03. From Recession to Resilience: Kathryn O’Neil’s Journey to Building a Thriving Bookkeeping Business

In this episode of Founders and Friends, we’re joined by Kathryn O'Neil, a virtual CFO and bookkeeper who’s on a mission to help interior designers ditch the spreadsheets and build thriving, profitable businesses.With a degree in architecture and a promising career at a design firm, our guest never imagined pivoting to finance until the 2008 recession hit. After being laid off and watching her firm close its doors, she found herself rethinking everything. What followed was a bold move back to school for an MBA, a shift toward entrepreneurship, and ultimately, the creation of a virtual bookkeeping business specifically tailored to interior designers.Now, with over a decade of experience, a QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification, and a deep understanding of the design industry, she’s known as the go-to “bookkeeping fairy godmother” for creatives. In this episode, she shares how her unexpected career path led her to support designers in understanding their numbers, streamlining their systems, and making smarter business decisions. She dives into how giving birth to her daughter really fueled her to stay dedicated to her business. We also talk about what designers often get wrong about their finances, the difference between a bookkeeper and a CFO, and why tracking your profitability is more empowering than intimidating.If you've ever felt overwhelmed by receipts, spreadsheets, or the mystery of your profit margins—this episode is for you.You can find Kathryn over at https://www.thedesignerscfo.com/This Episode was brought to you by Vetted by Design If you are looking to outsource anything in your design business check out Vetted by Design to find some amazing highly vetted pros you can trust to help you grow your business. www.vetted-bydesign.comhttps://www.instagram.com/vettedbydesign/Connect with all things Founders & Friendshttps://www.instagram.com/foundersandfriendspod/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1706365610291273