Meet Amy Crutchfield, the Founder of The Fractional Coach, a career coaching platform that combines the convenience of a mobile app with the personalized expertise of executive coaching.
Amy’s journey to founding The Fractional Coach was marked by a series of pivotal moments, including the accidental creation of her executive search firm just after 9/11. What began as a necessity to navigate a challenging job market transformed into a thriving business built on referrals and deep client relationships. Now, with The Fractional Coach, Amy is embarking on a new entrepreneurial path. This platform offers on-demand coaching designed to meet the urgent and specific needs of today’s career seekers, breaking away from traditional, often inaccessible, coaching models.
We asked Amy about how her past experiences shaped The Fractional Coach and what exciting plans she has for the future of her company.
Tell us the story behind your company’s founding. How and why did you start working on The Fractional Coach?
The Fractional Coach is a mobile, chat-based career coaching app. Although recently launched, the app has been over 20 years in the making. In 2002, I started my executive search firm. While my clients are the businesses that hire me, I’ve always been advising and coaching the talent that I provide to them—some as part of the recruiting process and others in one-on-one coaching sessions.
Sometimes, people don’t need a full coaching session and often don’t want to make that kind of financial commitment, especially if they are out of work. The Fractional Coach addresses these issues by being an on-demand app that answers your questions for just the amount of time you need. You can top-up your time if you need to extend it or end your session as soon as you’re done. While many apps offer career coaching, finding one that offered this type of fractionalized platform seemed like something people could really use and benefit from.
Did you always know that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
With the executive search business, I never had a moment when I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur or own my own company. In fact, the start of the company happened almost by accident. It was just after 9/11, and many people were losing their jobs. I was in a job I really disliked, and I ended up quitting without having another job. Everyone thought I was crazy given the job market, but I knew I’d figure it out, even if I had to work two jobs to make ends meet.
One day, I received a call from an advertising agency in Minneapolis asking for me after being recommended to them. They wanted me to help them with their creative director search. With an introduction like that, I really didn’t want to let them down. I inquired further about the role and asked them what they needed. My mind began racing, thinking about all of the legalities I’d need to get in place, the talent I’d need to source, and all the steps I’d need to take to officially take this on. Even though it felt a bit daunting, I got a rush out of the challenge. I told them I would do it. It was really that phone call that changed the course of my career and launched my business. Since then, my business has grown largely through referrals and word of mouth.
However, I made a distinct entrepreneurial decision to launch The Fractional Coach. I saw a need in the market for this type of on-demand coaching. The more I talked about it with people, the more I knew this was something that was needed and what I wanted to do. Once I made the decision, any sense of apprehension fell away. I was full of excitement and began finding out as much as I could, as quickly as I could, to bring it all to life.
We address the need for on-demand, accessible career coaching, offering a flexible solution for those who don’t want to commit to a full coaching session or financial commitment, especially when they are out of work.
Have you felt like giving up? What made you persist?
I once heard a sage piece of advice for parents: “It’s not your job to make your kids happy. It’s your job to make them resilient because life will hand them ups and downs, whether you like it or not.” The same type of resilience definitely applies to being an entrepreneur. Looking back at the 22 years I’ve run my search firm, the year that Covid-19 shut down the world was by far the hardest. Absolutely no one was hiring. Everything came to a screeching halt, and we just didn’t know when it was going to get better. It took a lot of deep breaths to get through that time. I seriously contemplated giving up the business because there were so many unknowns. However, what came afterwards, just one year later, was the best recruiting year I’d ever had.
That’s the thing about this business—it’s always cyclical. If companies have to get lean and mean with layoffs, the pendulum has to swing back eventually. The market will improve, and companies will need to increase staff to meet the new demands and return to a normal operating size. You have to learn to ride the waves. Don’t assume one amazing year means you’ll have the same success the next year. And don’t assume a bad year means the end. Learn to dig in, pivot when you need to, and avoid overspend when the going is good. You’ll ride out the tough years and, before you know it, one year turns into 22.
We dare you to brag. What achievements are you most proud of?
I’m incredibly proud of the client relationships I’ve had in my executive search business—some of which span nearly two decades. We’ve built true friendships and partnerships. They trust me, let me under the hood, and share their challenges and pain points, as well as their aspirations and growth plans. Being given that level of trust and knowledge means the world to me and allows me to be proactive about talent. I have the pleasure of watching those new teams create renewed energy, optimism, and growth in the companies I’ve placed them in. It feels incredibly gratifying to know I had a hand in that success.
What’s next for you and The Fractional Coach?
My hope is to really get the word out about it so I can help people who are feeling stuck in their careers. Whether they are out of work, looking to switch careers, transition from full-time to freelance, or just starting out, sometimes some objective advice, along with the tools and clarity, is all that’s needed to move forward. The look I see in someone’s eye when they have that a-ha moment and they suddenly know what they need to do, or when I get a note after a career coaching session telling me they feel so much lighter and confident about the direction they are taking and the steps they need to take to get there––that’s when I know I’ve done my job. There are some really exciting expansion plans for the app that I can’t wait to share, but those are still a few months away. Stay tuned and download the app on Google Play Store and Apple Play Store!
