Welcome Kit / How I Work
Welcome
Hi!! I’m so glad you’re here.
I’m deeply passionate about mission-driven small businesses. I believe small business is one of the most powerful vehicles we have for making the world a better, more thoughtful place where people feel seen, valued, and treated justly, and where we can embrace our shared humanity while having fun along the way. 🥰
My background is rooted in corporate operations, where I developed a sharp, strategic mindset for how businesses run and scale. But what sets me apart as a strategic operations partner and Fractional Director of Operations is my dual background: I am also an ICF-accredited life coach.
This means I don't just look at systems, metrics, and workflows; rather, I listen deeply, lead with high emotional intelligence, and understand the human beings behind the business. Unlike traditional operators who stay purely in the tactical weeds, I am a creative, visionary operator. I can sit alongside a CEO, completely understand and honor their big vision without judgment, and then firmly and practically translate that vision into a grounded, actionable reality.
My Promise: I treat your business with the care, dedication, and stewardship as if it were my own. When we partner together, you get my complete proactivity, openness, and strategic commitment to helping your business thrive.
Who I Work With
I specialize in partnering with mission-driven founders, thought leaders, and adult learning companies in the personal and professional development space. My sweet spot is working with businesses offering productized services beyond 1:1 work—such as courses, evergreen or launch-based programs, or hybrid live cohort experiences—typically generating $500K to $2M (sometimes a little less or more) in annual revenue.
You are likely ready for this partnership if:
You are stuck in day-to-day management: You have great implementers, but as the CEO, you are spending your valuable energy directing traffic, managing team members, and running operations instead of staying in your zone of genius (revenue generation, visionary leadership, and impact).
What got you here won't get you there: Your back end feels messy or overwhelming. You might already know where your bottlenecks are, but everyone is at capacity, and even when you try to pause and fix things, you never seem to make real headway.
You want intentional growth, not chaotic scaling: You aren't looking to grow at all costs or burn out your team. You want to create bandwidth, breathing room, and operational ease so your business can grow in a way that serves both you and your community.
Core Values
This is how I approach working on small business teams. Again, even though I’m an independent contractor, I consider myself part of your team and am really IN IT with you and other team members — hence the “we” language below. 😊
Genuine Warmth & Lightheartedness: The work we do is important, but it’s not life-or-death. We bring humor, warmth, and humanity to our day-to-day operations.
Vulnerability & Humility: We don't need to be the smartest person in the room. We own our mistakes, stay open to better ideas, and lean into courageous conversations when needed.
Autonomy & Trust: We hire brilliant people and trust their judgment. No micromanagement — just clear ownership and mutual respect.
Slowing Down to Speed Up: Moving fast and breaking things creates chaos. We make space for reflection, review, and optimization so we can build sustainable momentum.
Purpose & Holistic Thinking: We start with why. Every project, process, and decision must clearly connect back to the big-picture strategy.
Focused Execution with Inspired Flexibility: We follow through on our plans rather than shifting directions every five minutes. At the same time, we leave room for inspired action and intentionally park great ideas for the right season.
Organization & Documentation Set Us Free: Clean systems and thoughtful documentation eliminate friction, create ease, and unlock the mental space needed for big creativity and impact.
Scope & Boundaries (What I Don’t Do)
To ensure our partnership operates at a strategic, high-impact level, it helps to be clear about where my focus lies—and where it does not.
Support-Level & Tactical Tasks: I operate as a high-level partner, not an executive assistant or implementer. I do not handle inbox management, calendar scheduling, direct customer support, graphic design, social media posting, or copywriting. (Note: While I may advise on marketing strategy or offer high-level feedback on copy, I do not draft content.)
Baseline Team Requirement: I work exclusively with businesses that already have dedicated implementation support (such as a Virtual Assistant or Operations Assistant) in place to handle day-to-day administrative execution.
Out-of-Scope Requests: I focus strictly on the strategic ops, systems management, and leadership priorities outlined in our agreement. If new initiatives arise outside our defined scope, we will pause and discuss whether to adjust our retainer, recruit specialized support, or queue the idea for a future phase.
Availability, Working Hours & Turnaround
Active Working Days: Client-facing operations and project focus happen Tuesday through Thursday, roughly between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
Dedicated Focus: To ensure complete immersion, high availability, and proactive attention, I strictly cap my roster at two ongoing retainer clients at any given time.
Turnaround Times: I review and respond to communications on active working days. While you can post thoughts or updates at any time in our project management space, I process and act on them during my dedicated focus windows for your business.
Emergencies: True operational emergencies (e.g., site outages during a active launch) are rare, but when they happen, you will have a direct channel to reach me for immediate triage.
Communication, Decisions & Direction
Project Management & Chat: We will rely on a single primary hub for asynchronous work—typically your existing Project Management tool (Asana, ClickUp, Notion, etc.) or Slack. If your current setup feels scattered, I will help establish a single, streamlined channel.
Setting Priorities: As your operations partner, I take full ownership of driving operational timelines and managing my own task execution. While we collaborate closely on high-level goals, you do not need to manage me or assign me daily tasks—I step in to take that mental load off your plate.
Decision Ownership: We will establish clear decision-making boundaries during onboarding. I will autonomously own operational implementation, tool management, and team routing, while strategic pivots, budget expansions, and brand decisions remain in your hands.
Meetings & Cadence
I prioritize high-yield asynchronous work over endless meetings, keeping your schedule (and mine) open for deep focus.
Weekly CEO Huddle (30 mins): A recurring touchpoint to review key metrics, unblock decisions, and align on the week ahead.
Quarterly Strategy Session (90 mins): A dedicated deep-dive at the end of each quarter to review progress, evaluate business health, and map out the roadmap for the next 90 days.
Team & Ad-Hoc Meetings: I meet with team members (e.g., your VA or specialists) on an as-needed basis to review processes or delegate tasks, but I do not attend general company meetings unless explicitly strategic.
Reporting & Progress Updates
Weekly Operations Digest: At the end of each week, I provide a concise update outlining what was accomplished, active work in progress, items queued for the following week, and key decision points for our upcoming huddle.
Required Tools
To collaborate seamlessly, your business should have (or be open to establishing):
A centralized Project Management Tool (Asana, ClickUp, Notion, Trello). If you don't have one set up, I will build out our operational workspace during onboarding.
A single Asynchronous Communication Tool (Slack or dedicated areas in the project management tool + comment threads) to keep discussions searchable and organized out of email.
Invoicing & Payment Schedule
Retainer Billing: Retainer fees are billed in advance on the 15th of each month for the upcoming month, with payment due by the 1st of the month.
Scope Overages & Surge Capacity: My monthly retainers are structured around predictable scope and deliverables (typically averaging ~8–10 high-value operational hours per week). If a special project or unforeseen surge requires extra capacity beyond our standard structure, I will flag it immediately so we can either adjust priorities or approve an add-on fee before any additional work takes place.
Feedback, Relationship & Mutual Expectations
How I Work Best: I thrive in working relationships built on genuine warmth, transparency, mutual trust, and humor.
Constructive Feedback: I welcome candid feedback! To keep our momentum smooth, I prefer receiving constructive feedback during our weekly huddle or via a quick video/note, rather than reactively in real-time comment threads.
Surfacing Issues: If something isn't working—whether a workflow friction or an out-of-scope request—we address it early, directly, and kindly so we can pivot swiftly without stress.
Our Process: How We Work Together
(Note: A detailed onboarding guide and tailored project schedule will be provided once we finalize our contract.)
1. Vision to Reality Roadmap (2–3 Week Strategic Ops Audit)
Every client relationship begins with our foundational Audit. This diagnostic phase allows me to get under the hood of your business, identify bottlenecks, and map out a precise strategy before executing.
Step 1: Agreement & Kickoff: Once we agree to move forward, we handle the simple agreement and initial invoice. You’ll receive an intake questionnaire to help me understand your business goals, current friction points, and priorities for the next 90 days to 1 year.
Step 2: Deep-Dive Discovery Session: We meet for a 90-minute strategic intake call at the start of Week 1 to go deep into your operations, team dynamics, and vision.
Step 3: Systems Review & Team Interviews: Your team grants temporary administrative access to key systems. I review your backend setup and conduct brief 20-minute alignment interviews with key team members to assess where friction exists.
Step 4: Roadmap Delivery & Strategy Reveal: We meet for a final reveal session where I walk you through your customized, step-by-step 12-Month Operational Roadmap, with an immediate focus on the next 90 days of implementation.
From here, you and your team can take the roadmap and implement it independently—or you can bring me on board to drive the execution for you.
2. Ongoing Strategic Partnership (DOO / OBM Retainer)
Note: I only take on retainer clients who have completed the Vision to Reality Roadmap, ensuring we hit the ground running with absolute clarity.
Onboarding & First 90 Days:
Team Integration: I officially step in as your strategic ops partner, re-introducing myself to the team and establishing clear channels of communication and accountability.
Roadmap Execution: During our first 90 days, we lock into executing the immediate priorities identified in your audit. We keep focus tight and protect your team from unnecessary distractions or scope creep.
Ongoing Cadence:
Weekly Rhythm: We hold our regular 30-minute CEO Huddle (ideally on Tuesdays) to review top priorities, clear roadblocks, and maintain momentum.
Continuous Optimization: I manage day-to-day team coordination, optimize workflows, monitor bandwidth, and ensure operations remain sustainable, efficient, and aligned with your revenue goals.
Quarterly Planning: Every 90 days, we pause to run a mini-audit, review business health, and map out the next quarter's strategic priorities.
3. Offboarding & Off-Ramps
We build offboarding directly into our structure so transitions are smooth, secure, and stress-free.
Audit Offboarding: Upon delivery of your roadmap and completion of our reveal call, temporary system accesses are revoked (via standard password managers like LastPass/1Password). You retain full access to all audit deliverables, documentation, and action plans.
Retainer Offboarding:
Notice Period: Either party may initiate offboarding with 30 to 45 days' written notice to ensure an orderly, high-touch transition.
Knowledge Transfer & Handover: During the transition window, I document any active processes, ensure all task ownership is reassigned to your internal team or VA, and lead a smooth handover.
Access Revocation: On our final working day, all permissions, administrative rights, and software access are cleanly revoked, leaving your backend tidy, secure, and fully in your hands.
Ready to Bring Clarity and Ease to Your Operations?
If you're ready to create the bandwidth, space, and structure your business needs to grow, the best next step is to connect on a call. We’ll chat through where your operations stand today, dive into your vision, and see if the Vision to Reality Roadmap is the right fit.
I look forward to connecting and helping you bring your vision to reality!
xx
Erica