Natalie Miles is a two-time Best of Houzz award-winning interior designer and licensed general contractor. She currently works as a forewoman for Wardley Homes, a custom home builder developing waterfront homes south of Salt Lake City on Utah Lake. We spoke with Miles about using Houzz Pro software in her interior design business and why she chose to bring it to Wardley Homes. 

At a Glance

Who: Natalie Miles, forewoman at Wardley Homes

Industry: Custom homebuilding

Location: Saratoga Springs, Utah

Year company was established: 2017

Annual revenue: $10 million

Challenges Before Adopting Houzz Pro

What were some of the biggest challenges in your business before you adopted Houzz Pro?

“We didn’t have an infrastructure, business process or procedures [at Wardley Homes]. It was a lot of email, text and Google Drive. That led to frustration, miscommunication on the team.” She adds that Wardley Homes had quickly increased sales since its founding in 2017, but had not developed strong business processes or adopted software tools to support the growth.

“Coming into a new position with this builder and taking on more responsibilities, I needed to have a process in place. I need my jobs to be organized and let everyone have the right information and tools they need. That’s what we need to make this company successful.”

How did the challenges you were facing impact the team?

“[There was a lot of frustration on the team, because one person would assume the other person had gotten the message, read the email or followed up on the text. Our subcontractors got the brunt of it, because I’d go on the job site and ask, ‘Why is this here?’ or, ‘Why did you not do that?’ and their response was, ‘I didn’t know. No one told me.’ Then you have to go back and fix something that was done wrong.” In other words, without a central place to manage files, documents and communication, and a reliable process for sharing communications, vital information was falling through the cracks.

“If everyone had the proper tools, the information could have been properly communicated in the first place. Then we wouldn’t have had the miscommunication or the delays in the project timeline. More than once, we’ve had to do rework due to miscommunication and people not being on the same page.”

How do project delays and miscommunication impact the business?

“[They] push everything back. We do some spec homes that are ours, [and project delays slow] the time for us to get the house on the market and get it sold. But we also work with homeowners, and they get quite frustrated when they have a timeline and expectations, because they have a rental or a window to sell the existing home to move into the new home. When the timeline is pushed out because we’re doing rework, there are implications all across the board in client satisfaction. We as the builder get the brunt of that frustration.”

Decision Time: Choosing Houzz Pro

What was the key moment for you in choosing Houzz Pro?

“I’ve used Houzz Pro in my design business and really loved the layout, the organization and everything it offers. When I realized there’s Houzz Pro for contractors, I thought, ‘This is going to be perfect for us.’ That’s when we decided to adopt the Houzz Pro platform.” She also had used BuilderTrend at other companies, but ultimately chose Houzz Pro for its ease of use and gentle learning curve.

“We looked at some bigger software, but we didn’t feel like they were a good fit for us, because we felt we’d have to spend a lot of time learning how to use them, then teach all of our trade partners everything.”

What features were top of mind as you were shopping for a project management platform?

“We needed a system that was easy to update and share with the homeowner. They always want to know what’s going on week by week. We run into the problem a lot where homeowners stop by the job site to check up on their house — that impairs our work on the house. Having a tool where we can share with the homeowner so they know what’s happening that week meant they didn’t need to stop by the job site.” Houzz Pro’s Schedule feature addresses exactly that. 

Change orders were another issue, as Miles’ real estate agent had been handling them via email with the homeowner. “It was a long chain of unnecessary communication, leaving us waiting on the job site unable to order materials or move the job forward until we had a signed change order. We were looking for a program where we could do the change orders ourselves and that was easy to use.”

The company also had no system in place to create and share professional estimates with clients, so Houzz Pro’s Estimate Builder was an another key draw. 

Favorite Houzz Pro Features

What is the most impressive part of Houzz Pro for you?

“I don’t need a Pinterest board or Google Docs to communicate my ideas with the homeowner. I don’t need another program for job scheduling. For me, to have everything in one place is what I’m most impressed with. I can communicate with homeowners on the mobile app and keep everything in one place.”

She also greatly appreciates the onboarding support. “It’s been really easy to get in touch with reps from Houzz when you have questions about the program. Everybody there is on top of it; they’ll get you trained and answer all your questions. That’s] has been really helpful to me. The whole platform has been easy to use. It’s been a great transition for us.”

At a deep-dive Builder Academy session, Miles also discovered more about using the software to create estimates and takeoffs. She say that being able to upload plans, mark them up and create estimates using those measurements has been a “game changer.”

How has Houzz Pro impacted your business in dollars-and-cents terms? 

“We were looking to hire someone part time to do the books, create estimates and office work. Now that my business partner and I have learned the Houzz Pro tools, we don’t have the need for an admin any more. The system is easy enough for us to use so that we don’t need someone to do any extra paperwork and back office work.” She estimates that not having to hire a bookkeeper saves the business about $20,000 a year.

She also expects that the overall increased business efficiency is saving the company money in other ways, and will 

Advice to Others Looking to Grow Their Business Faster

What would you say to contractors who are considering Houzz Pro and are in a similar situation? Those who have business processes in place, but their technology tools are holding them back from the aggressive company growth goals.

“My recommendation is go with Houzz Pro. It’s been the best platform for our size of business and how we work with homeowners. It’s very easy to share our work with clients, and when they have ideas to share with us, most of them are already using Houzz anyway. If they’re not, it’s very easy to get them on to Houzz so they can search for pictures and ideas. It’s a great communication tool between us and our clients.”

In addition, “from a business point of view, we’ve become so much more organized because of Houzz Pro. The tools are very easy to use. If you don’t know how to use them, there’s always someone to jump on and help you. There are great tutorial videos available.” 

As for cost, “The price range for Houzz Pro is excellent for a small business owner. Other platforms can get quite expensive. Houzz Pro, for what it has and the resources it offers, is a great investment for our business. If you're just starting out or you’re a small business or even a large business, Houzz Pro has everything you need in one spot — ideabooks, 3D floor plans…. Everything from the design aspect that you need is there. Everything from the business side of things is there as well. We love it, and I would encourage every other builder looking for software to check out Houzz Pro. You will enjoy it.”

Spreading the Word

How do you describe Houzz Pro to your friends in the building industry?

“I love the accessibility. Most people have already heard of Houzz, but I can pull up my Houzz Pro app and show them: ‘Here’s my estimates, my change orders,” and share with my homeowners right on-site. All my business information is very accessible on my phone. The desktop layout is also easy to use. It’s convenient; it’s easy. I love it.”