6 Months In
Six months ago, I dove into business operations consulting. My north star was clear: Help rapidly growing businesses setup and streamline their operations intelligently. I’ve been doing this work for ten years— it’s something every company needs and I was excited to help.
Operations Lessons I’ve Learned
After pitching and working with clients, I now understand the hurdles to setting up this functionality within a business. Here’s what I’ve learned.
🤔 1. Most people don’t know what operations really is
Everyone has heard of operations, but few people can articulate what it is. Why is that? Because operations manifests in so many forms— Business ops, people ops, financial ops, sales, technical, product— the list goes on.
Most companies need support in more than one of these categories, but a lot can’t identify which ones to invest in. This causes a paralysis in decision making, leading to a larger operational headaches to untangle later on.
🤯 2. Operations are considered reactively, rarely proactively
A lot of times, I work with businesses right before or after a huge leap in maturity. Whether it’s an injection of capital or releasing a new product, there is that “Oh shit, our operations can’t support this growth,” moment, which is when I typically get a call.
Building operations reactivity is essentially putting out fires every day. It burns out your team, can put a strain on client relationships, and takes attention away from strategic thinking. A triple-threat for chaotic decision making and unhappy teams.
😰 3. Most founders need left brain support
I’ve noticed a lot of founders are more creative thinking versus operational. Typically that’s why the business has been so successful! By thinking outside of the box, they’ve found a special niche in the market to own and grow in.
Now most founders know operations is not their strength. They know their team is struggling without it, but don’t have the skillset to develop it. Then more urgent needs pull their attention away and ops development is put on the back burner.
Rethinking My Services
After learning the above lessons, I’m shifting my services to support my clients in a more hands on approach. What does this look like exactly?
😎 Fractional Chief Operating Officer
Businesses who need ongoing operational expertise on a part-time basis. This is a great option for companies who know they need operational support, but aren’t sure what to prioritize or where to begin.
🤓 Operations Advisor
Operational guidance from someone who has walked the path before you. As an advisor, I can review your current strategy, brainstorm solutions for operational bottlenecks, and work with internal resources to execute initiatives.
🙌 Project Support
For those who need operational planning and execution on projects with a clear scope and timeline. If you know what you need and what outcomes you want, I can execute those operational projects to make it happen.
These services are now being offered as of today! Please share this with anyone that needs support and don’t hesitate to schedule an intro call to learn more.
See ya on the flip side. 🤙