Last week I spent three hours on-site with a security services company. Not doing their books. Not building a spreadsheet. Facilitating a conversation that changed how they see their business.
This is what fractional COO work actually looks like—and why it's different from just "showing someone the numbers."
The Setup
This company had been a client for a while. I knew their numbers inside and out. Utilization rates, revenue per tech, profit margins by service type, capacity constraints—all of it.
But here's the thing: I knew it. The owner knew most of it. Nobody else did.
The techs in the field? They showed up, did their jobs, went home. They had no idea how their daily decisions impacted revenue. The office staff? Same story. Everyone was working hard, but nobody could connect their work to the company's financial health.
The owner was frustrated. He could see opportunities slipping away—jobs that could be more profitable, capacity that wasn't being used, inefficiencies that were costing real money. But every time he tried to explain it, people nodded and went back to doing exactly what they'd always done.
What We Did
I didn't show up with a PowerPoint. I showed up with questions, a whiteboard, and every piece of data I'd been tracking for months.
We started with the big picture: here's what the company made last year, here's what it cost to make it, here's what was left. Simple. Everyone could follow.
Then we went deeper.
Revenue by Service Type
We broke down which services actually make money and which ones feel busy but barely break even. Some surprises here—services they thought were winners were actually dragging down margins once we allocated true costs.
Utilization Reality Check
We looked at how many billable hours were possible versus how many actually got billed. The gap was eye-opening. Not because people were slacking—because the systems weren't set up to capture everything.
The "What If" Scenarios
This is where it got real. We modeled what happens if utilization goes up 10%. What happens if they raise prices on one service line. What happens if they add one more tech versus optimizing the ones they have.
Suddenly everyone could see that a "small" improvement in scheduling efficiency was worth $50K+ annually. That changes how you think about your job.
Role-by-Role Breakdown
We connected every metric to a person. Not to blame anyone—to show everyone how they fit into the picture. The dispatcher's decisions directly impact utilization. The techs' documentation affects billing accuracy. The owner's pricing strategy determines whether good work turns into good profit.
The shift: People stopped thinking "I just do my job" and started thinking "my job affects whether we hit our numbers."
What Came Out of It
By the end of three hours, we had:
Concrete Outcomes
- A revenue target everyone understood—not just a number, but the math behind it
- Three specific operational changes with owners assigned and deadlines set
- A shared vocabulary for talking about performance (no more "we're busy" without context)
- Buy-in from the whole team because they helped build the plan, not just received it
- A follow-up accountability structure so this doesn't become another meeting that changes nothing
The owner told me afterward: "I've been trying to explain this for two years. In three hours you got everyone on the same page."
That's not because I'm magic. It's because I'm not their boss. I can say things and ask questions that hit different coming from an outside voice with data to back it up.
Why This Isn't Just "Consulting"
I've seen consultants come in, drop a 50-slide deck, and leave. Three months later, nothing has changed. The deck is in a drawer somewhere.
This is different because:
- I already know the business. I'm not learning their industry from scratch—I've been in their books for months.
- It's a working session, not a presentation. People talk, argue, ask questions, push back. That's how buy-in happens.
- We leave with action items, not recommendations. Specific tasks, specific owners, specific deadlines.
- I stay involved. This isn't a one-and-done. I'll be tracking whether those changes actually happen and adjusting when they don't.
Is This What You Need?
This kind of session makes sense if:
- You have data but can't seem to turn it into action
- Your team works hard but isn't aligned around financial goals
- You're tired of being the only one who understands the numbers
- You need an outside voice to facilitate hard conversations
- You want accountability that actually sticks
It's not for everyone. If you just need your books cleaned up, that's a different service. If you need a one-time report, I can do that too.
But if you're stuck in that frustrating place where you know what needs to change but can't seem to make it happen? That's exactly what this is for.
This is fractional COO work. Not just understanding the numbers—making sure everyone else understands them too, and knows exactly what to do about it.