5 Steps to Build a Profitable Business in 2025 (Starting with Step 1)

As the year winds down and a new one begins, it’s the perfect moment to pause, reflect, and think about what’s next for your business. Maybe this year was great for growth, or maybe you’re feeling stretched thin—too many things pulling you in too many directions.

Wherever you are right now, the good news is this: 2025 is a fresh start. And with a few thoughtful changes, you can grow your profits, simplify your operations, and make your business work better for you.

I’m walking you through five simple strategies that can make a meaningful impact in your business this year:

1. Identify and Focus on Your Most Profitable Offerings (that’s today’s topic)
2. Streamline Your Operations to Reduce Waste
3. Increase Customer Lifetime Value
4. Use Value-Based Pricing
5. Build Strategic Partnerships

Let’s start at the beginning: Step One—finding and focusing on your most profitable offerings. This step is so simple that most business owners overlook it. But when you really get clear on what’s driving your profits, it can change everything.

Where to Start: Look at the Data

Start by asking yourself: Which products or services bring in the most profit for the least time or effort? This isn’t just about revenue—it’s about margins. A product that makes $1,000 in sales but costs you $800 in labor, materials, or stress isn’t helping you.

Dig into your numbers and look for patterns. Often, your best-performing offerings are the ones customers value most and the ones you deliver most efficiently.

Example: A Luxury Hotel in Jackson Hole

Let’s say there’s a boutique hotel in Jackson Hole. Like most hotels, they offer standard room bookings at $450 a night. But they also have a curated "Romantic Getaway" package that includes a premium room, a bottle of champagne, and dinner reservations at a local fine-dining restaurant.

Here’s what the hotel finds when they look at the numbers:

• Guests perceive the Romantic Getaway package as a unique, luxurious experience—and they’re happy to pay $700 a night for it.
• The additional costs (champagne and coordinating dinner reservations) are relatively low, but the perceived value is high.
• Meanwhile, standard room bookings require just as much effort to manage but bring in less profit per booking.

Once they see this, the hotel has a choice:

• Keep trying to market every room equally and hope for the best, or
• Focus their marketing on the curated packages that bring in higher revenue, happier guests, and bigger margins.

By doubling down on the packages customers value most, the hotel increases its profits without increasing its workload. Fewer moving parts. Happier customers. More revenue.

What This Means for You

You don’t need to run a hotel to apply this to your business. The same principle holds true for any product or service.

Ask yourself:

• Which of my offerings are driving the most profit right now?
• Which ones take up too much time or cost too much to deliver?
• How can I simplify what I offer to focus on what works best?

Maybe you’re a retailer with dozens of product lines, but your custom orders are where you really shine. Maybe you’re a service provider balancing multiple client packages, but one offering delivers consistent results and is easier to sell.

The goal here isn’t to cut everything. It’s to focus on the offerings that deliver the most value—to your customers and to your bottom line.

Simplify, Focus, Grow

By identifying and focusing on your most profitable offerings, you’re not just boosting your profits—you’re simplifying your business. You’re freeing up time, energy, and resources to focus on the parts of your business that truly work.

And when you focus on what works, growth becomes easier. Customers are happier. Your team is happier. You are happier.

What’s Next

This is just Step One. Stay tuned for the next post in this series, where we’ll dive into Step Two: Streamlining Your Operations to Reduce Waste—because wasted time, money, and energy are growth killers.

Want to dig deeper into identifying your most profitable offerings? Download my free guide, ‘Scale Your Business Profitably,’ for actionable insights to help you grow smarter. Or, if you’re ready to get clear on your next steps, let’s talk—schedule a Business Catalyst Consult today!

Stay tuned for the next post in this series, where we’ll dive into Step Two: Streamlining Your Operations to Reduce Waste.

Identifying and focusing on your most profitable offerings is the first step to building a sustainable, profitable business in 2025. By taking a data-driven approach and aligning your efforts with what truly works, you’ll set the foundation for growth and success in the year ahead. Need help conducting a profitability audit or identifying your key profit drivers? Download my free guide, ‘Scale Your Business Profitably,’ or schedule a Business Catalyst Consult today!

P.S. Most business owners I talk to are surprised when they see their numbers clearly for the first time. What if your biggest profit driver is hiding in plain sight? Let’s find it.