By limiting her own role to creative visionary, Cheryl Stauffer freed up space for her firm to grow.

Most designers fall in love with the creative part first, then come to terms with the fact that design is a business too. Cheryl Stauffer was the opposite. “I knew that I wanted to be a business owner at age 12,” says the Columbus, Ohio–based designer. “It took me a while to figure out what it would be.”

After some retail experience in New York and an apprenticeship with another Ohio designer, Stauffer founded her own firm, Crimson Design, in 2003. From the start, she knew she wanted a big business. (Her ideal headcount at first? “I used to say 150 people, but I’ve changed a little.”) At the moment, she’s fielding a team of 20, with more hires on the horizon. But building a team wasn’t as simple as just hiring more people.