As we finish up the third quarter, most design businesses will move straight into year-end installs and holiday deadlines, then start January without a plan for 2027. Q4 is the time to build one. Here is what I want every firm owner to complete before the new year.

EVALUATE 2026
Start with the year you are finishing. Write down what worked and what didn’t—the projects, the clients, the team assignments, the marketing and the numbers.

Then, take a look at your current clients and ask this question about each: Is this an ideal fit?

One firm I work with had multiple unhappy clients. When the team evaluated their client list, they discovered most of those clients were not ideal. This design firm also found two operational gaps: They needed to nail down their client service systems and processes, and they had the wrong designers assigned to projects based on the skills each required.

Sort your current clients into ideal and not ideal. Review your SOPs for serving clients. Then review every active project assignment against the skill level it requires in communication, design and project management. The gaps you identify during these exercises will be crucial indicators for where your business should go next year.

UPDATE YOUR IDEAL CLIENT PROFILE
If your evaluation turns up clients who aren’t a great fit, update your ideal client profile by answering the following prompts. Use these guidelines to evaluate every new inquiry in 2027.

• What type and size of project do you want?
• What types of clients do you like best?
• What types of clients do you work well with?
• What kinds of projects does your team have the skills to deliver?

BUILD YOUR MARKETING PLAN
Create a marketing plan that speaks to your updated ideal client profile. Aim every activity at the project types and clients you described. And get specific: For each task, name who will do what, and by when. (Your budget will tell you how many of those clients you need—see the next step for that.)

CREATE YOUR BUDGET
A multimillion-dollar firm I work with is on track to double its revenue in less than three years. The team had a budget in place, and they used one calculation to know how many clients they needed:

Revenue goal ÷ Average project size = Number of clients needed

Run that calculation for 2027. The result is your client target for the year, and it tells your marketing plan how many ideal clients to reach.

SET THREE GOALS
Choose three things you want to accomplish in 2027 and write them down. These are your priorities for the year.

PRESET YOUR SCHEDULE
Open your 2027 calendar now and time-block the year by priority. Your three goals go on the calendar first. Client work, meetings and everything else fit in around them.

SET A THEME AND KICK OFF THE NEW YEAR
Choose a theme for 2027 that will guide your firm’s big-picture moves. Then plan a kickoff meeting for your team in mid-January to share your vision. Use the meeting to give your team a look back at 2026 and celebrate the accomplishments; discuss your goals and priorities for 2027; and outline how the team fits into that plan. Spend this time building team culture and excitement for the coming year.

Complete these steps now, and you’ll start 2027 feeling prepared and excited for the year ahead.

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Gail Doby is co-founder of Pearl Collective (formerly Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting), an interior design business consultancy that helps designers, architects and other creatives increase their profitability. Doby ran her own design firm in Denver for nearly 20 years and has a degree in finance and banking. Since 2008, she has been helping designers scale their businesses profitably and reach financial freedom. As a coach, mentor and business transformation specialist, she shares innovative ways to overcome the roadblocks, challenges and detours creative entrepreneurs face. She is also the bestselling author of Business Breakthrough: Your Creative Value Blueprint to Get Paid What You’re Worth. Her goal is to empower design industry clients to differentiate themselves, drive measurable results, achieve business projections, and create personal satisfaction through game-changing strategies and business practices.