Jen Paterson | Fractional GM

The operations partner for owner-led small businesses.

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I run the back office so you can run the business.

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Twenty years inside small businesses. Four run hands-on: a competitive dance studio with 1,000+ students and a 4-day, 4-show annual production; an IIROC-licensed financial practice (Dollar Divas); a multi-property rental company (Zesty Properties); and a gluten-free bakery (BSis Creations). Dozens more seen from the inside through temp work over the years, every back office, every mess, every “how do other owners actually do this.”

Different industries, same job underneath: licensing, bookings, vendors, staff, books, and the hundred moving parts owners never have time for. And most of these businesses ran on deadlines that don’t move: show nights, competition entries, market mornings, tax filings, closing dates. I bring the best practices from the dozens I’ve seen, and the get-’er-done grit from the ones I’ve run.

No frameworks. No decks. No consultant theatre. I take the work off your plate.

Economics BA (honors, top 10%). IIROC-licensed. Rigor under the grit.

Based in Victoria, BC. On-site when it matters.

You don’t need another specialist. You need a partner who handles the rest.

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Some of the work has a specialist for it: bookkeeper, accountant, lawyer, insurance broker. They do their jobs. You’re the one making sure they do them together.

But most of the work doesn’t have a specialist. Go figure out how to get a municipal license. Research whether a new channel makes sense. Find a replacement supplier. Handle the tenant with a complaint. Work through the pile of stuff that’s been sitting on your desk for three months. That’s where the days go.

And some of it isn’t even work. It’s having someone to talk it through with. Someone who sees the whole business, has run her own, and isn’t your spouse, your employee, or your accountant. Someone on your side.

I do all three.

What I take off your plate

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The specialists I manage on your behalf:

• Bookkeeper (or I’ll find one, fire one, replace one)
• Accountant and annual filings
• Legal, contracts, and compliance deadlines
• Insurance, landlords, suppliers, trades
• Staff scheduling and payroll prep

The work I do directly:

• Customer ops, inbox triage, follow-ups
• Licensing, permits, municipal paperwork
• Research projects where you need an answer but don’t have time to dig
• Launch ops for a new product, location, or channel
• Renovations and trades coordination (I’ve run six-figure gut renos myself)
• The pile of stuff that’s been sitting on your desk for three months

In person, when it matters:

• Banks, notaries, signatures
• Walk-throughs with trades, inspectors, or tenants
• Supplier visits and equipment pickups
• Provincial and municipal offices
• The thing that can’t be done over email

Why not just hire a […]?

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A bookkeeper? Good, keep them. I’ll work with yours, or find you a better one. But a bookkeeper does books. They don’t handle the other ninety things on your desk.

A virtual assistant? Cheaper. But remote, junior, and can’t show up in person. Half of small-business admin still needs a body in the room, a signature on paper, a walk-through on site. A VA leaves that work on your desk by default.

A fractional COO? Too expensive for a business your size, and most of them run strategy sessions instead of doing the work. You need someone who picks up the phone, not someone who sends a deck.

A full-time ops manager? That’s a $70-90K/year commitment plus benefits plus training plus management. If your business is ready for that, great. If not, I’m the flexible version: pay only for what you need, month to month.

Keep doing it yourself at 10pm? Your call. But the hour you spent chasing a signature is an hour you didn’t spend on the thing only you can do. That’s the real cost.

Twenty years. Four businesses. Dozens more.

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Plus dozens of other small businesses seen from the inside through interim roles across retail, professional services, trades, and hospitality.

This is a fit if:

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• You run an owner-led small business in the Victoria area (roughly $300K to $3M in revenue)
• You’re paying specialists (bookkeeper, VA, accountant) and still spending your nights coordinating them
• You’ve tried a remote VA and half the work still lands on your desk because half the work has to happen in person
• You’ve got a pile of research, licensing, or operational projects that never move because no one owns them
• You want a partner, not a contractor

This is not a fit if:

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• You’re a tech startup or a larger company with an existing ops team, you need an FT hire, not a fractional partner
• You want someone to tell you what to do, I’d rather do it with you
• You want the cheapest option on rate, I’m not it

Three steps.

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1. Free 30-minute call. You tell me what’s stuck. I tell you whether I can help. No pitch, no pressure. If it’s not a fit, I’ll tell you who is.

2. Two-week paid discovery. I do the actual work on a real project from your list. You see how I operate, I see how your business runs. Either side can walk away with no obligation.

3. Ongoing partnership. Monthly retainer or project rate, whichever fits. Month-to-month. Cancel anytime. Most owners keep me because it’s the first time their desk has been clear in years.

Ready to get your plate cleared?

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Book a 30-minute call. the contact form

Or use the contact form

Based in Victoria, BC. Serving the South Island.