A fractional COO is an operations leader you share. The same job a full-time chief operating officer does — owning how the work actually runs — on the days a week your business needs it, without the salary of a full-time hire.
Summary
Most owners who come to us are not short of work. They are short of a business that runs when they are not in the room. A fractional COO takes ownership of the operating side — the processes, the team structure, the numbers that tell you whether it is working — so the owner can stop being the bottleneck. We work across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in person, and remotely elsewhere in Canada and the United States.
What a fractional COO actually does
- Operations leadership. Somebody senior owns delivery, not just advises on it.
- SOPs and systems. The work written down so it survives a person leaving.
- Team structure. Who does what, who decides what, and where the gaps are.
- Execution. The plan gets built, not filed.
- The numbers. A small set of measures that show whether any of it is working.
When you need one — and when you do not
A fractional COO is the right call when the business is big enough to need operational leadership and not yet big enough to pay for it full time. The usual signs: the owner is still the final answer on everything, growth has stalled because delivery cannot keep up, or a second location or crew is on the table and nobody is sure the first one would survive the split.
It is the wrong call if what you actually need is one thing built — a CRM, a hiring process, a pricing model. That is implementation work, and it is cheaper bought that way. It is also the wrong call if you want advice rather than ownership; that is coaching, and we do that too.
How we start
Every engagement starts the same way: a paid Business Audit — a working session on your numbers and how the work flows, and you keep a written 90-day plan whether or not you carry on with us. We will not quote for running an operation we have not looked at, and nobody should accept a quote from someone who would.
After that, the shape is yours: ongoing fractional COO support on a monthly basis, or implementation by the hour if the work is defined and finite.
FAQ
How is a fractional COO different from a business consultant?
A consultant recommends. A fractional COO owns the outcome and is in the business often enough to be accountable for it.
How much time does it take?
It depends on what the audit finds. Some businesses need a day a week for a quarter; others need less, less often. Anyone who gives you a number before looking is guessing.
Do you work with businesses outside British Columbia?
Yes, remotely, across Canada and the United States. In-person work is Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
What happens to the audit fee if we go ahead?
It is credited in full against implementation work.
