7 Questions to Ask Yourself in 2025 for Exceptional Business Results

It’s natural to check in on business progress as the calendar page turns to a new year. And whether you’re just starting out or have been at it a while, these questions can help guide your business review. See how seasoned pros have answered these specific questions to help guide your goal-setting for 2025.

1. Do I love the projects I’m getting?

It might be a wise move early on to take projects that aren’t the best fit for you, as a way to build a project portfolio and get reviews. But as time goes on, saying yes only to projects and clients that you’re excited about can help keep your passion for your work up, help you feel proud of your project results, and reduce errors and stress.

For instance, maybe you’re dreaming of higher-budget projects. “I really do encourage people to stop and think about their why, what their motivation is,” says Kate O’Hara, CEO and creative director of O’Hara Interiors. “Because if you really feel like an artist and you really are an artistic designer, and having fewer budgetary considerations would allow you to better explore your craft,” then you have a great reason to move into higher-budget projects.

“We tend to take on full home furnishing, full home renovation, or ground-up builds,” says designer Sara Swabb of Storie Collective. “If it doesn’t fall within that category…this project does not fit what we do.” For those latter cases, she offers referrals — with the added benefit being that those other firms might refer clients to her when they turn down a project.

But it can be good to keep an open mind about project types too, to stay inspired and fresh over time. Every time I get something new and different, I say, ’This is the project that I’m really enjoying,’” says designer Diana Bastone of Diana Bastone Designs. 

2. Am I building sustainable relationships?

Most designers and builders know from day one how important it is to build relationships with clients. After all, that’s one of the keys to having successful projects and getting rave reviews and repeat business. But what about relationships with subcontractors, vendors and even those who do the same type of work as you?

Designer Trevor Fulmer of Trevor Fulmer Design, who displays the “LGBTQ-Owned” badge on his Houzz profile, goes “to all sorts of networking events,” he says. “I’m a member of the IFDA, the ASID, and I attend those events often.… I think everyone is there at these events to show support. That’s a good opportunity to find trade, find vendors that are supportive and want to include people from our community into their network too.”

“I’m a big proponent of carving out time to go to conferences and leave your state … because everyone within the same state considers the people they’re talking to competitors to some degree or another,” O’Hara says. “Whenever you start going to conferences, whether they’re in the U.S. or internationally, you’ll suddenly gain perspectives not just on design, but perspectives on every other part of the business as well.”
In addition to creating a friendlier work environment, building strong relationships with vendors and subcontractors may produce better work results. “When somebody feels like they’re part of the team and they’re wearing the T-shirt, they take care of your business like if it was their own,” says Nathalia Garrigan, CEO and creative director of design-build firm Nathalia Interiors. She also found that when she started talking with workers in the field, “they helped me perfect my designs.”

3. Is my pricing keeping up with market conditions?

If you haven’t raised your prices in a while, it might be a good time to consider it. “The cost of doing business is much greater than it ever has been,” says designer Kirby Foster Hurd of Kirby Home Designs. “For example, gas is more expensive, so every mile you drive costs you more than before.” 

Designer Melissa Fields of Shades of Gray Design Studio says, “Prices for material, products and labor continue to go up, so I have to make sure my prices reflect that, otherwise I would be losing money.”

Raising prices doesn’t have to be an awkward, guilt-ridden affair either. “I think it’s explaining to [clients] all this service work we’re doing to free up your time in the background, and you’re paying for our expertise,” says designer Jennifer Davis of Davis Interiors. “We do a lot of education,” she adds, such as explaining to clients what’s involved in shipping furniture pieces.

Remember too that you can pass payment-processing fees along to clients. “We accept ACH payment or check, and [the fee] is passed on to the client if they would like to do ACH. If they request a payment via credit card, that fee is also passed on to the client,” Swabb says. Her firm also charges a consultation fee, but credits it toward future work.

For more great insights on pricing, see The Pro Perspective podcast, episode 2: “Pricing for Profit.’’

4. Can I be more time efficient?

The right digital tools can help you make sure you’re not wasting time on admin work, repeated tasks, and routine process steps. For instance, Houzz Pro software has proposal and invoicing templates pre-populated with local prices, as well as AI-supported automation for takeoffs and estimates, and many other time saving features.

“I think where the most time saving comes from in Houzz Pro is on the procurement side of things,” says Pablo Gonzalez, COO of Nathalia Interiors. “I think if it wasn’t for Houzz Pro Selections Tracker, we would probably need three procurement managers.” How much time does it save him? “About 30 hours a month,” he says.

General contractor Diego Meyer of G. Meyer Construction loves the Houzz Pro Takeoffs tool for both its accuracy and the time savings. “I really love that tool when it comes down to estimating the plans,” he says. “I’m able to get everything done extremely accurately and quicker.”

And remodeler Raymond Chung of The Raystruction Group saves time with the Houzz Pro Estimate Builder. “I can seamlessly send out an estimate without having to use a separate software, and it lets me generate really professional-looking estimates twice as fast, which helps me convert leads to projects,” he says.

5. Am I keeping track of everything?

Every project has countless details to wrangle: communications, timelines, product purchases and so on. Keeping on top of it all is key to a successful project. Here too, software is your friend.

“If you can’t go a week without having some sort of misplaced document; you forget the price on A, B, or C; or you don’t know where something is put, I think that you really can’t afford to not have [project management software],” says builder Matt Panella of Panella Construction.

“As a business owner, I’ve got to remember where I put the thing and captured that receipt,” says design-build pro Luke Thomas of H&L Design and Build. He uses Houzz Pro because “it’s all in one solution,” he says. “Everything from the 3D rendering to the notes, financials, the client dashboard, is just brilliant for messaging and communication. We don’t lose things in the cracks.”

Keeping track also applies to business finances, not just in terms of project outlays and receivables but in analyzing financial performance overall. “You have to know your numbers,” Thomas says simply. Houzz Pro allowed Davis “to track profitability, and we were able to make sure we maintained profitability because of all of the tracking that’s involved,” she says. 

6. Am I minimizing errors and unpleasant surprises?

Mistakes can be costly as well as mar the client experience and your own job satisfaction. How to prevent them?

“Proper planning at the front end,” Thomas says. “Asking an enormous amount of questions of the clients, so that you capture 95% of it on the initial estimate that they sign.”

“In the past, we accidentally sold things at wholesale price to people,” Davis says. “Now [with software that automatically calculates totals] it’s really obvious, because you look at your invoice before you send it. If there’s no profit written there, then you made a mistake.”

“We work really hard to ensure that there are no issues, and if there are issues, we work really hard to resolve them as best as possible,” Swabb says. “Our strategies for working through any challenge would be open dialect, open communication. We are quick to identify an issue and quick to come up with solutions for that issue.”

7. Am I comfortable with my role?

“When you start out, you’re everything,” Davis says. “You’re the accountant. You’re the bookkeeper. You’re the controller, the one who’s ordering. You’re everything.” But if you’re still doing everything once your company has been around a while, you risk losing the passion that led you to your work in the first place.

“Because I’m wearing all the hats,” Bastone says, “it’s very easy to not have that work-life [balance] — because it’s my baby.… I would say that my goal for this year is to figure out a better work-life balance, but still maintain client satisfaction.”

Thomas offers this: “Educating your team as well as your clients to go to a central location frees you up as an owner to do what you do best. What you do best could be different from person to person. It could be sales, it could be estimating, it could be being with the field crew. Doing what gives you life and what builds the business is what you need to be doing 90% of your day.”

Davis taps into the power of organization and delegation. “This is the first year I feel like I can enjoy the summer,” she says. “I just feel very organized and very relaxed. I know that someone else can go look it up if I’m not there, or vice versa. It’s even like a peace of mind or a lifestyle shift for me.”