Diagram of the five steps from sale to customer, with the handoff and the check marked as the points that break first.
Sound familiar?
Selling isn't your problem. Everything after the sale is.
Growth doesn't stall at the sale. It stalls right after it, and right now more sales would mostly mean more of this landing on you.
01
Work that still needs you.
Contractors, vendors and new hires get it most of the way there. The last stretch comes back to you or your ops lead, every week. So you step in and finish it yourself.
02
Mistakes nobody catches in time.
The wrong price on the page. The follow-up emails that never went out. The deliverable that came back off base. You find out when a customer does.
03
A team that waits for your answers.
Capable people, but nobody owns the result, so every decision climbs back up to you. Nothing moves until you weigh in.
That's what caps how fast you can grow. More going on, less coming in.
What changes
Grow faster and step back. The same fix does both.
Right now the business runs through a few people's heads. We move it into owners, standards and a weekly rhythm your team can run.
One owner for each outcome, so nothing waits on you.
A clear standard for the work, with checks that catch mistakes before a customer does.
Numbers you see every week, so problems show up early instead of late.
Tools set up the way the work actually happens. One place to look, not five.
A team you can hold to your standard, whether they're in-house or contractors.
Where a step repeats, we use AI to take the grunt work out of it. A named person still reviews anything that reaches a customer. See a labelled example →
Build a business that gives you more back.
How it works
Look first.
We find what is actually limiting the result you want, in your calls, your tools and your team, before anything changes.
Fix the operations behind it.
Design the owner, the standard and the check. Set it up in the tools you already use. Train the people who run it.
Make it stick.
A weekly rhythm that keeps it working, and support that stays for an agreed period after handover.
Proof
Where Jacob has done this before.
Nine engagements and roles, from a thirty-person agency to hospital systems and a Fortune 500 pricing platform. Three of them in numbers, and three founders in their own words.
Blue Stout · Ecommerce agency, about 30 people
12×
Revenue grew from about $400K to $4.8M a year in roughly three years, on operations that stopped depending on the founder.
Jacob built the workflows, management structure, roles, accountability, reporting and staffing capacity behind that growth, and an AI-assisted process that turned inquiries into proposal drafts the sales consultants approved before presenting.
Company result over about three years while Jacob helped run operations. Many people contributed.
Read the Blue Stout story →Five Hour Flip · Software business
$1.5M → $8M
Annual revenue over about five years. The business later sold for about $10M.
Jacob rebuilt the operating structure, software maintenance, quality checks and team capacity, and gave staff an assistant that answered their questions from the company's own procedures while they worked, so new hires became independent sooner and managers fielded fewer repeat questions.
Company result; the growth and the sale had many contributors.
Read the Five Hour Flip story →Field Mouse Investments · Investment firm
60%+
Fewer missed deadlines within about three months, with onboarding cut from two weeks to one and an hour of manager time back every day.
Jacob mapped the work, set owners and handoffs, configured Asana around how the team actually works, added procedures, reporting and KPI visibility, and trained the team until it ran without chasing.
Named owners for every lead and a marketing-to-sales handoff the CRM enforces. More appointments and closed sales, with less management time spent coordinating.
Insurance information captured once at registration and visible to billing, with checks for missing details. Less rework, fewer avoidable billing delays.
Jacob wrote the first prototype and led the developer team through design, pilot and rollout of a pricing platform that made AI recommendations and automatic changes inside owner-approved limits.
Hospital operational improvements and ERP rollouts contracted through Deloitte; software-delivery workflows that ran large financial-sector rollouts at Wells Fargo and NCR.
About these numbers. They come from single engagements and roles, recalled by Jacob and the founders involved, not from audits, and they are not what every client gets. What changes for you depends on where you start and on follow-through, which is why scope, price and the result we are aiming at are agreed in writing before you pay.
In their words.
Three founders on what changed. Printed with their permission.
On the first call Jacob told me the problem wasn't my team. It was that nobody owned the handoff after a sale closed. Three weeks later every kickoff had an owner, a checklist and a date, and I stopped being the one who noticed when something slipped.
Arne Giske, founderGroup Funnels · founder-led business · MiamiKickoffs on time, 11 of 11 since
We took on 40% more clients in a year with the same team, and I took my first two-week trip in six years. Nothing came back to me. That was the whole point, and it was the first time it had been true.
Allen Burt, founder and CEOBlue Stout · ecommerce agency, about 30 people · Bend, Oregon+40% clients, same headcount
He told us two of the things we wanted to build were a waste of money, and showed us why. Then he built the one that mattered, in the tools we already had, and trained the team to run it. We haven't needed him for it since. I think that's the point.
Bryce McKinley, founderFive Hour Flip · software business · Dallas, TexasTeam runs it without him
Three engagements, in detail.
Where they started, what was actually in the way, what changed, and what the numbers did. Company names withheld; figures as the founders and Jacob recall them.
The agency whose founder was still the last step.
Where they started
A 14-person paid-media agency doing $1.8M a year. Sales were fine. Every project still waited on the founder at kickoff, at review and whenever a client pushed back. Two of the last five deliveries had a missed step the client noticed first.
What was in the way
Nobody owned the handoff from sale to delivery, so the founder did. "Done" meant whatever the founder would accept, so the team sent work up instead of out.
What changed
One named owner per account. A written delivery standard with a two-line check before anything reached a client. A thirty-minute weekly numbers review. Everything set up in the Asana they already had, the way the work already flowed.
−70%missed deadlines in 12 weeks
9 hrsfounder time back each week
+3clients taken on, no hiring
The online business where every launch broke fulfilment.
Where they started
A course and coaching business doing about $2.4M a year, with coaches, VAs and contractors across three time zones. Launches worked. The week after each launch, onboarding went out late, access broke for some buyers, refunds and tickets spiked, and the founder spent the launch's best week fixing it.
What was in the way
Fulfilment had no owner and no standard. Each launch reinvented the handoff. The founder was the only person who knew the whole path from purchase to first result.
What changed
A fulfilment owner with authority over contractors. One checklist from purchase to day 30. A check on access and emails before the cart closes. A weekly review of refunds, tickets and completion. AI drafting support replies, with a named person approving anything that reached a customer.
−38%refund rate, next two launches
−55%launch-week tickets
0 hrsof the founder's time in fulfilment
The acquisition that needed playbooks a new team could run.
Where they started
An investor group had bought a $6M services business with 31 people. The founder was leaving. Margins were thin and most of how the business ran lived in two people's heads.
What was in the way
No owners below the founder, no written standards, no numbers anyone looked at weekly. New management could not tell what was working.
What changed
Jacob came in as operating partner for seven months. Owners for every outcome. Playbooks written by the people doing the work and tested by people who had never done it. A weekly operating review with five numbers. Vendor and contractor standards with consequences.
11% → 19%operating margin in seven months
6 wkshandover to the new GM, no customer disruption
Where Jacob has worked
About twenty years of operations work, as operator, consultant, contractor and employee: enterprise, healthcare and financial services first, then the founder-led agencies and online businesses Working Properly serves today. Logos identify history, not endorsements. Every relationship, labelled →
Enterprise, healthcare and financial services
Founder-led agencies and online businesses
Ways to work together
Five ways to work with Working Properly.
Working Properly offers five ways to work together: Done-With-You Operating Partner, from $4,000 a month. Private Operating Advisory, from $2,500 a month. Workflow Implementation Sprint, $3,000 fixed. Group Operating Coaching, from $500 per company a month. Fractional COO, selective and by agreement. Scope and terms come in writing before you pay. Advisory, Partner and Group are month-to-month; the Sprint is a fixed fee; the fractional route is agreed individually.
Done-With-You Operating Partner
Fix it with us.
From $4,000/monthMonth-to-month
For founders who want the operations fixed, not just discussed.
Everything in Advisory, plus one agreed improvement each month
One deliverable per month we co-design and review: a process, a tool setup or a management routine
Your team keeps daily execution; we check that each change lands
Terms
Private Advisory plus co-design and implementation review for one agreed improvement. Your team owns implementation, daily execution and staff management. Working sessions and review fit within the same four monthly sessions, with total effort agreed in writing. Month-to-month, paid in advance. Cancel with written notice at least seven calendar days before the next bill, effective at the end of the paid period; no prorated refund except as required by law or signed exception.
For founders who want a second operating brain on the hard calls: hiring, capacity, priorities, delivery problems.
Four 45-minute sessions a month, with preparation and a decision recap
Clear next actions after every session; you and your team execute
Terms
A working relationship for operating decisions, not daily staff management or unlimited access. You can start here directly. Month-to-month, paid in advance. Cancel with written notice at least seven calendar days before the next bill, effective at the end of the paid period; no prorated refund except as required by law or signed exception.
$3,000 fixedHalf at agreed start, half at written acceptance
For one process that keeps breaking: onboarding, handoffs, reporting, requests.
Mapped, set up in your tools, tested and documented; ten-business-day target after written start and readiness
Two 45-minute training sessions for one team of up to ten people
14 days of agreed-work fixes after written acceptance
Scope, timing and payment
Includes two bounded revision rounds, up to two native automations and one agreed AI-assisted step where it fits. Payment is $1,500 at the agreed start and $1,500 upon written acceptance. Work starts after capacity, payment, usable inputs, minimum access, a named approver and approved data/AI permissions are confirmed. Client delays pause or re-slot the schedule. Software subscriptions, custom APIs, full migrations, daily staff management and additional workflows are outside this Sprint.
Group Operating Coaching · from $500 per company/month
A weekly 75-minute shared session for one named participant per company. Bring an operating challenge, leave with a next step; your team does the work. Fit, availability and terms confirmed before you join.
Scoped, part-time operating leadership for a defined part of the business. Scope, hours, fees and availability are agreed individually. Mention it on the call.
Founders who want the operations fixed with their team
Advisory plus one agreed improvement and one deliverable a month, co-designed and reviewed
From $4,000/month
Month-to-month
Operating Advisory
Founders who want an operator on the hard calls
Four 45-minute sessions a month, preparation, decision recap
From $2,500/month
Month-to-month
Workflow Sprint
One process that keeps breaking
Mapped, set up in your tools, tested, documented, taught; 14 days of fixes
$3,000 fixed
Ten-business-day target
Group Coaching
Owners who want a weekly place to work on the business
Weekly 75-minute shared session, one named participant
From $500/company/month
Month-to-month
Fractional COO
A defined part of the business that needs senior operating leadership
Scoped part-time leadership with agreed outcomes and authority
By agreement
Agreed individually
Not sure which? Book the call. You'll get a straight answer on which one fits, or whether none of them does.
Working Properly · Led by Jacob Burke
An operator, not a coach.
I've spent about twenty years inside operations. Most of it was fixing how work gets done at founder-led agencies and online businesses. Earlier, it was hospitals, banks and enterprise software teams.
For 16 years, investors have brought me in as operating partner or fractional COO after they buy a business, or while they decide whether to. The job is the same every time: fix how the work gets done so margins improve and the playbooks hold when new people sit in the seats.
I've sat in the operating seat. The fixes I bring have been tested where I was the one accountable for them.
I'll tell you plainly what I see, including when the real problem isn't operations, or when the right move is to wait.
I only take work I can improve. If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so on the first call and point you somewhere useful.
Working Properly is my practice. You work with me directly.
Working Properly is an operations consultancy for founder-led agencies and online businesses, led by Jacob Burke in Atlanta. The practice is J BURKE BUSINESS LLC.
Before you write
Questions founders ask before they write.
Plain answers. If yours isn't here, it's a good first question for the call.
Will this eat my time?
Not much. Your time stays on selling and marketing. Advisory and Partner run on four 45-minute sessions a month plus a short written recap. Your ops lead or team carries the day-to-day with us.
My team is mostly contractors and remote. Does this still work?
Yes. Owners, briefs, standards and checks work the same for contractors as for employees. If a vendor can't meet your standard, we'll say so plainly.
We've written SOPs before. They didn't stick.
Documents don't run a business; owners, checks and a weekly rhythm do. We set those up with your team, train the people who use them and stay for an agreed period after handover.
Do we have to change tools?
No. We set up what you already use and make it one place to look, not five. Custom integrations and migrations are scoped separately.
Do you use AI? Are you going to tell us to run the business through a chatbot?
No. We use AI where it removes repeat work and vendor bloat. A named person reviews anything that reaches a customer. The business still runs on people who own their roles. See the labelled example →
How fast will we see change?
We look before we touch anything. In a Partner engagement, the first agreed improvement is worked in the first month. A Sprint targets ten business days after written start and readiness. Speed depends on inputs and approvals, and we'll tell you when it does.
What if we need someone to actually run operations?
Working Properly takes a small number of fractional COO engagements where senior, part-time operating leadership is the right fit. Mention it on the call or in your note and we'll scope it individually. About fractional COO support →
How is this different from a coaching program?
We set things up and train your people, not just teach. Scope, deliverable and support period are agreed in writing, and the work happens in your tools with your team.
How does pricing work?
Prices are on this page. Scope and terms come in writing before any payment. Advisory, Partner and Group are month-to-month; the Sprint is a fixed fee, half at agreed start and half at written acceptance. No payment or access is needed to ask.
When does work start?
For Advisory, Partner, Group Coaching or a fractional COO engagement, we first confirm fit, availability, responsibilities and terms. Work starts only after the agreed payment and readiness requirements are met and START is confirmed in writing.
The ten-business-day Sprint target begins after written scope and acceptance checks, the required payment milestone, complete inputs and access, named approval and data/AI permissions are accepted, and START is confirmed in writing. Delayed inputs or approvals pause or re-slot the schedule. An inquiry doesn't reserve capacity. Existing signed or platform terms still govern existing work.
How do you handle our data?
We use only the providers and data types you approve, minimize or redact inputs, keep credentials out of ordinary documents and chat, and review AI output before acting. Sensitive or regulated use needs confirmed provider, plan and security requirements first. Privacy →
Start with one straight answer
Tell us what's taking most of your time.
Book 30 minutes, or send a short note. Jacob reads every note himself and replies within one business day, usually the same day. You get a straight answer: what we'd look at first, which kind of support fits, or that we're not the right fit.
A 30-minute call, or a note answered within one business day.
If it fits, a 60-minute working session on your situation.
Written scope, price and start conditions before any payment.
Jacob Burke, founder · Atlanta
