The Uncomfortable Truth About Building a Sustainable Fractional Business

Why chasing unicorn status might be the worst thing you can do for your career - and your sanity.

Let's cut through the noise: Your LinkedIn feed is probably full of founders bragging about spinning up AI-powered businesses and hitting $100K MRR in their sleep. Meanwhile, you're grinding away, wondering if you're doing something wrong.

You're not. But you might be missing something critical.

In a recent episode of Six Figure Secrets for Fractional Experts, Mylance founder Bradley Jacobs sat down with Scott Abbott - a founder, CEO, bestselling author, and coach who's spent 35 years building, scaling, and occasionally spectacularly failing at businesses across the globe. With over 10,000 coaching sessions under his belt and a new book (Boss Up Moments) making waves in the leadership space, Scott dropped some uncomfortable truths that every fractional executive needs to hear.

Here's what matters most.

The "Purpose vs. Profit" Trap Is Keeping You Stuck

Here's a myth that needs to die: You can either follow your purpose OR make money. Pick one.

Wrong.

Scott puts it bluntly: "A lot of times I think startups and founders don't want to do the hard stuff or the stuff they don't like." The result? People separate systems from soul, vision from execution, purpose from profit - and then wonder why their business isn't working.

The reality? These aren't opposites. They're partners. Like milk and cookies. Peanut butter and jelly. You need both.

Scott learned this the hard way during the dot-com era when he raised $15 million in venture capital and rode the wave of hype. As he puts it with characteristic honesty: "I didn't really know the difference between a P&L and a BLT." The crash taught him that passion without production is just expensive hope.

Systems Aren't Sexy - But They're Non-Negotiable

When most people hear "systems," they picture soul-crushing bureaucracy. Scott sees it differently.

"Systems don't make bad systems. People make bad systems."

The point isn't to suffocate your creativity with rigid processes. It's to create structured ways to get things done - especially the things you don't want to do. Because here's the uncomfortable truth: If you're a solopreneur or early-stage fractional, nobody's holding you accountable. That freedom is intoxicating. It's also dangerous.

Scott doesn't trust himself to stay on track without structure. Neither should you.

His advice? Name your system. Brand it. Make it yours. Even if you can't afford a coach, you can commit to a framework that keeps you honest - with your accounting, your reporting, your prospecting, all of it. The alternative is drifting toward the "fun" stuff while the critical work piles up.

The CLEAR Framework for Actually Getting Stuff Done

When things get messy - and they will - Scott uses a framework called CLEAR to keep conversations and decisions productive:

• Collaborative: Work together, not against each other
• Logical: Base decisions on reality, not wishful thinking
• Empathetic: Recognize the humans involved
• Authentic: Drop the act and be real
• Resilient: Stay away from fragility when things get hard

This isn't just touchy-feely stuff. Scott claims that committing to these principles gives you a 20-30% higher likelihood of success. More importantly, it gives you permission to call BS when someone (including yourself) is avoiding what needs to happen.

Technology Is a Commodity. You're Not.

Here's something that might surprise you coming from a tech veteran with 40 years in the industry: "Technology is the commodity. AI is actually a commodity."

Let that sink in.

If you're betting your entire fractional business on being the person who knows the coolest tools, you're building on sand. The world doesn't need 45 variants of the same AI-powered service. What it needs are humans who can think clearly, communicate effectively, and execute with integrity.

Scott believes AI is actually driving the need for better humans - people who can fuse the technical with the personal, who can bring wisdom (not just data) to complex problems. The fractional executives who thrive won't be the ones with the fanciest tech stack. They'll be the ones who've mastered the soft skills everyone else dismissed as too soft.

Maybe You Don't Need a Unicorn

Here's a question Scott asks that stops founders cold: "When do you stop being a startup?"

He's seen the same faces at startup events for a decade. At some point, the "startup grind" becomes a lifestyle choice, not a growth strategy. And that's fine - if you're honest about it.

But consider an alternative definition of success: $150K in top-line revenue with $50K in expenses, work that aligns with your purpose, and a life you actually enjoy living. Scott knows fractional consultants doing exactly this - some even picking up part-time gigs at RV clubs just because they enjoy it, not because they need to.

That's not failure. That's freedom.

As Scott puts it: "It's hard to save the whales if you can't put gas in your car to get to the coast."

The Bottom Line

Building a sustainable fractional business isn't about grinding toward some imaginary unicorn status. It's about fusing purpose with profit, embracing systems that keep you honest, and developing the human skills that technology can't replicate.

The founders who get this will thrive. The ones still chasing hype will eventually learn the same lesson Scott did in the dot-com crash - just more expensively.

So here's your homework: Pick one system in your business that's been running on vibes and hope. Name it. Brand it. Make it yours. Then actually use it.

Because getting your act together isn't just good business strategy. According to Scott, it's the path to long-term happiness - even if it's not the ideal you imagined.

Welcome to 2026.

Want to go deeper? Check out Scott Abbott's book Boss Up Moments on Amazon, or connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn @ScottAbbottABC. For more on becoming a Boss Up Coach or working with one, visit boss-up.academy.

Mylance

This article was written by Mylance, the LinkedIn content system built for founders and experts who want consistent, high-quality posts that attract clients. We help you lock in your positioning, clarify your ideal customer, and build a content strategy that actually resonates. Then our system gives you a content calendar, drafts posts in your authentic voice, and keeps you accountable - so you stay visible and attract the right clients while saving hours each week!If you’re ready to grow your presence and pipeline on LinkedIn, sign up at Mylance.co.