Real owners, real time back
Out of the day-to-day,
and staying out
10 hours saved every week
Contractor | $30M revenue
Challenge
Owner handled entire sales process, spending 10+ hours / week on administrative tasks
Urgent administrative sales tasks took priority over business development
Owner’s natural relationship-building strengths were underutilized
Approach
Documented responsibilities, owner’s ideal future state
Designed new role and rapid onboarding plan to quickly achieve owner time savings
Fully managed recruitment, limiting owner involvement to two interviews
Hands-on onboarding support to protect owner time
Impact
10 hours/week owner time saved within new hire’s first 3 months
Today, owner exclusively involved in value-add sales process steps
New hire streamlining process to create further time savings
In screening candidates I've put forward Alicia has been collaborative, constructive, and supportive by fully vetting candidates and highlighting their strengths and deficiencies as they may relate to her client's needs. Alicia is a trusted fractional COO, a leader for leaders.
- David Cone-Gorham, NYCM Search
From operator dependence to empowered team
in six weeks
Residential trade | $5M sales
Challenge
Every process and key decision went through one person
Lack of empowerment and accountability left team feeling disempowered
Key processes were inconsistently followed, not documented
Our Approach
Managed operator’s retirement and stepped in as interim Integrator
Managed integrator recruitment, hiring, and onboarding
Hands-on coached team to learn accountability to new responsibilities and standards
Achieved operational: matured sales management, designed single source of data truth, migrated customer relationships, built standard operating procedures
Impact
No additional owner time required during transition period
Day-to-day operations documented and transitioned to team within six weeks
Incoming operator exclusively focused on growth
One of the most valuable aspects of their engagement was the emphasis they placed on communication and accountability. They helped transform our mindset from individuals simply completing assigned tasks into a cohesive team that proactively collaborates to move projects forward. This shift significantly improved cross-departmental communication and overall efficiency…
Perhaps what stood out most throughout the entire process was their patience and professionalism. Organizational change can be challenging, but their collaborative approach made the transition feel manageable. They took the time to listen, understand our unique challenges, and guide us through each step with confidence and expertise.
- Rick
[During the leadership transition] Artful Concern became my advocate. They were honest about what was happening, helped me understand the situation, and worked with me to develop practical solutions and strategies for handling difficult circumstances… Because of their guidance, encouragement, and unwavering support, I have grown tremendously in my position.
- Yvette
Keeping the owner out of the day-to-day during operator transition
Residential trade | $5M sales
Challenge
Owner’s right-hand operator retiring without a successor
No documented processes or job description for key role
A string of bad hires had been costly and disruptive to daily operations; this transition had to be flawless
Our Approach
Internal stakeholder interviews defined must-have experience for the new leader
Data-driven recruitment scorecard aligned everyone before recruiting started
Right-sized owner involvement: we protected the owner’s time by rigorously pre-screening candidates
Onboarding plan finalized before recruiting to align expectations
Impact
No additional owner time required during 6-week transition
[time to fill]
New hire fully-onboarded within 30-days
Incoming operator exclusively focused on growth
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100% owner time focused on the right work
Contractor | $10M sales
Challenge
Many strategies, not documented, in the owner / Visionary’s head
Owner’s time spread thinly across many ideas meant minimal progress on everything
Owner burnout from carrying the entire growth strategy in their head
Our Approach
Capture everything in the owner’s head: every idea, challenge, issue, dream
Structure the ideas and facilitate defining each based on the overall business goals: grow sales, reduce expenses to increase profit, create more time for the owner
Define hypotheses for each idea: what impact on the business do we expect to see? Define the right-sized next step to validate each hypothesis: what do we need to learn to feel confident in continuing to spend time in this area?
Prioritize based on business impact and shift into following the action plans
Impact
100% owner confidence in where they’re spending time
Focused attention creates progress and data, which tells us where to spend more time
Owner peace of mind: all of the ideas are thoroughly documented and regularly reviewed during planning.
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