Scarlet Thread Consulting

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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.

28/05/2026

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?

27/05/2026

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.

26/05/2026

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.

22/05/2026

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?

21/05/2026

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!

📸

20/05/2026

The most expensive word in your business right now might be "tariffs."

Designers I'm talking with this year are spending hours reselecting materials to keep projects on budget.

Swapping porcelain for stone remnants. Rebudgeting halfway through specification. Absorbing cost increases that were never priced in — because when the quote went out, those costs didn't exist yet.

This isn't a design problem. It's a structural one.

If your pricing model assumes stable material costs and predictable freight, it's working against you right now.

Every project you quoted in Q1 that hasn't closed yet is a project where the math has quietly shifted. Three questions worth asking this week:

1. o my proposals include a material cost clause that protects us if freight or tariffs change mid-project?
2. Am I building a contingency into procurement — not just for damages, but for cost volatility?
3. When was the last time I actually ran the numbers on a completed project to see what I kept?

You cannot design your way out of a structural pricing problem.

You have to rebuild the structure. and the good news is it can absolutely be rebuilt!

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

19/05/2026

You don't need another course.

You need someone who can look at your business and tell you what's actually next.

Schedule a consultation at the link in my bio to learn what Scarlet Thread Consulting program is best for you.

15/05/2026

You don't need another course. You don't need more information.

At a certain point in your firm's growth, what you actually need is a partner.

Someone who understands the financial structure of a luxury design firm.
Someone who has seen the decision you're about to make a hundred times before.
who can sit beside you through the hire, the expansion, the pricing shift, the hard conversation — and help you think clearly, not just quickly.

That's what 1:1 Business Advisory is.

It's built for established design firm owners who are carrying complex decisions, a growing team, and a vision for what comes next — and who are ready to stop navigating all of it alone.

If you're approaching a transition in your firm and you want a steady, experienced voice in your corner for the next 12 months, let's talk about whether we're the right fit.

Schedule a consultation — link in bio.

14/05/2026

If the tasks on your plate aren't moving your design business forward, they're holding you back.

This is what Strategy2GO is built for.

You have the vision. You have the talent. You have the revenue.

What you need now is a clear, prioritized plan — one that turns your vision into quarterly goals, specific action steps, and a strategic focus that actually moves the needle.

In one Strategy Session with me, we'll map the next 12 months of your firm:

✨What to focus on
✨What to let go of
✨Where profitability lives (and where it's hiding)
✨The exact order of operations to get you there

No more spinning or more generic advice. Just a plan built for your unique firm.

Book a consultation to see if Strategy2GO is right for you.

Link in bio.

📸

13/05/2026

Most designers avoid Profit First because it feels restrictive. What it actually does is the opposite.

Without it, your money sits in one account, and every decision becomes a guess:

Can I afford to hire?
Is there enough for taxes?
Should I say yes to this project?
Is my pricing actually working?

That guesswork is expensive. It shows up as overspending, inconsistent owner's pay, surprise tax bills, and a low, steady hum of stress that follows you from project to project.

Profit First doesn't restrict you. It protects you and your business.

It gives you the structure to see what's yours, what belongs to the business, and what's being set aside for the future, before it gets spent on something else.

Clarity is not a luxury at this stage of your firm.

It's the thing that makes everything else possible. Join my free coaching newsletter for more insights like this! Comment ""newsletter"" for the link to join.

📸

12/05/2026

"I mark up 100%.""

I hear this almost every week. And almost every time we run the real numbers together, that 100% markup lands somewhere closer to 20%.

Not because you're doing anything wrong but because of what's quietly eating the margin:

- Freight and shipping
- Tariffs
- Warehousing and receiving
- Damages and replacements
- The hours your team spends chasing vendors

If those costs aren't built into your pricing, your markup isn't markup. It's absorbed cost wearing a costume.

The fix starts with knowing the true cost of delivering product — not just the invoice price.

Once you see it, you can price for it.

And the best part? Your profit stops leaking!

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

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+16785760814

Website

https://www.scarletthreadconsulting.com/

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