Scarlet Thread Consulting

Scarlet Thread Consulting Business and Strategic Coaching for creative businesses with a focus on profitability. Profit First Certified Professional. What does this mean for you?

Our firm is one of the select few, nationwide, that have achieved certification in Profit First. In addition to our coaching services, we will guide you with the methods to greatly increase the profitability of your business. Of course, we will guide you through the business challenges you face - but you should expect that from any coach you hire. We also address the most important factor for any

business - maximizing your profits. One on one business coaching can offer you the following:

-Increase profits
-Set and accomplish business goals
-Understand your strengths and those of your team
-Identify your ideal client
-Create unity in your mission, goals and team
-Improve personal and business relationships
-Strategize for future growth
-Understand challenges
-Learn to increase overall joy and balance in your life and business

How we provide services...

One-on-one coaching is uniquely designed around your individual needs. As a coach, I will ask you the hard questions. I will ask you to complete questionnaires, assessments and various homework assignments before each session. Coaching may be done in person, by telephone, Skype, Facetime or with other available technology. Don't let location stop you! If you are interested in a free 15-minute session to determine if individual coaching is for you, email [email protected] or call 678-576-0814. To discover more about how coaching can make a positive difference, please contact us.

The hardest part of getting real business help was never finding options, it's knowing who to trust with your firm.That'...
06/17/2026

The hardest part of getting real business help was never finding options, it's knowing who to trust with your firm.

That's why I'm proud to share that I've joined The Boardroom for Creatives by LuAnn Nigara, a curated room of experts she personally vetted.

I'm bringing my 1:1 consulting right into the Boardroom, where you can book a single focused hour with me to work through whatever financial question is sitting on your desk right now.

We'll sit down with your numbers and get to the root of it fast like your margins, where your money is actually going, and the one move that changes the most.

Working 80 hours a week was never the goal, making money was!

Schedule your session now at boardroomforcreatives.com

That firm with the stunning studio and 12 employees? You don't know what their margin is. You don't know if the owner ha...
06/16/2026

That firm with the stunning studio and 12 employees?

You don't know what their margin is.
You don't know if the owner has paid herself this quarter.
You don't know if they're one slow month away from a very hard conversation.

That designer on your feed with the magazine features and the celebrity clients?

You don't know what her cash reserves look like.
You don't know if she's sleeping.

That firm everyone is talking about at High Point?
You don't know if the business is actually profitable or just loud.

Here's what I've learned from 15+ years inside the financials of design firms at every level:

The firms that look the most successful are not always the ones that are.

Some of the most profitable, most peaceful, most well-run firms I work with are quiet. Boutique. Intentional.

They are not the ones winning Instagram. They are the ones winning at life!!

Stop comparing yourself to businesses whose numbers you've never seen.

Build yours on the numbers you can see and have control over (your own!)!

Want to start learning your numbers? Join my free newsletter and get 2 free coaching emails per month. Comment "newsletter" and I will send you the link to sign up.

People assume I teach numbers because I love spreadsheets.I do love a clean spreadsheet, but that's not my why.I spent t...
06/08/2026

People assume I teach numbers because I love spreadsheets.

I do love a clean spreadsheet, but that's not my why.

I spent the first ten years of my career in financial software development. Then, in 2000, I opened my own soft furnishings workroom. And it was those numbers-driven skills that saved me from drowning under the very real weight of growing a business and a family at the same time.

But here's what I watched happen all around me: talented designers, brilliant, gifted women, crumbling under uncertainty and overwhelm. It was never a talent problem. No one had ever taught them how to build a business that actually held them up.

So let me tell you what I'm really after when I teach you your numbers.

I don't care about profit for profit's sake. I care about what profit makes possible.

I care about you paying off your house years ahead of schedule and feeling that quiet kind of safe that no design award ever gave you.

I care about you sending your kid to college without a single loan, writing that check and getting to say, "we've got this."

I care about you taking the summer a little slower because you finally built a business that doesn't need you white-knuckling it every single day.

I care about you giving generously. To your family, your team, your church, the causes you love without checking your bank balance first.

That's the truth behind every markup conversation, every burn-rate worksheet, every "let's look at your real numbers" call I've ever had.

The math is never the point. The life you are trying to live is the point.

Numbers aren't cold. In the right hands, they're the most loving, protective tool you have because they're what turns the life you dream about into the life you actually live.

So no, I'm not passionate about numbers. I'm passionate about you. The numbers are just how I get to love you well.

If no one's ever taught you to see your numbers this way, that's exactly the work we do together.

Tell me in the comments, what's the life your business is supposed to be funding?

Because a lot of what you've been sold is not success. It's a performance of success. And the two have very different pr...
06/02/2026

Because a lot of what you've been sold is not success. It's a performance of success.

And the two have very different price tags. Let me deinfluence you on a few things:

A big team doesn't mean a successful business.

It means a bigger payroll. It means more management. It means a bigger hole to fill every single month. A firm of 3 that clears 40% margin is more successful than a firm of 15 clearing 8%. Headcount is not the scoreboard.

A beautiful studio space doesn't mean a successful business.

It means overhead. If the studio doesn't directly generate revenue or support the work, it's a line item, not a status symbol. I've walked into stunning offices attached to exhausted owners who can't pay themselves.

A packed pipeline doesn't mean a successful business.

It means you're busy. If half those projects are underpriced, you're going to work harder this year and keep less than the year before. A full calendar is only a win if the math inside it works.

$1M in revenue doesn't mean a successful business.

Revenue is the vanity number. Profit is the truth number. A $600K firm that keeps 35% is in a better position than a $1.5M firm that keeps 6%. Both owners work the same hours. One of them gets to rest.

A feature in a magazine doesn't mean a successful business.

It means great PR. I love PR. But PR doesn't pay your team, fund your retirement, or send your kids to college. Press is a tool, not an outcome. Looking "booked and busy" on Instagram doesn't mean a successful business.

So what does a successful design firm actually look like?

✨The owner gets paid consistently — and well
✨Profit margins are strong and intentional
✨Cash reserves cover 3–6 months of operations
✨Decisions get made from data, not from dread
✨The owner has time, energy, and creative capacity left for their own life
✨The business would survive a quiet quarter without panic

That is the version of success worth building toward. And it rarely looks like what's on your feed.

Deinfluence yourself accordingly!

Five years is a long time in business.Jenni Egger of Jenni Egger Designs recently pulled out the 5-year strategic plan w...
05/29/2026

Five years is a long time in business.

Jenni Egger of Jenni Egger Designs recently pulled out the 5-year strategic plan we built together in 2021.

Here's what she said:

"I was gobsmacked at our results compared to the plan. Michele's coaching voice has been in my ear the whole time — through the plan, pricing tools, Profit First approach, and her specialized advice. The confidence she instilled has made me a better business owner and, in turn, better at helping my clients get what they want."

This is what strategic planning actually does.

Not a document that sits in a folder. A voice in your ear for every pricing decision, every hire, every fork in the road — for years.

A strategic plan isn't a task. It's a partner you built to carry forward with you.

If you want to build one that actually changes the next 5 years of your business, let's talk.

Schedule a consultation at the link in my bio.

Treating deposits like income. That money isn't yours yet. Profitable firms keep it in a separate account and recognize ...
05/28/2026

Treating deposits like income.

That money isn't yours yet. Profitable firms keep it in a separate account and recognize it as earned only when the work is delivered.

Pricing for the client's comfort.

Profitable firms price for the work. The right clients say yes. The wrong ones never were going to.

Saying yes to scope creep.

Every "just one more thing" is either billable or it's a donation. Profitable firms make that decision on purpose.

Quoting without a clause.

Tariffs, freight, and material costs shift. Profitable firms build the ability to adjust into the contract.

Doing the books "later."

Profitable firms know their numbers monthly. Not quarterly. Not at tax time. Monthly.

Which one is costing you the most right now?

Use these before you hire, sign a lease, take on a big project, raise prices, or any other big financial decision in you...
05/27/2026

Use these before you hire, sign a lease, take on a big project, raise prices, or any other big financial decision in your design firm:

1. What does this decision cost — truly?

Not just the line item. The full weight. A hire isn't just salary. It's benefits, taxes, software, training, and the management time it takes from you.

2. What does this decision need to return to be worth it?

Put a number on it. "This hire needs to generate $X in billable work or save me Y hours per week." A decision without a success metric is a guess.

3. What happens to cash flow over the next 6 months?

Today's math is easy. Month 4 is where decisions break. Model it.

4. If this goes wrong, how do we recover?

Not will it go wrong. If.

Every good CEO has a Plan B before committing to Plan A.

Save this for your next big financial decision!

Join my free coaching newsletter for more insights like this! Comment "newsletter" for the link to join.

1. The owner can't tell me their gross margin without looking it up.2. Owner's pay is "whatever's left" at the end of th...
05/26/2026

1. The owner can't tell me their gross margin without looking it up.
2. Owner's pay is "whatever's left" at the end of the month.
3. There's no separate account for client deposits.
4. Pricing hasn't been reviewed in 12+ months.
5. The same invoice chase happens every single month.
6. Payroll feels stressful on payroll day.
7. Tax time is a surprise, not a plan.
8. Every hire decision starts with "can we afford it?" instead of "what does the business need?"

If you nodded at three or more, your financials aren't the problem.

Your financial structure is (but it can be rebuilt!)

Send this to the designer friend who needs to see it.

Join my free coaching newsletter for more insights like this! Comment "newsletter" for the link to join.

You are selling years of trained judgment, a procurement network it took a decade to build, the ability to prevent a $40...
05/22/2026

You are selling years of trained judgment, a procurement network it took a decade to build, the ability to prevent a $40,000 mistake your client doesn't know they were about to make, and the taste that makes a house feel like theirs.

Your time is the delivery vehicle and your expertise is the product.

When your pricing model treats those two as the same thing, you will always undercharge.

And you will always be exhausted.

The shift from hourly thinking to value-based thinking is the single biggest pricing upgrade a design firm owner can make.

Which mindset are you homing in on this week?

Deposits create the illusion of cash. Margins are what actually pay you. Book your CFO2GO audit today and stop running y...
05/21/2026

Deposits create the illusion of cash.

Margins are what actually pay you. Book your CFO2GO audit today and stop running your firm on the deposit illusion.

Know your real margins, your real profit, and your real next move!

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+16785760814

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