn the frustration inward. They assume they lacked discipline, focus, or follow-through. They tell themselves they just need to push harder or be more organised.

In reality, motivation fades fast when clarity never really shows up.

A full year is a long time to hold clarity, especially when you’re already busy.

Big annual plans rely on motivation carrying most of the load. But motivation doesn’t have much staying power if it doesn’t have something solid to sit on.

Another part that often gets missed is subtraction.

When people set goals, they usually add more habits or systems. But there are only so many hours in a day.

If nothing comes off the plate, adding more is often the first step to failure.

Not because the goals were wrong, but because the load was already full before January even started.

Clarity isn’t just about deciding what to focus on. It’s also about deciding what can stop, pause, or wait.

That’s a harder conversation to have, but it’s often the one that creates the most relief.

This is why owners who make progress tend to stop thinking in years altogether.

Instead of asking, “What do I want this year to look like?”, they ask a smaller, more practical question.

What needs attention in the next 90 days?

Not everything. Not a full reset. Just a couple of things. Often the low-hanging fruit.

The areas where more clarity would reduce pressure or make the business feel easier to run.

For some, that’s cash. Not growth or big targets, just better visibility so decisions stop feeling reactive.

For others, it’s workload. Understanding why the days feel full but the important things keep getting pushed out. Working out what keeps landing back on their desk, and why.

Sometimes it’s pricing.

Not a full overhaul, just recognising which work feels heavy for the return it gives, and which jobs quietly drain energy without delivering much back.

And for many owners, it’s decisions that have been sitting there for a while.

The conversation they’ve been avoiding. The change they know is coming but haven’t named yet.

The question that keeps getting pushed into “later”.

Ninety days is short enough to stay real.

Long enough to make progress. Small enough that clarity doesn’t get diluted.

When clarity improves, motivation usually follows on its own. Not as a rush of energy, but as steadiness. Decisions feel lighter. The background tension drops.

The business starts to feel navigable again.

Breaking the year down doesn’t fix everything. It doesn’t remove all pressure or uncertainty. But it does give motivation somewhere solid to stand.

So, if the new year energy has already faded, don’t read too much into it.

It’s rarely a personal failing. More often, it’s just a lack of clarity stretched across a year that was always too big to hold in one go.

■ Jason Lougher is the owner of Calc Business Advisors & Chartered Accountants. Our team advise businesses throughout the Eastern Bay of Plenty — and across New Zealand. Like this article or want to chat? Feel free to send me an email: [email protected]