Ep. 1 What Is a Fractional Executive? Karina Mikhli on Building Community & Defining the Role

Welcome to the debut episode of Female Fractionals!

In this premiere episode, host Amanda Nizzere (Fractional CMO) sits down with Karina Mikhli — Fractional COO, Workflow Consultant, and Founder of Fractionals United — to unpack what it really means to be a fractional executive.

If you’re curious about going fractional, already on that path, or looking to hire one, this conversation is packed with clarity, insight, and practical wisdom.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• The true definition of a fractional executive (hint: it’s not just a trendy title)
• How to structure your offers and pricing like a pro
• What new fractionals often get wrong (and how to avoid it)
• Why community is everything in this work
• Where the fractional space is headed next

🌐 Resources & Links:

🔗 Join the Fractionals United community: https://www.fractionalsunited.com
📚 Book mentioned: Fractional Leadership by Ben Wolf

🙌 Connect with Us:

📣 Follow, like, and share! Help us spread the word!
 📬 Learn more about Amanda Nizzere and the podcast here: https://www.femalefractionals.com

Transcript

Amanda: [00:00:00] Welcome to Female Fractionals, the biweekly podcast for successful female fractional executives and those ready to take the leap. In each episode, I'll bring you actionable lessons and inspiration through interviews with thriving fractional leaders and experts. Let's dive in. Hi, everyone. Welcome to the first episode of Female Fractionals.

I'm Amanda Nazari, fractional CMO and your host of the show. I'm excited to kick off the podcast with a great guest. Corina Mickley is a Professional Services and SAS Fractional COO, Workflow Consultant, and Founder of Fractionals United. She has almost a decade of experience building, optimizing, and scaling small to mid sized businesses, and although she can and has managed and optimized most functions, she provides the most value by leading and focusing teams and streamlining and optimizing systems.[00:01:00] 

Corina works best with founders looking for a right hand partner who will manage and run the business while they focus on their areas of strength and interest. Recognizing the unique challenges and opportunities in the fractional leadership space, Carina founded Fractionals United in 2023 to create a community where fractional executives can genuinely connect, collaborate, and support one another.

The community has quickly grown to become a hub for fractional leaders looking to share resources. Build partnerships and elevate the fractional leadership model. When not working, Karina loves all things books, dramatic improv, and automation. Without further ado, let's jump into this great conversation.

Welcome Karina to Female Fractionals and a special thank you for being my very first guest on the podcast. I wanted you to be my first guest for a couple of reasons. One is because I'm a very big fan of what you've started in [00:02:00] Fractionals United. And two is the more that I've gotten to know you virtually, I'm a really big fan of your work and namely your approach to your work.

So I think that our listeners are going to learn a lot from this conversation. So thank you for coming on. 

Karina: My pleasure. Thank you for inviting me. 

Amanda: So before we dive into your work with Fractionals United, could you just walk us through your journey from corporate leadership to becoming a Fractional COO?

Karina: Sure. It kind of happened half by mistake and half, I guess the universe pushed me that way. I, um, Spent 20 years in the publishing industry and if you know anything about it There was a lot of upheaval because of Amazon and digital and I got tired of one too many reorgs and layoffs So started freelancing because every time I got reorg and laid off It was harder to [00:03:00] find the next job and I had to make money.

So I freelanced and The last time I was just like, all right, this isn't working and fell into what now would be called fractional COO work and then had no name, which is part time running businesses, right? People don't go into business to run the business. Um, so they hire someone like me and it didn't have a name.

It was just freelancing, contracting, eventually my brand became Right Size COO, again, because fractional wasn't a name, but that was the thing, you know, I was running several small businesses at once so that the founders could focus. And their areas of strength and once I got into it, I was like, you know, I'm just going to stick around and do this because it had a lot more like it wasn't easy, but I had a lot more say and I had a lot more flexibility and it was interesting.

Amanda: Yeah, that's great. Was there a [00:04:00] moment that you can remember that you were like, I'm never going back to the corporate world. This, this is it for me. I'm forever staying on this path. 

Karina: Yeah. I don't remember exactly when it was, but ironically, my husband is, um, the one who was always more like risk friendly and I was risk averse.

So it was a very bizarre moment and he's W2 and I do this. So I'm like, what? Just happens. But, you know, like at any time, I have like three to five clients and you kind of like see when one is on the way out. And it's a lot easier to fill a hole than go from 100 percent to zero. And I liked the variety. I liked having more of a say.

And once I realized that what was going on, I'm like, yeah, I like this. I don't want to go back. 

Amanda: One of the things that I also really like and I'd love to talk about is you have put a definitive stake in the ground around the [00:05:00] definition of fractional, I think that there is confusion out in the world around when people are hiring, but I think even the people that are doing the work around what is a fractional executive.

So I would love for you to give us your definition of what a fractional executive is. Is first, and then I'll ask the second part of the question 

Karina: for. So, yes, there is absolutely way too much confusion on both sides. Um, and I think part of it is because it's become more popular. So people want to label themselves that right there.

They're writing the latest like buzz. Um, The way we define it, it is, it is a senior embedded leader, so generally speaking director above, and you have had experience doing this full time, and you have led a team, because the reason we can do this well Fractionally is because [00:06:00] we are not executing. We are leading, right?

We lead through our resources and team, and you can't go in there and be effective part time if you haven't done this full time, if you haven't managed and led and and and think at that level and have the experience. Exactly. 

Amanda: Yes. And so that I think you've, I think you've identified the difference between fractional and consulting roles.

Is that exactly how you would explain it to someone when you're trying to sell a project? Correct. 

Karina: So. I have, you know, I offer workflow consulting too, which is project work and different. So, you know, yes, depending on what they're looking for, you know, I do coaching, I do that, and, you know, consulting and I do, um, fractional and, and the difference is.

The consulting is a project, right? It could be a long term project, but I do a thing and then I leave a fractional is part of your [00:07:00] team. You know, like I am invested. I am part of your team. It's it's I don't do proposals for fractional work. It's a two way conversation. It's a two way interview because I need to be sure as a CEO.

I need to be sure that the CEO is going to let me do the work he's, he or she is hiring me to do. And believe me, there are lots of CEOs that can't get out of their own way to save their life or their company's life. So I need to be sure that they trust me and that I can work with them. 

Amanda: Have you had success in changing an executive's mind from they think that they're buying a consultant, or they need a consultant, or buying a consultant, consulting project, but then you actually sell a fractional project?

Karina: So, what, what generally happened, well, They're, um, trying to remember the year. Every time I think of a year [00:08:00] or need to say a year, I literally have to stop because like it's blurs year blurs everything, right? So, I can't remember the exact year. I think it was 2021. That sounds about right. I had a workflow consulting.

clients that, um, a niche recruiter started working with them, happened to mention in passing that I do fractional COO work. And she started referring to me as her COO, just like that. And that is the client that I actually went, um, full time with for short periods and 2023. Um, you know, they're small once everything and everyone was in place.

They didn't need a full time COO, which is what happens, right? We're too, we're too expensive, um, for SMBs often. And So, I've had it happen indirectly, like, you know, I, I do [00:09:00] mention it, like, depending on how the discovery call goes and, and what comes in, generally speaking, it's, um, you know, if they want a project, it stays a project, but I will mention it if there is an opportunity, and sometimes it happens indirectly once they get to know you, right, and there's a need.

Amanda: Yep, yep, that definitely has happened. So, as the founder of Fractionals United, I'd love to dive into that a little bit. We talked in the beginning a bit about how fractional seems to be a really hot thing. And I, I, that's why I love the definition because it needs to be defined so that people continue to Build on something but build on it in the right way so that we have the right kinds of people that continue to jump into the movement and continue to make it what it should can and should be, in my opinion, so.

What gap [00:10:00] in the market did you see that kind of led you to, to build the community and then how has it evolved since you did found it. I think it's when, when I was reading through the history to me as a, as a member, it feels like it's been around for so long because it's such an active group and it hasn't been around for that long.

So kudos to you for building such a great community that feels like it has so much legacy behind it. Um, But just what, so I guess, what gap did you see and what, what have you seen since, since its inception? 

Karina: Um, so the, the client that I mentioned that I went from workflow consultant to fractional COO, then for short time, full time COO, when we parted ways in the beginning of 2023, I came back to a very different fractional landscape than two years prior, which is the last time I was looking.

for fractional work. And one of the biggest [00:11:00] changes, honestly, Upwork was no longer viable. I'm an introvert. You know, um, I can optimize my sleep, but biz dev and networking drain me like nobody's business, um, and it's hard, and it's lonely. So, I came back to, um, a very different and a harder situation than the one I left, because Upwork used to be viable.

It was a numbers game, and it sucked, but I found real leads. Um, no longer like it's a race to the bottom and it's crap. So I'm like, okay, I have to do this the hard way. I don't want to figure out how to, on my own, where are my people? Um, I had joined, you know, this was post COVID. I had joined some really great.

So I knew the power of online communities for introverts. And I started, like, I, I January 7th, Saturday, January 7th, 2023. I had this realization. [00:12:00] I need my people that evening. I was Googling like mad, trying to find it. I had no concept that I was going to start it. I just wanted to join a community of fractionals.

And I couldn't really find it. Like they were pseudo communities, meaning like they were communities on the other side of fractionals. paid firewalls, right? So they were a pipeline and I want that, right? Like those have a valid purpose, but I just want the community for the sake of community. I couldn't find it.

I literally remember looking up at my husband and I'm like, is this the thing I do? I don't know. Let's see if there's interest. So I quickly created a free Slack, a simple landing page message, put the message on LinkedIn and a couple of my communities. If I build this, will you come? And I had like over 50 people raise their hands.

And then it's gone uphill, you know, up, up, yeah, upstream, uphill, whatever you want to call it since then. And now we're like, we hit our, um, so that was [00:13:00] January 7th in the evening, January 7th, 2023. We're a little over two years and we're like, it's 14, 200 members. 

Amanda: That's amazing. That's so great. Great time.

That's, that's amazing. I think it's so great. I mean, for, for somebody who is an introvert to build a 14, 000 person community, like, that's, that's fantastic. And so entrepreneurial, right? It just is also a testament to, we all just kind of keep moving forward, right? And trying new things. 

Karina: Yes, 

Amanda: that's what it's all about.

In 

Karina: some ways it saved my sanity because I am not cut out to just sitting around. So like I need to build something I need to feel useful and productive. So yeah, I got I got out of it as much as you know, it gave me so it's been a great thing. 

Amanda: Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about the community and what What it [00:14:00] offers to fractional executives and what people can find there.

It's very active. I Loved it. As I said in the intro, I think there's so many great resources so many great people I think the fractional community in general I have found welcomes people with open arms. There is not a lot of competition People that are going after the exact same Target group are willing to help those that are going after the exact same company.

I just find it to be such a great community of people. So can you just talk a little bit more about kind of what you see within the community and some of the things that are offered? 

Karina: Sure. So, um, thank you for saying that. That makes me feel good. I tried really hard to build that vibe and protect it. Um, so I'm glad, uh, from a member's perspective to hear that.

Thank you. Basically it's a place for All existing and aspiring fractional leaders to [00:15:00] connect, collaborate, and learn from each other. And everything I do and don't do is from that lens. And, um, you know, the, the, the hub is in Slack and just, you know, connecting and discussing. We have lots of channels, but me and my team strictly moderate where things go and don't go It is large and engaged and I want people to be able to choose where they want to engage, right?

So if it's just noise and you can post anything anywhere then it there is no value so we we you know, we moderate you can only promote in the one channel and everything has a place and um, we have strict guidelines, which I recently even tightened and make sure there's like no spam and everyone feels safe and secure and and um I don't do, you know, there have been things like we do have location channels.

We have functional channels. I don't do niches and verticals and industries [00:16:00] because I wanted to be, um, collaborative and inclusive and that we can learn from each other. So everything is from that lens. Uh, we have a lot of lunch and learns. Um, again, only educational. We do have some sponsor, you know, it's a free community.

I ask for small recurring donations. We do have sponsored events where there is soft pitching, but again, it's education and value first. Uh, occasionally we have member panels. They're definitely like virtual and in person events. Uh, we have a resource hub. We now use, uh, Trova, which is, uh, we used to have our member directory in the resource hub in Coda, but at the beginning of the year, we moved it to Slack through the Trova app, which I think is a way better experience because you can just connect and find people in Slack.

You don't have to go elsewhere. So, again, I'm always thinking of different ways to add value and help members connect. We do have a fractional jobs and jobs other channel and a lot of [00:17:00] moderation to put things in the right place. Um, one of the biggest frustration me and my team have is people don't read and like Tammy, you know, kept asking me, she was like, don't our leaders supposed to be readers?

And I'm like, yeah, but 

Amanda: yes, I do. I do often see the nice. pop in of like, this should probably go in the other this, this seems like a CMO role that should go here or the same. 

Karina: Now it's all automated, like me and my team, because we're on a free Slack, I had to do a lot of like workarounds and automations on the back end, which are very useful.

So we have all these like, you know, magic emojis that trigger stuff. 

Amanda: Yeah, that's great. There's a couple of topics that I see come up often in the slack channel or that come up, I think, as a recurring theme, and I was wondering if we could touch upon some of them right now because I feel like they'll be of interest to [00:18:00] our listeners of course.

Sure. Okay. Thanks, More so than maybe others. And one of them is thinking about like pricing. I feel like this comes up often in other communities that I'm a part of as well is making sure that you're going into every. Potential project as a fractional and making sure that you're pricing for the value that you're delivering.

I'm constantly hearing about, well, you're always going to have your first project where you learn that you've undercharged for your services. And I think that that's such a disservice. I don't think you need to go in. and win your first project by charging a lower fee for it at all. So how do you think that fractional executives should think about charging for their services and structuring and structuring their offers?

Karina: So I've been there too. I way underpriced myself. Um, probably for years, you know, we We all [00:19:00] learn. And I think especially as women, we have a tendency, you know, to undervalue ourselves. And, and I remember when, back in the days when I was still on Upwork, every time I increased my price, I was so nervous and so worried.

And it was my husband who kept encouraging me to do so. And it was bizarre because, you know, again, now it's very different and nothing works. But back then, like, It was almost like different people would pay attention and value me more at the higher price, and it was mind boggling to see. But every time, like, I was like, oh my god, am I gonna get anyone?

So yeah, I've been there, done that, learned from it. Um, I would say the first thing to know is don't do hourly. I don't care what your function is, you know, it should be value based retainer, right? And, and The, I guess the way you do it will vary from function to function, like as a COO, because I run the business and, [00:20:00] and am involved daily, it's a weekly retainer, you know, I know other functions do monthly or by, you know, half days or full days or whatever, like, Okay.

Whatever works for you work wise, but it should not be hourly. Like, I think that is devaluing it and, you know, for consulting that makes sense, not for fractional. Um, so that is the number one. Number two, you know, you can ask in the community. There have been some, you know, is like I don't know off the top of my head for every function.

What is the range? Um, I kind of have an idea for CEO's and I'm definitely not the most expensive, but I am where I think it is comfortable and I have a model that it works for me. But I would definitely, I would definitely use the community, ask your resources, see what's out there. There's also a really good book by Ben Wolfe called Fractional Leadership, and he has a whole chapter on pricing and how you work [00:21:00] backwards, and, you know, think about like taxes and other things to come up at a price.

Amanda: That's great. That's great. Are there other, um, common pitfalls that you tend to see when people are just, are first starting out? 

Karina: Yes. Um, especially if this is your first time working for yourself, right? And you've been a W 2 employee. You have to, you have to structure a business, right? Like you have to be an LLC.

You should not be an individual. You should have a separate bank account, you know, just think about yourself as a business even though you're embedded in someone's team. It's a very different dynamic and you have to think about yourself as a business and protect yourself, right? Um, so that it's B2B, that's number one.

Um, you have to get used to juggling multiple clients and set [00:22:00] expectations up front. I do, um, Both as, you know, just I've learned to do this, but you have to block time. And I said, you know, every client will have set time. They know I'm available. They know, you know, either for work for meetings. And obviously if an emergency comes up, like, you know, we use Slack, there's a way to get to me, but this is when I am paying attention to you and your business and we'll respond.

And like all of this should be set up front. You know, as a fractional, you should be, you know, in their email, right? Like you should have an email for the company. You should be on their calendars. Like you have to structure it, how everything like I use spark. So every, you know, I have a unified inbox and see everything in one place.

So just thinking through how to do the work. And how to be efficient at the work so that you don't burn out and then you're effective for each client when you are doing that work, and it takes time. Like, [00:23:00] you know, yes, when you're W two, like, there's a lot coming at you, but you're still only thinking about one.

company in one problem, right? This is different. And then you need to find time to juggle that and the pipeline and staying abreast of like all the things that as a professional we have to do. And it's all on you. No one's going to pay you to go to the classes and read the books and do the things. So it's a very different way of working.

It's doable, but you need to know what you're getting yourself into. 

Amanda: So true. I time blocking has become my absolute best friend. I mean, having to time block and managing, managing those expectations upfront and communicating that with the client. I am fully on board with that. And time blocking time to actually focus on your own business is also important.

Critical. You are one of your own clients as well. You have to do the invoicing and do the business development and do all of the things. So I, I am a [00:24:00] huge fan of time blocking as well. So, okay. I know we're running short on time, but I do want to get your thoughts on where, where do you see or where, where do you see the fractional space in?

I feel like it's moving so quickly, but let's say three years from now. 

Karina: So hopefully, uh, it's going to be a lot easier for us to find the work, and once it does, it's going to even explode more. It's the way of the future, especially with AI now. I think, you know, we're going towards a place where companies, small companies can't afford full time, us full time anyhow, and now, You know, if you have a fractional and you have, like, AI assistants and a few people doing it, you can do so much more.

Right? And I think that's where it's, everything is going, right? Fractional was going there to begin with. I think [00:25:00] AI will actually, um, in some ways, accelerate that. Because people can't afford, you know, people can't afford, like, benefits is crazy, everything is crazy, and we are the force multipliers for SMBs and startups and scale ups.

You know, um, we allow them to, to learn from our mistakes and all the other things without having to do it firsthand. And, and also it's like, people need help, right? You can't be good at everything, and nor should you be. And we allow them to bring in people really good at certain things at a very high level affordably.

Amanda: I couldn't agree more. I think we're definitely on the precipice of something. Okay. So at the end of every interview, I am going to close with rapid fire questions. These are questions that are meant to be answered in one word or one sentence or less. So, okay. All right. Most [00:26:00] unusual place you've taken a client call.

Karina: In the car on the way to visiting my son at sleep away camp. 

Amanda: Favorite productivity hack and blocking. I mean, it's like my favorite thing. Best investment you've made in yourself. 

Karina: Improv classes. 

Amanda: An introvert. That's, you're surprising me with the introvert. I, you don't seem like one at all. Or I love that you push yourself out of your, your, your comfort zone.

Early bird or night owl? Night 

Karina: owl, 100%. 

Amanda: Three apps you can't live without? 

Karina: All things G Suite, Slack, and Coda. 

Amanda: Most unexpected skill that's helped your career?[00:27:00] 

Karina: I don't know why I'm stuck on this all of a sudden. I would say Just being like a productivity nerd and very, like, very introspective and systems thinking. Like, if it doesn't work, I will find a way to make it better. 

Amanda: Most used emoji in professional texts. 

Karina: That's the smiley. Anything more than that is too much.

Amanda: What's your go to comfort food? 

Karina: Chocolate. 

Amanda: And finally, what's the last thing that you impulse bought? Books. Always books. It's a great impulse buy. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate your time. I'm glad you time blocked me for 30 minutes of your day. Thank you for being my first guest. This was fantastic.

I [00:28:00] will link to Fractionals United so that everybody can join the community and become a part of it. Again, I'm a huge fan. Um, Anything else that you want to make sure we cover? No, that, that worked. Thank you. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Thanks for listening. And as always, please remember to follow, like, and share.

And don't forget to head to femalfractionals. com and sign up to receive special offers from each of our guests.