Fractional Resources

Had a great Discovery Chat the other day with someone thinking about making the leap into fractional work—going solo, but not just as a freelancer. More like carving out a niche as a fractional CTO, advisor, or specialist instead of just selling hours.

The usual problem? Everyone gets stuck at the same points:

1. “Where do I even start?”
2. “How do I find clients?”
3. “What should I charge?”
4. “Wait, am I just a freelancer now?”

It’s funny how often this conversation happens. The shift from being an employee to running your own business isn’t just about doing the work—you also have to sell the work, define what you actually do, and price it in a way that doesn’t turn you into a burned-out contractor hopping from gig to gig.

Step One: You’re a Business, Act Like It

First thing’s first—if you’re making money on your own, you’re already running a business. Doesn’t matter if you’re a sole prop or have an LLC, you need to start thinking like a business owner. That means:

• Separate your money – Business checking account, even if it’s just a second personal one at first. Makes life easier.
• Figure out what you’re selling – “I do DevOps” isn’t a business. “I help early-stage SaaS teams untangle their infrastructure before it collapses” is better.
• Start talking to people – Your best first clients are people who already trust you.

Step Two: Positioning (or, Why No One Cares That You ‘Do DevOps’)

A big part of going fractional is positioning yourself so that potential clients actually understand why they need you. If you just say “I’m a fractional DevOps consultant,” they’ll nod and move on. But if you say:

“I help SaaS companies clean up their infrastructure mess before it costs them millions in downtime.”

Now, that’s a problem they understand.

Jonathan Stark calls this a Laser-Focused Positioning Statement:

1. Who you help
2. What problem you solve
3. Why you’re different

Most people skip this step and wonder why no one is hiring them.

Step Three: Don’t Sell Hours, Sell Outcomes

The first thing everyone asks when they go solo: “What should my rate be?” And the first thing I tell them: Stop thinking about rates.

The industry defaults to hourly pricing because it’s easy, but it’s also why so many consultants burn out. The real move? Structure your offering around outcomes, not time.

Instead of:
“I’ll work for $200/hour.”

Try:
“I’ll make sure your team never has to wake up at 3 AM for an outage again.”

One of these is a cost. The other is a business decision. And business decisions get budgets.

Step Four: Get Out There and Start Talking

The best way to get clients isn’t a fancy website or cold outreach—it’s conversations. Just talking to people. Not pitching, not selling. Just learning what’s going on in their world and where they’re struggling.

A lot of people get stuck here, overthinking everything. My advice? Talk to everyone who will listen. Old colleagues, ex-bosses, people in your network. Find out what problems they’re dealing with. If you can help, great. If not, you’ll still learn something useful.

Thinking About Going Fractional?

If this is something you’ve been considering, or you’re in the middle of figuring it out, let’s talk. Not a sales pitch—just a conversation. The hardest part of going solo isn’t the work. It’s the business around the work.

And you don’t have to figure that part out alone.

Schedule your own Discovery Chat or just email me!.