What is a Fractional…

I continue to run into folks that have never heard the term “Fractional CxO”, or more specifically Fractional CMO, CTO, CIO, CFO, etc.

A Fractional officer of this sort is someone who brings the value, experience, and capability to help at the highest levels, at a “Fraction” of the cost. That’s tongue and cheek, but true.

A Fractional office is someone who does the job, but for only a Fraction of their billable hours in a week.

Think of it like this. You are a growing company and in desperate need of the expert advice, skills, and abilities of a senior officer. You don’t want to hire a “consultant” to just tell you what to do. You don’t have time to do it yourself anyway. You want someone who can dedicate hours each week to your company, doing the job of that senior officer, but for say 2-10 hours a week, instead of 40.

It’s a match made in heaven for many growing companies, because to hire a full time Fractional COO or CMO or CFO as an example might cost you a salary of 150K-250K + benefits. And quite frankly, you don’t need that many hours. To lead a marketing function, maybe you only need 5 hours a week in that role. Why pay for 40?

So, a Fractional officer does the job for anywhere from 5-20 other companies, including your own, providing the senior level capabilities at a fraction of the time and cost.

When you are big and financially profitable enough to hire a full time CxO, then you can go hire that person to join your full time leadership team. And until that time comes, you can hire a Fractional officer to help you get there.

At VARC Solutions, we provide expert QuickBooks bookkeeping and consulting to our small business clients nationwide. One of our certified bookkeepers typically works on anywhere from 20-30 clients each month, 2-3 hours a week for each business. So, in a way, we’re also providing a “CBO”…or Fractional Bookkeeping Officer. There is no such thing actually, but it’s the same concept. If you aren’t big enough to hire a full time bookkeeper, you can hire a fractional one to do the books as much or as little as needed. https://varcsolutions.com/quickbooks-bookkeeping/

Consider the strategy for your business. If you are the owner or on your senior leadership team, and you just need some additional expertise at a high level to fill gaps in your team, go searching for a Fractional officer. We know a bunch of them and I’ve got many in my LinkedIn network, that are incredible. We also know some recruiters who can help find and place the perfect candidate as well. I’m happy to make a recommendation. Just ask!