FOR SMALL BUSINESS FOUNDERS
STEP OUT OF THE MAYHEM AND LEAD A CALM AND PROFITABLE BUSINESS.
You’ve built something amazing. A busness people love, a loyal customer base, and a remote team that shows up every day. But right now, growth feels… stuck.
In the world of travel, wellness, lifestyle, food, fitness, education, or hospitality, scaling a small business is hard. Sales feel inconsistent, marketing is scattered, and client delivery feels like reinventing the wheel every single time. Instead of leading, you’re buried in the business: managing remote staff, answering Slack pings, and fixing problems that aren’t yours to fix.
You’re doing the work that has to get done, but not the work only you can do: setting the vision, building visibility, and driving sustainable growth.
That’s where I come in.
As a Fractional COO and strategic right-hand to small business founders, I help you break the cycle of unpredictability. I create the systems, digital structure, and team clarity that make your remote operations predictable, profitable, and far less stressful.
My goal isn’t to stay forever. It’s to build real internal capacity so that the business no longer relies on you being "on" 24/7.
I design the foundations so that when you’re ready for a full-time Ops Lead, the roadmap is already in place, not fill that role myself.
WHAT TO EXPECT
—
WHAT TO EXPECT —
REPLACE CHAOS WITH CALM
We stop the constant firefighting and end the constant overwhelm. You’ll know what’s happening in your business, what matters right now, and what can wait. Fewer surprises. Fewer emergencies. More breathing room.
FINALLY PAY YOURSELF PROPERLY
We get your numbers working for you. Clear pricing, realistic margins, and a business model that allows you to reap the rewards of all your hard work with a consistent, predictable salary all whilst making payroll and having money left in the company.
TEAM ACCOUNTABILITY & OWNERSHIP
Your remote team knows their roles, what “great” looks like, and how to make decisions without running everything past you. Less hand-holding. Fewer questions. More accountability and momentum.
SYSTEMS THAT UPHOLD WHEN YOU’RE AWAY
Processes, workflows, and ways of working that don’t live in your head. The business keeps moving even when you finish early, take a day off, or disappear on vacation… without the panic.
SPACE TO THINK LIKE A FOUNDER
You get out of the weeds and back into the role only you can do: leading, making strategic decisions, and thinking long-term instead of reacting to whatever today’s emergency is.
A BUSINESS THAT FEELS LIGHTER TO RUN
Less stress in your body. Less decision fatigue. More confidence. More enjoyment. The kind of business that feels steady, intentional, and aligned with the life you actually want to live.
TESTIMONIALS
—
TESTIMONIALS —
-
![Young woman smiling outdoors with a background of green trees.]()
ZONYA DAWSON
“From day Mary Alice impressed me with her kindness, collaborative style, and commitment to achieving real results. She has an incredible knack for blending creativity with execution, she doesn’t just generate great ideas she actually brings them to life.”
-
![A man with a beard and short hair, dressed in a black tuxedo with a black tie, smiling slightly, against a plain background.]()
CHRISTIAN HOLLAND
“Mary Alice is bold, brilliant, and fiercely loyal. She has a unique ability to push the organization forward. Whether leading strategic planning, restructuring the mission, or driving innovative program strategies, she was always ahead of the curve. Mary Alice Duff is a powerhouse leader who not only excels in her role but also fosters growth in everyone around her!!!”
-
![A woman with short, curly hair and light skin is smiling and looking to the side, wearing a light green blazer and standing against a beige wall.]()
KALI STROTHER
“Mary Alice is masterful at analyzing existing and start-up business operations and developing the strategies and models necessary to help those operations achieve their goals. She will push you to think big and guide you in identifying potentials you didn’t even realize were there.”
WHO'S THIS FOR?
—
WHO'S THIS FOR? —
YOU BUILT YOUR BUSINESS FROM THE GROUND UP, AND YOU SHOULD BE SO PROUD. BUT WHAT GOT YOU HERE WON’T TAKE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO NEXT.
You don’t need to invest in another marketing consultant, finance tool, or work with that latest influencer. What you need is someone who sees the whole picture: the intersection of sales, margins, remote operations, and team dynamics. You need someone to spot the cracks you’ve been unable to see, the bottlenecks slowing down your delivery and the chaos eating up your headspace.
Then, we fix it. Properly. No quick fixes or "hacks." We tackle the root issues, auditing your systems, pricing, and remote team alignment so your business actually runs smoothly. Whether you are in travel, wellness, lifestyle, food, fitness, education, or hospitality, I’ll ensure your small business makes money without you stuck in the middle of everything.
If you’re working this hard yet still not paying yourself what you deserve. If you’re answering endless Slack pings and are convinced the business would collapse if you stepped away, you’re in the right place.
I help founders move out of the weeds and into real leadership. Together, we’ll create a business that’s calm, profitable, and predictable. One that actually lets you breathe, spend time with your family, or log off at 4 pm without your stomach flipping.
Finally, a business that gives you the freedom you signed up for.
THIS IS A GREAT MATCH FOR YOU IF…
…you’re a founder running a small, remote B2C business in travel, wellness, lifestyle, food, fitness, education, or hospitality, with a small team and annual revenue between €500k - €3M.
…you’ve built a business you’re proud of, but running it feels harder than ever, you’re not paying yourself what you deserve, and are constantly putting out fires that shouldn’t be yours.
…you want your remote, small team to step up, take ownership, and hit results without you having to oversee things. You’re ready to stop being the bottleneck and finally trust the people you’ve hired to do their jobs.
…you’ve tried freelancers, consultants, or maybe even a marketing agency, but nothing’s really changed because you’ve been solving problems in isolation instead of fixing the business as a whole.
…you want your business to serve your life, not the other way around. You want to finish early when you need to, take a vacation, and spend a morning with your family (without your notifications going crazy).
…you’re done guessing, reacting, and hoping for the best. You want a strategic partner who sees the whole damn picture, understands small B2C businesses, fixes the root problems, and turns your hard work into a profitable, predictable, stress-free business.
TRUSTED BY FOUNDERS OF
MEET MARY-ALICE
—
MEET MARY-ALICE —
SO… WHY ME?
I’VE BEEN EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE. I BUILT MY OWN SMALL BUSINESS FROM THE GROUND UP AND I KNOW THAT FEELING OF POURING YOUR HEART INTO A COMPANY, ONLY TO REALIZE THE BUSINESS IS RUNNING YOU INSTEAD OF THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
I’m a former social worker turned entrepreneur, and I built a sustainable apparel brand from the ground up. I know exactly what it’s like to grow a business with vision and heart, and to hit that wall where passion alone isn’t enough to keep it running.
I’ve also scaled organizations on both sides of the Atlantic, leading remote teams of 150+, managing $10M budgets, and building the kind of operational systems that last. I understand the unique pressure of having a business people love and a talented team, yet having zero predictability in your daily life.
That’s what I fix. Whether you’re in travel, wellness, lifestyle, food, fitness, education, or hospitality, I bridge the gap between high-level strategy and the "on-the-ground" reality of small businesses. I build the systems that create ease, foster team accountability, and give you back your time, so your business grows profitably and sustainably, without burning you out.
THE DETAILS
—
THE DETAILS —
HOW I WORK
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW…
-
This is fully tailored to your business’s needs, anywhere from 3-24 months.
-
An in-depth business audit. I get under the hood of every aspect of your business, from finance to marketing, operations and people. I strive to understand your business inside and out and identify the top 5 strategic priorities for us to tackle in our first 90 days.
Weekly 60-minute sessions with you (the founder) to align on priorities, unblock decisions, and keep momentum.
Biweekly check-ins with key team members to ensure accountability, surface challenges, and keep projects moving.
Project management systems to track and sync progress, and make work visible across the company.
Behind the scenes I assess the business as a whole, design fixes, and execute on the strategic priorities that actually move the needle.
Slack access I’m available daily for focused communication and to keep momentum going.
-
Starting at €6,500 per month depending on scope and business size.
Additional Costs?
Only for essential tools or contractors, approved by you first.
I intentionally limit my client list to ensure every founder gets my full strategic focus. If you’re interested in working with me, please book your free discovery call. We’ll dive into your business and talk through what’s feeling heavy to see if we’re a good match ↓
STILL GOT QUESTIONS?
—
STILL GOT QUESTIONS? —
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
-
Think of me as your right-hand partner who owns the "how" of your business so you can focus on the "why." I step inside your business to fix the engines. If you are the visionary, I am the architect. You need this if you’ve hit a ceiling where your personal effort can no longer sustain your growth.
-
Most consultants solve problems in isolation. They fix your marketing or your tech, but ignore how those pieces talk to each other. I look at your business as a living ecosystem. We don’t apply band-aids - we fix the root operational rot that’s causing the chaos. I’m not just giving you a strategy, I’m installing the infrastructure that allows your business to run without you.
-
Absolutely. The problem isn’t your team; it’s likely a lack of clear systems and decision-making frameworks. I shift your team from a culture of "asking" to a culture of "owning." I’ll give them the tools and the confidence to execute to your standards independently, removing you as the bottleneck so you can finally stop micromanaging.
-
Actually, the opposite. I am strictly anti-hustle. If your business requires you to work 60 hours a week to grow… your business is broken. My goal is to increase your profitability while decreasing your manual input. We build a well-oiled machine that generates predictable sales and supports your life, allowing you to finish early or take a vacation without a panic attack.
-
I don’t want you to be dependent on me. My goal is to build real internal capacity. I design the workflows, the culture of accountability, and the operational playbooks so that when I step away, the foundations are solid. You’ll be perfectly positioned to either run the business with ease or hire a permanent COO / ops lead in the future who can step into a system that already works.
-
I’m not an expense on your balance sheet. I’m the person who fixes the leaks in your profit.
When you’re drowning in the day-to-day, you’re losing money through inefficient team workflows, missed strategic opportunities, and founder burnout. My fee is designed to be offset by the value we create:
Recovered Time: How much is 15+ hours of your week worth?
Operational Efficiency: Stopping the "re-inventing the wheel" cycle that eats your margins.
Team Performance: Getting a 2x output from the team you’re already paying for.
Most founders find that by the time we’ve streamlined their pricing and tightened their operations, the partnership has more than paid for itself. You aren’t paying for "consulting hours", you’re paying for a business that finally yields the financial and personal freedom you built it for.
-
When I talk to your team, I’m not there to audit you. I’m there to audit the workflow. If they’re frustrated, it’s usually because they don't have the clarity they need to succeed. I’m the bridge that turns that frustration into a high-performing, autonomous culture.
-
Never. I’m a former social worker and creative founder, I value heart and vision as much as you do. "Systems" don't have to be cold or corporate. They are simply the containers that protect your creativity. My goal is to strip away the "busy work" so the core of your business can actually shine. Structure doesn’t kill soul, it gives it room to breathe.
-
I completely understand. Your business is your 'baby,' and opening up the hood to show someone the internals feels incredibly exposing. But I can’t fix what I can’t see. To build a solid foundation, I need the full picture. Think of me like a doctor… I can’t give an accurate diagnosis if I’m only looking at half the symptoms.
Our partnership is built on 100% confidentiality. Having managed €10M budgets and run my own small business, honestly, nothing shocks me. I’m not here to judge your past decisions or your current numbers, I’m here to make them work for you.
-
The reason "solutions" haven't worked for you in the past is likely because they were implemented in isolation. A marketing strategy fails if your pricing is wrong… a new hire fails if you don't have a system to onboard them. Because I look at the entire ecosystem, we don't neglect those blind spots. We fix the root cause, not the symptoms. If we find a pricing problem while looking at your marketing, we pivot and fix the pricing first.