Runs the weekly review
One meeting, one scorecard, the same numbers every week. Who owes what by when, and what slipped since last time.
Zygo Local ยท Fractional COO
A fractional COO, or a system that runs without you
The short answer
A fractional COO is an experienced operator who runs the operating side of your business part time, for a monthly fee instead of a full-time salary. Plenty of small businesses that search for one need systems first: calls answered, quotes and follow-ups out on time, paperwork that chases itself. Ben Johnson does both. With local businesses he starts with a $2,000 30-day sprint.
01
What a fractional COO does
Fixes how work moves
Follows a job, an order or a client from the first call to the paid invoice, and rebuilds the steps where things fall through.
Hires and hands off
Writes the roles the business needs, helps pick the people, and turns what the owner carries in their head into how-tos.
Keeps the owner out of the weeds
Vendors, software, schedules and the hundred small calls that stall when only the owner can make them.
02
What it costs
Fractional COOs are usually paid a monthly fee, and the fee follows two things: how many days a week they work, and how much of the result they've agreed to own. I couldn't find a survey of fractional COO rates that wasn't written by someone selling one, so I won't quote you a market range.
What I can source is a full-time comparison. The median full-time general and operations manager in the U.S. earned $105,770 a year in May 2025, before benefits and payroll taxes.1 A fractional seat makes sense when you need that judgment for a few days a month, not forty hours a week.
Whoever you talk to, ask three things before you sign:
- Days. How much time you get each month, and what happens when a week runs over.
- Ownership. Which number they're accountable for, written into the agreement.
- The exit. How much notice it takes to end it, and what stays with you when it does.
03
A person or a system?
You need a person
A fractional COO fits when
- You manage a team that no longer fits around one desk, and nobody but you runs the week.
- Decisions wait on you, and the business stalls when you're out for a week.
- You know what to fix, and nobody has the time to lead the fixing.
You need a system
A sprint fits when
- Calls go to voicemail and quotes go out late because everyone is on a job.
- The same paperwork gets chased, typed and re-typed every week.
- You want something working this month, then decide about more help.
If you're running a crew, a front desk or a small office, the second column is usually where the hours go. A system that answers every call and follows up on every quote is cheaper than an executive, and it's the first thing a good COO would build anyway.
04
How I work with local businesses
Start small, then decide
$2,000 for the first 30 days
In week one I spend a morning in your business and follow how a call turns into paid work. The first fix is live within a week, and two more systems are running by day 30. It takes about four hours of your time, and everything is set up in your name.
Every sprint comes with a written guarantee, spelled out in the one-page plan before you say yes.
After day 30, keep me on for $1,500 a month at the founding rate (regular $2,500) to keep it running and add the next fix each month, or run it yourself. If the business needs someone in the weekly meeting beyond that, we talk about it once you've seen how I work. How the 30 days run.
05
Who's doing the work
Some of the consumer brands I work with have me in the operating seat as fractional COO or CEO, running the weekly review myself. The local work is the same job at a smaller scale.
I'm Ben Johnson. My family and I live in Montgomery. Most of my career happened on a screen, and I want the next chapter to be with businesses I can drive past.
At Amazon I managed hundreds of millions of dollars a year in business. Then I built and ran a portfolio of consumer brands that grew to $80M+ a year. Today I lead growth and operations for a handful of consumer brands and media companies, mostly by fixing how leads, orders and money move through each business.
I do the work myself. The person who walks through your business in week one is the person who builds your system.
15 yrs in growth. 0 yrs in your trade. You'd teach me that part.
06
Questions owners ask
What does a fractional COO do?
A fractional COO runs the operating side of a business part time: the weekly review and scorecard, how work moves from first call to paid invoice, hiring and handoffs, and the vendor and software decisions that otherwise wait on the owner. You get an experienced operator for a slice of the week instead of a full-time executive.
How much does a fractional COO cost?
Most are paid a monthly fee tied to how many days a week they work and what they own. For comparison, the median full-time general and operations manager earned $105,770 a year in May 2025, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, before benefits and payroll taxes. For local businesses I start with a $2,000 30-day sprint and then $1,500 a month at the founding rate (regular $2,500).
What's the difference between a fractional COO and an operations manager?
An operations manager runs the plan day to day, full time. A fractional COO sets the plan, builds the systems and the scorecard, and holds people to them a few days a month or a week. Many small businesses need the systems first and the full-time manager later.
What is the difference between a fractional COO and a consultant?
A consultant usually hands you recommendations. A fractional COO stays and runs them, with a seat in the weekly meeting and ownership of the results. The useful question for either is what they will own, in writing, and how you end it.
Do you work as a fractional COO near Houston?
Yes. I live in Montgomery and work with businesses in Montgomery, The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring, Magnolia and north Houston. With local businesses I start with a 30-day sprint so we both see how I work before anyone talks about a longer seat.
Next step
Start with the part that's breaking.
Pick a time on my calendar, or email me and ask for a one-page plan for your business. I'll write down what I'd fix first, what it costs, and the guarantee that comes with it.
Zygo Consulting, Ben Johnson, Montgomery, TX. AI implementation for local businesses in Montgomery, The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring, Magnolia and north Houston.