Scale to 50k+ months without burning out.
You've built your business to 20k+ months through talent and grit. But that same approach won't get you to 50k - and you know it.
You’re doing brilliant work.
Your clients love you and your revenue is consistent. But, if you’re honest, you now feel a little trapped.
You're doing too much of the client work yourself, your small team can't operate fully without you, new clients mainly come through referrals and despite working harder than ever, you’re not seeing it show up in your bank account.
What you really want is simple: a business that works without you doing everything.
You want clear finances that show you what's profitable, operations that run when you're not there, a team that delivers brilliantly and growth that doesn't depend on you scrambling for referrals.
In short, you want a business that scales to 50k months and beyond. Sustainably.
But here's the problem: you can't get to work on this until you understand exactly where to focus your efforts.
"What I really needed was someone that was able to look at my business and get really deep into the numbers and the structure and work with me from an accountability point of view, but also work with me on what I needed to do from the big goals, but also into those details and help me with some of it along the way.
“The last six months have been really transformative. We've changed a lot of how we approach our business and doubled our monthly revenue as a result. And just in general... I feel confident with the direction of the business and like I'm not fighting fires, that I can actually enjoy running the business again.
- Lucy Woolfenden, Founder - The Scale Up Collective
The Real Problem (That Nobody Talks About)
Generic advice will tell you to "hire more people" or "invest in marketing" or "build better systems."
But here's what they miss: you can't build the right systems until you understand what's actually driving profit.
Most business coaches will look at your revenue and say "you need more sales." I look at your P&L and see that your people cost percentage is at 68%, which means even if you doubled revenue tomorrow, you still wouldn't have the margin to scale. That changes everything about what you need to focus on.
This is the difference CFO-level financial insight makes.
You need to understand your business at a deeper level:
→ Which offers and clients are actually profitable (not just high revenue)
→ Where you genuinely add the most value (versus where you think you do)
→ What your team can realistically handle (and what support they actually need)
→ What growth model your numbers can sustain (not what looks good on paper)
Without this clarity, founders streamline the wrong things, hire for the wrong roles and invest in marketing that doesn't match their model.
They're guessing. And guessing costs time, money and energy you can't afford to waste.
That's where CFO-level financial insight meets operational expertise.
And that's exactly what I help founders with.
Hi, I'm Thea.
I've spent over a decade as a CFO for high-growth startups scaling into tens of millions. And I've built multiple businesses of my own, from restaurants to product brands.
Over the past few years, I've worked with over 200 founders stuck at exactly the same point you are, helping them pinpoint the right levers for growth.
Here's what I know:
The founders who break through from 25-30k to 50k+ months don't work harder. They get radically clear on their numbers, build systems around what actually works and extract themselves from doing everything.
A 50k/month business needs a completely different operating system to a 25k one.
And until you make some very specific shifts, you'll keep hitting the same ceiling - just with more stress.
That's why I created CALMM.
It combines CFO-level financial rigour with proven operational systems. So you know exactly what to build and how to build it, instead of guessing your way through growth.
Start Here: Free Resources
Why Visionary Founders Get Stuck at Six Figures
Understand the pattern that explains everything
There's a reason you can have all the ideas, all the drive, all the ambition - and still feel completely stuck. It's not a motivation problem. It's the Visionary-Operator Battle.
In this video, you'll learn:
Why effort stops equalling progress at this stage
The energy loop that drives every business
Why you can't hold both seats at once
Three simple ways to keep momentum moving
The One P&L Line That Shows You How to Scale
FREE GUIDE: A CFO's guide for service businesses with 2-6 people
Stop guessing where your business is broken. This guide shows you the single metric that reveals whether your model can support growth and exactly what to do about it.
You'll learn:
How to calculate your people cost percentage
Why the trend matters more than the number
The five forces quietly pushing your ratio up
How your time should be spent if you want to scale
Small structural shifts that make the biggest difference
The 5 Shifts You Need To Make To Scale To 50k+
Watch the full breakdown
If you're pulling in multiple six figures but growth has ground to a halt, this video's for you. I'll walk you through the five specific things that need to change before momentum comes back.
You'll discover:
The hidden pattern keeping you stuck
Why your current strategy stops working at this point
The shift most founders skip that sabotages the other four
How to move from overloaded operator to calm, scaling leader
Join My Newsletter: Faster. Slower.
Every week I share the operational and financial insights that help service founders scale sustainably.
No fluff. No hustle culture. Just practical advice on building a business that works.
Recent topics:
The one line in your P&L that shows you how to scale
Why visionary founders get stuck (and how to fix it)
How to know when you can actually afford to hire
Building systems around what actually makes money
The five shifts that unlock growth at six figures
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“Before working with Thea I really felt lost at sea. Now I feel in control - I know exactly what to do, it’s just up to me to execute.”
Pete, Founder
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“We've achieved so much in just a few months — having purpose, direction and actually moving the needle has been a game changer.”
Anshu, Co-Founder: DabbaDrop
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“Thea combines mindset, strategy and complex financials in a way I’ve never found before - she’s helped me grow with real clarity.”
Dr Tracy McCarthy, Founder: DTM
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“At a time when we were close to losing everything, Thea helped us strip back, refocus and rebuild a financially stable business.”
Sara, Founder: FRESH. Studios
Ready to scale to 50k+ months?
If you're done guessing and ready to build a business that actually works without you doing everything, let's talk.
My team and I work with a small number of founders at a time through my CALMM programme, combining CFO-level financial work with hands-on operational systems.
The CALMM Operating System helps you:
Create breathing room - time to think strategically, profit in the bank and mental clarity to make big decisions.
Get clear on where you're going - what the business should look like, what your role should be and the financial roadmap to get there.
Focus on what's working - double down on profitable work your team enjoys instead of saying yes to everything.
Build systems that protect quality - so delivery runs smoothly without everything depending on you.
Install rhythms that drive growth - weekly check-ins, quarterly planning and consistent business development.
Over 6 months, we support you in systematically shifting your business from founder-dependent to operationally sound, so you can scale to 50k+ months without burning out.
Insights
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The Hidden Maths Behind Every £250k+ Business
When was the last time you looked at your bank balance and felt genuinely confident about your business decisions?
If you're like most founders I work with, you're probably feeling uncertain about . . .
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Prioritise Your Health to Boost Business
Maintaining good health and well-being is paramount when running a business and yet so many business owners don’t prioritise it.
You’re not alone, buddy. But today, I want to highlight 7 key reasons why . . .
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8 Ways to Deal with Overwhelm
What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales. I know exactly how it feels.
That mammoth to-do list sitting in front of you can trigger anxiety, mental fog . . .