From $0 Pipeline to 11X Her Corporate Salary: How One Fractional HR Leader Built a Thriving Practice in 10 Months

What happens when you lose your first contract one week after leaving corporate - and decide to keep going anyway?

In this episode of Six Figure Secrets for Fractional Experts, Mylance Founder and CEO Bradley Jacobs sits down with returning guest Ellie Holbert, Founder and CEO of Empact Advisory Services. Ellie supports HR leaders in assessing team health and creating high-performing work cultures - and her own business journey is a masterclass in resilience, intentionality, and strategic risk-taking.

This blog is a detailed account of their conversation, packed with tactical advice and mindset shifts that every fractional executive needs to hear.

The Comeback: From Contract Cancellation to a $1.5M Pipeline

When Ellie left her corporate role to start her fractional practice, she had a lucrative contract lined up. One week later, it was unexpectedly canceled. Zero dollars in the pipeline. Not exactly the launch story you dream about.

But three weeks later, a great opportunity came through. Sixteen weeks in, she had replaced her corporate salary and built a pipeline worth $1.5 million. Now, at the 10-month mark, she's projecting 30-50% more than her corporate income, takes every Friday off with her daughter, and has six active clients - five of which came inbound.

"I'm not some unicorn," Ellie says. "I'm just a typical consultant that left and tried something new. This really is possible if you take the leap and take that consistent imperfect action."

The Self-Care Paradox: Why Working Less Made Her Business Grow

Here's where things get counterintuitive. Ellie took her own employee engagement survey at the end of summer - the same kind she administers to clients - and failed miserably.

"If that were a client, I would have said you have a critically low engagement score. You really need to pay attention," she explains. So she started treating herself the way she'd advise any employer to treat their people.

The result? Her business grew as she took better care of herself.

"We often think there's a trade-off between pouring into ourselves and growing the business. But actually, the more balanced I was, the better my business performed - especially financially."

She now plans for 18 hours of client work per week (not 40), leaves 20% white space for fires and unexpected opportunities, and has scheduled monthly date days with her husband and self-care days just for her.

Business Development That Never Stops (Even When You're Fully Booked)

Ellie's approach to business development remains refreshingly simple: get one-on-one calls on the calendar with her ideal client profile. She does this through three pillars:

1. Direct contact with her existing network - former colleagues, old college friends, past clients
2. LinkedIn thought leadership - consistent weekly posting (the algorithm punishes even one missed week)
3. Speaking engagements - webinars, podcasts, anything that builds trust at scale

"I've been on calls where clients said, 'I heard about you, went to your LinkedIn, and saw a couple videos,'" Ellie shares. "Did the video directly lead to the hire? Maybe not. But it's been an incredible credibility builder."

Even while fully booked, she maintains four to six calls per week with the market. About 25-50% get cancelled, leaving her with two to three meaningful conversations.

"Being fully booked is not a valid excuse to stop business development," she says firmly. "Without it, you won't have client delivery. And it's so difficult to restart that engine from scratch if you let your leads go cold."

Your Greatest Struggle May Be Your Greatest Gift

Ellie discovered she was neurodivergent at 31. Before that, she spent most of her life feeling like she was operating with an incomplete playbook - struggling socially, questioning herself, wondering why certain things didn't come naturally.

Instead of accepting this as a limitation, she approached it like a subject to study. With a background in psychology and sociology, she learned the mechanics of trust-building, connection, and communication.

"What was really challenging for me growing up ended up becoming a real asset," she explains. "I could step into an organization and ask basic questions others took for granted. And lo and behold, a lot of the basics weren't covered."

This struggle became the foundation of her business: helping organizations create cultures where people feel safe and like they belong.

"I know the pain of non-belonging. I know the playbook for how to create belonging for teams. And that's my core why."

The Trust Fall: Creating Capacity Before the Revenue Arrives

Perhaps the boldest move Ellie made was leaving her main client - without having replacement revenue signed.

She had plenty of opportunities in the pipeline but nothing closed. Her reasoning? The formula required to sell strategic work while maintaining that client demanded a level of overwork that wasn't sustainable.

"I stepped away without knowing when the next check would come."

Three weeks later, five inbound opportunities closed. Six weeks later, she was fully booked for months with exactly the type of work she wanted, making well over her corporate salary.

"I made more progress in six weeks of surrender and alignment than in the six months prior."

Her December earnings? Three times her corporate salary - while still taking every Friday off.

"The universe cannot hand you the next chapter while your hands are gripping the last," Ellie reflects. "Create the capacity first. Take the trust fall."

The Bottom Line: 96 Opportunities and Counting

For anyone thinking the market is too tough right now, Ellie offers a reality check. Her current pipeline? 96 opportunities worth 11X her corporate salary - built in less than 10 months.

"There are scary macroeconomics. The headlines are real. And it is also true that there is still plenty of opportunity for an independent consultant. We just need a handful of clients, and they are out there."

Key Takeaways

• Consistent imperfect action beats waiting for perfect conditions
• Taking care of yourself isn't a trade-off - it's a growth strategy
• Never stop business development, even when fully booked
• Your unique struggles may be the foundation of your greatest value
• Sometimes you have to create capacity before the revenue arrives

Want to connect with Ellie? Find her on LinkedIn at Ellie Holbert. She's now coaching independent consultants on launching and scaling their practices, with clients seeing 2-3X revenue increases on average.

Mylance

This article was written by Mylance, the LinkedIn content system built for founders and experts who want consistent, high-quality posts that attract clients. We help you lock in your positioning, clarify your ideal customer, and build a content strategy that actually resonates. Then our system gives you a content calendar, drafts posts in your authentic voice, and keeps you accountable - so you stay visible and attract the right clients while saving hours each week!If you’re ready to grow your presence and pipeline on LinkedIn, sign up at Mylance.co.