Fractional management raises practical questions about money, control and accountability, and owners should ask them before signing anything. The answers above cover the questions we hear most often. Below is some context on the ones that deserve more than a paragraph.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CMO or COO cost?
An ongoing seat is a monthly retainer between $2,500 and $12,000, depending on hours and scope. Defined projects start at $3,500 and hourly consulting is $175 to $350. Prices are in Canadian dollars and Ontario clients add 13% HST.
Is there a minimum contract?
No. Retainers are month to month with no lock-in. Projects have a written scope and milestone payments, so you know what you're paying for at each stage.
How many hours a month will we get?
We agree the hours and the expected outputs in writing before starting, and we review both each quarter. A smaller company with one location usually needs fewer hours than a multi-region operator.
How quickly will we see results?
Most owners notice fewer decisions landing on their desk within the first six weeks, once the scorecard and weekly meeting are running. Changes in revenue or margin usually take a quarter or two to show clearly.
We hired an agency before and it didn't work. Why is this different?
An agency usually sells execution in one channel. A fractional executive owns the plan and the outcome across channels and vendors, and reports to you against agreed numbers. If an agency was the problem, the CMO seat is often how you find out why.
Who owns our website, ad accounts and data?
You do. Everything is set up or kept in your company's name, and we work in it with our own user access. If we stop working together, you remove our access and keep everything.
How do you report on progress?
Through the weekly scorecard and a short written note at the end of each month. The note covers what was planned, what happened, what it cost and what changes next month.
Can you promise a number of leads or a revenue increase?
No. Anyone who promises a specific outcome before seeing your numbers is guessing. We commit to a written baseline, agreed targets and honest reporting against them.
Do you give HR, legal or accounting advice?
No. We don't advise on employment, legal, accounting, tax or financing matters. When a decision touches one of those areas, we'll say so and work alongside your own Ontario professionals.
Will you manage our staff?
With your authority, the seat can run operational meetings and hold team leads to agreed targets. Hiring, pay, discipline and employment terms stay with you and your advisers.
Can we have both a CMO and a COO?
It's possible, but most owner-managed companies get more from doing one seat properly first. If both functions are struggling, the operating review will tell you which costs you more.
Do we need to be in a particular part of Ontario?
No. We work with companies anywhere in the province, on Eastern time. We plan by region because Toronto, the 905, Ottawa and Waterloo Region each behave differently.
What happens when we're ready to hire a full-time executive?
That's a good outcome. The seat can document what the role should own and hand over the processes and scorecard. The hiring process, contract and pay decisions stay with you and your HR or legal adviser.
Money and commitment
You can start small, stop with notice and see every cost in writing. The cheapest serious starting point is usually a free first conversation followed by a fixed-price project such as the operating review. That gives you a diagnosis and a ranked fix list before you commit to any monthly fee.
If you then move into a retainer, it runs month to month. We would rather earn the next month than hold you to a term. Full price details, including the performance-based Growth Partner Program, are on the pricing page.
Control and ownership
You keep control of your company, your accounts and your people. A fractional executive works with authority you grant, in systems you own. Three rules apply in every engagement:
- Every account, document and dashboard is in your company's name.
- Strategy, hiring, pay and capital decisions stay with the owner.
- Vendors you hire contract with you directly, so changing any supplier, including us, never strands your work.
Accountability and reporting
You'll know every week whether the seat is earning its fee. The management scorecard is in place within the first month. Each number on it has an owner and a target, and the monthly note explains what moved and why. If something we tried didn't work, the note says so.
That's also the honest answer to "we tried an agency before." The difference isn't a better promise. It's a written baseline, a weekly number and a manager who answers for it.
Timing and effort
Expect to give the first fortnight a few hours, then about an hour a week. The early hours go on interviews, account access and pulling last quarter's numbers. After that, the main demand on the owner is the weekly meeting and the decisions that come out of it.
Results arrive in layers. The first layer, usually within six weeks, is quieter weeks for the owner: fewer interruptions, fewer surprises, decisions made in one meeting instead of a dozen hallway conversations. The second layer, over one or two quarters, is movement in the numbers themselves, such as faster quotes, a lower cost per customer or better on-time delivery. Our 90-day checklist sets out what each month should produce, so you can judge progress against something concrete.
Fit: who this is and isn't for
Fractional management suits established Ontario companies that already have customers, a team and some process, however informal. It's a poor fit for a business that hasn't found its first customers yet, or one that needs a full-time executive on site every day. In those cases, a few hourly sessions or a defined project is the more honest recommendation, and we'll say so on the first call.
Comparing us with other options
Compare any fractional offer, ours included, on four points: who sits in the seat, what they own, how often you see numbers, and how easily you can leave. A part-time executive should be one named senior person, with written responsibilities, a weekly scorecard and a month-to-month term. If an offer is vague on any of those, ask for it in writing before you sign.
Where our advice stops
We manage marketing and operations; we don't replace your lawyer, accountant or HR adviser. That boundary protects you. Ontario has specific rules on employment, workplace safety, consumer sales and taxation, and those questions need qualified professionals. A good COO will tell you when a process change has crossed into that territory and pause until you've had proper advice.
Still have a question? The contact page explains how to reach us by call, text or email, and the about page has more on Ali Sedighi's background.