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Have you ever hesitated to hire someone who knows more than you… because it felt risky or intimidating? In this episode, Melissa breaks down why not hiring up is one of the fastest ways to cap your business growth and why your job as a CEO is not to be the most qualified person in every function.

Sparked by a controversial take on Diary of a CEO (where a guest said small business owners should never hire more experienced people), Melissa shares why she completely disagrees – and what actually works inside real companies.

She walks through her own story of becoming a COO overseeing functions she’d never done herself, and how learning to trust and leverage true experts transformed results, retention, and growth.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why “never hire someone more qualified than you” is dangerous advice for small business owners
• How talent determines your growth trajectory and why A-players cost more (and are worth it)
• Melissa’s story of becoming COO and leading cybersecurity, procurement, vendor management, and a PMO she’d never personally worked in
• What great leaders really do: identify, harness, and retain talent (not out-execute their team)
• When it’s the right time to hire at the bottom vs. hire strategic, senior roles
• The real reason “hires don’t work out” (hint: it’s often unclear expectations and weak integration, not skills)
• How to set clear expectations around:
  • Core values and how they show up in behavior
  • Quality standards and timeliness
  • Brand representation and public-facing work
• Why you must “close the loop” with employees when work is late, incomplete, or off the mark
• How adding a strong new hire can create “storming” on your team – and what to do so the team evolves instead of implodes
• Why only hiring people who know less than you guarantees your business will be limited by your own knowledge

If you enjoyed this episode

• Share it with another small business owner who’s stuck trying to do everything themselves.
• Subscribe to The Opt-In Podcast so you don’t miss future episodes on hiring, scaling, and building a business that actually works.
• If you are looking for help in your business go to https://www.melissafranks.com to learn more.

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

In this special post-election episode of The Opt-In Podcast, host Melissa Franks steps away from her usual business strategy deep dives to unpack the real-time ripple effects of America’s shifting political landscape and what it means for small business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs.

From the Supreme Court’s review of U.S. tariffs to the newly elected Mayor Mandani of New York City, Melissa explores how major political moves could reshape how businesses operate, grow, and survive in 2026. 

Drawing from her own high-stakes experience selling multi billion-dollar companies, she reveals how snap judgments without due diligence can lead to costly outcomes in both boardrooms and government.

She also spotlights a historic night for women in politics, with female leaders taking governorships across key states and connects it back to her mission of empowering women in business. This moment, she says, is a reminder that when women collaborate and claim their space, progress follows.

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

In this episode, host Melissa Franks tackles a topic she’s never covered before: how to create an annual budget that actually works for you. Whether you’re a five-figure startup or a nine-figure company, Melissa breaks down why every business needs a budget and why it’s not the restrictive tool you think it is.

Drawing from her own experience managing $180 million in annual spend as a COO, Melissa shares the exact framework she uses with clients to build clarity, confidence, and control into their financial plans.

You’ll learn:

• Why budgets are a decision-making tool, not a limitation.
• How to categorize your spend using her four-part classification method: recurring, one-time, not needed, and invest more.
• The steps to build a monthly expense budget using historical data.
• How to plan for staffing changes and forecast projected revenue using trends and seasonality.
• The importance of assessing profit margin and adjusting expenses or revenue targets to stay in line with your goals.
• Why you must include discretionary spending and contingency planning—and how to do it without sabotaging your profitability.

Melissa wraps up with her signature perspective: a good budget isn’t about saying no to spending it’s about saying yes to what matters most.

If you’ve ever avoided budgeting because it felt too rigid, too complex, or just plain boring, this episode will change your mind and your approach.

🎧 Listen now to learn how to make your budget your best business partner for the year ahead.

Connect with Melissa:

Website: www.melissafranks.com

Instagram: @melissa_franks

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

In this episode host Melissa Franks takes you behind the scenes of her entrepreneurial journey. From losing her job and starting over as a single mom with no plan, to building a thriving seven-figure company in just two years.

Melissa shares the 10 most important lessons she’s learned along the way. The real, unfiltered truths about what it takes to go from surviving to thriving in business.

You’ll learn:

• Why every entrepreneur starts clueless (and why that’s okay)
• The power of finding the helpers and surrounding yourself with the right people
• How to try everything until something works and when to stop
• What it means to redefine your destination as your business evolves
• How to process losses without wallowing
• Why you must ignore the critics and stop lying to yourself
• The importance of celebrating every win (no matter how small)
• And why it’s totally fine and sometimes necessary to go dark and build quietly

This episode is equal parts reflection, motivation, and reality check for anyone who’s building something from scratch. Whether you’re just getting started or in the thick of growth, Melissa’s insights will remind you that you’re not alone and that success is always on the other side of struggle.

Tune in to hear:

What two years of grit, growth, and chaos have really taught one fractional COO about business, resilience, and reinvention.

To learn more about On Call COO visit https://www.melissafranks.com

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 small business owners have been taught to obsess over their “Ideal Client Avatar”. To name them, write their life story, and plaster their face on a mood board.

But what if everything you’ve been taught about your ICA is… wrong?

In this episode of The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks breaks down why your ideal client is not:

• One person
• The person you wish would buy from you
• Even you, the founder (yep, sorry)

Using real examples from working with clients across industries, she reveals:

✅ Why your first ICA is always a mirror of yourself and why that version must eventually die

✅ Why the customers who spend the most are not always the most profitable or loyal

✅ How seasonality, pricing, and product mix completely change who you should be selling to

✅ The dangerous trap of “too many ICAs” and how confusion kills conversions

✅ The only real way to discover your ideal clients: testing, tracking, and talking to real humans

If you’ve ever felt confused about who you should be marketing to, or worse, you’ve been selling to the wrong people, this episode will help you recalibrate your aim and finally get clarity.

If you have a business that is $3M+ in annual revenue and you are struggling to grow schedule a free consultation with us at On Call COO and maybe, just maybe it's your ICA. To schedule: 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

In today’s episode of The Opt-In Podcast, I’m taking inspiration from the unexpected king of business advice: Tom Hanks.

His mantra, “This too shall pass” became my lifeline during one of the darkest moments of my entrepreneurial journey… and again during one of the best.

Whether you’re drowning in problems or overwhelmed by opportunities (yes, that kind of chaos exists too), this episode is your blueprint for getting grounded, getting clear, and getting back in control.

I’ll walk you through:

• The Exercise That Saved Me: The exact process I use, and now teach to move from panic to clarity in under 24 hours.
• Why Chaos Is Normal (and why you should stop trying to eliminate it)
• How to Separate Real Problems from Emotional Noise
• The Business Triage Method: How to quickly determine what to fix first (and what to completely ignore)
• My Own Story of Hitting Rock Bottom… and Hitting Capacity Overload Two Years Later

This episode is both a pep talk and a practical framework for decision-making when everything feels urgent.

📌 If you’re in a season of overwhelm — good or bad — listen to this. Save it. Share it. And repeat after me: This too shall pass.

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

Does everyone you interview look like you, sound like you, and maybe even want to be you? If so, it’s time to rethink your hiring approach.

In this episode of the Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks takes a candid look at why diversity matters in small business hiring, and what can happen when diversity of thought, background, and experience disappears from an organization. Using both real-world headlines and her corporate COO background, Melissa explains why innovation, creativity, and growth depend on having a diverse team.

You’ll learn:

• Why diversity isn’t just about what you can see, it includes socioeconomic background, education, life experiences, and more.
• How a lack of diverse perspectives can limit creativity, create blind spots, and weaken company culture.
• 5 practical steps to improve diversity in your hiring:
  1. Write inclusive job descriptions.
  2. Broaden where you post and source candidates.
  3. Standardize your interview process with structured questions and scorecards.
  4. Include a diverse panel in interviews.
  5. Track applicant and hiring data to uncover unconscious bias.

Melissa also connects today’s hiring challenges to what’s happening in government, showing why protecting diversity of thought is vital—not just for society, but for the long-term survival of your business.

 👉 Whether you’re hiring your first team member or expanding a growing company, this episode will help you attract the best talent and build a stronger, more resilient business.

To learn more about how On Call COO can help your business: Https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices 

To learn about working for On Call COO: https://www.melissafranks.com/careers

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

Every business owner eventually faces it: the dreaded plateau. Sales stop climbing, growth stalls, and suddenly you’re left wondering what went wrong. In this episode of the Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks breaks down the truth about business plateaus and how to navigate them without panic or wasted effort.

Melissa dives into the four core areas every entrepreneur should interrogate when growth has flatlined:

1. Your Data – Why understanding metrics like customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, churn, and return on ad spend is essential for diagnosing issues.
2. Your Sales Process – How inefficiencies, distractions, or broken funnels quietly kill conversion rates and what to do about it.
3. Your Time – The surprising ways a founder’s calendar can hold back growth (and how delegation and focus create momentum).
4. Your Team – How misaligned priorities, poor culture, or lack of standard processes can drag down performance across the business.

Melissa also shares a powerful analogy: think of business growth like a mountain range, not a roller coaster. Plateaus aren’t failures, they’re natural flat stretches where you regroup, stabilize, and prepare for the next climb.

Whether you’re currently in a plateau or preparing for the inevitable, this episode gives you the tools to diagnose, adjust, and reignite momentum.

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

This week on The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks unpacks a rarely discussed—but vitally important—topic: how your personal behavior in public spaces can deeply affect your business or employment. Whether you're a business owner or an employee, your actions, your posts, your tone, and your choices in public and on social media all have ripple effects and sometimes, unintended consequences.

Using a powerful personal story from a youth baseball tournament gone sideways, Melissa explores how behavior, even outside of work hours, can reflect on your business and your brand, whether you realize it or not. This episode is not about ideology or political hot takes, it’s a practical, heartfelt guide for staying aligned with your values while protecting your business, your voice, and your livelihood.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• ⚾ A real-world story about how a youth sports game turned into a brand crisis for a business
• 🧠 Why everything you do, even off the clock can be traced back to your business or employer
• 📱 The risks of unfiltered social media posting and how cancel culture intersects with employment
• 🛡️ What every business owner needs: a clear social media and branded apparel policy
• 📘 Why your employee handbook matters more than you think (especially the fine print)
• 🧭 How to navigate being vocal about causes and core values without putting your business at risk
• 👀 Why “your personal brand is always showing” — and how to stay in control of it

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

In this candid solo episode, Melissa Franks opens the curtain on a deeply personal and strategic recalibration she made in both life and business. As the fourth quarter looms, a season that often demands more from entrepreneurs, Melissa shares the internal reckoning that led her to rewrite how she works, lives, and leads. This isn’t a burnout story; it’s a blueprint for realignment. From hiring help to reshaping routines, Melissa offers a powerful invitation to evaluate how we’re spending our time, protecting our energy, and honoring the life we say we want.

In this episode, Melissa unpacks:

🔹 The warning signs that told her change was non-negotiable

🔹 Why “working harder” stopped being the right strategy

🔹 Her surprisingly simple nutrition fix that boosted brainpower

🔹 What she outsourced at home (and what’s next)

🔹 The time management tweaks that helped her reset

🔹 Her new rules for weekends, Slack, and client boundaries

🔹 Why she’s finally hiring an executive assistant, and the mindset that made her delay

🔹 The trap of always moving the finish line, and how she’s breaking the cycle

🔹 A powerful call to recalibrate your life and business in harmony

Key Takeaways:

• Success in one season can create dysfunction in the next, don’t wait for burnout to course-correct.
• White space isn’t a luxury; it’s a growth strategy.
• Personal decisions—like meal delivery and weekday boundaries—are business decisions, too.
• You don’t need to wait until you’ve ‘made it’ to live the life you want. Start now.

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