Real stories + templates for going fractional: how to win clients, price with confidence, scope smart, and run a business without burning out.
In 2021, I was sitting at dinner with my old manager.
At the time, I was working full-time for a CEO who was… let’s just say, intense. I spent most of the meal complaining. About the pace. About the chaos. About how impossible it was to find good designers, even when salaries were $150K+, the talent wasn’t great.
My manager listened for a while, then put down his glass and said:
“You should start your own business. I’ll be your first client.”
I laughed. “How would that even work? How many clients would I need? How much would I charge? How would I even talk about myself?”
He laid it all out for me. The math. The model. The positioning.
That was the moment I stopped thinking like an employee and started thinking like a fractional.
Within 30 days, I’d replaced my full-time income.
Since then, I’ve built a 7-figure fractional design business working with SaaS founders and tech teams. Along the way, I’ve learned what works, and made every mistake possible.
Now I’m turning those lessons into The Fractional Playbook, built from my own journey and the struggles I keep hearing from other fractionals:
How to explain fractional work so founders actually understand the value
Proposals, onboarding flows, and pricing models you can copy (not guess at)
Scoping and boundary-setting so you don’t drown in scope creep
How to find clients when your network isn’t enough
Messaging and storytelling that makes you sound confident without “bragging”
Handling ghosting, bad-fit clients, and knowing when to walk away
This Substack is where I’ll share it all, piece by piece — stories, templates, and receipts from the trenches.