Business coach for quiet founders
About
Hello, I’m Tessa
Coach, former operations lead, podcast host and firm believer that a small, quiet business can pay very well indeed.
Two 1:1 places open for January
Small is a fine size, Numbers are kind, Rest is part of the work, Quiet can sell
The short version
For twelve years I ran operations for a design studio that grew from six people to sixty. I loved the puzzle of it and I was good at it. I was also the last one to leave most evenings.
In 2019 I left to work for myself, from a desk under the stairs in Asheville. Within a year I had plenty of clients and almost no margin, in money or in time. I had rebuilt my old job with a smaller paycheck.
So I did for myself what I had always done for others: I looked at the numbers, cut what wasn’t working and priced the rest properly. Friends started asking how. That is still the work I do, and I can’t imagine a better one.
My story so far
2007
Operations lead
Learning how a good business runs behind the scenes.
2019
Out on my own
A desk under the stairs and far too many yeses.
2020
The enough number
The sum that changed how I price everything.
2021
Fieldnote begins
Coaching women to run calmer, better-paid businesses.
Today
300+ women coached
Plus a podcast, a course and a long table.
What I believe
Small is a fine size
You don’t have to want a team of twenty. A business of one can be the whole ambition.
Numbers are kind
They tell you the truth without judging you, and they make hard decisions simpler.
Rest is part of the work
A business that needs you every waking hour isn’t finished being designed.
Quiet can sell
You can be found and well paid without becoming louder than you are.
A few things worth knowing
- I drink my coffee black and my tea far too strong.
- I walk the same river trail most mornings with Juno, a very slow spaniel.
- I keep a paper diary and I’m not sorry.
- I bake one good sourdough loaf and no others.
- I’ve reread Mary Oliver’s essays more times than I can count.
- I answer every message myself.
The credentials
- Certified coach, trained through an accredited program
- Twelve years leading operations for a design studio
- 300+ women coached since 2020
- Guest on 40+ small-business podcasts
A free guide
Find your enough number in one quiet hour
The same worksheet I use with private clients to work out what their business truly needs to earn, spot the offers that cost more than they bring in and set prices they can say without flinching.
- A ten-minute money snapshot
- The enough-number worksheet
- A script for your first price rise
- A one-page ninety-day plan
Shall we have a quiet word?
Book a free 20-minute call. Tell me where things stand and where you’d like them to be, and I’ll tell you honestly whether I can help. No pressure and no pitch.