13 November 2026 · Nick Thorpe · 2 min read
Mastermind Day, November 2026: planning 2027 with sixteen business owners
On 12 November sixteen business owners spent a day at Hoar Cross Hall planning 2027. We covered a review of the year, AI implementation and business acquisition.
BLUF (bottom line up front)
On 12 November sixteen business owners spent a day with me at Hoar Cross Hall in Staffordshire. It was a business planning session for 2027. We reviewed the year, worked through how to put AI to use in a real business, and looked at buying a business as a way to grow. The next Mastermind Day is in spring 2027.
Nick's view
Take one full day a year out of the business to plan the next one, and do it in a room with other owners. You will not do it properly at your own desk, and the questions other owners ask are the ones you have stopped asking yourself.
On Thursday 12 November sixteen business owners gave up a working day and came to Hoar Cross Hall in Staffordshire. Some are coaching clients and some came as guests.
It was a business planning session. The job for the day was simple: look honestly at 2026, then plan 2027. We covered three things.
A review of the year
We started by looking back. What each owner set out to do in 2026, what happened, and what they would change.
Most owners skip this. The year ends, the next one starts, and the same problems come along for the ride. An hour spent on the review makes the plan that follows a lot more honest.
AI implementation
This was the practical session. I showed the setup I use in my own businesses, step by step, and what it does for me in a normal week.
Everyone went home with the guide, so they can build the same thing themselves, and a list of the tools I use and where to get them. They are all free.
The point was to get past talking about AI. One working use in the business beats a year of reading about it.
Business acquisition
We also looked at buying a business as a way to grow, alongside building the one you have.
For most owner-led businesses, growth has only ever meant more sales. Buying a business is another route, and it is one that plenty of owners have never looked at seriously. It is worth understanding even if you decide it is not for you.
The room
I enjoyed the day, and that was down to how much everyone put in, for themselves and for each other. The feedback since has been fantastic.
Some good conversations started in that room. I have put everyone in touch with each other so they carry on.
The next one
The next Mastermind Day is in spring 2027. The workshops waitlist hears the date first.
Nick Thorpe
16 years a British Army officer, then a decade building his own companies. Coaches business owners on the CoreOS framework. The story.