How to Start Your Fractional Practice (14-Day Sprint)

You’re Waiting to Feel Ready

Perfect positioning. Perfect pricing. A site you don’t hate.

Meanwhile someone messier than you, three months in with a half-baked offer and a Notion Doc, is already booked out.

They didn’t figure it out first.
They figured it out while people were paying them.

The Trap (and Why You’re in It)

I see this all the time:

“I need my positioning dialed in.” (Two months of workshops.)
“I need a real website.” (Three weeks in Webflow.)
“I need my pricing model.” (Spreadsheet purgatory.)

Each step feels reasonable.
Together, they’re a stall.

You’re polishing the profile instead of proving the value.
Polish steps bundled together become a sophisticated procrastination system.
You’re treating ready and visible as the same thing, when visibility is what creates readiness.

The Reframe That Changes Everything

Buyers don’t care about your website.
They care if you can solve a painful problem faster and cheaper than a full-time hire or a big firm.

They don’t need you figured out.
They need you useful.

So the sequence isn’t get ready, then launch.
It’s:

Become visible → take the work → let the work teach you → then systematize.

Messy. Faster. Real.

If what you offer is advice, you don’t need fancy deliverables. Founders just need access to you. One focused weekly call plus quick check-ins is more valuable than tons of scattered meetings. Advisory work is about giving fast, clear guidance, not packing the calendar.

Positioning emerges from conversations, not strategy docs.

What Actually Works (The Sequence That Compounds)

1. Start With Your Network (Today)

Call 20 people who have seen your judgment.
Not just coworkers. Not just bosses.
Anyone who can say: I trust how you think.

If you don’t have 20, start with 5 and borrow the rest.
Most fractionals start with a thin or mismatched network. You’re not behind.

What to say:

“Hey [Name], I’m opening a few fractional [role] slots. I help [company type] do [specific outcome]. I’m taking intro chats over the next two weeks. Want 15 minutes?”

Aim for conversations → intros → first scoped work.
Relevance beats reach every time.

2. Go Public (After 3 to 5 Conversations)

Say what you do, who you help, and invite people to a quick chat to see if you can help them.

Posting publicly helps more people find you.

If posting feels scary, start small.
Send three direct messages to founders you already know.
That works better than waiting to feel confident.

3. Say Yes (On Purpose)

Focus on talking to lots of people, not trying to land lots of clients right away.

Start messy, but don’t start blind.
Moving fast doesn’t mean saying yes to every client who can cut a check.

Bad early clients don’t just give you learning. They also:

• teach your network to send you the wrong kinds of work
• set low or messy expectations around price and scope
• stick you in the wrong category
• waste time you should be using to build real momentum

Your earliest clients shape your positioning and reputation.
Pick the ones that look like the work you want more of.

Listen for:

• the problem that actually matters this quarter
• the trigger that made it urgent
• the exact words they use for success

Write those phrases down. That language becomes your positioning.

4. Price for Speed (Pilot, Not Payday)

Early on, your pricing isn’t about making the most money.
It’s about learning quickly while still valuing your time and expertise.

If your work involves a lot of hands-on execution, use this flow:
start with a quick assessment, do a small test project, then move into a retainer if it’s a good fit.

For advisory-heavy roles, keep it simple.
Use a small, flexible retainer that gives founders easy access to you.
One weekly call, quick check-ins, fast answers.
They don’t need lots of meetings. They need someone who helps them make decisions faster.

5. Expect to Wear IC Gloves (And That’s Good)

Early on, you’ll execute more than you planned.
That isn’t failure. That’s traction.

Protect yourself with:

• a tight scope
• a weekly update rhythm
• a pre-written this is out of scope line you can use without emotion

This keeps things from getting out of control and overwhelming you.

6. Systematize After Client Number Two

You only need two client experiences before you can start creating simple templates and repeatable processes.

Simple templates:

• a checklist for how you gather information
• an outline for your initial assessment
• a small test project plan
• a weekly update routine
• a clear definition of what finished means

If both early clients were poor fits, note the pattern, but don’t anchor to it.
You’re gathering data, not tattooing it onto your LinkedIn headline.

7. Specialize When the Pattern Emerges

Generalists get polite replies.
Specialists get introductions.

After two similar wins, name the bucket.

Positioning line:
Fractional [role] for [stage or industry] who just [trigger], driving [specific outcome].

The 14-Day Sprint (Not a Funnel)

Days 1 to 3: List 20 names. Reach out. Book calls.
Days 4 to 7: Take calls. Capture language. Ask for one intro each.
Day 8: Publish your post with a diagnostic CTA.
Days 9 to 12: More calls. Propose diagnostics to the warmest one or two.
Days 13 to 14: Start the diagnostic. Set your update rhythm.

If you’re bandwidth-capped, stretch it to 30 days.
Progress beats speed.

Visibility creates conversations, conversations reveal positioning, positioning enables specialization.

The Bullshit Detector (The Real Point)

This isn’t telling you to scrap your positioning or pricing.
It’s telling you to stop trying to perfect them by yourself.
The clearest positioning comes from real conversations, not private planning.
The market teaches you faster than your notes ever will.

You’re already in motion.
The only thing to avoid now is getting stuck in endless tweaking when keeping momentum matters more.

The Permission

You don’t need permission.
You don’t need the perfect pricing model.
You don’t need a polished website.

You need visibility.
You need conversations.
You need motion.

Everything else is packaging the chaos.

The fractionals who succeed aren’t the ones with perfect positioning.
They’re the ones who moved first, iterated fast, took some awkward fits, and learned by doing.

You don’t feel ready before your first client.
You feel ready after your first client.

Call someone today.
Tell them you’re opening fractional slots.
Ask for 15 minutes.

Thanks for reading!
Gev