From a founder-led studio to a business built to grow.
Ann McGuire Studio · Operational transformation
Ann McGuire Studio had outgrown the systems supporting it. Unconventional Organisation stepped in to build the operational infrastructure, team capacity and processes needed for the next stage of growth.
Client
Ann McGuire Studio
Location
Northeast Pennsylvania
Location
Northeast Pennsylvania
Our role
Fractional COO
At A Glance
Worked with: Louis Vuitton, Victoria Hagan, William Soffield, and numerous celebrity and commercial clients.
Engagement: Fractional COO for founders with ADHD traits
Delivered by: Unconventional Organization co-founders Skye and Robert Waterson
Ann specializes in creating a mood a client wants to live inside and has been known to hand draw a map onto a wall when asked.
We started working together because demand was piling up for her work and Ann felt like the only one that could get it done. The tasks of building systems that could grow the studio and create a legacy were getting lost in the day-to-day deadlines of delivery work.
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“My methods are already breaking at the seams."
“I have a fear that I will just expand the chaos as opposed to building this amazing thing built on really strong building blocks."
Identifying The Gaps
We started by mapping the studio end to end from acquisition to referrals to identify the bottlenecks.
We love creating these maps because they create a shared language. And for Ann underneath the beautiful work, there was a missing operational spine. Here’s how it showed up:
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No sample inventory. Stock levels lived in Ann's head and on her shelves
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Designer contacts spread across spreadsheets, Instagram chats and a personal Notion space.
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Custom color work quoted from scratch every time.
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Only 70 percent of the collection live on the website
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No systems written out to hand to an assistant
Nothing here is unusual for clients who start working with us. It’s exactly what happens when the person doing the work is also the person holding the process, with no time to stabilize.
"I have a friend of mine, she and I are going to be accountability partners which I'm very excited about. But I feel like, I kind of need more than that, and I do need a bird's eye view of the business."
Building Clarity
What Unconventional Organisation Project Managed in The First Four Months.
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Built the sample system in Notion
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Built the designer pipeline in Notion
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Saved time with a personalized Excel estimate calculator
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Managing hiring Studio Assistant
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Managed brand development
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"I'm not just making beautiful things anymore. I'm now making a growing company that needs to make sense not only to me but to others who I will rely on to expand."
The Journey So Far:
June: Feeling overwhelmed. Five designers waiting on samples, a map project eating five-plus days, saying yes to custom work in the moment and then losing whole days to it.
Early July: Sharing systems surfaces limits. Ann said the previous two weeks were confronting as she recognised how complicated her workflows were as her new team had to depend on them as well. She starts to recognise internal perfectionism and describes working with Unconventional Organisation as feeling supercharged internally.
Mid July: Turning point. Ann says she’s felt less overwhelmed and the systems are starting to feel manageable, with about three days of setup work left. She has sent a full sample package following the process end to end.
August (now): Ann is able to start looking forward. She’s working with Skye to map a 25-year vision for Ann McGuire Studio’s and the Buck Hill collection structure rather than firefighting. We’ve hired a new designer who’s highly skilled and easy to onboard. Ann has gone from never connecting on Instagram to confidently connecting with designers and receiving positive replies for samples.
"There's like a weight lifted from my shoulders. I don't really understand yet what it is. But it's allowing me the freedom to do my business the way I want to do it, not the way I'm feeling like I'm always underwater."
"I think clients are going to look at me now and be like, wow, she's really got it together." ​​
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​Ann McGuire is an Unconventional Organization Client and appears here with her permission.
"There's like a weight lifted from my shoulders. I don't really understand yet what it is. But it's allowing me the freedom to do my business the way I want to do it, not the way I'm feeling like I'm always underwater."
"I think clients are going to look at me now and be like, wow, she's really got it together." ​​
​
​Ann McGuire is an Unconventional Organization Client and appears here with her permission.
You Can Become
a Focused, Stategic Leader
Focused Balanced Growth is built for CEOs, founders, and directors who are burning themselves out on a business that should feel easier by now and are ready to get clear on exactly what's blocking growth so they can scale with architecture built for their unconventional brains.
Created by Skye Waterson and used by hundreds service business owners globally.
Neuroscience-Backed Strategy
We translate cutting-edge ADHD and cognitive research into field-tested business frameworks, so you’re not guessing what to fix first; you’re rebuilding what actually matters.
Exclusive Operator Community
Join a high-level circle of unconventional founders who are already making it work, just like you. Think, share, and grow in a room where your brain is an advantage, not an obstacle. Limited spaces available.
Custom Architecture for Your Business and Brain
We map and rebuild the decision flows and operating systems for your specific business. The kind that makes you say, “Now I can finally see what's been holding me back.”
Stategic Consulting, Always Included
Work directly with operator strategist and ADHD researcher Skye Waterson to rebuild clarity, decision architecture, and execution systems without burning yourself out doing it.
ADHD Entrepreneurship
How to leverage ADHD traits to build a successful business
The ADHD advantage in innovation and creative problem-solving
Turning hyperfocus into a strategic business asset
Turning hyperfocus into a strategic business asset
From Burnout to Sustainable Success
Breaking the cycle of overwhelm and exhaustion
Why ADHD entrepreneurs are especially vulnerable to burnout
Recognizing the warning signs before you crash
Creating rhythms of work and rest that support long-term success
Focus Systems for Neurodivergent Minds
Practical strategies that work with your brain, not against it
Beyond traditional productivity advice that fails ADHD entrepreneurs
Creating environments that minimize distractions and maximize focus
The science of dopamine and motivation in the ADHD brain
ADHD-Friendly Goal Setting
Achievement strategies that actually work for neurodivergent minds
Why traditional goal-setting advice often fails for ADHD entrepreneurs
The connection between immediate rewards and long-term achievement
Creating systems that make progress inevitable, even on low-motivation days
The Result
A business with more capacity beyond the founder.
Systems
Operational knowledge moved out of Ann's head and into repeatable systems.
Capacity
The studio could handle work without every decision returning to Ann.
Team
New people could be brought into the business with clearer processes to follow.
Growth
Ann could spend more time thinking about where the business was going rather than keeping it afloat.