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Fractional COO Services for Small & Midsize Businesses · UK

From operational chaos to scalable clarity.

You've built something successful — but stretched teams, stuck decisions and systems that can't keep up are holding it back. Markinly delivers hands-on fractional COO leadership and operations consulting that streamlines your processes, boosts productivity and lets you scale profitably.

20+Years SMB operations leadership
25%Avg. reduction in wasted team effort
50+Businesses transformed
Gideon Lyons — Fractional COO and Operations Consultant for SMBs
Gideon LyonsFounder & Fractional COO — Markinly
9
Specialist operations
capabilities

Trusted by founders & CEOs across industries

TNT Chestnut Capital Rumplers Lovery Luxe Interiors Datacrushers
The Operations Room

Intelligence for growing businesses

Reports, articles, case studies and working sessions on the systems that let SMBs scale without chaos.

New-Starter Onboarding Checklist
Template

New-Starter Onboarding Checklist
SOPs that actually stick — working session replay
Video

SOPs that actually stick — working session replay
Choosing a project management system: ClickUp vs Monday vs Asana for SMBs
Article

Choosing a project management system: ClickUp vs Monday vs Asana for SMBs
Live SOP working session webinar
Upcoming Webinar

SOPs that actually stick: a live working session
Trusted operations consulting for CEOs, founders and business owners
Case Study

Trusted operations consulting for CEOs, founders and business owners

Read the case study

Subscribe to The Operations Briefing — one practical insight a week for SMB founders and CEOs.

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Featured Newsletter

Sharper decisions start with the Briefing.

The systems, playbooks and hard-won lessons Gideon shares with client CEOs — in your inbox every Tuesday.

SMB leader reading the Operations Briefing
Watch & Listen

The Operations Room — video series

Short, practical episodes where Gideon breaks down the systems, structures and decisions that let SMBs scale without chaos.

SOPs that actually stick — working session replay
41:15
Webinar Replay

SOPs that actually stick — working session replay

A 40-minute working session: the five formats, the embed-and-audit loop, and live reworking of attendees' real SOPs into documents teams actually use.

Watch now All episodes
SOPs that actually stick — working session replay AI & automation for SMB operations: where to start (and what to skip) How to delegate decisions without losing control The 5 systems every £1M+ business needs before it scales
How We Help Clients

Let's turn your biggest operational headaches into your next stage of growth.

Fractional COO Leadership

Fractional COO Leadership →

Executive-level operations leadership embedded in your business — without the cost of a full-time hire.
Operations Consulting

Operations Consulting →

A structured weekly advisory rhythm for CEOs who need a trusted operational partner alongside them.
AI & Automation

AI & Automation →

Practical automations and AI integrations that cut manual work and make your systems work harder.
Results That Matter

Numbers from real business transformations

25%
Average reduction in wasted team effort
2×
Team and client workload doubled at TNT
20%
Sales conversion uplift on sales-focused work
3–5h
Reclaimed weekly by leaders
How Markinly Helps

Two service areas. One operational philosophy.

Every engagement draws from a complete set of operational capabilities — delivered as embedded fractional COO leadership, or as structured consulting for leaders who need a trusted operational advisor.

Service 01

Fractional COO Leadership

Executive-level operations leadership without the cost of a full-time hire. Gideon embeds within your business — designing, implementing and embedding the operational systems that let your business grow without depending on you for everything.

  • Strategic operations oversight & day-to-day guidance
  • Business process optimisation & efficiency systems
  • SOP development & operational playbooks
  • Team management, alignment & accountability
  • Operations monitoring, KPIs & reporting
  • Onboarding & training systems
  • AI & automation integrations
Read more about
Service 02

Business Operations Consulting

A structured weekly advisory relationship for owners and CEOs who need a trusted operational partner. Gideon works alongside you in a consistent rhythm — building strategic clarity and making sure decisions translate into measurable operational improvement.

  • Weekly structured advisory sessions (60 minutes)
  • Business challenge identification & prioritisation
  • Strategic roadmapping & operations planning
  • Decision-making frameworks & accountability
  • Implementation support & follow-through
  • Performance monitoring & reporting guidance
Read more about
How It Works

The Free Ops Diagnostic is just the beginning

A four-phase approach that takes your business from assessment to embedded, self-sustaining operational systems.

1

Free Ops Diagnostic

Deep assessment of your operations, workflows and biggest constraints.

2

Strategy & Planning

Tailored roadmap with clear priorities, measurable KPIs and a realistic timeline.

3

Implementation

Execute improvements alongside your team with hands-on support.

4

Embed & Optimise

Monitor, refine and scale systems — then hand over fully to your team.

Free Interactive Tool

Get your Operations Health Score in 3 minutes

Answer 12 quick questions about how your business runs. Get an instant score across five operational dimensions, a personalised report of your biggest constraints — and the three quick wins to action first.

  • ✓ Instant score across Process, Team, Systems, Data & Leadership
  • ✓ Personalised PDF report emailed to you
  • ✓ Benchmarks from 50+ SMB engagements
Start the Assessment → Free · No obligation · 3 minutes

Sample: Operations Health Score

Process78
Team64
Systems52
Data & Reporting70
Leadership85
Client Results

Real businesses. Real transformations.

All case studies
Trusted operations consulting for CEOs, founders and business owners
Case Study

Trusted operations consulting for CEOs, founders and business owners

A weekly structured advisory rhythm — Discovery → Planning → Implementation — that gives leaders clarity, accountability and measurable operational improvement.

Case Study Open
Streamlining sales and projects for a luxury kitchen design studio
Case Study

Streamlining sales and projects for a luxury kitchen design studio

A custom Monday.com system connected the entire client journey — from first contact to final reveal — lifting sales conversion and ending missed deadlines.

Case Study Open
Helping a SaaS startup recover lost ecommerce revenue by aligning teams
Case Study

Helping a SaaS startup recover lost ecommerce revenue by aligning teams

How an integrated feedback-and-execution loop across product, support and marketing helped a cart-abandonment platform ship faster, lift adoption and grow ARR.

Case Study Open
Client Voices

What founders & CEOs say

Gideon's fractional COO services transformed our marketing agency's messy processes into an organised, scalable system. We grew our client base by 40% in six months — and the team finally feels like they know what they're doing.

Sarah K.
Sarah K.Founder, Creative Marketing Co.

Thanks to Gideon's hands-on operations consulting, our interior design firm streamlined project workflows, improved team accountability, and doubled our revenue within a year. What he builds actually sticks.

Daniel R.
Daniel R.Principal, Luxe Interiors

We went from 50 to over 100 people in six months without losing control of delivery. The systems Gideon built are still the backbone of how the agency runs.

Operations Lead
Operations LeadTNT — global marketing agency
Common Questions

What you might be wondering

There's no catch. The Ops Diagnostic is genuinely free with no obligation — many businesses benefit from the session whether or not they proceed.
A fractional COO embeds within your business: working with leadership and team, overseeing processes, resolving bottlenecks, building systems and SOPs — without the cost of a full-time executive hire.
Most clients see meaningful improvements within 30–60 days. Deeper structural improvements embed over 90 days and are designed to sustain without ongoing support.
Pricing varies by scope and duration; every proposal is tailored after the free Ops Diagnostic, once both sides understand exactly what is needed.
Markinly is UK-based and primarily serves UK businesses. Remote and hybrid engagements are possible depending on scope.

The best way to know if Markinly is right for you is to have the conversation.

The Free Ops Diagnostic is genuinely useful — whether or not we work together. No pitch, no pressure.

Get Your Ops Health Score

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