Questions owners ask us

Straight answers about fractional COO work, coaching, training, and pricing. Don’t see yours? Email doogie@ideasactionsuccess.com or call (412) 397-7967.

Fractional COO

  • A fractional COO is a part-time chief operating officer. Instead of hiring a full-time executive, you get an experienced operator for part of the month. At IAS, Doogie Levine works inside your business with you and your leaders on systems, meetings, accountability, and the numbers, and builds up your team so the business keeps running after the engagement ends.

  • The IAS Fractional COO Experience runs $15,000 to $100000, depending on the size of the business and the scope of the work, the length of engagement. You see results within 90 days, with full implementation over 6 to 24 months, and it comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee.

    All payment are made monthly on the first of the month.

  • Common signs: every decision still runs through you; you can’t take time off; your managers don’t take ownership; growth has stalled even though you have spent more on marketing, you/manager deal with the same problems over and over again; and growth has made things messier, not easier. If any of those fit, a free call is a good place to start.

  • A coach helps you think and decide. A fractional COO also does the work alongside your team: building systems, running the meetings, and holding people accountable. IAS offers both, so you can start with coaching and step up if you need more.

  • At the start, we agree in writing on your top five challenges and what “solved” means for each. If IAS doesn’t solve one of them within 90 days, you get your money back.

Working with IAS

  • We talk through where your business is stuck and whether IAS is the right fit. There’s no charge and no obligation.

  • IAS works with owners of family-owned and growing businesses, typically with $1M or more in revenue and 5 to 50 employees, where the business has outgrown the way it’s run. Owners usually come to us when:

    • Every decision still comes back to them, and they can’t take more than a few days off without things slipping.

    • Their managers bring them problems instead of solutions, or don’t “step up.”

    • How the work gets done lives in people’s heads, not on paper.

    • Meetings run long and nothing changes afterward.

    • Hiring is hit or miss, and new people take too long to get up to speed.

    • They work nights and weekends and still can’t get ahead.

    • Growth has made the business messier, not easier.

    Past clients include a landscaping and hardscaping company, a borough government, and nonprofits. IAS is based in Pittsburgh, PA, and helps owners build the systems and leaders to run the business without them in every decision.

  • IAS Business Coaching & Consulting is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It serve’s the entire United States. It has worked in with clients in Rhode Island, New York, Vermont, Colorado in addition to across Pennsylvania.

  • Yes. One-on-one coaching is priced to fit what you need. A session is $1,000 for one hour or $1,500 for two. However most people chose to engage in a longer coaching program to get a better rate.

  • IAS is rated 5.0 on Google across 20 reviews from business owners, managers, and nonprofit leaders. Here’s what they say it’s like to work with Doogie:

    • He listens first, then asks the hard questions. Clients call him “an intent listener, incisive questioner” who “listened, questioned, challenged, and guided.”

    • Practical tools, not theory. “He doesn’t just provide advice or theoretical concepts. He helps you think differently, challenges you in productive ways, and gives you practical tools to turn ideas into action.”

    • Systems that run without the owner. Owners credit him with “creating systems that can work by themselves, without myself present,” and with processes that let the business scale.

    • Clarity on what to fix first. “We had been struggling on what to concentrate on first. He asked us pertinent questions and helped us prioritize our to do list.” Another owner said, “Each time I talked with Doogie I had some light bulb moments.”

    • Leaders who take ownership. “I’m already seeing a noticeable shift in employee ownership and initiative.”

    • Warm and easy to talk to. “Doogie is warm and easy to speak with, insightful and experienced.”

    Read all the reviews on Google.

  • Yes. IAS works with Murphy’s Business Brokers to help owners buy or sell a business.

    We specialize in helping owner looking to sell get their process tight and polished capturing the IP value of the business.

Training and more

  • A custom workshop, business audit, or short program built around one specific problem, like employee performance or production time. Focused Programs run $1000 to $5,000 per person, depending on scope.

  • Yes. The Management Masterclass is $997 per participant, and Executive Management Training runs $5,000 to $15,000.

  • It is a monthly $250 roundtable for business owners that meets twice per month.

    It is a safe, professionally facilitated peer-to-peer coaching program. It offers owners an opportunity to work through real challenges and get real advice, while also receiving expert coaching.