Small Business Operations Consultant · San Diego, CA
I build companies
so you can
build your business.
You started your company to do the thing you're great at. I come in and build everything else — the systems, the structure, the people operations, the AI tools — so your business actually runs without you holding it together.
By the numbers
$100
Per hour · No long-term commitment required
0→2,300
Company size range
Apple · Yahoo · Airbnb · Iterable
01
Stand Up the Company
HR, payroll, compliance, IT setup, legal foundations. Everything a business needs to exist before it can grow — done right the first time.
02
Build the Infrastructure
Business systems, workflows, SOPs, and operating rhythm. The kind of structure that lets your team move without asking you every five minutes.
03
Build the Team
Hiring frameworks, job descriptions, onboarding, performance systems. From your first hire to a team that runs itself.
25
Years Building at Scale
0→2,300
Company Size Range
"I take business owners who have no time and tell them exactly where to spend their one hour a week so they do the thing with the most impact."
I'm not here to run your meetings or fill a seat. I'm here to unlock you. Figure out what's in the way, clear it, and build the thing that lets you actually move. I've done it at companies from 0 people to 2,300 — as a fractional COO, program manager, HR director, and operations lead. I know what scale looks like before you can see it. And I build for it from day one. I also teach small business owners how to actually use AI tools to work smarter — not as a gimmick, but as a real part of how they run.
Ready to stop duct-taping it together?
Start with a 2-hour strategy session for $200. As-needed hours at $100/hr. Retainer engagements start at $1,500/month. Let's figure out which one makes sense.
Let's Talk
What I Do
I come in and build
what you don't have time to build.
I'm not a coach. I'm not a cheerleader. I'm the person who shows up, figures out what's broken or missing, builds the fix — and leaves you better than I found you.
Services
Built for founders and small business owners.
Whether you need HR setup, a hiring process, a business plan, AI tools that actually work for your situation, or someone to own the project nobody else has time for — I've done it before, and I'll build it for you.
Business Tutoring
You know your craft. The business part is murkier. I'll sit down with you and walk through whatever you need — what your numbers actually mean, how to think about pricing, what a real plan looks like, why your marketing isn't working. No jargon. No judgment. Just honest answers to the questions you didn't know you could ask.
Strategy Basics
Business Planning
Pricing & Operations
1:1 Sessions
AI & Tech Tutoring
AI isn't complicated. It's only wrong when you're using it for the wrong things or not giving it the right information to start. I'll show you how to actually use it for your business — write better, think through decisions, build a website, automate the tedious stuff. Hands on your real problems, not a generic demo.
ChatGPT & Claude
Website Building
Workflow Automation
1:1 Sessions
Launch & Growth Planning
Turn a big, ambitious idea into a real, tangible thing with actual steps. Getting a business legally stood up — SoS filing, FEIN, IIPP, WPVP, contracts, and everything else that has to exist before you can operate. Go-to-market strategy, operational readiness. I've helped entrepreneurs go from "I had this idea..." to "we have a plan" — and then execute it.
Business Formation
Go-to-Market
Compliance Setup
Growth Planning
Hiring & Onboarding
Hiring frameworks and playbooks, job descriptions, interview and assessment design and training, offer processes, background checks, and onboarding plans and programs for both employees and vendors. Simple, repeatable processes that scale.
Hiring Frameworks
Job Descriptions
Interview & Assessment
Onboarding Programs
Vendor Onboarding
HR & People Operations
I've built HR and People Ops from scratch — from hiring the first employee to running a 475-person operation. Engagement surveys, mentor programs, Performance Improvement plans, Individual Development Plans and rollout, career path architecture, and compliant offboarding. Lightweight but scalable. Simple, repeatable processes that grow with you.
HR from Scratch
Performance & Development
Career Path Architecture
Compliant Offboarding
Mentor Programs
Business Operations & Infrastructure
Create the operating rhythm, systems, and documentation that let your business run without you holding it together. Spend frameworks, vendor management, SOPs, planning cycles. Built once. Used forever.
Business Rhythm
SOPs
Vendor Mgmt
OKR Systems
Program & Change Management
The big rollouts. The annoying projects nobody wants to own. Organizational change that has to happen and nobody has time for. I bring structure, clear communication, and accountability so the thing actually gets done.
Large Rollouts
Change Mgmt
Comms Strategy
Project Ownership
IT & Systems Implementation
Google Workspace, Slack, payroll, file architecture, IT on/offboarding. The tools your team uses every day, set up the right way the first time so they actually get used.
Google Workspace
Slack
Payroll Setup
IT Systems
Pricing
Start where you are.
Start Here
$200 flat
2-hour strategy session · One time
Where you are, where you want to go, what's in the way. We find out together.
As-Needed
$100 /hr
2-hour minimum · No ongoing commitment
Pick me up when you need me. Project pricing available — we'll work it out in the consult.
Ongoing
$1,500 /mo
90-day minimum · Up to 10 hrs/month
For businesses that need a consistent operations partner. This is how I do my best work.
Who I Work With
If your business is held together with hope and a prayer, I'm your call.
You're just getting started
You have a real thing. Now you need the business behind it — payroll, HR, compliance, systems. Let's build it right the first time so you're not undoing it later.
You're growing and things are breaking
More people, more complexity, more chaos. I build the structure that absorbs growth without everything falling apart. I'm already thinking about the compliance requirement you'll hit next year.
You need someone in your corner — not a deck
You don't need another advisor who hands you a report and walks out. You need an operator who gets embedded and builds alongside you. That's what I do.
How I Work
No handoff decks.
No mystery.
Here's exactly what happens when we work together — and what I need from you to make it work.
The honest version
I don't make it complicated.
You don't have time for complicated.
My job is to take the chaos out of your brain, put it into a system, and make sure that system actually runs. Whether you're a solo business owner who needs a plan, a founder trying to hire your first employee, or a growing company that needs a fractional COO — I've been there. I build for where you're going, not just where you are.
I've built operations from 0 to 500 employees and jumped into organizations of 500 to 2,300 to run business planning, HR, and everything in between. I also work with small business owners one-on-one to understand their finances, marketing, strategy, and how to use AI tools in a way that actually helps — not just hype.
The Process
What actually happens.
01
We figure out what's actually broken.
Not what you think is broken. I ask the right questions, listen to what you're not saying, and get to the real issue fast. Most founders come in thinking they need one thing, and actually need something else entirely. I'll tell you which one it is.
02
I tell you exactly where to put your hour.
You don't have unlimited time. I don't pretend you do. We identify the one thing that has the highest leverage right now and we do that first. Everything else gets sequenced.
03
I build it. You stop worrying about it.
I don't hand you a framework and wish you luck. I build the actual thing — the SOP, the system, the process, the hiring flow — and make sure it works before I move on.
04
We establish the rhythm.
One-time fixes don't stick. I build operating cadences — weekly check-ins, planning rhythms, accountability structures — so the progress compounds and doesn't collapse when I'm not in the room.
05
I leave it better than I found it.
My goal is that you don't need me forever. I build things that outlast me. Every system, every process, every document I create is designed to run without me in the room. That's the standard I hold myself to.
What I need from you.
This works both ways. Here's the deal:
- You have to actually want to do the work, not just talk about it.
- You have to be willing to hear the honest version, even when it's uncomfortable.
- You have to trust the process — systems take a minute to stick.
- You have to show up for your hour. That's all I'm asking.
- You have to have the capacity to pay for real expertise. This isn't a discount service.
Experience
30 years of doing
the actual work.
Not advising. Not theorizing. Building, scaling, fixing, and leaving things better than I found them — as a program manager, HR director, fractional COO, and operations lead at Apple, Yahoo, Airbnb, Iterable, Veritas, and Intuit. Now doing the same for small business owners and founders who need exactly this.
Now — Consulting
Jun 2025 – Apr 2026
Intuit, Inc.
Program Manager, Consumer Group, Business Operations Planning Team
Bringing clarity, accountability, and alignment to annual and incremental planning cycles. Turning ambiguous inputs into real commitments and surfacing risks early.
Cross-Functional Alignment
Risk Surfacing
Dependency Mapping
Jan 2024 – Present
Sunnyvale Jenn Consulting
Founder & Principal Consultant
Fractional operations consulting for founder-led businesses. Recent projects include: full ops buildout for an ed tech company (0 to running); launch strategy for a somatic wellness practice; operational efficiency work for a spa & wellness business; Workday implementation change management for an enterprise software company; digital scaling for a yoga teacher training program. Among others.
Fractional COO
HR/Payroll Setup
Google Workspace
Change Management
Launch Strategy
Digital Scaling
Enterprise — Where I Got My Reps
Jul 2021 – Jul 2023
Airbnb
Sr. Project Manager, Global Operations
Joined a newly formed organization to create infrastructure, processes, and documentation to solidify Business Operations offerings in support of the larger organization. Managed $13.5M in spend within 12 months. Built organizational microsites, OKR hubs, and onboarding experiences.
Business Rhythm
$13.5M Spend Mgmt
OKR Systems
Continuous Planning
Agile Roadmap Planning
Oct 2018 – Jul 2021
Iterable
Sr. Manager, HR Operations
Built the HR function from scratch during a period of explosive growth — 142 to 475+ employees in under 3 years. HRIS implementation, London subsidiary launch, SOC 2, COVID pivot to remote onboarding (90%+ satisfaction rate). Built and promoted the HR Ops team.
0→475 Employees
HRIS Implementation
London Subsidiary
SOC 2
Nov 2016 – Oct 2018
Veritas Technologies
Principal Program Manager, Culture Programs
Built and managed culture and growth programs for a 2,300-person product org. Career Path Matrices for 25 roles, technical mentorship program for high-performing women in engineering, intern innovation program (10 pods, 40 interns), Grace Hopper Conference presence.
2,300-Person Org
Career Path Matrices
Mentorship Programs
Slack Rollout
Jun 2012 – Jul 2015
Yahoo
Program Manager & Chief of Staff, Production Engineering
Chief of Staff for an 85-person org across 4 countries. Managed global data center consolidation (13 colos to 6 owned facilities). BCP certification, CapEx forecasting, tech refresh programs. Cross-functional program leadership at enterprise scale.
Chief of Staff
Global Datacenter Migration
CapEx Forecasting
BCP Certification
Feb 2006 – Nov 2011
WorkforceLogic @ Yahoo
Sr. Client Services Specialist
Managed Yahoo's entire US technical and finance contingent workforce program. Reduced approved staffing suppliers from 140 to 29 while improving time-to-fill and cost outcomes. Set the gold standard for WorkforceLogic onsite accounts across LinkedIn, Adobe, Google, and others.
Contingent Workforce
Vendor Reduction 140→29
Compliance
The Foundation
Feb 2002 – Feb 2005
Volt @ Apple
Assistant Program Manager
Managed Apple's contingent workforce program. Where I learned that operations done right is invisible — and operations done wrong is everyone's problem.
Apr 1995 – Mar 2001
Ocean Path, Inc.
Recruiter / Office Manager
Everything that makes a startup function. This is where the 30-year counter starts.
Core Competencies
What I can do for you.
Operations
- Business rhythm & operating cadence
- OKR systems & roadmap creation
- Vendor & contingent workforce mgmt
- Spend management & OpEx frameworks
- SOP creation & documentation
People & HR
- HRIS implementation & management
- Hiring frameworks & interview design
- Onboarding & offboarding systems
- Compliance & EEO reporting
- Subsidiary setup (US & international)
Programs & Systems
- Google Workspace & Slack buildout
- Payroll & benefits system setup
- Change management & comms strategy
- Cross-functional program management
- IT on/offboarding & file architecture
Work With Me
Let's get your
business working.
I work with small business owners, founders, and growing teams who need real operations help — HR setup, hiring, business planning, AI tools, or a fractional COO who actually builds things. Start with a 2-hour strategy session. We figure out the rest from there.
How It Works
Start where you are.
No retainer required to get started. The first session is a paid strategy talk — where you are now, where you want to go, what's in the way. We go from there.
Start Here
$200 flat
2-hour strategy session · One time
The First Conversation
We sit down and figure out what's actually going on. Where you are. Where you want to go. What's in the way. Sometimes that's a co-founder issue. Sometimes it's just operational rigor. We find out together.
Most people leave with more clarity than they've had in months.
Book the Session
$100/hr
2-hour minimum · No ongoing commitment
As-Needed Hours
Pick me up when you need me. Put me down when you don't. Good for businesses that need a sharp eye on a specific problem — a process to build, a hire to make, a system that's breaking. We scope the work, I do it.
Project pricing available — we'll discuss during the consult.
Let's Talk
Let's
figure it out
For bigger or ongoing work
Ongoing Partnership
Some businesses get to a point where they need a consistent operations partner — someone building alongside them week to week. If that's where you're headed, we'll know after the first session. Pricing and structure get decided based on what you actually need.
Start with the strategy session. We'll build from there.
Start the Conversation
Are We a Fit?
Three things I need to know before we start.
I work best with people who are honest about where they are. That's it. You don't need a big budget or a big team — you need to be real about what's going on and willing to do something about it.
-
1
Do I respect you as a person?
Non-negotiable. I work with people who are honest, direct, and decent. Ego is fine. Disrespect isn't.
-
2
Can you invest two hours to start?
That's the ask. Two hours and $200 to figure out if there's something worth doing — and what it is. We don't have to know anything beyond that going in.
-
3
Are you willing to do the work?
I'll build the system. But you have to show up for it. If you want a partner who holds you accountable and builds alongside you — let's go.
San Diego Businesses
Can't afford it right now?
If you're a local San Diego business and the numbers don't work yet — let's talk. I'm open to trade and discounts for the right fit. Email me and tell me what you've got.
Let's Figure It Out
Ready to get started?
Send me an email with a sentence or two about what's going on. I'll respond within 24 hours and we'll figure out if we're a fit.
Email Jenn
Schedule a Call
