Strategic oversight · Set rhythm

Fractional COO Advisory

Senior operational judgement in the room, at a rhythm that holds.

For leadership teams that have the capability but want an experienced operator in the conversation — setting priorities, reviewing what moved, and holding the team to what was agreed.

From $1,950 + GST per month. Monthly or quarterly rhythm.

Also the step-down model for Embedded partnerships that have matured

Who this is for

Two ways businesses end up here.

Advisory suits teams who don’t need someone in the business every week, but do need the operational thinking to keep happening at a set cadence rather than whenever there’s time.

Route one

Your team is capable. You want judgement in the room.

The business runs. The people are good. But priorities drift between meetings, decisions get made without an operational lens, and there’s nobody asking whether last month’s actions actually happened.

✓You have a leadership team, not just a founder and a to-do list
✓You’re actively working a plan and want it held to
✓You want a second view before significant operational decisions
✓You don’t need delivery capacity, you need direction and accountability

Route two

The embedded work is done. The rhythm should stay.

A partnership has matured. The systems are built, the team owns them, and full embedded support is no longer what the business needs. Advisory keeps the structure while the intensity reduces.

✓The operating rhythm holds without the retainer
✓Quarterly planning stays in the diary rather than lapsing
✓Someone who knows the business is still a call away
✓Support Blocks available when a month needs more

What Advisory isn’t: delivery capacity. If the work still needs doing rather than directing, an Embedded partnership is the right fit.

Choose your cadence

Monthly or quarterly. Both held in the diary.

The difference is how often the business needs the conversation, not how much it needs it. A team actively working a 90-day plan benefits from monthly. A stable team needing a periodic reset does better with quarterly.

Monthly Rhythm

$1,950 + GST

per month · minimum 6 months

Best for teams actively working a 90-day plan.

One 90-minute leadership meeting each month, attended or facilitated by Nicole
Monthly priorities set and recorded, with an owner and a due date
Review of progress against the prior month’s actions
Quarterly 90-day roadmap reset included
Email and Message access between sessions, response within two business days

Talk through monthly

Quarterly Rhythm

$3,900 + GST

per quarter · minimum 4 quarters

Best for stable teams needing a periodic reset.

One leadership session each quarter, up to three hours — on site in metropolitan Melbourne or remote
One 60-minute mid-quarter checkpoint with the CEO or GM
Quarterly priorities on a page, with written recommendations
Review of progress against the prior quarter
Email access between sessions, response within two business days

Talk through quarterly

Need more than the rhythm covers?

Additional leadership meetings, facilitation or advisory time outside the contracted rhythm are available at $850 + GST per hour, subject to capacity. Drawing on this regularly is usually a sign the business has outgrown Advisory — we’d tell you that rather than keep billing hourly.

What actually happens

It’s not a catch-up. It’s a working session.

Most advisory arrangements turn into a pleasant conversation with no consequence. These sessions follow a structure, produce a written record, and start by reviewing whether last time’s actions actually happened.

01

What moved, and what didn’t

Every session opens against the prior period’s recorded actions. Not to catch anyone out, but because the things that quietly don’t happen are usually the ones worth understanding.

02

The decisions in front of you

The hire, the system, the client, the restructure — worked through with someone who has seen the same decision play out in other businesses and can say what usually breaks.

03

Priorities set, not discussed

The session ends with a short list, each item carrying an owner and a due date. Written down and sent, so there’s no ambiguity about what was agreed or who has it.

04

The quarterly reset

Every quarter the plan is rebuilt rather than rolled forward. What’s been achieved, what’s changed, and what the next 90 days need to deliver — so the plan stays current instead of becoming a document nobody opens.

Why the rhythm matters

Operational thinking doesn’t fail because people don’t know what to do. It fails because nothing holds it in the calendar.

A standing session with someone outside the business is harder to move than an internal meeting. That’s most of the value — not the advice itself, but the fact the conversation reliably happens.

Which is also why Advisory carries a minimum term. Two sessions prove nothing. Six months of held rhythm changes how a leadership team operates.

When a month needs more

Support Blocks

Some months are not like the others. A system go-live, a hiring round, a peak trading period, a board or investor deadline — work that needs senior capacity without changing the shape of the engagement.

Prepaid blocks are available to current and former Embedded Fractional COO clients, drawn against agreed work as you need them.

10 hours

$7,000 + GST

$700 per hour · valid three months

Drawn in 30-minute increments against agreed work.

Scheduled subject to capacity, with five business days’ notice for sessions over two hours.

Usage reported monthly, so you always know where the block sits.

20 hours

$13,000 + GST

$650 per hour · valid six months

Everything in the 10-hour block, with priority scheduling.

Suited to a defined piece of work running alongside the retainer.

Better hourly rate, longer validity — the sensible choice if you know the work is coming.

Ad hoc

$850 + GST

per hour · no block in place

Single sessions booked as required, subject to capacity.

Invoiced in the month drawn.

Useful occasionally. If you’re booking these regularly, a block or a step up to Operate will cost you less.

Block hours expire at the end of the validity period, are not refundable and are not transferable to another entity.

Advisory or embedded?

Does the work need directing, or doing?

That one question usually settles it. Advisory brings judgement to a team that can execute. Embedded brings judgement and the capacity to make it happen.

Fractional COO Advisory

From $1,950 + GST

 

What you get

Senior operational judgement at a set rhythm, with priorities recorded and progress reviewed

Who does the work

Your team, entirely

Cadence

Monthly or quarterly sessions, with email access between

Right when the team is capable and what’s missing is direction and accountability.

Talk through advisory

Embedded Fractional COO

From $3,500 + GST

 

What you get

The operating system designed with you, your people guided through putting it in place, and the rhythm held

Who does the work

Your team, guided — with The Artisans building alongside them

Cadence

Weekly to fortnightly, with fractional COO oversight throughout

Right when the systems still need building and the team needs guiding through the change.

Explore Embedded

Most businesses move between the two over time — embedded while the systems are being built, advisory once the team owns them. See the full engagement pathway →

Questions

What leadership teams ask first.

What is fractional COO advisory?

Fractional COO advisory provides senior operational judgement to a leadership team at a set rhythm, without embedding someone in the business day to day. The Artisans Business Solutions offers it as a monthly rhythm from $1,950 plus GST per month, or a quarterly rhythm at $3,900 plus GST per quarter, with priorities recorded and progress reviewed each session.

How is advisory different from an embedded fractional COO?

Advisory brings judgement to a team that can already execute — your people do all the work, and the sessions set direction and hold accountability. An Embedded Fractional COO designs the operating system with you and guides your team through putting it in place, at a weekly or fortnightly cadence from $3,500 plus GST per month.

Why is there a minimum term?

Monthly Rhythm runs for a minimum of six months and Quarterly Rhythm for four quarters. Two sessions prove very little — the value comes from a rhythm that reliably happens, and from reviewing each period against the last. Shorter arrangements tend to become a pleasant conversation with no consequence.

Can we step down from an embedded engagement into advisory?

Yes, and it’s a common path. Once the systems are built and the team owns them, full embedded support is often no longer what the business needs. Advisory keeps the operating rhythm, the quarterly planning and the relationship in place while the intensity reduces.

What happens if we need more than the rhythm covers?

Additional advisory time outside the contracted rhythm is available at $850 plus GST per hour, subject to capacity. Prepaid Support Blocks are also available to current and former Embedded clients, at $700 per hour for ten hours or $650 per hour for twenty. Drawing on these regularly usually means the business has outgrown advisory.

Do you attend our leadership meeting or run it?

Either, depending on what the team needs. Some leadership groups run a good meeting and want an experienced operator in the room contributing. Others benefit from having the session facilitated so everyone can participate rather than one person chairing and contributing at the same time.

Do we get anything in writing?

Yes. Priorities are recorded with an owner and a due date after each session, and the quarterly reset produces priorities on a page with written recommendations. The written record is what makes the next session a review rather than a fresh conversation.

Do you work with businesses outside Melbourne?

Yes. Quarterly sessions can be held on site in metropolitan Melbourne or delivered remotely, and monthly sessions work well remotely regardless of location. The Artisans Business Solutions works with businesses across Australia.

Judgement in the room, on a rhythm

Keep the operational thinking happening.

A standing session, priorities recorded with owners and dates, and someone reviewing what actually moved. From $1,950 + GST per month.

Melbourne, Victoria · working with businesses across Australia

Partners

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and live. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.