Scrappy but Successful: Ep. 2 - The Decision That Moved Her From Scrappy Hustling To Value Advising with Michele Williams
- Jack Tompkins
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
I sit down with longtime friend Michele Williams, a two-time founder who proudly claims the scrappy side of the Scrappy But Successful spectrum, and then proceeds to prove it with stories that range from braiding hair for cash in middle school to accidentally losing money in her “dream job.”
Michele, founder of Scarlet Thread Consulting and Metrique Solutions, grew up in a blue-collar mill town where people didn’t hire experts, they figured things out themselves. That mindset shaped her entire career: if someone said “I love that,” she’d say “I’ll do it,” charge for it, and learn the rest along the way.
What makes this conversation hit home is Michele’s honest breakdown of the moment many business owners quietly fear, the realization that working harder doesn’t always mean making more. She shares how she went from pricing materials and ignoring her own labor, thinking, and expertise… to recognizing that thoughts are not free and spreadsheets alone won’t save you.
Along the way, she unpacks why “charge what you’re worth” is terrible advice, how businesses will happily take every ounce of your time if you let them, and why strategy and financials have to work together if you want profit and a life. It’s funny, grounded, and packed with perspective for anyone who’s ever said yes too quickly, undercharged too long, or wondered if there’s a smarter way to run the business without burning out.
What Comes Up When Consultants Talk Shop
How Michele’s scrappy upbringing shaped her instinct to figure it out first and charge later
The moment she realized she was losing money in her dream job and why it forced a major pricing shift
Why “charge what you’re worth” is bad advice (and what to focus on instead)
The hidden mistake most consultants make when pricing work that comes easily to them
How spreadsheets went from a helpful tool to a full-blown nightmare and sparked the creation of a SaaS platform
Why data for data’s sake is useless without a clear strategy and life goal behind it
How to stop letting your business consume all your time, energy, and attention
The importance of building a business that supports your life, not one you need to escape from
Why profitability, planning, and joy actually do belong in the same conversation
The Stories Behind the Success
Michele didn’t wake up one day and decide to be an entrepreneur. She just kept saying yes. Yes to braiding hair for cash in middle school. Yes to crafting, typing papers, making things people admired and didn’t know how to do themselves. That scrappy instinct followed her into adulthood, right into her first real business… where she slowly realized she was working nonstop and somehow still losing money.
One of the turning points came when she finally did the math and saw the truth she’d been avoiding: she was charging for materials, but not for her time, her labor, or the thinking required to deliver custom work. Her husband’s blunt observation—you’d be better off not working at all—forced a reckoning. Either the business had to change, or she had to walk away from it. That moment reshaped how she thought about pricing, value, and what it really means to run a sustainable business.
Another story that sticks is how her obsession with “getting the numbers right” led to a spreadsheet overload that no one could manage. What started as helpful tools for clients eventually became so complex they broke under their own weight, pushing Michele to do what she does best: see the gap and build a solution. That gap became Metrique, a forward-looking way to model decisions instead of just reacting to past numbers.
Woven through all of it is a theme consultants know well: business will take everything if you let it. Michele shares how she now flips the script, planning life first and building the business around it, because success without joy isn’t success at all. It’s a reminder that behind every “overnight success” is a series of scrappy decisions, uncomfortable realizations, and course corrections that finally make things click.
Scrappy Moves You Can Steal
Charge for the thinking, not just the doing
If the work feels easy to you, that’s a red flag, not a discount. Ease usually means experience, pattern recognition, and expertise. None of which are free. Price the outcome and the decision-making required to get there, not just the time or materials involved.
Decide what kind of life you’re building before you build the business
Put your personal non-negotiables on the calendar first. Family time, days off, creative space, then design the business around them. If you don’t set boundaries on purpose, your business will happily take everything you give it.
Stop drowning in data and pick the numbers that actually matter
More spreadsheets won’t create clarity. Choose a small set of KPIs that directly support where you’re trying to go next, not just where you’ve been. Numbers are only useful when they drive decisions.
If your tools are fighting you, it’s time to rethink the system
When tracking finances or pricing feels heavy, confusing, or exhausting, don’t push harder, simplify. Scrappy entrepreneurs don’t just work harder; they build or find better systems that make smart decisions easier and faster.
Let’s Look At The Data
One of the biggest data moments in this conversation comes when Michele flips the way most people think about numbers on its head. Financial reports don’t exist to make you feel behind or overwhelmed. They exist to help you decide what to do next. A profit and loss statement isn’t a scorecard for self-judgment; it’s a record of past decisions. And if you’re only looking backward, you’re always late.
Michele breaks down why data without strategy is just noise. If you don’t know where you’re trying to go, hire, scale, slow down, protect your time, increase profit. No dashboard or spreadsheet will give you clarity. The real power comes from using numbers to model decisions before you make them: What happens if I hire now? What if I wait? What if I raise prices instead? That shift—from tracking data to using data—is what allows business owners to stop guessing, stop overworking, and start making confident, forward-looking decisions that support both profit and life.
About Michele Williams
Michele Williams is the visionary owner of Scarlet Thread Consulting and Metrique Solutions, two companies dedicated to empowering creative professionals, especially interior designers, workrooms, and window covering specialists, to thrive as business owners. With a sharp eye for detail and a passion for innovation, Michele has built a reputation as a trusted advisor who helps design entrepreneurs navigate the financial and operational complexities of running a business.
At Scarlet Thread Consulting, Michele leverages her deep expertise in finance and business strategy to provide tailored coaching and mentoring. Her focus on financial clarity and operational efficiency equips clients to make confident, data-driven decisions that fuel sustainable growth.
Through Metrique Solutions, Michele bridges technology and consultancy, offering software tools designed specifically for small business owners. By harnessing financial metrics and data analysis, she enables clients to refine pricing strategies, strengthen profitability, and build resilient businesses.
Recognized as both a thought leader and advocate in the design community, Michele is known for her commitment to excellence and her unwavering support of her clients. Her work not only transforms businesses but also sparks creativity, confidence and long-term success, making her an indispensable guide for design professionals who are ready to elevate their businesses.
Websites:
Follower her on IG - @scarletthreadatl, @Metrique Solutions
Find her on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-williams-business-coach/
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