From CFO to Venue Owner with Nadia S. Anderson of Lavender Hill

Ep 126: From CFO to Venue Owner with Nadia S. Anderson of Lavender Hill Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 What do you do when you buy the building, follow every rule they gave you, and then they change the rules?

Nadia S. Anderson left her CFO job at lunch one day and never went back.

Ten years later she runs Virginia Grace Event Management and owns Lavender Hill, a 1934 brick colonial in Richmond she turned into an event venue with garden grounds and a coworking space. She's fighting her city right now over whether she's allowed to gather people outside on her own property.

What We Talk About Why she walked out that day, and what she heard that made it feel like permission rather than quitting How a cake decorating class turned into catering, then event planning, then a building Where the name Lavender Hill comes from, and what Black excellence and everyday luxury mean to her The unexpected turn: she spent $3,000 on a fence and $600 restriping a parking lot to satisfy zoning rules that changed right after, and the fight she's in now started with one night of live music and a neighbor looking over the fence If you love second-act reinventions that don't skip the hard part, this episode is for you. Chapters: 00:08 - Introduction to the 31 Days of Black Business 03:58 - The Journey to Event Planning 09:38 - The Journey to Embracing Uncertainty 19:37 - Navigating Bureaucracy in Commercial Real Estate 23:46 - Creating a Cozy Coworking Space 35:23 - The Challenges of Zoning and Community Gatherings 37:55 - The Importance of Community Spaces 44:18 - Navigating Entrepreneurship Challenges 🎉 Two anniversaries.

Virginia Grace turned ten in December, and Lavender Hill turned five in June. Nadia has commemorative merchandise and a social membership in the works.

Sign up for her newsletter to catch the details as they drop. All about Nadia S.

Anderson You're gonna love Nadia — she's a calm problem solver with a taste for everyday luxury. Equal parts creative and analytical, she's a CPA who provides comfortable space for folks to celebrate and collaborate with ease.

Beyond Virginia Grace and Lavender Hill, she shares her accounting and management expertise with small business owners through The Anderson Accounting and Advising Group. She's a champion for Black-owned businesses, and she says she's noseyAF too.

Things We Mentioned Lavender Hill Virginia Grace Event Management The Anderson Accounting and Advising Group Support Nadia's legal fees Boomerang (1993) , and Eartha Kitt's Lavender Hill Beats and Blockbusters, her outdoor music and movie series 🙋🏾‍♀️ Nadia is looking for a land use attorney in Virginia. If that's you or someone in your network, reach out to her or email me at stephanie@ and I'll connect you.

This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Nadia S.

Anderson IG: @experiencelavenderhill Website: Experience Lavender Hill Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: stephanie@ Follow on IG: @stephaniegraham Listen to more episodes: Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported ; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick