From Interior Designer to Fractional CFO: Building a Profitable Service Business

As an interior designer turned fractional CFO, I'm about to share something vulnerable with you.

Not because I love talking about financial missteps (I don't!), but because I understand firsthand what it's like to run a creative service firm while trying to master the business side. Whether you're leading an interior design firm, architecture practice, or marketing agency, that feeling of "I don't know what I don't know" about finances? I've lived it from both sides.

That 3 AM worry about agency cash flow? Been there. The challenge of pricing creative services profitably? Done that. The struggle to step back from client work to think strategically about your firm? I've experienced it all – first as a design professional, and now as a fractional CFO helping creative business owners build real value in their firms.

The Reality Behind the Resume

My path from interior designer to fractional CFO advisor has been anything but straight. On the surface, it probably looks like an impressive series of pivots - from interior design to launching a prepared meal delivery business (before they were trendy), to working at startups, to co-founding an accounting firm (quite the career plot twist!).

But here's what was really happening behind the scenes of building a service business...

The Real Story Begins

I started my career in Calgary, fresh out of Mount Royal University’s interior design school, dreaming of creating beautiful spaces. Like many creative professionals, I was passionate about the design work but completely unprepared for managing my own finances, let alone understanding business finances.

First Lessons in the School of Hard Knocks

When I moved to Toronto, where I knew almost no one, I made my first financial mistakes as a young professional: living beyond my means as a junior designer. I racked up personal credit card debt that would follow me for over a decade, and then learned my first hard lesson about financial instability when I got laid off. Instead of letting that stop me, I did what many entrepreneurs do – I started my own business. With less than $1,000 in the bank and thousands in debt, I launched a meal delivery service.

Here's where many business owners might recognize themselves: I was terrified of spending money, had a tiny professional network (networking felt overwhelming), and was doing everything myself. Classic signs of what I now help creative firm owners overcome – the struggle to invest in growth, to build strategic relationships, and to step away from doing all the work.

The result? My first experience with burnout. But it wouldn't be my last.

Finding My Way (The Hard Way)

Moving back to Calgary to recover, I took a position at a yoga studio where I worked directly with the owner. This turned out to be an unexpected masterclass in business operations – the kind of behind-the-scenes insight that most creative professionals never get in design school. I finally learned how to live within my means, and more importantly, I began to understand how a well-run service business actually works.

The Unexpected Teachers

An inheritance gave me a chance to clear my debt (the first time), and I moved to Vancouver to explore new opportunities. Instead of getting a stable job, I did some cater waitering work while exploring my next business idea. This led to joining a juice startup where I experienced burnout number two – the kind where you consider driving into traffic on your way to work. Not my finest moment, but one that taught me critical lessons about sustainable business growth that I now share with my interior design and creative agency clients.

It wasn't until one of my best friends introduced me to a personal budgeting app that I finally started to understand money management. For the first time, I learned how to budget and track spending – skills that would later become fundamental to how I help creative firm owners manage their business finances.

The Turning Point

The real turning point came when I joined a cloud bookkeeping cohort and then co-founded the outsourced accounting firm. Through helping our bookkeeping clients, I discovered my gift for translating complex financial concepts into language creative professionals could understand. Yes, this led to burnout number three (I caught this one earlier – progress!), but it also showed me my true calling: helping creative business owners build financially sustainable firms.

Where I Am Today

Now, as a fractional CFO for interior design firms and creative agencies, I get to combine everything I learned the hard way. I help firm owners:

• Transform confusion into confident financial decisions

• Build predictable cash flow and sustainable profit margins

• Know exactly when to hire and how to price your services

• Pay yourself well while building a valuable business

• Create systems and teams that don't depend on you for everything

What makes me different from other CFOs? I've lived every painful money lesson firsthand. I know that rock in your stomach when you realize tax season is coming and you have no idea how you'll pay what you owe. I've felt the shame of maxing out credit cards and the embarrassment of not understanding basic financial terms. I've stared at bank accounts hoping a client payment would clear before payroll, and laid awake at 3 AM wondering if I was really cut out for this whole business thing.

I understand both the creative and financial worlds because I had to learn the financial side the hard way – through mistakes, missteps, and more than a few sleepless nights. Now I help others skip that painful learning curve. Whether you're struggling with pricing your services, managing project profitability, or building a business that can thrive without you doing all the work – I've probably made every mistake you're trying to avoid, and I've built the systems and frameworks to help you navigate it all with confidence.

Here's what I want you to know: all those financial stumbles, the burnout cycles, and yes, even the repeated debt – they weren't failures. They were expensive lessons that shaped how I help creative firm owners today. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the financial side of your business, you're not alone. And more importantly, you don't have to figure it all out by yourself.

Why This Matters for Your Firm

Here's what I do differently now at Koddo & Co., applying all these hard-won lessons to help creative firm owners:

• We bring your numbers into focus with crystal clarity, instead of that vague "I think we're doing okay" feeling

• We look at the whole picture of your business, not just the day-to-day transactions

• We create systems that give you control and confidence, instead of anxiety and uncertainty

• We build a financial roadmap that leads to real business value, not just a better-paying job

• And most importantly, we do it all in a way that makes sense to creative minds

The entrepreneurial journey never really stops being a rollercoaster. But it does get easier when you have the right support and systems in place. These days, I can spot the warning signs of burnout before they become crises. I know when to seek advice instead of trying to figure everything out alone. And I've built a network of support that makes the hard days more manageable.

That's exactly what I want for you – the confidence that comes from truly understanding your business finances, the peace of mind of having enough cash in the bank, and the freedom to focus on what you do best.

Your Next Chapter

Ready to stop losing sleep over your firm's finances? Book a complimentary consultation to explore how we can help you build a more profitable, sustainable firm.

Your turn - what's your biggest challenge when it comes to the financial side of running your firm? Drop me a line. I'd love to hear your story.