Go Fractional: A 10-Step Starter Plan

Fractional work is a specific kind of solo business: you sell ongoing expertise (often on a retainer) instead of selling hours or one-off projects.

This plan is designed to help you go from “I’m good at my craft” to “I have a clear offer, a pipeline, and a repeatable delivery process.”

Step 1: Pick a Narrow Niche

Write one sentence:

“I help [client type] achieve [outcome] by doing [work].”

If it feels too narrow, that’s usually a good sign.

Step 2: Define a Repeatable Process

Clients pay for confidence. Confidence comes from a process you can explain:

• phases (discovery → plan → execution → review)
• deliverables per phase
• what you need from the client (inputs, access, decisions)

Step 3: Set Pricing You Can Defend

Avoid inventing numbers. Instead:

• compute a floor (what you need to earn, based on expenses + taxes + overhead)
• research real market signals (public job posts, peers, prior offers you’ve seen)
• price for risk and overhead (discovery, communication, revisions, context switching)

If you need a starting point, use placeholders and refine based on real conversations:

• “Projects like this are in the [$X–$Y] range.”
• “My monthly retainer starts at [$X] for [scope].”

Step 4: Write Your Positioning (No Buzzwords)

Your positioning should answer:

• who you serve
• what problem you solve
• what “done” looks like
• what’s different about your approach (speed, domain expertise, process)

Step 5: Create a Minimal “Trust Surface”

You don’t need a perfect website. You do need something that makes you legible:

• one-page description of your offer
• a short bio (relevant experience)
• a simple way to contact you
• 1–2 examples of your work (or an audit/teardown that shows your thinking)

Step 6: Build a Lead List

Start with warm leads:

• former colleagues and clients
• people in your industry community
• adjacent operators who talk to your target customers

Then add cold leads you can reach respectfully (not spam).

Step 7: Do Outreach That Sounds Human

Keep it short and specific:

Hi [Name] - 
I’m starting a small fractional practice focused on [one-sentence offer].
I’m curious: does [problem] feel real in your world right now?

If you’re open to a quick 15–20 minute chat, I’d appreciate your perspective.

Thanks,
[Your name]

Step 8: Run Better Discovery Calls

Your goal is to understand:

• what they want to achieve
• constraints (time, budget, team)
• what they’ve tried
• who decides
• what would make this a clear win

Then propose a concrete next step (pilot, project, retainer).

Step 9: Deliver and Capture Proof (Accurately)

Proof is powerful, but it must be real:

• document “before/after” in the client’s words
• ask permission to share
• avoid fabricating testimonials or results

Step 10: Systematize and Iterate

As you deliver:

• improve your scope doc
• tighten your onboarding
• refine your offer and pricing
• build a weekly lead-generation routine

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