We work with leaders who run consultancies, advisory firms, and expert service businesses at a high level, but are tired of holding the entire business in their heads.
Where strategy, implementation, and support meet real life.
About Ilza & Co.
Let’s design a business that runs with you, not at your expense.
I’m Carina Lawson, the founder with an M.B.A., certified Director of Operations, accredited high-performance coach, and someone who’s spent more than 20 years helping organizations run with clarity and intention.
My focus is on helping ambitious women build businesses that feel calm, clear, and sustainable for the reality of their lives because productivity is personal, and we treat it that way.
Ilza & Co. was born from the tension so many women know well: wanting a meaningful career, wanting a fulfilling life, and refusing to choose between them.
My days were filled with complex projects, high expectations, and big decisions. Then I had premature twin daughters while working full-time with a constantly travelling husband.
Suddenly, the “productivity systems” I’d relied on for years collapsed under the weight of real life. I was managing multi-million-dollar initiatives and NICU appointments. Everyone had an opinion on how I should “balance it all.” None of those opinions were helpful.
In the middle of that season, I created my first business (a planner brand) from my children’s nursing chair because I couldn’t find a planning system that reflected the complexity of being both a high-achieving professional and a mother. That brand, Ponderlily, went on to be featured in places like Marie Claire, Forbes, Anthropologie, and Fenwick.
I grew up in Qatar from the age of nine, studied in the US and UK, and built a career in operations, bringing Ivy League institutions to the Gulf and later serving as an Associate Director of Operations at a major university.
It was a clarifying moment. Not because they were right, but because I realised the problem wasn’t women’s commitment, discipline, or ability. The problem was the way we were being taught to work.
Entrepreneurs weren’t failing, the way we were being taught to work was failing us.
The turning point came when, in the middle of juggling twins, a full-time role, and a growing business, someone told me I “wasn’t doing enough.”
Ilza & Co. was built as the alternative.
Calm creates clarity.
Your business shouldn’t depend on you running full capacity every day, nor should it quietly drain you. It’s why I do this work, and it’s why the women who work with me walk away feeling clearer, steadier, and more themselves.
There is promise in the pause.
Productivity is personal.
These principles anchor everything we do:
What we stand for at Ilza & Co.
I run a consulting practice that blends strategic clarity, operational design, and human-centered performance. My background draws from more than 20 years in business operations and process improvement, an M.B.A., Director of Operations certification, ICF coaching, high-performance training, and the experience of founding an award-winning stationery and lifestyle brand.
I see your business the way a COO would, by translating your vision into measurable priorities, identifying where your capacity cracks long before revenue does, and understanding which systems will actually support you in the season of life you’re in.
From there, we design what needs to exist, build it together, and make sure it fits the way you think, work, and live.
Strategic operations, built around how you actually work
A four-month, hands-on strategic engagement integrating strategy, implementation oversight, and leadership coaching.
The Momentum Partnership
– Dr. Suzy Cater, Messaging Expert
When we started working together, I was insanely overbooked and burning the candle at both ends trying to handle it all.
On my call with Carina, I remember thinking: “There is truly *no way* that she can fix this! There is no way that ANYONE can fix this!” Well, how very wrong I was! Not only was Carina a wealth of INCREDIBLY helpful knowledge about time management techniques and productivity, but she was able to create a new schedule that liberated me and — this is key! — also liberated my business by setting it up for incredible growth.
I stopped certain visibility activities and busy work that I realized weren’t bringing in any cash. I reworked my offers to focus only on the packages that were the most time efficient (which also turned out to be the ones that I most enjoy delivering to my clients!!) Scheduling things became so much easier. And I found myself with so much more time to spend with my family and on things that creatively nourish me. Carina is absolutely magical and a true expert at what she does.”
“There’s no other way to say it: Carina is a LIFESAVER when it comes to sifting through scheduling chaos and turning calendars into beautiful, ease-creating systems!
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