Creative Strategy + Business Consulting in New York + Beyond
A clear direction. A practical plan. A partner in making it happen.
UPSTATE NEW YORK · HUDSON VALLEY · CAPITAL REGION · NEW YORK CITY · BEYOND
We help businesses, nonprofits, and creative organizations develop ideas, work through challenges, and build the structure to move forward.
From a new hospitality concept to an established community organization, we bring creative thinking, operational experience, and hands-on support to the work of building something meaningful.
IDEAS NEED SOMEWHERE TO GO. Let’s figure out what comes next.
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WIGGLE ON MAIN
Hospitality operations, customer experience, website design, and business support.
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FUTURE OF SMALL CITIES INSTITUTE
Strategic guidance, project coordination, communications design, and event support.
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DOWNTOWN TROY
Business engagement, community initiatives, marketing, and public programming through Katie’s six years leading the Downtown Troy BID.
You can see the possibility. The path might need some work.
Maybe you’re opening a business, reconsidering how an organization operates, trying to make a space financially and practically viable, bringing people together around a community initiative or carrying so many daily responsibilities that the bigger picture keeps getting pushed aside.
Sometimes the next step is a focused conversation. Sometimes it takes research, a plan, a new system, or someone who can take responsibility for moving a project forward. We begin by understanding what you’re building, who it serves, and what’s getting in the way. Then we shape the support around the work.
HOW WE THINK. Consider the whole picture.
WORK WITH US. Support shaped around what you need.
WHAT WE DO. From the bigger question to the working details.
YOUR STRATEGIC + CREATIVE PARTNER
Hi, I'm Katie.
I’ve built businesses, led a downtown organization, helped establish an independent record label, produced public events, and worked alongside founders trying to turn an idea into something they could sustain.
During six years as Executive Director of the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District, my work brought together small business support, economic development, marketing, events, beautification, and public-space initiatives.
Today, I’m the founder of Second House and co-owner of The Maples Estate, where business development, design, hospitality, and operations meet every day.
These experiences shape how I work: listening closely, understanding the relationships involved, asking practical questions, and helping people move from possibility to action.
DOWNTOWN TROY BID · THE MAPLES ESTATE · SECOND HOUSE · EMPAC AT RPI · THE PALACE THEATRE
HI, I’m Louis
Project Management + Operations
Louis brings experience in complex project management, facilities, infrastructure, and venue operations. His work spans multidisciplinary teams, project delivery, contractor coordination, and the practical demands of keeping properties and businesses running.
Within Second House, he contributes operational thinking and project support where the scope calls for it, helping connect plans with the resources, systems, and coordination needed to carry them out.
FROM QUESTION TO ACTION. How we move forward.
"Katie helped us articulate short term and long term goals, strategic challenges, potential paths forwards and also connected us to a rich framework of partner organizers. Can't recommend her enough as a consultant and brand strategist."
– Reif Larsen, Author and Founder of The Future of Small Cities Institute
Frequently Asked Questions
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We work with small businesses, hospitality and venue owners, creative founders, nonprofits, and community organizations. Projects can involve launching something new, improving how an existing organization functions, or leading a specific initiative.
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Both. Some engagements focus on research, strategy, and a practical action plan. Others include developing systems, creating materials, coordinating partners, or managing implementation. We establish those responsibilities together at the beginning.
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Consulting focuses on an agreed business challenge or project and can include research, deliverables, and hands-on implementation.
Coaching gives you dedicated space to work through questions, make decisions, and develop your own direction with experienced guidance. If you’re looking primarily for a sounding board and ongoing individual support, explore our coaching services.
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Yes. We can collaborate with founders, staff, boards, committees, and outside partners. We begin by clarifying our role, how decisions will be made, and how we’ll communicate throughout the project.
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No. You can come with a defined project or a situation you’re still trying to understand. Our first conversation helps identify where support could be useful and whether we’re the right fit.
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Consulting engagements are scoped around the work involved, the timeline, and the level of support required. Following an initial conversation, we develop a proposal outlining responsibilities, deliverables, and investment.
CONNECTING THE WORK
A business challenge might lead to a new website, a different use of space, or a public experience that brings people together. Our work can extend into brand and website design, interiors, and event production, with a coordinated scope built around what your project needs.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING TOWARD?
A new business. A stronger organization. A more workable system. A community idea ready to take shape.
Let’s talk about where you are and what it will take to move forward.