From CFO to Venue Owner with Nadia S. Anderson of Lavender Hill

Ep 126: From CFO to Venue Owner with Nadia S. Anderson of Lavender HillPart of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤What do you do when you buy the building, follow every rule they gave you, and then they change the rules?Nadia S. Anderson left her CFO job at lunch one day and never went back. Ten years later she runs Virginia Grace Event Management and owns Lavender Hill, a 1934 brick colonial in Richmond she turned into an event venue with garden grounds and a coworking space. She's fighting her city right now over whether she's allowed to gather people outside on her own property.What We Talk AboutWhy she walked out that day, and what she heard that made it feel like permission rather than quittingHow a cake decorating class turned into catering, then event planning, then a buildingWhere the name Lavender Hill comes from, and what Black excellence and everyday luxury mean to herThe unexpected turn: she spent $3,000 on a fence and $600 restriping a parking lot to satisfy zoning rules that changed right after, and the fight she's in now started with one night of live music and a neighbor looking over the fenceIf you love second-act reinventions that don't skip the hard part, this episode is for you.Chapters:00:08 - Introduction to the 31 Days of Black Business03:58 - The Journey to Event Planning09:38 - The Journey to Embracing Uncertainty19:37 - Navigating Bureaucracy in Commercial Real Estate23:46 - Creating a Cozy Coworking Space35:23 - The Challenges of Zoning and Community Gatherings37:55 - The Importance of Community Spaces44:18 - Navigating Entrepreneurship Challenges🎉 Two anniversaries. Virginia Grace turned ten in December, and Lavender Hill turned five in June. Nadia has commemorative merchandise and a social membership in the works. Sign up for her newsletter to catch the details as they drop.All about Nadia S. AndersonYou're gonna love Nadia — she's a calm problem solver with a taste for everyday luxury. Equal parts creative and analytical, she's a CPA who provides comfortable space for folks to celebrate and collaborate with ease. Beyond Virginia Grace and Lavender Hill, she shares her accounting and management expertise with small business owners through The Anderson Accounting and Advising Group. She's a champion for Black-owned businesses, and she says she's noseyAF too.Things We MentionedLavender HillVirginia Grace Event ManagementThe Anderson Accounting and Advising GroupSupport Nadia's legal feesBoomerang (1993), and Eartha Kitt's Lavender HillBeats and Blockbusters, her outdoor music and movie series🙋🏾‍♀️ Nadia is looking for a land use attorney in Virginia. If that's you or someone in your network, reach out to her or email me at [email protected] and I'll connect you.This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤Connect with Nadia S. AndersonIG: @experiencelavenderhillWebsite: Experience Lavender HillStay Connected📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it freeMore ways to connectEmail: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.comSupport & FeedbacknoseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾⭐ Rate & Review the Show📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear thisEpisode CreditsProduced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie GrahamLyrics: Queen LexInstrumental: Freddie Bam FamCover Art: Emma McGoldrick