Operations partnerships are not common, especially in the trades. Had a few people DM me asking how I actually help. So here you go: -Build operating plans with clear targets to achieve. -Define the owner's role and create a plan to get them out of day-to-day operations. -Build organizational structures with outcome-based roles and accountability. -Establish who owns decisions, results, and responsibilities. I-mplement KPIs, scorecards, and performance tracking. -Build and implement SOPs that employees will use -Establish weekly meeting rhythms and accountability systems. -Create financial visibility into profitability, cash flow, and job performance. (fCFO partnerships in some cases) -Fix broken processes between the office and field. -Develop GM's and Dir of Ops who can make decisions without the owner. -Lead operational projects from start to finish. -Step into the operations seat when the business needs someone to run execution. -Train internal leaders to take over the systems we've built. -Transfer operational ownership to the team so the business can run without me. Coaches teach. Consultant advise. Ops partners do. All 3 are needed at various stages. I just fill the gap at the end. And for the record, I don't use Fractional COO because everyone over on LI seems to be a fractional COO these days. 😎 All about the free value, so start here. 👇 builder.frontierbusinessdesi… Want to chat? DM's are open.

This is the order to build your operating system. If you jump to Execution without Alignment, you’ll have a bunch of people doing the same things while missing the most important responsibilities. Get clear first. Align the team. Execute based on ownership. Only then does scale work.

I was at Barnes and Noble yesterday browsing with my daughter trying to find a book about risk, adventure, business from a biblical perspective. Should have just asked X.

Earlier this year, I had an engagement where the single most important exercise we went through was Decision Rights. It seems so simple and almost irrelevant because of its simplicity. It was THE thing that shifted to org. They ran this format below and 3 things happened… 1. Trust with the manager was built 2. Owner had more time to be the owner 3. Team trusted their manager more If you’re a GM or similar position, this is a great exercise to perform with your owner, CEO, whomever. Trust should build between them and you and your team and you.

Taking an initial thought deeper to provide context and application 101. 👇

This week is what I call Review Week for a couple of clients. Last week in October is when we uncover every blocker preventing EOY Outcomes from happening. -One on one reviews -Scorecard updates -Blocker tracking -Ownership transfers -Tons of questions Normally an exhausting week, but the visibility and clarity created allows for the final 60 day push to happen.

Navigating tough conversations between employees and ownership shouldn't have to happen. Yet here we are. In my perfect world, everyone understands the idea of radical candor: caring personally and challenging directly. Few know how to do that. Somehow tends to become "challenge personally" and that's it.

For service businesses under $1M that don't need a sophisticated system, fractional COO or complex processes right now, check out the link below. If this is you: 1. You run everything. 2. Quality team, but no one to lead the business with you. 3. You know your high level numbers, but not at a job costing level. 4. Few people (if any) have clarity on what they own. 5. Expectations aren't clear. This is normal. Run the system yourself until you're ready for help. frontier-operating-s.vibepre…

New initiatives tend to produce positive results in the first 2-3 weeks. What happens after that is when implementation either turns into adoption or backslides into old habits. This is week 4 of an accountability push with a client. Weeks 2 and 3 were fantastic. Friday saw a significant backslide though. Laziness, careless mistakes, etc. The conversation today isn’t why that happened. We both already know. It’s not skill. He’s proven he can do the job. It’s a matter of will. Does he actually want to? If you’re able to determine will vs. skill, then you can correct appropriately. Correcting a skill issue is very different than correcting laziness or carelessness.

I went from “I think we’re launching a Colorado Springs chapter of the COO Collective” to a full operating system for chapter expansion in 6 days. I learned a few SMB words along the way too: -National chapter overhead allocations -Compensation based on unit economics -Fixed vs variable moderator compensation -Pre-launch reserve capital -Revenue attribution and incentive design -Standardization vs. local autonomy -Internal Capital recovery 2 things. 1. I didn’t know what half of these things meant before tonight. Still probably don’t. 2. Unique talent + Specific experience X passion/tenacity is a great formula This week, COO Collective COS launches. First forum coming in January (or February/March pending it actually working).

24 year old Life Coaches

I was COO of a $4m landscaping company that acquired another home service company. I can say with 100% certainty that this is utter and complete garbage being spewed by these people. The deal we acquired was about as good of a deal as you could find. I spent 20+ hours per week building this company because it WAS my W2. I got paid to make it work. Kaustuhb is 100% on the money here.

And son #1’s first fish 19 minutes later 🤣

First fish. Not a bad one to start with.

One of my best friends finally relented to my constant torture about all of my X friends. One of the best leadership trainers I’ve had the privilege of learning from. Follow him! @CoachTimHawkins novus.global/timhawkins/

All this turning 40 talk got me thinking about what the crazy adventure of 2026 has been for our family and me. So here are 40 lessons I've learned since starting my own business in January. Take or leave what you want. 1. Self-employed is harder/more fun than any W2 I've had. 2. Once you experience being your own boss, it's almost impossible to go back to having one. 3. I thought I was only an ops guy. Turns out I can be visionary when nobody else is around to do it. 4. Being forced into something is sometimes the best way to get started. 5. When you have a wife and four kids, failure isn't a very attractive option. 6. Your network is probably the most important asset in your business. Wish I'd spent more time building mine. 7. Pricing matters from day 1. Apparently, you can actually charge too little. 8. Being good at something and convincing someone to pay you for it are two very different skills. 9. Sales is a dopamine hit.  10. People will tell you your idea is amazing. That doesn't mean they'll buy it. 11. Everyone wants to grab coffee. Don't fall for it. 12. Following up isn't bothering people.  13. You can have a great meeting, great chemistry, and a great proposal. And still get ghosted. 14. The best business opportunities come from asking great questions. 15. Referrals are incredible. You should probably give more of them than you ask for. 16. Some people genuinely want to help you succeed. Find those people. 17. You have to get comfortable talking about money. Especially your own. 18. Not every prospect needs what you're selling. Sometimes telling them that is the best thing you can do. 19. Losing a deal you were certain you'd win sucks. 20. You become your own bottleneck real fast. 21. You can spend an entire day being productive without doing a single thing that makes you money. 22. AI Agents are your best friend and worst enemy. 23. AI rabbit trails will kill your business. 24. Just because you CAN build something doesn't mean you SHOULD. 25. Building 2 businesses at a time is a bad decision. 26. You don't have to have everything figured out. Which is good, because I definitely didn't. 27. Nobody is coming to tell you what to do next. 28. Thinking of being an employee again makes me gag. 29. 90% of theory, opinions and frameworks should be taken with a grain of salt. 30. Done is better than perfect. 31. Saying no to potential revenue is harder than it sounds. 32. Owning your calendar is a major flex. 33. The hardest person I've ever had to hold accountable is myself. Harder than any founder I've dealt with. 34. You're a genius one day and an idiot the next. 35. Freedom means choosing which 12 hours you work each day. 36. You don't need to know everything. You need to know people who know things you don't. 37. Don't listen to those who think their opinion is the gospel. 38. Do it scared.  39. Building someone else's dream is a terrible way to live. 40. I should've made the jump sooner.

I have crossed over the metaphorical line I told myself I wouldn’t do with any client.