The Hands-Off CEO Blog

Transforming Service Businesses: Mandi Ellefson and David C. Barnett

In this illuminating conversation, Mandi, the founder of Hands-Off CEO and author of “The Hands-Off CEO” book, shares her journey from a struggling business owner to a helping consulting agencies scale. Through her personal story [03:51-07:42] and evolution of her business model [07:43-12:20], Mandi reveals crucial insights about scaling service-based businesses. Key Topics Discussed: [12:21-17:30] The core challenges of service…

Building a Self-Managing Dream Team With Jason Swenk

Many consulting agency CEOs find themselves in what I call the ‘Entrapment Cycle.’ On paper, they’ve built a successful business. Their expertise and personal touch brought them great clients and a solid reputation. But now that same expertise has become a golden handcuff. They’re trapped by their own success, stuck in a model where growth equals more hours and stress.…

How to Hire and Develop an Operations Manager (pt. 3)

Hey, agency owners, you’ve done it. You’ve hired that unicorn Operations Manager you’ve been searching for. But now comes the real challenge: transforming them into the business-running powerhouse that will revolutionize your agency. Let’s dive into a realistic approach that acknowledges the complexity and non-linear nature of this process. The 90-Day Development: Embrace the Chaos First things first: forget about…

How to Hire and Develop an Operations Manager (pt. 2)

Alright, agency owners. You’re ready to bring on that game-changing Ops Manager we talked about in Part 1. But hold up! Before you rush into hiring, let’s talk about how to avoid the train wrecks I’ve seen (and, confession time, made myself). The 3 Deadly Sins of Hiring an Operations Manager Hiring a Turtle When You Need a Cheetah Picture…

Onboard Your Way to Client Success with Megan Huber – E97

Success for clients goes beyond achieving great results. There are several pillars that make up client success, with onboarding being just one of them. Megan Huber of Structured Freedom joins Hands-Off CEO to share her unique perspective on onboarding and how it plays a role in scaling a service-based business. Megan Huber is a scalability expert for coaches and expert-based…

The Real Cost of Bad Onboarding with Kristen Gallagher – E74

Mandi Ellefson’s guest is Kristen Gallagher, founder and CEO of Edify, the frictionless way to onboard software engineers. Edify functionally tailors onboarding to each client’s teams, which works to attract, keep, and grow great employees while helping them get back the time they need. You’ll hear Mandi and Kristen talk about: “One of the top reasons for team dysfunction is…