Build
Delivery Operations For Companies Doing $1M-$3M Annually
Congratulations on breaking $1M! This is the most vulnerable stage most professional services firms reach. It has the highest bankruptcy statistics and the highest risk for failure.
Why?
Expenses begin to outpace revenue.
How?
Margins collapse and management complexity compounds.
In plain terms?
You have more work than ever but you’ve never felt more broke.
How does this happen?
Most commonly through hires and tool sprawl. Founders will often hire to fill gaps and payroll jumps to $400K annually. Revenue only grows to $1.2M instead of the projected $2.3M. Profit disappears.
The problems?
Delivery becomes inefficient
Sales slow down because the founder becomes involved in delivery
Gross margin erodes due to poor resource planning or miscalculations
Clients become larger, expect more, and requires custom scoping
Bigger clients are more likely to be delayed on payments
Cash flow is too slow
We can help you make more money from the work you already sold. Here’s how.
DELIVERY MARGIN AUDIT
What is delivery inefficiency actually costing you?
Eight line items. Ninety seconds. Most founder-led agencies are bleeding margin on work they've already sold — this shows you roughly where.
— that's an estimated 0% of your revenue, from work you've already sold.
Margin Recovery Analysis
Your company gets hired to build something. This could be a website, a mobile app, or a contract for ongoing managed services. Whatever it is, the contract is signed, the first payment is made, and it’s time for your team to start working. The first couple weeks go well, and then things start slipping.
Work takes longer than anticipated
You have to pull in additional resources to either fix mistakes or speed up the work
Resourcing is getting increasingly stretched and leadership has no clue as to why
When you look at numbers, you’re either way over budget or not satisfactorily clearing profit margins
Our job is to locate where that’s happening, why it’s happening, how much it’s costing you, and then fix it.
Our proprietary methodology includes an in-depth review of your work management tools, 1on1 team interviews at all levels of the business, and the output is a delivery risk report, prioritized by opportunity.
Seamless Execution Partnership
From delivery depending on who’s running it →
documented, repeatable processes
From no visibility into real margin, capacity, or risk →
Real-time visibility into what’s actually happening on the ground
Sales, delivery, and teams misaligned →
Everyone working towards a shared focus
Scope creep unchecked →
Scope tracked and billed
Leadership personally approving everything →
Trust in the team to execute on what they do best
We execute the roadmap from your margin recovery analysis and work from inside your team. We do the work, you keep the profit.
If you hit all your engagement milestones, you only pay 50% of your total monthly fee.
Common Margin Recovery Flags We Fix
Projects consistently run over budget
Teams are always busy but profits are shrinking
Scope creep is becoming the norm
Clients ask for updates you can't answer quickly
Work gets stuck waiting on someone
Work rely on one person remembering everything
Teams duplicate work or redo work
Too many manual tasks
Deadlines are regularly missed
Team capacity is a guessing game
Delivery costs keep increasing
Reporting takes hours instead of minutes
Every client engagement feels different
New hires take months to become productive
Technology isn't talking to each other
You suspect AI or automation could help, but don't know where to start
When You’re Better Served By a Specialist
You trusted us to help your business. Our promise is to not bite off more than we can chew. The following is a list of items that are occasionally surfaced in our analyses, and we believe there are pro’s out there who will get you further. We’ve compiled a thoroughly vetted list of trusted companies and will help match you with a referral for your exact use case as needed.
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Charlie Covert
Emotive Strategic
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OpsanaHR
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Mermaid Marketing
Perlee Digital
Delta Digital
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Kung Fu Marketing
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Perlee Digital
SafeMode Studios
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Phil Gerard, Sales Xceleration
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Decimal
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Analytics4Growth
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Anchor & Oak Strategies
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TR Edwards Consultancy
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The Lazy Millennial
How can we help your team do exceptional work without drowning in the day-to-day?
Let’s turn your strategy into systems that actually move the needle.
Delivery Maturity Assessment
Where does your delivery model stand?
Ten quick questions across capacity, profitability, visibility, consistency, and scalability — so you can see exactly where growth will get harder, and where it won't.
What this usually looks like
Your priority right now
Your delivery snapshot
Strongest area
Focus area
Past Projects
What’s it like to work with The 128 Collective? Check out some of our case studies.
Industry
Technology
Industry
Higher Education
Industry
Higher Education
Industry
Professional Services
Event Coordination
Events without the overwhelm.
If you’ve ever planned an event, you know how quickly things can spiral: vendors, timelines, budgets, and expectations all shifting at once. Even the best teams can lose momentum when there isn’t a clear system in place.
We help you plan and manage events with clarity and intention, creating a process that keeps your team aligned and every detail accounted for. No guesswork, no scrambling, just a calm, coordinated path from idea to execution.
We help you:
Map out goals, budgets, and timelines
Gain visibility into what’s working (and what’s not)
Coordinate vendors, speakers, and logistics
Manage production schedules and on-site details
Ensure every element supports your marketing and growth strategy
Feel confident heading into your next event.
We’ll handle the moving pieces so you can focus on the moments that matter.
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Case Studies
Our Proven Impact
From system overhauls to event planning support, we’ve helped leaders transform messy operations into streamlined ones, and turn ambitious ideas into projects that actually get done.
Managing a $1.1M Website Replatform Project
Scrum Master & Project Manager for a higher ed client upgrading multiple of their domains to the Optimizely platform to improve user experience and increase annual enrollments from prospective students.
Increasing conversions by 211%
They wanted to focus on bottom of funnel tactics, because their assumption was that most people they could bring in through paid ads were already very warm leads, and pretty much ready to purchase.
Let’s Stay Connected
Follow along for insights, strategies, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we help businesses thrive.
