Your Business Has Outgrown How It Operates. Let's Fix That.
You don't need a full-time Chief Operating Officer. You need the same result; operational clarity, reduced founder dependency, and a business that runs without you in every decision, at a fraction of the cost.
Practical. Results that outlast the engagement.
I'm Drew Robins, a Fractional COO based on the Gold Coast, working with manufacturers and B2B businesses across Melbourne and Victoria. Melbourne has one of the strongest manufacturing bases in Australia, and it's a market I know well having grown up there. I've spent 30 years in operational and commercial leadership roles across Australia, the UK, and Europe.
Melbourne's manufacturing and B2B base is concentrated across the south-east and western industrial corridors, Dandenong, Braeside, Laverton, and Campbellfield, alongside distribution and trade businesses operating across Victoria and nationally. These are businesses turning over $2M to $40M, often founder-led, where growth has outpaced the management structure built to support it. The triggers are consistent: delivery commitments under pressure, margin erosion from operational inefficiency, a sales pipeline the operation struggles to fulfil, or a founder still carrying decisions that should sit with the team. This is precisely the environment where a fractional COO engagement delivers the most immediate and measurable return.
Growth Creates Problems That Hard Work Alone Can’t Solve
Most business owners reach a point where the business they built starts working against them. Revenue is growing, but so is the chaos. You’re working harder than ever, but it doesn’t feel like progress.
You might recognise one of these:
- You’re the bottleneck. Every decision, every exception, every problem lands with you. Nothing moves without your involvement.
- Your systems haven’t kept up. What worked at $3M is breaking at $8M. Delivery is inconsistent, orders are missed, and your team is firefighting.
- You’re preparing to scale or raise capital and you know the operational foundation needs to be solid before you take that step.
- You’re thinking about exit. You know a buyer will look hard at how your business runs. Right now, what they’d find doesn’t reflect the business you’ve actually built.
If any of these feel familiar, this is exactly where a fractional COO makes the difference.
Built for Founders and Directors Ready to Do Something Significant
Manufacturers
You run a complex operation with real lead times, real capacity constraints, and real consequences when things go wrong. I’ve spent years working inside manufacturing businesses. I understand the operational levers that actually matter.
B2B Business Owners ($2M–$40M)
Your business is established and growing. The challenge isn’t winning work, it’s delivering it consistently and building the infrastructure to support the next stage without everything depending on you.
Founders Preparing for What’s Next
Whether you’re scaling, raising, or preparing to exit, the operational foundation of your business determines what’s possible. Getting that right now changes everything that comes after.
What This Looks Like in Practice
A Queensland manufacturer was carrying a 20-week lead time. Customer relationships were strained, quoting was inconsistent, and the director was spending his time managing operational chaos rather than growing the business.
Within a 90-day engagement, we rebuilt the operational workflow from the ground up. Lead time dropped from 20 weeks to 11 days. A reduction of over 95%.
The director got his time back. The team had a system they could own. And the business had the operational foundation it needed to grow.
That’s not a one-off result. It’s what happens when operational problems get the focused attention they deserve.
95% reduction in lead time. 20 weeks → 11 days.
A clear path — with no long-term commitment required upfront
Step 1 — 30-Minute Conversation (Complimentary) I start with a no-obligation conversation to understand where your business is and what’s getting in the way. No pitch, no proposal. If there’s a fit, I’ll tell you. If there isn’t, I’ll tell you that too.
Step 2 — 1-Day Operational Diagnostic (from $2,000) Before any engagement begins, I run a structured diagnostic inside your business. In a single day I identify your biggest constraints, prioritise what needs to change first, and give you a clear roadmap, whether you engage me to deliver it or not.
Step 3 — 90-Day Fractional COO Engagement I embed with your team to implement the changes your business needs. You get the output of a senior COO without the overhead of a full-time hire. Ongoing advisory is available after the engagement if needed.
What people usually ask before getting in touch
Do you work onsite in Melbourne?
Yes. I was born in Melbourne and know the market well. I travel there regularly and work onsite with clients across the city. Most engagements combine onsite days with remote support, and I structure travel to make onsite days as productive as possible.
How is this different from hiring a consultant?
Most consultants advise from the outside and produce a report. I work inside your business alongside your team until the changes are built and stick. There’s a significant difference between a recommendations document and someone who’s accountable for the outcome.
Will I become dependent on you long-term?
The 90-day engagement is designed with a specific outcome in mind. Solve the operational problem, build the systems and processes to support it, and leave your team with the capability and documentation to run it without external support. The engagement ends with your business stronger and more self-sufficient, not reliant on ongoing involvement.
How much of my time does this require?
Less than you’d expect and that’s by design. The goal is to reduce your involvement in day-to-day operations, not add to it. We agree a weekly cadence that works for your schedule.
Do I have to commit to 90 days upfront?
No. The 30-minute conversation and the 1-Day Diagnostic are separate decisions. The 90-day engagement only proceeds if we’re both confident it’s the right fit.
What industries do you work with?
My primary focus is manufacturers and B2B businesses in the $2M–$40M range. In Melbourne this includes manufacturers across the Dandenong and Laverton industrial corridors, food and beverage producers, building products suppliers, and distribution businesses operating across Victoria and nationally. I have deep experience in building products, industrial supply, and construction-related businesses, but the operational principles transfer broadly across any business where delivery, margin, and scale are the core challenges.
Ready to find out?
Also serving businesses nationally. Visit our Fractional COO Australia page or find out more about our work in Brisbane and Sydney.
Ready to Talk?
If your business has outgrown how it operates and you’re ready to do something about it, the first step is a 30-minute conversation. No obligation, no long proposal to sit through.
Or call Drew directly: 0468 794 040