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Hey there!
During this past Wednesday's Offer Development Masterclass, a juicy conversation broke out.
We were talking about packaging your expertise, selling the value behind it, and finally escaping the hourly billing hamster wheel.
One of the attendees, a Fractional CMO mentioned the challenges she'd faced - where she felt like she was still trading her time for money.
It reminded me of a conversation I'd had a few weeks earlier with a friend who was also offering fractional marketing advisory. She'd finally jumped ship from corporate into her first fractional role.
It was supposed to be her escape from having a job... Her big splash into entrepreneurship. Only, it wasn't.
Let’s see what did happen. But first, an update to share with you…
🎉 I have a real website 🎉
(2 years later…)
I’m approaching my 2nd anniversary with Profit Ladder. And contrary to what I always thought was the right way to build & grow a business, I’ve operated these past 22 months without a website.
But now that my offers are dialed and I can shift some focus from revenue to marketing, I’ve officially launched my website.
And so I wanted you to be the first to see it…
Will you reply and let me know what you think?
A few months ago, my friend landed what she called her "dream client" as a fractional Head of Marketing. Big brand with high visibility.
Her retainer clocked in north of $15K a month. On paper, it looked like a win. She got to skip the full-time politics and still have a seat at the table.
But a few weeks in, she messaged me in a panic. "I feel like I'm back in corporate, except now I have to track my hours like a lawyer."
That’s the catch with fractional roles: While they promise freedom, they often come with a quiet price.
You're still reporting to someone. Still fielding Slack DMs at 10 PM. Still justifying your existence with slide decks and time logs.
You're a highly paid contractor with the expectations of a full-time exec - but none of the long-term leverage (or perks).
Even more challenging: Many fractionals don’t just have one gig. They juggle three or four. That means constantly thrashing priorities, availability, and cultures.
And since fractional roles aren’t typically permanent, you’re often replacing one or two every few months. Which means you’re not only doing the work, you’re constantly re-marketing and re-selling yourself.
To be clear, fractional gigs can be a fantastic stepping stone. They offer flexibility, a high hourly rate, and enough authority to feel like you’re making a difference.
But they don't scale.
Because what you're really selling is your time, your resume, and most importantly, your availability. Which means your prospects need to already understand not just what a fractional CMO does, but what you specifically do, how you work, and why that's different from hiring a consultant or employee.
That's a tough needle to thread, especially when most buyers are just trying to solve a specific problem.
Contrast all of this with a Founder who’s running an offer-driven business…
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