Navigating the Role of a Fractional Chief of Staff with Georgi Fiedler

In the world of fractional executives, clarity about your offering doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, experimentation, and real-world experience to discover where your unique value lies.

I recently spoke with Georgi Feidler, founder of Hire Train Inspire, who has spent nine years building a successful fractional chief of staff practice. Her journey offers valuable insights for anyone building their independent consulting business - whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your approach after years in the field.

What Does a Fractional Chief of Staff Actually Do?

One of the most striking aspects of my conversation with Georgi was how concisely she described her complex role:

"We serve as a GPS for small to mid-sized businesses, guiding founders through the people, processes, and systems that turn tribal knowledge into transferable value. We come in when a founder says, 'I'm ready for what's next,' but their business isn't."

This clarity didn't come quickly. As Georgi noted, "You don't start out with that clarity. It's built step by step through trial, error, listening, and lots of evolution."

Her business focuses on five interconnected areas:

• People (organizational structure, team clarity, strategic recruiting)
• Process (operational enablement)
• Systems (scoping, vetting, dashboards, SOPs)
• Founder coaching
• Strategic facilitation

The team works with founders at inflection points - when they're growing, burning out, preparing to retire, or planning an exit - helping them translate their vision into operational reality.

The Early Days: Say Yes and Figure It Out Later

For those just starting their fractional journey, Georgi offers contrarian advice that challenges the conventional wisdom of niching down immediately:

"In the early days, it's not about launching a funnel or an offer suite. You just start helping and learn through that what actually brings value."

She made a conscious choice to say yes to almost everything in her first few years, which allowed her to discover what felt aligned with her strengths and what truly brought value to clients.

"My first clients came through reputation, relationships, and word of mouth. I would say yes, and then go back and say, 'Okay, now we're going to figure out how to do this.'"

While this approach isn't for everyone, it allowed Georgi to build a diverse skill set and understand the real problems her clients faced. This experience ultimately informed the focused offering she provides today.

Finding Your Voice Through Experimentation

Many fractional executives get stuck trying to perfect their offering before launching. Georgi warns against this approach:

"When I look back at my experience, I went through and created a list of services with all the stuff I thought people would want. That was a complete waste of time."

Instead, she recommends jumping in and learning through direct experience with clients. This hands-on approach not only helps you refine your offering but also gives you authentic stories and case studies to share - far more valuable than theoretical service descriptions.

When I asked about the emotional experience of this experimental phase, Georgi described it as exciting rather than stressful: "I like to figure out problems, so it was very exciting to look at an opportunity and say yes, then go back and figure out how to do it."

This problem-solving mindset also gave her unique perspective and credibility with the founders she serves, who are often doing the same thing in their businesses.

Building a Team and Scaling Beyond Yourself

Today, Georgi's firm includes seven people supporting 4-9 clients at any given time, with monthly retainers ranging from $500 to $11,000 depending on client needs.

She brought in help early - not because she wanted to scale rapidly, but because she "wanted to take a real summer vacation and actually be off." This practical approach to growth has allowed her to build a sustainable business that serves her life, rather than consuming it.

The team includes a mix of employees and contractors, with Georgi noting that the post-COVID shift toward the gig economy has benefited organizations like hers that need flexible talent.

Her current challenge is extracting the "magic" from her head so others can replicate it: "Right now, so much of that has just been in my head. I know it. When I'm meeting with founders, they tell me a problem, and I'm like, 'Yeah, that's what we have to do.' But that's not easy for my team to learn or scale to."

The Mindset That Drives Long-Term Success

Throughout our conversation, several key mindset elements emerged that have contributed to Georgi's success:

1. Abundance Over Scarcity

"When you work from an abundance mindset and not a scarcity mindset, you come across people who are aligned or adjacent to what you're doing. I never viewed those people as a threat. I always viewed them as partners to walk alongside."

This perspective has opened doors to referral relationships that continue to feed her business nearly a decade later.

2. Integrity as Your North Star

Georgi approaches each client with the explicit goal of working herself out of a job: "I always tell my clients that if we do this right, eventually you're not gonna need us. That's maybe not the greatest business model, but it's what's required to give them the impact they want."

This integrity-first approach has created strong word-of-mouth referrals that sustained her business for years before she ever needed to do deliberate marketing.

3. Value-Driven Pricing

Rather than guessing at her pricing, Georgi has evolved to a unit-based pricing model: "It's not a guess, it's a math problem. Let's work in reverse and figure out what my cost per unit is and create pricing based on that."

This approach ensures profitability while creating clear expectations for clients about the value they receive.

4. Doing Great Work Is Necessary But Not Sufficient

For years, Georgi operated under the assumption that "doing the great work is the best marketing." While she still believes this is largely true, she's learned that "I still need to follow up and follow through."

One recent implementation: quarterly reviews with each client to remind them of all the work completed and value delivered. "I think there is just that natural tendency - and maybe not everybody is this way, but I know that I am a planner - I'm always looking to what's next. I don't take enough time to look back and say, 'My gosh, look at everything that we just did.'"

Navigating the Challenging Moments

Even with nine years of success, Georgi acknowledges moments of doubt - what many call "impostor syndrome" or what Bradley prefers to call "impostor thoughts."

For Georgi, these moments typically arise when:

• Facing tasks outside her strengths
• Navigating personal challenges (like her husband's health issues)
• Experiencing business setbacks

Her approach to these moments includes:

1. Having someone who tells you the truth: "I have somebody who tells me the truth... this is kind of a 'take your own medicine' thing. Like that's one of the things I do for my founders - I tell them the truth when no one else does, in a really loving way with good intentions."
2. Looking back at achievements: "That looking back part is so important" - seeing what you've already accomplished provides perspective during difficult times.
3. Faith in the bigger picture: "Having faith that whatever happens, it's going to be OK. I will be OK. There are worse things that can happen."

As Bradley added, and Georgi agreed: "Whatever happened just happened for me... there's something here for me to learn, experience, grieve, feel, whatever it is that will serve me, even though it might be painful or uncomfortable now."

Creating a Life-Compatible Business

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of Georgi's story is how her fractional practice has supported her life circumstances rather than conflicting with them.

"I built this business to work and still be present for my family. My husband was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder three years ago and is full-care. One of my daughters is on the spectrum. I would not have been able to show up the way I did for my family over the last three years if I didn't have this."

What began as a practical solution for work-life balance evolved into something more meaningful: "This job and this work that I do, because I love it so much, was such a source of comfort and just a respite for me. It was a place to go that felt normal when nothing else did."

Final Wisdom for Fractional Executives

As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked Georgi for any final insights for fractional executives. Her advice was simple but powerful:

"Just say yes, and use that to reflect constantly and evolve often."

This approach encapsulates her journey - embracing opportunities, regularly evaluating what's working, and continuously refining your approach based on real-world experience.

Whether you're just starting your fractional journey or looking to take your established practice to new heights, Georgi's experience demonstrates that success comes not from having everything figured out from day one, but from a willingness to experiment, learn, and evolve - all while maintaining unwavering integrity with the clients you serve.

Mylance

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