From Chaos to Clarity: 4 Lessons from 4 Years as a Fractional COO
I didn’t set out to become a Fractional COO.
I was originally lined up to take a full-time COO role at a $10 million manufacturing company just before the pandemic hit. A financial advisor wanted to bring me in because the CEO traveled often and lived a high-risk lifestyle, and the investors wanted someone who could step into the number two spot if something ever happened. It was my first real exposure to the weight of operational leadership at that level — and how fragile a business can be when only one person holds the full picture.
Then the pandemic hit. The opportunity evaporated overnight.
So, I built my own business instead.
Within 18 months, I had turned it into a profitable operation, right in the middle of global uncertainty. A few months into that journey, a friend of mine, a Fractional CFO, saw what I was doing and said, “You know, you could do this kind of work for other businesses.”
That was the spark.
I realized that what I loved wasn’t just running systems. It was stepping into messy, fast-moving, founder-led businesses and helping them breathe again. Most of them were growing quickly, but without the internal scaffolding to support that growth. No second-in-command. No unified view of operations. No structure behind the vision.
Since then, I’ve spent four years helping founders build what I now call their operational backbone.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
1. Success is the Seed of Chaos, If You’re Not Ready
I’ve met more than a few burned-out founders. Not because things were going poorly, but because things had gone well.
Success brings clients. Clients bring demands. Then come team members, vendors, software, and compliance. Each new layer adds a relationship, a workflow, a decision point. Without a clear structure to hold it all, it gets heavy, and all that weight lands on the founder.
What looks like momentum on the outside often feels like slow collapse on the inside.
If you’re feeling tired and tangled, it might not be because you’re doing something wrong. It might be because your business has outgrown the systems it started with.
2. Operations Isn’t Overhead. It’s Your Leverage
I have a marketing background. I know how “operations” lands on people. It sounds like a cost. Like paperwork. Like something you do when you’ve “made it.”
But here’s the reality: operations is where your margin lives. It’s where your time hides. It’s how your team gets clarity, and how you get space to think again.
The right fix, in the right place, changes everything. I’ve seen businesses unlock dozens of hours per month by clarifying one role or mapping one core workflow. That’s not theory. That’s leverage.
You’re still the driver, but right now you’re also the mechanic, the navigator, and the one checking the tires. My job is to build your dashboard, get you a pit crew, and help you stay in your lane—so you can actually go faster without spinning out.
3. Time Management Isn’t Your Problem. Decision Fatigue Is.
When founders tell me they “just need better time management,” I listen carefully. Because usually, time isn’t the issue.
The issue is ownership.
I’ll ask, “Who owns this process?” and I’ll get three names and a shrug. Or worse, “Well, technically, I guess I do.”
Then I ask, “If it fails, who gets the blame? Do they have the power to fix it? Were they ever told they were in charge?”
That’s when the silence hits.
The truth is, most founders aren’t bottlenecked by time. They’re stuck because too many decisions still flow through them. Every time someone waits for your approval, asks what to do, or copies you on an email “just in case,” you lose capacity. Role clarity doesn’t just give tasks away—it transfers responsibility, authority, and the ability to move without you.
4. You Can’t Operationalize Vision, But You Can Protect It
One of the biggest shifts I’ve made as a Fractional COO is realizing my role isn’t to rein in the visionary. It’s to protect them.
You can’t download your vision into someone else’s brain. What you can do is create a business that supports that vision, instead of constantly needing you to explain or defend it.
Structure gives your vision room to breathe.
I’ve seen clients go from being stuck in scheduling and billing to planning a new showroom or expansion site. One went from $500K to $2 million in two years. Another reclaimed 10+ hours per week, every week.
Those wins didn’t come from some massive overhaul. They came from clearing the path, one system at a time, until the founder had room to lead again.
Operational Myths That Need to Die
Let me be blunt. These ideas are holding founders back:
- “Operations slow things down.”
Yes, it might slow things down temporarily. But that’s like saying roadwork is a delay—it is, until the road is smooth again. - “Document everything once and you’re set.”
SOPs are not a one-and-done project. They’re a discipline. If they aren’t alive, they’re obsolete. - “Just hire more people.”
Hiring without structure just adds weight. You’ll have more people asking what to do, not fewer tasks on your plate. - “I don’t have time for operations.”
You don’t have time not to. The longer you delay building systems, the more your business depends on your memory, your availability, and your energy. Operations isn’t extra work, it’s how you reduce rework. It’s how you protect your time, your team, and your sanity.
How This Work Changed Me, Too
This isn’t just about helping clients scale. It’s helped me see my work and my leadership differently.
I’ve learned to value slow, steady improvement. I believe in the 1% a day strategy. I’ve seen firsthand how culture, good or bad, starts at the top, and how structure protects that culture from collapse.
I’ve also learned that I’m not the visionary. I’m the scribe. I’m the architect, not the engine. I like to build a system that lets the dream actually live.
If This Sounds Like You…
Ask yourself:
- Is your team clear on who owns what?
- Could your business function without you for two weeks?
- Are you spending your time where you should, or just where you’re needed?
If the answer makes your stomach turn a little, it might be time to bring in help. A good Fractional COO won’t take over. They’ll build the structure that gives you your business—and your life—back.
It doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t just flip a switch. This work is like heart surgery. You have to operate while the business is still alive.
But if we do it right, it keeps beating long after you’re out of the OR.
