In this episode, I interview Michelle Kvello, Managing Director and CFO of Lantern Partners based in Sydney, Australia. Michelle has set up her own CFO advisory business, working with founders and CEOs of startups and scale-ups by providing commercial and strategic financial advice to help them grow. From working on the corporate side of commercial finance for years, Michelle decided to leave the corporate world to pursue more exciting opportunities. She established Lantern Partners in 2011 and it has now been running for over 11 years. They grew 50% in revenue over the previous year with over 5 FTEs. Michelle has stated that building a small business involves discipline as well as adaptability. So she says, “In every business, some key things make a difference. And so you need to know what they are. And then once you identify what they are, work out how you measure them.” This Cast Covers: Running a virtual CFO advisory business that provides commercial and strategic financial advice. Trained with PwC back in the UK many years ago. Grew 30% in revenue in the last year and 50% in the previous year Giving creative employment opportunities to amazing, talented, intelligent, ambitious women underserved in traditional corporate roles Works with her whole team flexibly, both in terms of time and location, and 80% female staffed. One of the Top 50 women in Accounting and Top 50 Small Business Leaders. Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of in-person and virtual communication. Sharing the significance of making your team members feel like they are a part of and valuable to the team. The importance of mutual respect between the client and the firm serving. Investing time in relationship building. Links: Michelle’s LinkedIn Michelle’s Instagram Additional Resources: Lantern Partners The Mindful High Performer by Chelsea Pottenger     Quotes: “People just need to get creative, and they need to figure out better, quicker, smarter ways of doing things.” —Michelle Kvello “The business that you start on day one doesn't necessarily look like the business in a year, two years, five years, or 10.” —Michelle Kvello “One of the massive benefits in starting your own business is that you can shape both the business and the people you bring into that business.” —Michelle Kvello “There must be a rethinking about how we work.” —Michelle Kvello “There has to be something that brings us all together and makes us feel like a team.” —Michelle Kvello     Music from https://filmmusic.io “Cold Funk” by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0