Business Manager

South Loop Loft is seeking a highly organized, business-minded Business Manager to help build the structure, accountability, and operational discipline required to support our next phase of growth.

This role sits at the intersection of operations, finance, project management, and business administration. The ideal candidate is a proactive problem-solver who enjoys bringing clarity to complexity, creating structure where none exists, and ensuring important work moves from idea to execution.

The Business Manager will work closely with ownership and department leaders to improve operational workflows, establish meaningful reporting and accountability, coordinate cross-functional initiatives, support financial and administrative functions, and drive execution across a wide range of business priorities.

Success in this role will be measured not by the completion of individual tasks, but by the organization's ability to operate with greater visibility, accountability, efficiency, and follow-through. This individual will help ensure that inventory moves efficiently through the business, projects remain on track, financial and administrative responsibilities are proactively managed, and leadership can focus on growth, relationships, and the long-term direction of the company.

This is an ideal role for someone who naturally identifies bottlenecks, asks thoughtful questions, creates order from ambiguity, and enjoys building systems and processes that help a growing business operate more effectively.

This role is Chicago, IL based, without exception.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Management and Administrative Oversight

• Own day-to-day bookkeeping functions, including accounts payable, bank reconciliations, credit card reconciliations, and financial record maintenance.

• Coordinate payroll administration, 401(k) administration, and employee benefits-related activities.

• Prepare monthly financial reporting packages, cash flow visibility reports, and management summaries.

• Coordinate with external accountants, tax advisors, banking partners, attorneys, insurance providers, and financial advisors.

• Manage relationships with key external financial partners, including banking institutions, wealth management advisors, tax professionals, and lending partners.

• Support loan reporting requirements, banking requests, and financial documentation needed for financing activities.

• Monitor restoration and production costs, identifying projects that are materially exceeding budget, timeline, or expected profitability.

• Maintain bookkeeping and administrative oversight for affiliated entities, including 1750 Springfield LLC.

• Negotiate and manage select vendor relationships and recurring service contracts, including telecommunications, utilities, and operational service providers.

• Assist ownership with business-related administrative matters, special projects, and personal business management needs as appropriate. 
  

Ownership and Executive Support

• Assist ownership with business-related administrative matters, confidential financial coordination, special requests, and personal business management needs as appropriate.

• Track important commitments, renewals, filings, decisions, and follow-up items that require ownership attention.

• Prepare concise analyses, recommendations, summaries, and supporting documentation to help ownership make informed decisions.

• Serve as a trusted point of coordination among ownership, advisors, lenders, attorneys, insurers, and other external partners.

• Exercise sound judgment regarding what can be resolved independently and what requires ownership direction or approval.

Building Property and Vendor Management

• Provide administrative oversight for 1750 Springfield and other company-occupied properties, maintaining visibility into recurring obligations, service needs, contracts, and material risks.

• Manage select recurring vendor relationships and service contracts, including utilities, telecommunications, security, waste, maintenance, insurance-related providers, and other building services.

• Solicit and compare proposals, clarify scopes of work, negotiate commercial terms, monitor renewals, and confirm that invoices align with approved work and contract terms.

• Coordinate building access, vendor scheduling, certificates of insurance, warranties, permits, service documentation, and completion follow-up when required.

• Maintain clear records of contracts, service history, key contacts, renewal dates, warranties, and building-related documentation.

• Track budgets, commitments, timelines, and open decisions for construction, repairs, capital improvements, and showroom-development projects.

• Escalate building, vendor, safety, insurance, or compliance issues that present meaningful financial or operational risk.

Project Management and Special Initiatives

• Lead defined, high-priority business initiatives from concept through completion when the work spans multiple stakeholders or lacks a natural owner.

• Develop practical project plans with clear scope, decisions, responsibilities, timelines, budgets, dependencies, and completion criteria.

• Coordinate major company projects, including showroom development, expansion initiatives, financing activities, property projects, and other ownership priorities.

• Provide clear, concise project reporting that identifies progress, upcoming decisions, budget implications, risks, and items requiring leadership action.

• Assist with international logistics, import or export considerations, regulatory requirements, and related administrative matters when they arise within a defined project.

• Close projects deliberately by confirming deliverables, resolving outstanding financial or contractual matters, and preserving relevant documentation.

• Support department leaders on discrete initiatives without assuming ownership of their routine departmental workflows.

• Serve as the primary coordinator for complex initiatives that span multiple departments and do not have a natural owner.

People Management and Leadership

• Establish clear performance expectations, goals, and accountability measures for direct reports and operational teams.

• Conduct regular performance conversations, quarterly check-ins, and annual reviews, providing timely feedback and coaching to support employee growth and performance.

• Manage performance issues proactively, including corrective feedback, performance improvement plans, compensation recommendations, and bonus administration.

• Partner with leadership on hiring, succession planning, and workforce planning, helping identify, recruit, and develop talent needed to support the company's growth.

Questions the Business Manager Must Own

Financial Stewardship

• Are the books current, accurate, reconciled, and ready for management and advisor review?

• Do ownership and leadership have sufficient visibility into cash, upcoming obligations, and material variances?

• Which expenses, projects, or contracts are materially exceeding expectations?

• Where are we experiencing margin leakage or avoidable recurring costs?

• What financial, tax, insurance, banking, or compliance risks require attention?

• Are affiliated entities receiving appropriate bookkeeping, administrative support, and reporting?

Building and Vendor Oversight

• Are building obligations, service contracts, renewals, warranties, and documentation current and organized?

• Are vendors performing against agreed scope, timing, service levels, and pricing?

• Which contracts should be renegotiated, rebid, consolidated, or discontinued?

• Are building repairs and capital projects proceeding within approved budget and schedule?

• What property, safety, insurance, or compliance issues require ownership attention?

Special Projects

• Is the project's scope clear, and is the intended outcome defined?

• Who owns each decision and deliverable?

• What must happen next, by whom, and by when?

• Which dependencies, risks, budget pressures, or unresolved decisions could delay completion?

• What requires ownership involvement, and what can be resolved independently?

• Has the initiative been fully completed and administratively closed?

People Leadership

• Do direct reports understand what is expected of them and how performance will be evaluated?

• Are performance issues being addressed promptly, clearly, and consistently?

• Are strong performers receiving useful feedback, development, and recognition?

Ownership and Administrative Support

• What commitments, filings, renewals, or decisions require ownership attention?

• Are external advisors and partners receiving complete and timely information?

• What can be taken off ownership's plate without compromising necessary visibility or control?

Ideal Candidate

• Demonstrates hands-on experience with bookkeeping, reconciliations, accounts payable, payroll coordination, cash reporting, and monthly financial packages, together with the judgment to translate that activity into useful information for ownership.

• Experience managing vendors, service contracts, property matters, construction administration, facilities, or capital projects involving multiple stakeholders, budgets, timelines, and decisions.

• Credible people manager with experience setting expectations, coaching employees, conducting reviews, and addressing performance issues.

• Highly organized, discreet, and trustworthy, with the ability to maintain accurate records and handle confidential matters across multiple entities, advisors, vendors, properties, and projects.

• Practical and resourceful, with strong judgment about when to act independently and when to escalate.

• Clear communicator who can work effectively with ownership, employees, contractors, advisors, and financial partners.

• Comfortable in a founder-led small business where priorities may shift but accuracy, accountability, and follow-through remain essential.

Bonus Experience

• Family office, high-net-worth business management, or confidential ownership support.

• Real estate, property management, facilities, construction, or capital-project administration.

• Multi-entity accounting or administrative oversight.

• Loan reporting, financing support, insurance coordination, or lender relationships.

• International business, customs, import or export, or regulatory coordination.

• Luxury goods, art, design, hospitality, showroom, or other high-touch client environments.

Perks and Benefits