I've been designing cost effective, energy efficient homes for over 40 years, and there are a few things that are musts to make both work. 

The first thing they do is obsess over chasing leads.Without credibility, you will have a really hard time getting leads.Dress well, speak proper English, know your s&)t, have a website, that has a web presence, have a youtube channel where you educate your ideal audience, have an Instagram where you show your accomplishments, have a Facebook page with a ton of engagement, have a decent car, put a car magnet on it with your logo if you have to.

In today's hyper-competitive market, design matters.

I sort of like the 10 scale, people who give 4s for a less than perfect stay can now leave a 9 :) Rating systems on these sites make virtually no sense because they're designed to just elicit mindless response.

The Lite designation intimates a product with lesser features than the original or Pro version.

When you start a business, and as you begin to realize people are not beating down the door to engage with you, a certain real pragmatism sets in.

always 20% or greater. we do it with our profit in columbus OH. it's all about the land, density, and floorplan size. get someone who has more experience in design and agency and development. development has been doing this for years and years so just stick to what works. compact, three story walk up style is what we build for investors and ourselves. 

Always think about the challenges the next developer will face. 1. fault line reduces the buildable area of the lot = reduce property value2. talk to a structural engineer & contractor about the added design and costs associated with both the fault line and the retaining wall. 3. if the steep grade is too steep then you might need to pile drive a wall vs grading and building a retaining wall which adds a lot of cost. 

Zoning for RM-1Any building with an RM designation can be used as a residence: for one family or as a multi-unit building.

However after 50 years in RE I can tell you anyone who would take their time to engage and try to educate everyone who contacts them is going to fail..