Mike Fried STRATEGIC GROWTH & OPERATIONS
Fractional Executive · COO · CFO · Strategy

When the business has outgrown running on instinct

You may have built a successful company without formal systems, detailed financial models, or a large management team. That works, until it doesn't.

As the business grows, more decisions run through you. Processes drift. Priorities compete. Cash, margin, inventory, and execution get harder to read. The team stays busy, yet important work still stalls. I help founders and SME owners build the structure, financial visibility, and operating discipline to make better decisions and execute them consistently. I work as a finance-minded operator: part strategic advisor, part operating partner, part fractional executive.

See Recent Work

You don't need to know whether it's a finance, operations, or strategy problem

These are the signals that the systems have fallen behind the business.

Every important decision still runs through you.

Processes are inconsistent and depend on tribal knowledge.

Margins, cash, and inventory are hard to read clearly.

The team is busy, but key initiatives keep stalling.

You spend more time firefighting than building.

You need senior judgment, but not a full-time hire.

How I Help

Five areas where I do the most good. Most engagements pull from more than one.

01 · Operations

Reduce your dependence on the founder

When every important decision still comes through you, growth becomes exhausting. I find where the business leans too heavily on you and build clearer ownership, decision rights, and accountability across the team.

  • Clarify who owns which decisions.
  • Cut unnecessary approvals.
  • Improve delegation.
  • Build an effective management rhythm.
  • Create follow-through without constant intervention.

The result: less firefighting, fewer bottlenecks, and more time for the work only you can do.

02 · Strategic Finance

Bring clarity to cash, margins, and performance

Financial statements tell you what happened. Owners also need help deciding what to do next. I connect the financial information with the operating reality of the business.

  • Cash-flow forecasting.
  • Margin and profitability analysis.
  • Pricing and discount review.
  • Inventory and working-capital analysis.
  • Customer, product, and category profitability.
  • Budget and scenario planning.

The result: clearer tradeoffs, fewer financial surprises, and better calls on pricing, hiring, purchasing, and growth. I don't replace your accountant, controller, or tax advisor. I work above that layer, using reliable numbers to support decisions and execution.

03 · Strategy → Execution

Turn strategy into completed work

Most businesses don't lack ideas. They lack a reliable way to turn those ideas into finished work. I convert strategy into practical priorities, ownership, timelines, and operating routines.

  • Translate goals into defined initiatives.
  • Sequence competing priorities.
  • Assign clear ownership.
  • Build decision and review cadences.
  • Diagnose why projects stall.
  • Set practical 30-, 60-, and 90-day plans.

The result: fewer half-finished initiatives, and steady progress on the work that matters most.

04 · Operations

Remove operational friction

As a business grows, informal processes break. Information gets lost between people. Tasks get duplicated. Work depends on tribal knowledge, and small errors become recurring costs. I find where time, money, and momentum leak out, then redesign the process around clearer ownership and simpler execution.

  • Map core workflows.
  • Find bottlenecks and handoff failures.
  • Cut unnecessary manual work.
  • Fix purchasing, inventory, and admin processes.
  • Write practical SOPs.
  • Support technology and automation calls.

The result: less rework, fewer errors, lower operating drag, and more capacity from the team you already have.

05 · Working Capital

Free up cash trapped in the business

A business can look profitable while cash sits stuck in the wrong places. I help you see where capital is tied up and which operating decisions are driving it, so more of your cash stays working.

  • Find where capital is trapped.
  • Review purchasing and spending patterns.
  • Evaluate customer and supplier terms.
  • Compare hold, redeploy, and release options.
  • Tie those decisions to cash-flow needs.

The result: better use of capital, more disciplined spending, and greater cash flexibility.

How the Scope Can Flex

From a focused diagnostic to ongoing fractional leadership. We shape it around what the business needs.

Operational or financial diagnostics

Ongoing fractional COO support

Strategic finance & decision support

Combined operating & financial leadership

I bring practical execution, not a presentation that sits on a shelf.

What Working Together Looks Like

I usually start by understanding three things, then build a focused roadmap for the next stage.

1

The business strategy

Where the company is trying to go, and what you believe matters most right now.

2

The operating reality

How work actually gets done, where decisions stall, and where people or process create friction.

3

The financial picture

What the numbers reveal about cash, margin, inventory, cost structure, and performance.

From there, I identify the most important operating and financial priorities, look for early practical wins, and build a focused roadmap for the next stage. The point is movement, not a report.

Who I Work Best With

Founder-led and owner-managed businesses that have grown past informal management.

Have grown beyond informal management.

Depend too heavily on the founder.

Need stronger operating discipline.

Have unclear margins, cash flow, or inventory.

Have important initiatives that keep stalling.

Need senior support without a full-time executive.

20+ yrs

Experience behind the work

I've spent over twenty years building and operating international businesses: managing teams, commercial partnerships, growth initiatives, customer operations, technology projects, and major strategic decisions. Today I apply that in fractional engagements across operations, strategic finance, cash flow, inventory, pricing, and owner decision support.

Let's talk about where the business is stuck

"What part of the business is taking too much of your time, attention, or cash?"

You don't need to diagnose it first. Whether it's finance, operations, strategy, or process is often the first thing we work out together. Can we afford to hire? Should we raise prices? Which products are actually profitable? Where is cash getting trapped? Those are the conversations I'm built for.

No pitch. Just a conversation about your challenges and whether I can help.