Client Story
Escaping the Stress Machine:
How TK Design Stopped Running on Gut Instinct
From a 3-person shop running on bank-balance forecasting to a 28-employee, nationally recognized, 100% employee-owned firm. Here’s how Todd and Katie Hallett built the business they actually wanted.
BPA in Action
● TK Design & Associates
Ask most owners of a small to medium sized building, remodeling, or trade company what they actually own, and they will tell you a business. Observe them for a week, and you will see the truth: they own a demanding job.
Most Builders Face This. Todd and Katie Lived It.
Todd and Katie Hallett started TK Design in 2004 after the owners of their previous building company sold the business in anticipation of a recession. The culture shifted, they felt they could no longer put their hearts into it, and they bet on themselves. Katie, a real estate broker and former VP of Sales, managed operations. Todd, an AIA-credentialed architect known for his “Lean Design” methodology, drove the creative process.
For roughly seven or eight years, TK Design operated as a three-person team running largely on intuition. No reliable metrics. No org chart. Forecasting meant monitoring the bank balance and anticipating near-term revenue. Todd was the bottleneck for design. Katie managed everything else.
The business could only function when both founders were actively pushing it forward. They were surviving, but they were also the limiting factor. The company could not scale because the founders themselves were the constraint.
Todd never even considered that his business shouldn’t be a job. That’s the industry default — and it’s the default most operators never question until something forces them to.
SBGP, the BPA, and What Actually Changed
The Halletts discovered Small Business Growth Partners through their Home Builders Association. They completed the Business Planning Assessment (BPA), which provided a foundational blueprint. But the behavioral change stemmed from their coaching relationship with Carolyn Turner.
SBGP conducts a full review of your current operating structure and builds a step-by-step 12-month plan across Operations and Processes, so you can stop functioning as the primary bottleneck and start predicting your cash flow and capacity proactively.
Measurable Organizational Changes
The transformation was not limited to revenue growth. It involved developing a structure that elevated a local operation into a national firm recognized as the 2025 HBA Architecture Firm of the Year.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Team | ~3 people for 7+ years | ~28 employees with deep leadership bench |
| Revenue | Flat, gut-instinct growth | Tripled with improved profit margins |
| Operating Model | Reactive, founder-dependent | Predictive cash & workload forecasting |
| Founders’ Roles | Daily workers: design + operations | CEO and COO with trained team |
| Culture | Informal, unstated | Defined, collaborative, team-centric |
| Exit Strategy | None in sight | 100% ESOP (Oct 2025) |
Scaling a creative firm is notoriously difficult. Clients expect the founder’s personal work. SBGP helped TK Design recruit and train specialized talent so the founders could elevate into executive roles. The primary product is no longer tied exclusively to the owner’s personal output.
According to Katie, refining the overarching strategic vision and internal culture drove their most significant operational gains. Establishing clear values provided direction, ensuring every team member understood the company’s trajectory.
100% Employee-Owned
In October 2025, TK Design officially became 100% employee-owned through an ESOP. This was made possible by establishing clean financials, a strong leadership team, and operational systems that function independently of the founders.
“Because our people are the foundation of the business, the employees ultimately became the owners.”
“This transition has supercharged our partnership with the team. Everyone now holds a direct stake in the company’s success.”
The concept of an exit strategy evolved from impossible to inevitable during their early forecasting sessions. The operational transformation also provided more than financial growth — it yielded time. The founders regained the ability to lead strategically and enjoy more personal time with their family.
From Stress Machine to Strategic Asset
For owners of $1M–$10M building, remodeling, or trade companies acting as the primary bottleneck, TK Design’s trajectory serves as a proven template.
Todd highly recommends this process, emphasizing that the Business Planning Assessment is the critical first step to getting out of the stress machine.
To build a true business rather than a demanding job, owners must replace daily firefighting with predictive systems and a capable leadership bench.
A BPA from SBGP is a 30+ page, step-by-step 12-month plan built specifically around your operation. If you are pulled into daily firefighting instead of driving the business forward, a BPA will identify your specific operational bottlenecks and outline the exact hires and processes needed to replace your constant presence. DISC Profile and Motivational Assessments for you and up to five members of your management team included.
✓ Operations
✓ Finance & Tracking
✓ People & Role Clarity
TK Design & Associates, Inc. · 2025 HBA Architecture Firm of the Year
Client Story
SBGP
