Most early-stage founders assume margin can’t improve until later. “We’ll fix it at Series A,” they say.
But margin isn’t just a finance metric — it’s an operations one. Ignore it, and you’re leaving money (and sanity) on the table.
The Problem
One SaaS company I worked with (seed stage, selling to both B2B and B2C) assumed profitability was impossible. They were working harder, putting in long hours, and still coming up short.
When I pulled the P&L, the issue was obvious: labor costs.
Each project manager could only handle 5 clients. Timelines swung wildly depending on who ran the project, and most of the work was repeatable. They were reinventing the wheel 20 times a week.
What I Did
Pulled reporting and shadowed the PM team to see where time disappeared.
Identified the 20 projects they delivered most often.
Built SOPs and resource guides so no one started from scratch.
Trained and coached the team before rolling out the changes.
The Results (in just 4 months)
Gross margin improved by 68 points.
PM capacity jumped from 5 clients → 21 each.
Delivery time dropped by 80%.
The company hit profitability for the first time.
Employee satisfaction hit 100% — because they weren’t drowning in rework.
What This Means for You
You don’t have to wait for scale to improve margin.
And you don’t have to burn out your team in the process.
Signs your delivery is bleeding margin:
Project timelines vary depending on who runs them.
Your team keeps recreating the same work.
Everyone is maxed out at a low client load.
Three moves to stop the leak:
Identify your most common repeatable projects.
Build SOPs or templates once — and actually use them.
Train your team so they can focus energy on high-value, unique client work.
Margin isn’t a finance problem. It’s an ops problem.
If it’s slipping in your business, this is where to look first.
All the best,
Natalie
Fractional Strategic Operations Leader
If you’re a CEO missing your numbers and your team’s stretched too thin, let’s talk — I can fix it.
If you’re ready to start a fractional business, The Fractional Launch Lab will get you there in 10 weeks.
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