Approaching fractional work as a go-to-market exercise
Key considerations for launching into part-time or consultative work
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Hi, I’m Meg and this is my little corner of the internet where I share tales and observations across the tech and parenting “industries.”
I advise and consult with startups as a fractional product marketing leader, primarily for B2B SaaS companies. Want to discuss a startup idea, get go-to-market help, or work on launching your own fractional consultancy? Book an strategy session with me!.
A fractional GTM framework
In my previous post on why I opted out of tech bro culture, I explained how consulting has created a healthier, more transactional relationship between me and work. I am humbled and delighted that this post struck a chord, especially with women, people of color, and parents. After consulting for almost 5 years, I’m confident in my positioning and pricing for B2B SaaS clients, but marketing myself in this way is a new challenge. I would have kept writing this Substack regardless, but the responses were incredibly encouraging. Thank you!
There were two common reactions from the “opting out” post:
How did you launch (and then grow) your consultancy?
Can I talk to you about #1?
I’m going to address #1 by sharing a 3-step fractional go-to-market (GTM) framework (see above image). GTM strategy and frameworks are common outputs for my consulting clients, so I enjoyed the meta aspect of this exercise. Today I’ll cover the first step in going-to-market with yourself: critical factors to consider for consultative work, which I’m calling “thinking like a fractional.”
As for request #2 - I receive these types of requests for advice often, but I'm not able to respond to all of them. I joined a platform called Intro so I can help coach people contemplating this jump. I think of this as formalizing and focusing my natural helpfulness in a fair, structured way. If you want to discuss any of the 3 GTM steps in detail, book me on Intro!
Start thinking like a fractional
The first area I cover when coaching people is to have them evaluate the projected “costs” and “benefits” of this lifestyle. I’ve started referring to fractional work as a lifestyle and not a type of work because many of the benefits are harder to quantify, but together cause a material shift in one’s relationship to work.
In a recent conversation, fellow fractional Tiana Veldwisch nailed the functional + emotional benefits perfectly: “I’m choosing the parts of a full-time role that I like, not doing the parts I don’t like, and only working with people I want to work with.” Exactly. When I’m discussing work with a client, I have the freedom to say “I don’t buy paid media” (I don’t, please don’t make me do this!) and the client has the freedom to say “ok” or “we need you to do this as part of your package” and I can take it / leave it / hire a fellow contractor who can purchase FB ads. Saying no to an aspect of the work is so freeing that it feels like I’m using a 50% off coupon code online and it actually works.
The level of control over how / what / who I work with is more valuable to me than say, equity I may gain by being full-time (and there are still ways to score equity as an advisor). Having seen how rare it is for startup equity to be worth something, the “opportunity cost” of stock has dwindled in perceived value. These are my personal calculations based on 20+ years of professional experience. Mileage may vary, etc.
As I first tried to draft a cost/benefit analysis of fractional work, I realized a two column list can’t capture these types of nuances. How does one compare “freedom to say no to working with jerks” to “you have to be ok saying no”? I would weigh “no jerks” higher than any discomfort I have in saying no to clients, but I also have embraced Annie Lamott’s saying: "'No' is a complete sentence."
A two column chart doesn’t work, so to honor my older millennial heritage, I created a conversational exercise similar to a BuzzFeed or Cosmo quiz. Anyone want to work with me on converting this into a chatbot?!
Here’s the most important caveat to this decision: fractional work is a choice, but it doesn’t have to be a permanent one. Becoming a full-time employee or going to clown school or getting bangs aren’t permanent choices, either. Have a conversation with yourself (or me!) and at the end of this post, I’ll share concrete ways to experiment with consultative work.
Is this shift right for you?
Fractional work shifted how I regarded areas of my life. These are the most impactful ones to consider:
My work: it became transactional, but in a productive and positive way.
+ Can you separate your identity and sense of worth from a specific company? Can your work simply be about doing a good job, without needing a title?
My time: I now own, protect, and structure my time differently.
+ Own: can you view your time as valuable, and ask to be compensated for it? Example: now that I work for myself, I have to limit how many free “can I pick your brain?” sessions I can do.
+ Protect: can you excel at saying “no” to projects that aren’t for you? Can you ask for a higher rate since you’re in charge of your own taxes, healthcare, and retirement savings? Can you set boundaries with clients and stick to them?
+ Structure: can you project-manage and prioritize your time? If you have multiple clients, can you create a system that allows for context-switching? Can you create a work schedule for yourself so that you get actual time off?
My compensation: inextricably linked to my time, and the hardest to compare quantifiably.
+ Can you quantify (for yourself) what it feels like to have actual time off - when you aren’t expected to be “always on” by checking Slack, going to team meetings, managing people, etc?
+ Can you derive satisfaction from living a lifestyle of your choosing, while living within your means? If you have aggressive financial obligations or goals, you’ll end up just as stressed as a consultant as you were as a a full-time employee, because you’ll be over extending yourself with too many clients to satisfy those pressures.
My sense of stability: I value flexibility over stability. I feel safer with less predictable engagements than with full time employment at a toxic workplace.
+ Can you treat yourself like a startup, and calculate how much “runway” you have to try out consulting?
+ Can you get comfortable with not knowing who your clients will be in a year?
+ Can you actually enjoy time off while you hunt for your next gig?
My ambition: as work became transactional, I became ambitious for myself in new ways, making space for endeavors like ocean swimming, volunteering at my son’s school, and finding a creative outlet in this Substack.
+ Do you have interests or values outside of work that you’d like to pursue?
+ Do you feel the pressure to “keep up with the Bezos” or are you more interested in living your values in other ways?
Myself: I think a lot about a line my sister tells her 4th grade students: “Be in charge of yourself.” I am 100% responsible, so I take more pride in my successes, look closely at my failures, and have figured out how to market and promote myself in targeted ways.
+ Can you figure out how to sell yourself, and are you comfortable doing so?
+ Can you continually build your network, and ask for help from it?
Real talk
Did you experience an existential crisis reading through my questions (sorry not sorry)? I often feel like a missionary when speaking about fractional work, so I’ll ground the above discussion with practical considerations (see previous post section here for more).
Factors that can make consulting much easier, but technically aren’t required:
Stable financial situation - the buck will soon stop with you. If possible, give yourself a 6+ month runway as you go-to-market (especially in this market). If you can start light consulting while still working full-time, even better. Research big costs you’ll have such as healthcare (see Freelancing Female’s guide as a starting point). I use Ruby Money to keep track of my expenses and save for taxes and retirement.
Strong, supportive network - I’ve spent the past 20+ years connecting and keeping in touch with people, and most importantly - being proactively helpful to them. If you haven’t done this, don’t despair: but recognize that networking and asking for help from folks is critical to consulting success. If you’re not good at this, connect with me as I coach people in leveraging their network.
Clear understanding of your worth - can you pitch yourself to a client? Do you have compelling collateral that explains your value, services, and pricing? Below is the banner I use on my LinkedIn page. This is less than 25 words, but it took me many hours to distill my experience into a consumable format. I love helping and hyping others, so I’ve adapted this skill into a “Fractionalize Yourself” package for folks.
Don’t wait for things to be perfect to get started
Many consultants I know are perfectionists at heart, but they were able to suppress that instinct in order to launch their businesses. My “business” started out as outreach on LinkedIn to investors and operators I thought might need my help. I had no branding, a vague concept of pricing, and figured out my ICP and offerings over the first 2 years. I continue to iterate on all aspects of my GTM framework, but one area stays constant: the shift in how I value my time and lifestyle.
Steps you can take right now:
Become a visible, helpful networker - comment on your potential customers’ posts, follow and promote thought leaders you like (me, maybe?), and share your own expertise freely (within reason). Some of my best-performing posts on LinkedIn are shares of others’ content, like this list of startups hiring.
Try transactional work with expert networks - join platforms like GLG, CleverX, Wynter, Growth Mentor, and Intro to test how your potential clients value your expertise. Writing a bio for these sites will help you get clearer on your positioning and its gaps. Check out how I framed joining Intro. Here is a comprehensive list of these platforms by industry, and use code HRSD to get a $10 gift to book an expert on Intro.
Join consulting communities - the easiest way to learn about fractional work is to engage with folks already doing it. Most groups are free and have excellent job boards focused on fractional + remote work.
+ Ones I enjoy: Freelancing Females, Fractionals United, We Are Rosie, FRCTNL, The Growth Tribe, and the Product Marketing Alliance (there’s a #consultants channel)
+ Great list of similar groups, especially for women and creatives
Low-key pitch - pick a company you are interested in and start commenting on and amplifying their content. Connect with the founder or executive who would most likely hire you, and send them a soft sales pitch in your connection request. I’ve developed several templates for this kind of outreach, tailored for type of company and startup employee.
+ Startup sourcing: this guy is curating a "startups gallery" and this guy has a a great Substack on jobs you can’t find on LinkedIn
Don’t go it alone - if you go the fractional route, you won’t have colleagues in the traditional sense. It’s important to find an accountability partner who you can vent and ideate with; mine (Jen Cantwell) can cut through my BS in 30 seconds. I have collected a group of like-minded ex-colleagues who are always ready to hype me, and I love hyping them.
Prep for Step #2 - begin the process of positioning and productizing yourself (my next post!). If you don’t know your value proposition, you can’t expect others to hire you.
The next post in this series will focus on:
Update: I finished my 2 posts on how to productize yourself (whether you’re full or part-time):
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Which phase would you start with? Is it a linear pattern?
Awesome advice, Meg!