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Episodes
177 episodes
Why You're Still Stuck in the Weeds (And It's Not Because You Won't Delegate)
If you started your business for freedom and somewhere along the way it started running you instead of you running it, this episode is for you. Melissa walks through why founders really stay stuck in the weeds (it's almost never the re...
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Is Your Company Culture Quietly Capping Your Growth? An 8-Step Audit for Founders
What if the culture that makes your company feel like home is the exact thing keeping the right people from ever walking through the door? In this episode, Melissa Franks — founder of On Call COO and 25-year operator — tackle...
Your Best People Aren't Quitting the Job. They're Quitting the Way You Lead Them.
Your best employee is still hitting their numbers. They're polite. They don't complain. And something feels off.Stop reaching for a raise. You don't have a compensation problem, you have a leadership problem. And at $3M+, it's one of the...
Fire Yourself First: My Honest Q1 2026 Business Recap (From $10K Goals to $100K Months)
What does it actually look like to grow a business from a $10K/month survival goal to a $100K month, in real time, with real numbers, and zero sugarcoating?In this episode, Melissa Franks, founder of On Call COO, pulls back the curtain o...
The 5 Differences Between a $1M and $10M Business (And Why Most Founders Get Stuck)
Most people think the difference between a $1M business and a $10M business is more leads, better marketing, or a bigger audience. It's not — not even close.The real gap between a 7-figure and an 8-figure business isn't effort. It's stru...
Strategy vs. Execution: Why Most Businesses Are Solving the Wrong Problem
“I think we need a new strategy.”If your business feels stuck, this is probably the sentence you’ve said, or thought, recently.Maybe your revenue isn’t where you want it to be, the team feels busy but progress is inconsistent, you...
Why Your Business Feels Harder Than It Should (And How Smart Operators Fix It)
Are you working harder in your business, but seeing worse results?Many founders right now are experiencing slower sales cycles, unpredictable revenue, exhausted teams, and strategies that suddenly aren’t working the way they used to. If ...
Your Team Isn’t Slow. Your Decision Bottleneck Is the Problem
Many founders believe their team simply moves slower than they would.They say things like:“Everything takes longer than it should.”“My team needs too much direction.”“In the end I just do it myself.”
Give to Gain: Why the Real Power Move in Leadership Is Multiplication
What if the fastest way to grow your income, influence, and impact is to stop focusing on yourself?In this International Women’s Day special episode of The Opt-In Podcast, executive leader and Fractional COO Melissa Franks share...
Letting Managers Manage: How to Cascade Feedback Without Losing Control
As your business grows, your role changes.When it was just you, giving feedback directly was fast and effective. Once managers are in place, skip-level feedback creates confusion, erodes trust, and slows execution, even when your intenti...
You Don’t Need More Discipline — You Need Better Systems in Your Business
Most business owners don’t lack discipline. They’re drowning in responsibility.In this episode, Melissa Franks challenges the idea that success comes from more hustle, grit, or motivation. If your business only moves forward when you’re ...
The Hidden Cost of Revenue-Only Goals
Most business owners set revenue goals every year, very few define how their business will actually support them.In this episode of The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks explains why revenue-only goals are one of the most common wa...
Managing Up: The Skill Every Growing Team Must Learn
As teams grow, the way work gets done has to change.What worked in a small, scrappy business starts to break once multiple layers, managers, and priorities appear. Employees feel overwhelmed, managers lose visibility, and execution slows...
Do Politics Belong in Business? Why Values Can’t Stay Private
Do politics belong in business or is that the wrong question entirely?In this episode of The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks reframes the conversation away from parties, candidates, and debate, and toward what actually matters: v...
New Year, New Distractions: Why Reinvention Is Killing Execution
January has a way of convincing business owners that something is wrong.You come back from a break, look at your business with fresh eyes, and suddenly everything feels off. The offers feel stale. The strategy feels tired. The urge to ch...
Your Business Isn’t Failing — It’s Growing Up (Why Instability Is a Signal, Not a Problem)
If your business feels harder right now, even though nothing is technically “wrong”, this episode is for you.In this week’s episode of The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa breaks down why instability is often a sign of growth, not fai...
Why Q1 Falls Apart (Even With a Good Plan)
If January already feels heavier than you expected, it’s not because you didn’t plan well, it’s because most plans break once execution begins.Every year, founders enter January with clear goals, only to find themselves back in the weeds...
How to Break a Business Plateau in 2026: A 30-Day Reset for Real Growth
If your business hit a plateau in 2025, you’re not failing, your business just outgrew its systems. In this New Year episode, Melissa breaks down why plateaus happen, how to diagnose them, and the exact steps to reset your business for growth i...
Three Years of Opting In: Lessons, Evolution, and the Power of Persistence
In this special anniversary episode, host Melissa Franks celebrates three years of The Opt In Podcast, a journey that began as a mission to mentor women navigating corporate life and has since evolved into a platform for small business o...
AI Won’t Save Your Business, It Will Save Your Time: How to Use AI the Right Way in 2026
AI has exploded in the business world, and most founders are still confused about how to actually use it. In this episode, Melissa breaks down what AI is good at, where it completely falls apart, and how small business owners can integ...
Your 2026 Survival Plan: The Small Business Guide to Planning in Uncertain Times
As 2025 wraps, many business owners are feeling the wobble, slower demand, rising costs, and uncertainty about what 2026 will look like. In this episode, Melissa explains why the economy feels off, why small businesses feel the impact more inte...
The Truth About Organizational Hierarchy No One Tells Small Business Owners
In this episode, Melissa breaks down one of the most misunderstood concepts in small business growth: organizational design. If you’ve ever wondered why your team feels stretched thin, why certain roles aren’t “working out,” or why it’s ...
End-of-Year Employee Check-In: How to Evaluate, Compensate, and Retain Your Team Before
It’s the end of the year, do you know how your employees are really performing? In this episode, host Melissa Franks walks you through exactly what business owners should be doing in the final stretch of the year to evaluate their team, ...
Your Business Holiday Survival Guide: 10 Things Every Entrepreneur Needs Before Year-End
In this episode of The Opt-In Podcast, host Melissa Franks shares her Holiday Season Survival Guide for Business Owners. A practical, heartfelt, and sometimes hilarious look at how to stay sane, strategic, and successful ...
Stop Being the Smartest Person in the Room: Why You Must Hire People Better Than You
Have you ever hesitated to hire someone who knows more than you… because it felt risky or intimidating? In this episode, Melissa breaks down why not hiring up is one of the fastest ways to cap your business growth and why your job as a...