Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different from hiring a full-time COO?

A: Cost: Fractional COO v Full-time COO salary + benefits full-time. Time: Start in 1-2 week vs. 3-6 month recruitment process. Risk: Zero hiring risk vs. 30% chance of bad hire costing 12-18 months. Flexibility: Month-to-month after 3 months vs. permanent commitment.

Q: What if we're not ready for a full engagement?

A: Start with an Assessment. In 5 days, you'll know exactly what's holding you back and the ROI potential. No obligation to continue. Many clients start here to de-risk the decision.

Q: What if we already have operations managers?

A: Great! We work with and coach your existing operations team. We're not replacing them—we're building their capability and giving them frameworks, tools, and support to succeed. Many clients have ops managers who are overwhelmed or lack strategic guidance.

Q: How do you measure success?

A: We track operational maturity scores, founder/partner time freed up, cross-functional collaboration scores, process adoption rates, and financial impact (cost savings, revenue recovered).

Q: What happens after the engagement ends?

A: You have working operational systems and a trained team who owns them. You're not dependent on us. Some clients transition to a light advisory retainer but it's optional, not required.

Q: Do you implement specific software or tools?

A: We're tool-agnostic. We work with your existing stack where possible and recommend light automation where appropriate. We're not software implementers—we're operational strategists who use technology thoughtfully, not for its own sake.

Q: How involved does our team need to be?

A: Moderate involvement. We need access to data, systems, and people. We need stakeholder time for design and approval. We need team participation in training. But we're doing the heavy lifting—not adding to your team's workload significantly.

Q: What industries do you NOT work with?

A: We focus exclusively on service businesses. We don't work with product companies, manufacturing, retail, or hospitality. We're specialists in service business operations—that's our lane.