The tween stage of fractional work

Savoring the upsides of instability

If you’re new here:

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 launch your own fractional consultancy? Book an strategy chat with me!.

---

The in-betweens

Hi, friends! I don’t believe in explaining or apologizing for taking time off, but then I realized that I’ve spent a month(ish) luxuriating in the “in-betweens,” which is the natural stage of fractional life where you’re in between major consulting gigs. I now consider the in-betweens an upside to fractional life, so I wanted to share how I moved from simply accepting to relishing this stage.

About 6 weeks ago, my loveliest and most reliable client gave me a heads up that they’d be winding down project work for at least a month. (Setting and sharing expectations in a timely manner is just one of the reasons why I love this client). Instead of feeling panicked by this revelation, I embraced it as an opportune time to take a break from any major projects.

I slowed down active biz dev and entered the in-betweens as my son got out of school for the summer. I am a Summer Person, finding it hard to work when the Pacific Ocean is less than 1,000 feet away. Long, unscheduled summer days are truly a privilege and gift.

I’m the one in the wetsuit

I love that these mini-breaks¹ let me slow down and recommit to my personal priorities and interests. Work takes a back seat, but I still work a lot.

Did you just respond to the last sentence with a “Wait, what? You still have to work during the in-betweens?!” Don’t worry - this is one of those gotcha journalism moments,² because I am referring to a different kind of work.

Putting in the right kind of work when you’re not working

Last month, I consciously uncoupled from LinkedIn, Slack, Substack, and proactive client outreach, allowing me to feel very present during the family vacations we took to Catalina Island and the Sequoias. My focus was on ice cream, margaritas, the beach, hiking, and novel reading.

As much as I enjoy the in-betweens, I can still find this time anxiety-producing if I let the deeply ingrained perfectionist and high-achiever version of me dominate my thoughts. Even if I’ve saved financially for this stage, I can veer into feeling:

• Guilty for not working

• Anxious to secure my next project ASAP

• Worried I’ll lose an edge in my field

• Nervous that I’m spending $8 on an ice cream cone

… while simultaneously realizing I really needed and deserved the in-betweens. My internal pendulum swings between feeling deeply relaxed and grateful to doubting myself with thoughts like “but will I really get another client?” and “what if AI figures out empathy and I’m out of a job?”

When I’m mired in self-doubt, I glance at the thinking like a fractional framework I made for folks considering this type of work. I think about the advice I give my clients when coaching them to launch their consultancies: get comfortable with instability, as it generates freedom and flexibility for you in the long term.

And then I usually make myself an aperol spritz and consider that I spent 2 months last summer living in Spain, and that scenario is only possible for me if I take my own advice.

Time to take my own advice!

It’s taken me a few cycles to figure out the right formula to make the most of the in-betweens. Here is my approach:

1. Accept the risk: Accept that you can’t future-proof consulting and project-based work. Accept that you may not always have another client lined up when your last project ends. Realistically, this is not much different than working full-time as an at-will employee for a tech startup.

2. Roll with the risk: The type of planning you did while an employee doesn’t work when you’re fractional. Maybe you don’t always have 2 weeks off for winter break, because your consulting client needs a project wrapped by EOY. But then you get a few weeks off in late January, when ski lifts tickets and flights to island nations are much cheaper. Perhaps you can finally take unlimited PTO when you’re not working for an organization pressuring you to never use it.

3. Strategize with the risk: If you’re worried about not having a fixed monthly income, start saving money once you start seriously considering fractional work. Having a financial buffer reduces the pressure you put on yourself to succeed right away. Set up a bank account for your business and pay yourself a monthly salary from your savings to encourage you to keep going.

4. Network to de-risk: Do not spend your in-betweens feverishly trying to drum up business. Most humans can sense desperation, even over Zoom (although maybe there’s a filter for that now?). Only speak and brainstorm with the most helpful, proactive, super connectors in your network. These folks understand your value prop even better than you do, and can help scout unlisted opportunities. If you haven’t figured out your positioning yet, I’ll be publishing a how-to-guide on that next.

5. Apply confidence to the risk: Have you ever had a job before? Of course. Doesn’t matter if you’ve never had a fractional job. Remember that if you sold yourself to an organization once, you can do it again. Have a trusted super connector or former colleague explain how they’d pitch you to potential clients. Confidence-building for me is almost physical: it feels like a muscle that I continually need to strengthen. I’ve become more confident that I will find my next thing, since I keep finding it each time I’m in the in-betweens.

6. Replace should (risk) with could (opportunity): I’m trying to eliminate the “should track” in my mind this is always running, admonishing me with thoughts like “you should be doing something productive like folding laundry if you’re going to watch Below Deck” or “you should be publishing your second post about how to become fractional.” I’m working on reframing those to “I could do laundry while I watch this epic battle of egos between the first and second stewardess, but I don’t have to. It’s ok to just sit here for a bit and simply watch TV,” or “I could work on my second post, but I could also go for an ocean swim right now. None of my readers are counting the days between each post and shaking their heads when it doesn’t happen.” My favorite episodes of Below Deck are when they over-serve the charter guests.

7. List out your opportunities, instead of focusing on risks: I’m a Summer Person and a List Person. Write down people and activities you’d like to prioritize during the in-betweens. But please, no SMART goals! View these as suggestions, not another to-do list to check off. I handwrite these, because it makes them feel extra important.

Putting the in-betweens to work for you

Zooming out, the theme of the above approach is “you can’t control when the in-betweens happen, but you can control how you put them to good use.”

Taking the time to invest in or refresh your branding, positioning, and product offerings is strategic action you can take during the in-betweens. Knowing your unique value and what companies you should be pitching will be helpful whether you stay fractional or need to sell yourself for a full time position. It’s also an immediate, practical confidence-booster!

My next post will (probably) be the second step in my going-to-market as a fractional series, where I will guide you through the basics of defining your value, identifying who may want to buy your services, and feeling less icky about selling yourself.

I make no promises, though

Ways you can support Strategic Pivotery

🙊 Book a strategy (or vent) session

Want to discuss how to launch or expand your consultancy? Need help getting unstuck and back on the right track? Pay to pic my brain / book a strategy session with me. Share an agenda, and we problem-solve for the most helpful and actionable next steps per minute.

☕️ Buy me a chai latte

Not ready for a virtual coffee chat but still want to support me? Strategic Pivotery is free (and I’d like to keep it that way, at least for now!). If you find it helpful, it made you smile, or I got a belly laugh — buy me a coffee (well, chai latte - I don’t drink coffee). I prefer monetary validation to another mediocre white dude telling me “you’re actually really good at this.” Thanks, bro!

I love the ❤️ too - like, comment, share, restack this post so it gets discovered by the dark internet.

☎️ Tell me!

What do you do to keep sane and still productive during the inbetweens?

1. That’s a Bridget Jones reference for the elder millennials and Gen Xers

2. Wow, I’m on fire with the late 90s / early aughts references