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.

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.

This is how do X the right way.

Just got home from my brother in law’s 40th. He planned the entire party. 17 couples. Rather than having toasts and gifts for him, he bought every person a gift and toasted each person himself. He called it a “reverse birthday”. Gifting everyone who had had an impact on his life. One of the most honoring things I’ve experienced.

This week was one of the best weeks Frontier has had. Today was one of the most frustrating days Frontier has had. Not sure which I’ll be thinking about more Monday morning. 🤷‍♂️

These two pictures show the difference between my level of confidence now versus 6 months ago when I had just started. Newest client and I talked about our engagement on Monday. Sent him the proposal same day. He agreed to it Monday afternoon. Sent the contract Monday night. No communication the rest of the week. 6 months ago, I would have said I got ghosted again. Yet another “unserious tire kicker.” The secret? People forget things. Business owners aren’t thinking about me. They’re running their business, managing people and trying to make payroll. When I know I can help, I’ve learned that I have to make them think about it. 21 minutes after I told him I sent the contract he was signed for 6 months. I had to learn my way out of fear at the beginning.

One thing I’ve learned is that trades under $1.5m in revenue don’t want robust, sophisticated or complicated. They want simple, useful and a solution. Colorado’s HVAC client didn’t have a way to automatically pull issues, tasks, action items, approvals, decision or ownership into a single location that could be tracked. Now he does. Meeting OS Command Center is a simple tool using Sheets, Gemini and Drive to fully automate his meetings. Is it beautiful? Not really. Is it a premium SaaS product? No way. Does it solve his problem tomorrow and operate within his Google Workspace ecosystem? Yes. Done is better than perfect.

I had put a post out earlier this year about not raising my price on my first client because they gave me the start. Just had a phone call with them, and they want to talk about what it would look like to “just bring you on as our Fractional COO next year”. In this case, proving value without asking for more was the right decision. That won’t always be the case though.

My brother in law turns 40 tomorrow. For my 38th birthday, he and another BIL took me to the Avs/Stars Game 5 in Dallas. For my 40th they took me fly fishing. For his 40th, I bought his entire Amazon Shopping cart. It’s mind-boggling that two of my closet friends are in laws. Never thought I’d be lucky enough to have that.

Fantastic day today. -6 month contract officially signed for new client despite seller of business telling my client “that’s a waste of money”. Ok buddy. -Office admin for another client led both weekly huddles for the first time (transfer of ownership) -owner of same company took CSR + Dispatcher out in the field for training -2 clients changed scope; both are getting fresh deliverables that will impact them tomorrow -Formed yet another new venture (peer advisory for Ops consultants) -Convo about collaborating with another ops friend on a new client -Podcast with @mattragudo -2 yo wouldn’t leave my side all night -Church home group -COO Collective tomorrow, no meetings and no client work.

Matt is one of the most genuine people I’ve met on this platform. Truly enjoyable convo!

Dusting off the training curriculum I curated and led for the old co. Led 3 different groups through this in '24-'25. Turns out field techs in HVAC also need personal development just like landscaping. Starting this up again next week. 12 weeks going through the best leadership + personal development ideas. Extreme Ownerships Start With Why Unreasonable Hospitality 7 Habits Mindset etc. Of course, my personal favorite... "How To Make $1M An Hour Working 12 Minutes a Week".

I received an email last night from a current client around 11:30p letting me know why he hasn’t been responding to messages, deliverables, etc. Turns out he owns a small business. 🤷‍♂️ If there is ever an “out of scope” moment, this is it. He doesn’t need what the contract requires anymore. Life happened to his business and he doesn’t need a 1 hour implementation with me. Also doesn’t need any more deliverables. So, we’re shifting the entire engagement to work directly with his new admin developing the processes to relieve him of the midnight stress. I don’t know if this is the right move, but he definitely doesn’t need what we originally talked about in this particular season of his business.

One of the hardest parts for me in consulting is the inability to form a bond with the employees in each company. Today, I got to experience that again. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks questioning whether I was actually making a difference at a client’s business. Am I just like all the others? Is the team actually responding? Is the owner satisfied and answering fewer questions? Then the ultimate question…Is the business less dependent on the owner? Progress wasn’t happening as fast as I’d hoped, and I was frustrated. Well, the employees noticed. Unsurprisingly, I tend to hold emotions very close to vest. At the end of a 1:1 today I asked if they had anything else to share. Both chimed in… “We just wanted to ask, how are you doing? Because we noticed you’ve been a little different. And you don’t have to say anything, but we just want to make sure you’re doing okay too.” Caught me completely off guard. I told them what had been bothering me. Then they shared something I needed to hear. About previous attempts to improve the business… “I personally didn’t feel like I felt any of what he was working on. None of it had any effect on us.” Then they started talking about how things used to operate. “It was just kind of, here, let’s have you do this task, let’s have you do this task, how about today we do this task, you know what I mean?” “So to build the structure for the office, I think, was really important. It was not there.” And finally.., “And like I said, you being able to give an expectation, clear expectation of what done looks like and how to get there is very helpful.” I’m the 5th consultant they’ve brought in. The pressure I have to be the last one is huge. Today gave the motivation that what we’re doing is working whether I “feel” it or not. Onward.

I’m not kidding when I say that this @ryanraysr and @paulswaney3 event has me wanting to go meet everyone I’ve connected with on here. Will start soon.

I should have bought a plane ticket.

Is anyone not in Tampa, FL right now?