As 2025 wraps, many business owners are feeling the wobble, slower demand, rising costs, and uncertainty about what 2026 will look like. In this episode, Melissa explains why the economy feels off, why small businesses feel the impact more intensely, and how to regain control with her Wobbly Economy Planning Framework.

Four planning mistakes to avoid

1. Trying to cut your way to growth
2. Creating one rigid plan
3. Freezing hiring and burning out your team
4. Making pricing decisions too late

The Wobbly Economy Planning Framework

Melissa walks you through creating three scenario-based plans, Best Case, Likely Case, and Worst Case, plus how to review your offers, build an expense strategy, set cash and margin guardrails, and choose the right KPIs.

Your role as the leader

Your energy sets the tone. Your team and clients don’t need certainty, they need clarity, confidence, and a steady path forward.

Need help building your 2026 plan?

Book a free consultation at www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices planning in a wobbly economy is too important to do alone.

Connect with Melissa:

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks

Schedule a call: melissafranks.com

In this episode, Melissa breaks down one of the most misunderstood concepts in small business growth: organizational design. If you’ve ever wondered why your team feels stretched thin, why certain roles aren’t “working out,” or why it’s so hard to hire strategically this conversation is your roadmap.

Small businesses often grow faster than their internal structures, and that leads to confusion, overwhelm, and poor decision-making. Using examples from corporate America, real client scenarios, and her extensive hiring and organizational design experience, Melissa explains how to build a team intentionally instead of reactively.

What You’ll Learn

• Why every business, no matter the industry, has the same core functions
• The difference between generalists and specialists
• The real reason your operations manager is “struggling”
• How organizational hierarchy actually works
• Why your business may need leaders more than doers as you grow
• The myth of promoting from within
• Why you, the owner, cannot be your team’s only teacher

If you aren't certain what roles your business needs:

👉 Book a free consultation with On Call COO: melissafranks.com

👉 Follow Melissa on Instagram: @melissa_franks

Connect with Melissa:

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks

Schedule a call: melissafranks.com

It’s the end of the year, do you know how your employees are really performing? In this episode, host Melissa Franks walks you through exactly what business owners should be doing in the final stretch of the year to evaluate their team, strengthen retention, and prepare for a smooth start to the new year.

Drawing from her experience as a Fractional COO, Melissa breaks down a simple, actionable framework that replaces corporate-style performance reviews with a more human, results-driven approach designed for small business owners.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• ✅ How to calculate total employee compensation (and why it’s more than just salary).
• 📋 Why you need updated job descriptions—and how to use them as a management tool.
• 💰 How to perform a salary and compensation analysis that’s fair, competitive, and sustainable.
• 📈 When (and how) to offer cost-of-living adjustments, bonuses, and pay-for-performance increases.
• 💡 How to identify and fix gaps in your benefits, commission structures, and pay equity.
• 🧾 The importance of documenting policies to protect your business and maintain transparency.

To learn more about On Call COO go to https://www.melissafranks.com/fractionalcooservices

Connect with Melissa:

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

Instagram: instagram.com/melissa_franks

Schedule a call: melissafranks.com