Opt In

Most people think the difference between a $1M business and a $10M business is more leads, better marketing, or a bigger audience. It's not — not even close.

The real gap between a 7-figure and an 8-figure business isn't effort. It's structure. And in this episode, Melissa Franks breaks down the five core operational differences that separate businesses that stay stuck at a million from the ones that scale to $10 million and beyond.

Whether you're sitting at $500K trying to crack your first million, or you've hit $1M and can't figure out why you're still grinding — this episode is going to change how you think about running your business.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why the business model that got you to $1M is the very thing keeping you from $10M
• The 5 fundamental differences between a 7-figure and 8-figure business
• How to shift from founder-driven to systems-driven — even if you're not ready to let go
• Why $10M businesses don't do more, they do less, better
• The #1 reason businesses get stuck at $1M and $3M (and how to break through)
• The 3 honest questions every founder must ask themselves right now
• Why chaos is actually highly organized and why it will destroy your ability to scale

If This Episode Hit Close to Home...

You're not alone. Most businesses get stuck between $1M and $3M — not because the market is saturated or the product is wrong, but because the founder hasn't upgraded how they operate. That's exactly the work we do at On Call COO.

Whether you need a 90-minute strategy session to get clear on your next move, or fractional COO support to help you build the systems and team structure to scale — we've got you.

👉 Book a free consultation at melissafranks.com to find out what's keeping your business from the next level.

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissafranks.com
• LinkedIn: Melissa Franks
• Podcast: The Optin Podcast

If this episode was valuable, please share it with a founder you know who's ready to stop surviving and start thriving.

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

“I think we need a new strategy.”

If your business feels stuck, this is probably the sentence you’ve said, or thought, recently.

Maybe your revenue isn’t where you want it to be, the team feels busy but progress is inconsistent, you’re working harder… but not seeing better results.

So the instinct is to change direction. New plan. New ideas. New strategy. But in most cases, that’s not the real problem. The issue isn’t strategy, it’s execution.

In this episode, Melissa breaks down one of the most common (and costly) mistakes growing businesses make: confusing strategy with execution—and constantly trying to fix the wrong one.

Because when you don’t know the difference, you end up:

• Changing direction too often
• Abandoning what could have worked
• Keeping your team in a constant state of reset
• Creating more complexity instead of progress

And over time, that confusion slows growth more than anything else.

In this episode:

• What strategy actually is (and what it is not)
• Why goals, ideas, and tactics are often mistaken for strategy
• What execution really looks like inside a growing business
• The difference between a strategy problem and an execution problem
• The 3 most common breakdowns that stall growth
• Why founders default to changing strategy instead of fixing execution
• How lack of ownership and accountability kills momentum
• A simple framework to diagnose where your business is actually stuck
• Why consistent execution beats constant reinvention every time

Key Takeaways

• Strategy is about clear choices and focus—not just goals or ideas
• Execution is about turning those choices into consistent action
• Most businesses don’t fail from lack of ideas—they fail from lack of follow-through
• If you’re constantly changing direction, you may be solving the wrong problem
• A simple strategy, well executed, will outperform a complex strategy that never gets implemented

Work With Melissa

If your business has a clear vision but struggles with execution, your operating model may be the issue, not your strategy.

Learn more about how On Call COO helps businesses scale through operational clarity and execution:

www.melissafranks.com

Follow & Share

If this episode resonated, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with another founder who might be solving the wrong problem right now.

Because growth doesn’t come from better ideas.

It comes from better execution.

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

Are you working harder in your business, but seeing worse results?

Many founders right now are experiencing slower sales cycles, unpredictable revenue, exhausted teams, and strategies that suddenly aren’t working the way they used to. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

In this episode, Melissa Franks explains why business feels harder right now and the operational shifts smart companies are making to stabilize revenue and grow again.

The reality is that the market has changed—but many businesses are still operating the way they did during high-growth years. Melissa breaks down what’s actually happening behind the scenes and how to reset your business so it runs with clarity, focus, and efficiency.

If your business feels chaotic, overly complex, or stuck, this episode will help you identify the real problem and give you a framework to move forward.

What You'll Learn

• Why buyer behavior has changed and how it affects your sales
• The hidden operational problems created during high-growth periods
• Why many founders are still operating with outdated strategies
• The three operational shifts successful businesses are making right now
• The four key metrics every founder should track beyond just revenue
• How simplifying your business can increase both revenue and profit

Work with Melissa and her team

If you feel stuck in the weeds of your business and need help improving operations, strategy, or team performance, you can schedule a free consultation with Melissa Franks and the OnCall COO team. visit C https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

Many founders believe their team simply moves slower than they would.

They say things like:

• “Everything takes longer than it should.”
• “My team needs too much direction.”
• “In the end I just do it myself.”

But in most growing businesses, the real issue isn’t effort, capability, or urgency.

It’s a decision bottleneck the founder accidentally created.

When every decision needs approval, review, or confirmation, execution slows across the entire organization. Teams begin waiting for permission instead of moving forward, managers stop managing, and initiative disappears.

In this episode, Melissa breaks down how founders unknowingly create decision dependencies inside their companies and why that structure quietly limits growth.

She also explains how to redesign decision flow so teams can move faster without sacrificing quality or accountability.

• Why founders often believe their team is “slow”
• How approval habits create decision dependency across teams
• The behavioral conditioning that causes employees to wait for permission
• What happens to managers when every decision escalates to the founder
• Why decision bottlenecks create exhaustion and decision fatigue
• The role of decision ownership in growing organizations
• How to define decision rights so teams can execute faster
• Why imperfect decisions are necessary for organizational speed
• When escalation should actually happen in a business

Growing companies require decision velocity.

When every decision flows through one person, execution slows, initiative disappears, and the business becomes dependent on the founder’s availability.

Scaling requires designing clear decision ownership so leaders can lead and teams can move forward without constant approval.

Work With Melissa

If your company is growing but execution feels slow or chaotic, your operating structure may need to evolve.

Learn more about working with On Call COO:

www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

What if the fastest way to grow your income, influence, and impact is to stop focusing on yourself?

In this International Women’s Day special episode of The Opt-In Podcast, executive leader and Fractional COO Melissa Franks shares a powerful leadership shift that applies to women in business, corporate executives, founders, and growth-stage CEOs worldwide.

After 25+ years scaling businesses, from Fortune 100 financial services companies to founder-led startups, Melissa reveals what separates stagnant leaders from exponentially compounding ones:

They stop accumulating.

They start multiplying.

This episode explores the “Give to Gain” leadership model and how mentorship, visible thought leadership, and strategic collaboration drive sustainable growth in today’s marketplace.

Whether you're leading a corporate team in New York, building a founder-led company in California, scaling a startup across the U.S., or growing a global business, this conversation will challenge how you think about power, visibility, and long-term success.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

✔ Why mentorship is not charity — it’s succession planning

✔ How to stop being the bottleneck in your organization

✔ Why visible thought leadership is service (not ego)

✔ How to share expertise without sounding self-promotional

✔ Why collaboration compounds growth faster than competition

✔ How to build sustainable leadership without burnout

✔ The difference between accumulation leadership and multiplication leadership

If This Episode Resonated

Follow the podcast and leave a review.

Share this episode with a woman leader in your network

Because the real power move in leadership isn’t accumulation.

It’s multiplication.

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

As your business grows, your role changes.

When it was just you, giving feedback directly was fast and effective. Once managers are in place, skip-level feedback creates confusion, erodes trust, and slows execution, even when your intentions are good.

In this episode, Melissa breaks down why bypassing managers undermines performance and how to cascade feedback without losing control.

This isn’t about stepping back from leadership. It’s about evolving how communication flows so managers can actually manage and your organization can mature.

You’ll learn:

• The hidden costs of skip-level feedback
• Why performance issues are often operating model problems
• How confused priorities and trust erosion happen
• What cascading feedback should look like
• The key questions owners must start asking
• What to stop doing immediately as your team grows

When feedback flows through the right layer:

• Visibility improves
• Accountability is clear
• Decision-making gets stronger

If you don’t trust your managers to manage, the structure is cosmetic, not functional.

Listen in to learn how to lead at scale without creating chaos.

If you want help setting up an organizational design that can function with independence, let's talk it through. Book a call at https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

Most business owners don’t lack discipline. They’re drowning in responsibility.

In this episode, Melissa Franks challenges the idea that success comes from more hustle, grit, or motivation. If your business only moves forward when you’re “on,” that’s not a discipline problem, it’s a design flaw.

You’ll learn:

• Why discipline and motivation are finite resources
• How decision fatigue is quietly draining your leadership capacity
• The real reason your team can’t move without you
• 3 signs you’re relying on willpower instead of systems
• Why you should build one system at a time (and never automate what you haven’t fixed)

Melissa shares real examples from client businesses where removing the owner as the bottleneck unlocked growth, restored timelines, and reduced exhaustion, without anyone “trying harder.”

Sustainable success isn’t built on discipline. It’s built on design.

Work With On Call COO

If you’re ready to stop white-knuckling your business, book a free consultation with OnCall COO. Melissa and her team help founders move out of fight-or-flight mode and into steady, scalable growth through practical systems and operational leadership.

Book a call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

Most business owners set revenue goals every year, very few define how their business will actually support them.

In this episode of The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks explains why revenue-only goals are one of the most common ways small businesses create chaos. Teams hustle harder instead of smarter. Marketing and operations fall out of sync. Margins shrink. Leaders become bottlenecks.

Revenue isn’t the problem. Incomplete goals are.

Melissa breaks down why revenue is an outcome, not a plan, and introduces the operational targets that keep growth sustainable. You’ll learn how to set clear capacity limits, delivery constraints, margin requirements, and guardrails that help your team make better decisions without constant oversight.

If your business feels reactive, overwhelmed, or harder to run as revenue grows, this episode will help you understand why, and how to fix it.

Revenue is a result. Operations are the strategy.

If you are struggling to identify your operational targets, book a call today with On Call COO, we can help you figure out what the biggest priorities are any how to measure success. 

https//www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

As teams grow, the way work gets done has to change.

What worked in a small, scrappy business starts to break once multiple layers, managers, and priorities appear. Employees feel overwhelmed, managers lose visibility, and execution slows down, not because people aren’t capable, but because communication hasn’t evolved.

In this episode, Melissa speaks directly to employees and middle managers about a critical skill growing teams must learn: managing up.

Managing up isn’t pushback or resistance. It’s a communication framework that helps teams clarify priorities, manage capacity, and deliver better results without burnout.

You’ll learn why “just do what you’re asked” stops working, how to synthesize feedback and requests, and a practical managing up framework you can use immediately.

This episode sets the foundation for next week’s conversation on what owners and leaders must change so managing up actually works.

If you're business is growing and you are ready for some outside input, schedule a call with us at https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks

Do politics belong in business or is that the wrong question entirely?

In this episode of The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks reframes the conversation away from parties, candidates, and debate, and toward what actually matters: values, integrity, and alignment.

As political and social issues increasingly collide with the workplace, many business owners believe staying silent is the safest move. But silence isn’t neutral. When businesses claim strong values internally while avoiding public alignment, they create an authenticity gap that erodes trust with employees, customers, and the market.

Melissa breaks down why values can’t stay private, how performative neutrality damages brands, and what thoughtful, values-led leadership actually looks like. This episode offers practical filters to help leaders decide when to speak, when to wait, and how to respond without falling into reactive or performative activism.

This isn’t about being political.

It’s about being credible.

The goal isn’t to be liked, it’s to be aligned, authentic, and real.

Connect with Melissa:

Consultation Call: https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

3 Operational Leaks Every Business Has Masterclass. https://oncallcoo.melissafranks.com/3operationalleaks

Learn more about On Call COO fractional services → https://www.melissafranks.com

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks 

LinkedIn: Melissa Franks