Pick the service that takes the most recurring decisions off your desk. For most owner-managed Ontario companies, that's either marketing (who owns the plan and the budget) or operations (who owns how work moves from sale to delivery). If you can't tell which, the operating review answers it for a fixed fee.
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Fractional CMO
A senior marketing lead for a set number of hours a month: one plan, one budget, one owner for every channel and vendor.
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Fractional COO
A part-time operations lead who turns the owner's head knowledge into written processes, clear handoffs and a weekly rhythm.
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Operating review (fixed-scope project)
A short, fixed-fee look at how marketing, sales and delivery really run, ending in a ranked list of what to fix first.
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Management scorecard and meeting cadence
One page of numbers the leadership team reads every week, and a meeting structure that turns those numbers into decisions.
Fractional CMO
Choose a fractional CMO when marketing is being done but not managed. The signs are familiar: several vendors with no shared plan, a budget set by habit, and no agreed number for what a lead or a customer should cost.
The CMO seat owns the marketing plan, the budget, the vendors and the monthly report. It sits between you and everyone who does marketing work, so you have one conversation a week instead of five. It suits companies with an existing marketing spend, even a modest one, that want that spend to have a reason behind it. Details are on the fractional CMO page.
Fractional COO
Choose a fractional COO when you're winning work faster than the company can deliver it well. Late quotes, rework, unclear handoffs and an owner who is the only person who knows how things are "supposed" to go are the usual signs.
The COO seat writes down how the work actually flows, fixes the worst handoffs, sets capacity targets and builds a weekly operating rhythm. It does not set pay, write employment contracts or give HR or legal advice; when a fix touches those areas we bring in the right Ontario professional. More on the fractional COO page.
Operating review
Choose the operating review when you want a diagnosis and a price before you commit to a seat. It's a defined project: interviews, a read of your numbers and systems, and a ranked list of what to fix first, each with a rough cost and payback.
The review is priced as a project, so you know the cost upfront. At the end you can stop, run the fixes yourself, or move into a CMO or COO retainer with a plan already written. See the operating review page.
Management scorecard and cadence
Choose the scorecard on its own when the main problem is that you find out about problems too late. It's one page of weekly numbers, each with an owner and a target, plus a short meeting structure built around it.
This is the most self-contained service. We build it with you, run the first few meetings and then hand it over. Owners often use it to decide which seat to fill next, because the numbers make the weak function obvious. See scorecard and cadence, and the free weekly operating rhythm guide if you'd like to try a version yourself first.
A simple way to decide
Answer three questions and the starting point usually picks itself.
- Do you know your cost per lead and cost per new customer for last quarter? If not, lean towards the CMO seat.
- Could your second-in-command run a normal week without calling you? If not, lean towards the COO seat.
- Do you read your key numbers weekly, in one place? If not, start with the scorecard, whatever else you choose.
If two answers point in different directions, the operating review is the cheapest way to settle it. Prices for each option are on the pricing page, and our longer CMO-or-COO guide goes through the symptoms in more detail.
What every service has in common
Every engagement has written outputs, a named owner for each number and no lock-in. You own every document, dashboard and account we set up. Retainers run month to month. And in every service, Ali Sedighi is the person doing the work; you can read about his background on the about page.
Frequently asked questions
Can one person cover both the CMO and COO seats?
Sometimes, for a smaller company where marketing and delivery are tightly linked, such as a service business that books its own jobs. Past roughly 40 staff, the two jobs usually compete for the same hours, and we would recommend picking one seat and doing it properly.
Do I have to start with the operating review?
No. If you already know which function is unmanaged, we can start in the seat directly. The review is for owners who sense the problem but can't name it, or who want a fixed price before committing to a retainer.
What if I only need the scorecard?
That's a common and sensible starting point. A scorecard and a weekly meeting can be set up as a defined project, and you run it yourself afterwards. Many owners find it shows them which seat to fill next.
Do you run the ads and build the website yourselves?
A fractional CMO decides what gets done and holds the people doing it to account. Some execution can be included in the retainer; for larger builds we write the brief and manage your chosen vendor, so you are never locked into us for the work itself.