Do I Need a Fractional COO or a Business Coach?
- Brainz Magazine
- Sep 23
- 7 min read
Lauren Lea Fenn-Ellis, founder and CEO of OBM Associates, leads a globally trusted business management agency. Named one of the Top 10 Disruptive Entrepreneurs, she helps founders scale with clarity, strategy, and operational excellence.
There comes a point in every founder’s journey when growth stops feeling exciting and starts feeling heavy. You’re hitting goals. Revenue is rising. But every win comes with more meetings, more decisions, and more late-night catch-ups. That’s usually when people say, “I need to step into the CEO role.” So you hire a coach. You work on your mindset. You map out your big vision and start setting better goals. You even start saying “no” to things. And that’s all useful, to a point.
But if your business is already successful (and it’s still stuck), your biggest problem probably isn’t your mindset. It’s the fact that everything still runs through you.
At this stage, what you really need isn’t more advice. You need an operating system and a strategic partner to drive it. That’s where the difference between a business coach and a fractional COO matters most.
They solve two very different problems, and this guide will help you figure out which one you actually need. Let’s break down what each one does.
What is a business coach?
A business coach is here for you, the founder, the person behind the business. They’re not in the weeds with your team or building out backend systems. They’re focused on you, how you think, how you lead, how you make decisions.
They’ll look at how you’re showing up day-to-day, how you communicate, how you set (and hold) your goals, and they’ll help you bridge the gap between big-picture vision and aligned action.
Coaching is advisory work. It’s about giving you the tools and mindset shifts you need to grow, both as a business owner and as a human.
What to expect from working with a business coach?
Sessions usually revolve around things like:
Clarifying your vision and values
Getting really honest about your goals
Building confidence and clarity as a decision-maker
Strengthening your communication and leadership style
Making sure your priorities actually match your calendar
A good coach will help you stay anchored to the long-term vision, even when things feel chaotic in the short term. They’ll support you in becoming the version of yourself who can lead the business you’re building.
What is a fractional COO?
A fractional COO is your strategic partner, brought in at the exact moment when your business is too big for you to manage alone, but not quite big enough for a full-time executive team. They sit right beside you in the leadership seat, helping you move from “visionary” to “visionary with structure.”
Unlike a coach, who focuses on how you lead, a COO focuses on how the business runs. They’re responsible for building out the operational side of growth. They look at everything from systems and strategy to people and performance.
They don’t just give advice. They build the infrastructure to support your next level. And here’s where it gets really powerful.
In my own agency, I step into this role as a fractional COO for our clients, supported by a dream team of expert Online Business Managers (OBMs) who manage the day-to-day execution.
The COO sets the roadmap. The OBMs run the engine. This partnership allows our clients to step out of the daily chaos and into a business that runs without them needing to be in every Slack message and project update.
What to expect from a fractional COO (with OBM support)?
When you bring in a fractional COO (especially through an agency model like ours), you get:
A strategic growth partner to help you plan, lead, and scale
A team that manages the implementation, so things actually get done
An operating system that aligns your team, your tools, and your goals
A rhythm of communication and accountability that doesn’t revolve around you
The result? You stop being the bottleneck. You stop being the default manager. You finally get to lead with space to think, breathe, and grow.
Business coach vs. fractional COO vs. OBM
What they do, how they help, and when you need them:
Role | Business stage | Primary focus | How do they support you | How they operate |
Business coach | Any stage - especially during pivots or mindset blocks | Personal growth, leadership development, strategic thinking | Helps you gain clarity, build confidence, and align your mindset with your goals | Advisory and session-based, not involved in operations |
Fractional COO | Scaling and established businesses | Operational strategy, structure, and growth planning | Builds the systems, team structure, and rhythm for sustainable scaling | Executive-level, strategic, often supported by OBMs |
OBM (Online Business Manager) | Small to mid-sized businesses | Day-to-day execution, team management, operations oversight | Implements plans, manages projects, and holds the team accountable | Virtual and hands-on, embedded in daily operations |
What’s the difference between a business coach and a COO?
Both have their place. And if you’re in a season of growth, chances are you could benefit from both. But how they support you, and how they help your business move forward, is very different.
Scope of work
A business coach focuses on you, your mindset, your habits, and your leadership. They challenge the way you think and guide you through personal growth that ultimately shapes how you lead the business.
A fractional COO (or OBM) focuses on the business. They get into the structure, the systems, and the way the team is operating, often redesigning the entire operational foundation to support long-term growth.
Approach
Coaches often take a reflective, supportive approach. They hold space, ask the big questions, and hold you accountable for showing up differently.
At OBM Associates, our approach as COOs and OBMs is more hands-on. We roll up our sleeves. We lead change. We implement the processes that actually shift how your business functions day-to-day. It’s mindset and mechanics.
Ownership
Here’s the clearest difference:
A coach empowers you to make the changes.
A COO/OBM leads the change on your behalf.
We don’t just tell you what needs to happen. We build the roadmap and help your team execute it. Because at this stage, you don’t need more “shoulds” on your list. You need someone who can take the weight off your plate and move the business forward.
Do you need a business coach or a COO?
Here’s the question I always come back to with clients. Do you want to change the way you lead, or change the way your business runs? Because contrary to popular belief, those are two very different things.
A business coach is the right fit if you’re looking to:
Refine your vision and strategy
Build confidence in your leadership
Shift your mindset and create new habits
Lead more intentionally, with clarity and purpose
They’ll support you, the human, the founder, as you grow into the next version of yourself.
A fractional COO, on the other hand, is the right fit if:
You’re stretched too thin managing everything
Your business has outgrown your capacity
You want to step back without losing momentum
You need structure, systems, and accountability across the team
They don’t just help you think differently. They help your business run differently, with or without you in the middle of it all. And to be completely honest, you may need both. Some seasons call for coaching. Others call for execution.
At OBM Associates, our job is to give you the space to have both. We build the operating systems, manage the team, and streamline the backend so that you can lead without being in every decision.
When the day-to-day is handled, you’re free to step into coaching, vision work, and the kind of leadership that actually scales. Because becoming a better leader is easier when you’re not just trying to survive your calendar.
What makes OBM associates different?
There’s no shortage of business support out there promising more free time, streamlined systems, and next-level growth. But what sets OBM Associates apart isn’t just what we promise, it’s how we partner.
At our core, we’re not just an OBM agency. We’re a fractional COO-led team, which means you get the strategic vision and the operational support to actually implement it.
When you work with us, you get:
A fractional COO (that’s me!) to map out the growth strategy, structure the business for scale, and keep leadership aligned
A team of OBMs to manage the day-to-day, lead projects, coordinate your team, and make sure nothing slips through the cracks
This is how we help founders move from overworked manager to confident, big-picture CEO. We’re deeply hands-on. Rooted in integrity. Obsessed with sustainable growth. And we don’t believe in cookie-cutter solutions. Every client gets a tailored roadmap built around your goals, your team, and the way you work best.
Our framework
Here’s what our delivery model looks like:
90-day operating rhythm: Quarterly planning with clear monthly priorities and weekly check-ins to stay on track (and flexible when needed).
The 3S framework is strategy, structure, and systems: We align all three to create a business that works, not just on paper, but in real life.
CEO oversight without overwhelm: You’ll get a dedicated dashboard to see KPIs, team progress, and project updates at a glance.
Defined roles and clear decision-making: We make sure everyone knows who’s doing what, and when something really does need your input, it comes to you. Everything else is handled.
At OBM Associates, we build businesses that don’t just function, they flow. So you can lead with clarity, trust your team, and finally get back to the work you actually want to be doing.
Ready to scale with confidence?
If you’ve got the right people but need to learn how best to use them, while also unlocking more time to focus on your own leadership and development, then we can help.
We offer a range of services that cover on-demand strategy support, a digital transformation and systems migration package, and a full partnership with ongoing support for as long as you need it.
The right foundations make anything possible. And if this article resonated with you, I share regular insights just like this in my newsletter. You’ll get behind-the-scenes lessons from agency life, actionable tips, and honest conversations about what it really takes to grow a business that runs without you.
Read more from Lauren Lea Fenn-Ellis
Lauren Lea Fenn-Ellis, Agency Founder and Fractional COO
Lauren Lea Fenn-Ellis is the founder and CEO of OBM Associates, a globally trusted business management agency supporting high-growth entrepreneurs. With nearly two decades of operational leadership experience, Lauren and her team partner with visionary founders to scale intentionally through strategic systems, high-performing teams, and operations designed for clarity, efficiency, and scale. Named one of the Top 10 Disruptive Entrepreneurs, her work turns operational friction into focused momentum. For founders who are ready to step out of the day-to-day and into confident, sustainable leadership, OBM Associates builds the structure that sets them free.
