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 in 2026. You’ll learn: • Why businesses plateau It’s not laziness, it’s a system mismatch. Your offers, team structure, or delivery model may have hit their limits. The 4-part diagnostic Melissa walks you through how to evaluate: Revenue tr...

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 owners seeking clarity, strategy, and real talk about entrepreneurship. Melissa takes us on a heartfelt walk down memory lane; from hiding her pregnancy to avoid career setbacks, to breaking free from corporate politics, to the birth of this podcast and the bus...

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 integrate it without chaos, overwhelm, or bad decisions. Drawing from decades of experience in machine learning and automation (long before “AI” was a buzzword), Melissa shares the four categories of work AI excels at, the strategic functions it will never replace, a...

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 intensely, and how to regain control with her Wobbly Economy Planning Framework. Four planning mistakes to avoid Trying to cut your way to growthCreating one rigid planFreezing hiring and burning out your teamMaking pricing decisions too lateThe Wobbly Econ...

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 so hard to hire strategically this conversation is your roadmap. Small businesses often grow faster than their internal structures, and that leads to confusion, overwhelm, and poor decision-making. Using examples from corporate America, real client scenarios, ...

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, strengthen retention, and prepare for a smooth start to the new year. Drawing from her experience as a Fractional COO, Melissa breaks down a simple, actionable framework that replaces corporate-style performance reviews with a more human, results-driven approa...

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 during the busiest time of year. Whether your business is deep in Q4 chaos or wrapping up a slower season, these 10 essentials will help you finish strong and start 2026 ready to thrive. Melissa draws from her early days in retail (and a memorable Black Friday gone wrong!) to...

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 CEO is not to be the most qualified person in every function. Sparked by a controversial take on Diary of a CEO (where a guest said small business owners should never hire more experienced people), Melissa shares why she completely disagrees – and what actually...

In this special post-election episode of The Opt-In Podcast, host Melissa Franks steps away from her usual business strategy deep dives to unpack the real-time ripple effects of America’s shifting political landscape and what it means for small business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs. From the Supreme Court’s review of U.S. tariffs to the newly elected Mayor Mandani of New York City, Melissa explores how major political moves could reshape how businesses operate, grow, and survive ...

In this episode, host Melissa Franks tackles a topic she’s never covered before: how to create an annual budget that actually works for you. Whether you’re a five-figure startup or a nine-figure company, Melissa breaks down why every business needs a budget and why it’s not the restrictive tool you think it is. Drawing from her own experience managing $180 million in annual spend as a COO, Melissa shares the exact framework she uses with clients to build clarity, confidence, and control into ...

In this episode host Melissa Franks takes you behind the scenes of her entrepreneurial journey. From losing her job and starting over as a single mom with no plan, to building a thriving seven-figure company in just two years. Melissa shares the 10 most important lessons she’s learned along the way. The real, unfiltered truths about what it takes to go from surviving to thriving in business. You’ll learn: Why every entrepreneur starts clueless (and why that’s okay)The power of finding the hel...

Most small business owners have been taught to obsess over their “Ideal Client Avatar”. To name them, write their life story, and plaster their face on a mood board. But what if everything you’ve been taught about your ICA is… wrong? In this episode of The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks breaks down why your ideal client is not: One personThe person you wish would buy from youEven you, the founder (yep, sorry) Using real examples from working with clients across industries, she reveals: ...

In today’s episode of The Opt-In Podcast, I’m taking inspiration from the unexpected king of business advice: Tom Hanks. His mantra, “This too shall pass” became my lifeline during one of the darkest moments of my entrepreneurial journey… and again during one of the best. Whether you’re drowning in problems or overwhelmed by opportunities (yes, that kind of chaos exists too), this episode is your blueprint for getting grounded, getting clear, and getting back in control. I’ll walk you through...

Does everyone you interview look like you, sound like you, and maybe even want to be you? If so, it’s time to rethink your hiring approach. In this episode of the Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks takes a candid look at why diversity matters in small business hiring, and what can happen when diversity of thought, background, and experience disappears from an organization. Using both real-world headlines and her corporate COO background, Melissa explains why innovation, creativity, and growth dep...

Every business owner eventually faces it: the dreaded plateau. Sales stop climbing, growth stalls, and suddenly you’re left wondering what went wrong. In this episode of the Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks breaks down the truth about business plateaus and how to navigate them without panic or wasted effort. Melissa dives into the four core areas every entrepreneur should interrogate when growth has flatlined: Your Data – Why understanding metrics like customer acquisition cost, lifetime value,...

This week on The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks unpacks a rarely discussed—but vitally important—topic: how your personal behavior in public spaces can deeply affect your business or employment. Whether you're a business owner or an employee, your actions, your posts, your tone, and your choices in public and on social media all have ripple effects and sometimes, unintended consequences. Using a powerful personal story from a youth baseball tournament gone sideways, Melissa explores how behav...

In this candid solo episode, Melissa Franks opens the curtain on a deeply personal and strategic recalibration she made in both life and business. As the fourth quarter looms, a season that often demands more from entrepreneurs, Melissa shares the internal reckoning that led her to rewrite how she works, lives, and leads. This isn’t a burnout story; it’s a blueprint for realignment. From hiring help to reshaping routines, Melissa offers a powerful invitation to evaluate how we’re spending our...

Fourth quarter isn’t just October through December—it starts now. In this episode, Melissa Franks breaks down why the most successful businesses treat September as the true kickoff to Q4 and how you can use this mindset to set yourself up for a profitable year-end. Melissa shares insights from industry analysts on consumer behavior this holiday season—what Gen Z, middle-class, and affluent buyers are really planning to spend on—and what that means for your business strategy. From stacking pro...

If your business collapses the moment you go on vacation, you don’t have leaders—you have helpers. In this episode of the Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks, your On Call COO, unpacks the hard truth about bottlenecks in small businesses and why your growth may be stalling because you are in the way. Melissa shares real client stories of founders who couldn’t unplug, explains the signs that you might be the bottleneck, and introduces a practical framework for building a team that can operate indep...

What separates the CEO who scales from the CEO who stalls? Spoiler: it’s not strategy—it’s habits. In this episode of The Opt-In Podcast, Melissa Franks, your on-call COO, pulls back the curtain on the daily practices that either propel businesses forward or keep them stuck. Drawing on insights from working with nearly 50 entrepreneurs across industries, Melissa explains why consistency beats intensity and how three core habits can transform your role as a leader. You’ll hear: The three growt...