Fractional COO · Operations Partner
Senior operations leadership for your business, without a full-time hire.
Fractional COO for founder-led and multi-location businesses. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, working with clients nationwide.
I'm MJ Stapley. I help founder-led and multi-location businesses get their systems, people, and numbers in order so the business runs well when the owner isn't in the room.
- 18+ yearsscaling businesses, operations, and finance
- 400+retail locations reached with my training
- 30 to 10 daysmonthly close, cut with new reporting
Sound familiar?
Every location runs differently
Each site has its own way of opening, closing, ordering, and handling problems. Quality depends on who is working that day.
Everything still runs through you
Your managers bring you every decision, so you can't step away for a week without the phone blowing up.
The numbers show up too late
The books close weeks after month end. By the time you see labor or cash trouble, it has already cost you.
Sales depend on a few stars
Some of your floor staff sell well, most don't, and there is no simple training that closes the gap.
What I help with
Scaling operations and multi-location systems
- SOPs, checklists, and opening and closing routines
- Staffing plans and labor control
- Vendor relationships and operating priorities
- A repeatable playbook for the next location
Leadership and manager training
- Clear roles and accountability for managers
- Weekly rhythms, check-ins, and simple scorecards
- Coaching new managers to make decisions on their own
Retail operations and sales floor training
- Floor sales training for frontline teams
- New hire onboarding that gets everyone on the same page
- Customer experience standards across locations
Finance for operators
- Bookkeeping oversight and a faster month-end close
- Cash management and accounts payable routines
- Payroll and labor reporting
- KPIs and location-level reporting you can act on
Ways to work together
Fractional monthly partner
An ongoing role as your part-time COO. I join your leadership rhythm, own the operating priorities we agree on, and keep things moving between meetings.
Project sprint
A focused, time-boxed project with a clear finish line, such as building your SOPs, fixing month-end close, or getting a new location ready.
Training workshop
Hands-on sessions for your managers or floor teams on leadership, sales, or operating standards, built around how your business actually runs.
Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute fit call. Scope is set after we talk.
How it works
Fit call
A free 30-minute conversation about your business and what is getting in the way. If I'm not the right person, I'll tell you.
Look under the hood
I review your operations, team structure, and numbers, and talk with the people doing the work.
Plan the priorities
You get a short, clear list of what to fix first, who owns it, and how we will measure it.
Build and hand off
We put the systems, training, and reporting in place, and your team learns to run them without me.
About MJ
I've spent more than 18 years in sales, training, operations, and finance, building teams and making sure locations execute the same way every day.
Today, through Nine Ventures, I work as an embedded operations and finance leader for founder-led and multi-location organizations. Recent and current clients include a multi-state dental group and a lakeside resort and marina, where I've built the reporting, financial controls, and operating systems that let owners scale without losing sight of the numbers. I partner with a small number of organizations at a time, so each one gets senior-level focus.
Before that I founded and ran MJ Hybrid Solutions, a sales training and education company for cannabis retail. Our programs reached 10,000+ employees across more than 400 retail locations in the U.S. and U.K. That work taught me that good training and simple systems beat heroics every time.
I played Division I volleyball at San Diego State, where I earned a B.A. in Criminal Justice, and later an M.S. in Organizational Leadership. I'm used to regulated industries, including healthcare and cannabis retail. I also founded and run a nonprofit, All Boobies Matter, that gives financial help to women in treatment.
See your numbers in one place
Clients get a live dashboard and a private portal for their sales, labor, and key numbers, along with their trainings and SOPs. You see how each location is doing without waiting for month end or digging through spreadsheets.
Results and experience
Free and low-cost resources
The Operations Playbook
120 free SOPs and checklists for running a tighter operation, plus a newsletter with practical ops ideas.
Get the free playbooksThe New Manager Playbook
Feedback, one-on-ones, and expectations you can run this week, plus a 30-day plan for new managers. $19 on Gumroad.
Get the playbookRetail Floor Sales Training guide
A practical guide for training your floor team to sell with confidence. Starting at $19 on Gumroad.
Get the guideQuestions I hear often
What does a fractional COO do?
A fractional COO is a senior operations leader who works with your business part-time, without a full-time hire. I help put systems, people, and numbers in order so the business runs well when the owner isn't in the room.
How is a fractional COO different from a consultant?
A consultant typically delivers recommendations and then leaves. As a fractional COO, I stay embedded with your team, own the operating priorities we agree on, and keep the work moving between meetings.
How much time do you spend with a business each month?
The time is scoped to the business, not a fixed monthly block. After a discovery call, we agree on a cadence that fits what you need and how your team works.
What kinds of businesses do you work with?
I work with founder-led and multi-location businesses, including multi-location retail, service businesses, hospitality, and healthcare practices. The common thread is operators who need clearer systems, stronger managers, and numbers they can act on.
Do you work remotely, or do you come on site?
I work remotely first and visit on site as needed. I'm based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and I work with clients nationwide.
What does it cost?
Scoped after a free discovery call. We start with a free 30-minute fit call, then set the scope once we understand your business.
How do I get started?
Email [email protected] to book a free 30-minute fit call. Tell me a little about your business and what's keeping you up at night.
What people have said
"The MJ Hybrid Training system is a great foundational tool we utilize for training during our new hire orientation across all of our Curaleaf retail locations nationwide. It puts all of our retail team members on the same playing field of cannabis knowledge and has helped us develop an expert team of dispensary employees."
"Education is one of our brand pillars, and knowing the quality and care that Melissa has put into building this robust training platform, I immediately thought of her when it came time to identify a quality educational platform. ... we also experienced an increase in our sales after adding the sales skills modules."
"We are very pleased with Melissa's program so far. Her communication is excellent, she is extremely responsive and she even worked with us to tailor her program to meet our specific needs."
"The trainings has helped our sales tremendously this last year. Every dispensary should have this training."
"MJ Hybrid has been a great tool for training our employees on all things cannabis at a national level! ... integral to our team's learning and success at the retail level."
Let's see if we're a fit
Book a free 30-minute fit call. Tell me a little about your business and what's keeping you up at night.
Email [email protected]