Service — The Scaling Retainer
The scaling retainer (fractional cmo) vs doing it yourself
You can do a version of the Scaling Retainer yourself, and the honest limitation is this: an owner can run the rhythm; almost none sustain it past the second busy month.
7 min read · Reviewed by both partners
This is not a pitch against doing it internally. Plenty of businesses should, especially early.
What the paid version produces: a fractional CMO function with both partners, governed monthly against one number, at from $5,000/mo.
Step by step
What you can genuinely do alone
Gather the numbers, list the candidates, and write the first draft. That is real work and it is most of the volume.
Where it usually breaks down
An owner can run the rhythm; almost none sustain it past the second busy month
The objectivity problem
Owners cannot be objective about their own business. This is structural, not a criticism, and it does not improve with effort.
The time problem
It is not that owners cannot do it. It is that the phase competes with running the business and loses.
A reasonable middle path
Draft it yourself, then buy two hours of adversarial reading. Cheaper than the full engagement, and the draft makes those two hours far sharper than they would be cold.
Common mistakes
Doing it alone and calling it done
A conclusion nobody challenged is a preference with a document around it.
Buying help before trying
Attempting it first makes the paid version sharper, because you arrive knowing where you got stuck.
Frequently Asked Questions
The scaling retainer (fractional cmo) vs doing it yourself?
This is not a pitch against doing it internally. Plenty of businesses should, especially early.
Is this something Growth-Scaling handles directly, or does it require a referral partner?
It sits under The Scaling Retainer in the Growth Scaling Method. The next step for an owner is the $1,500 Assessment, which reads your own numbers against everything described above.
How much should we budget?
Budget $4,500 to find out what to build. Budget from $5,000 a month only if the Plan says a recurring engine is warranted — sometimes it says the opposite.
Is there an account team?
No. David Mitroff and Steven Lockhart do the work themselves, which is why capacity is limited and why the diagnosis comes before any commitment.
References
- www.irs.gov — primary source
- www.data.gov — primary source
- www.usa.gov — primary source
Try it, then bring us the draft
The best engagements start with an owner who already attempted it.
Growth-Scaling is a marketing and business-scaling firm. It is not a licensed practitioner in any client vertical and does not provide medical, legal, financial, or contracting services; all industry content on this site is marketing and growth guidance for owners in those fields. Figures describing past engagements refer to specific businesses under specific conditions and are not a prediction of any future result. No outcome is promised.
Written by Steven Lockhart, reviewed by David Mitroff, Ph.D. Figures and regulatory details reflect the cited public sources; requirements vary by state and situation. Growth-Scaling is a marketing and business-scaling firm, not a licensed practitioner in any client vertical.