FAQs

Head to the Contact page to schedule a meeting.

Yes. Visit the Case Studies page. To learn more about the history of Teal Oak, visit About Teal Oak.

Robert can typically provide an agreement for services within 2-4 business days, and begin providing services shortly after an agreement is signed - usually within 1 business week, if not sooner.

Robert’s experience spans service organizations and tech companies. He’s worked in fields including ecommerce, digital marketing, merchant services, SaaS, data integration, web hosting, and cloud infrastructure. He’s provided his expertise to manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and nonprofits. He’s built diverse partnerships in ecosystems ranging from ERP and CRM to payments, shipping, and tax management.

Learn more about Robert’s background on his About page

Teal Oak has a history of providing services to companies ranging from startups with a few employees to mid-size organizations with hundreds of team members across multiple countries. Robert also has a long history of supporting large enterprise partners and clients in his previous full-time roles.

Absolutely! Robert has a history of providing consulting services to companies outside of the USA, including to Canadian and European businesses. As long as there’s an understanding around time zones and payments being submitted in USD, Robert can be a great fit for your international business.

Not all businesses need a full-time executive leader of partnerships, but their teams could vastly benefit from an experienced operator. That’s where a fractional officer can be the perfect fit. It’s the best of both worlds. You get exactly what you need, without committing to the budget that a full-time employee would require.

Robert absolutely provides coaching and support for you and your team, but he goes many layers deeper. Business coaches typically provide a more generalized service and a framework to follow. Whether as a consultant, advisor, or fractional executive, Robert dives into your specific goals, challenges, and pain points.

Yes. For instance, if you need someone to build out the structure and systems for a scalable partner program, and get the programs optimized before hiring more staff, Robert can help.

Absolutely! If you’re already up and running, Robert can audit your existing operations and data, and come back with an assessment and actionable recommendations. Audits can be one-off consultations, or part of ongoing fractional services.

Robert has been speaking, hosting, and otherwise representing companies at events for years. Whether you need someone to lead an in-person panel discussion or fireside chat, or host a virtual podcast you’d like to create, Robert can represent your company.

Most engagements involve a mix of virtual meetings to review data and make decisions, and behind-the-scenes work such as research, building targets and goals, and making introductions. Engagements can include a variety of communications (calls, Slack messages, emails, etc.), with the understanding that as a fractional resource, Robert will be supporting other clients too.

Different companies have different levels of needs. In some cases, it may be closer to 5 hours a week. In other cases, it may be closer to 20. It will all depend on the role that you’d like Robert to take on for your organization, the scale of your business, and the velocity that you’d like to achieve.

Robert is based in Boca Raton, FL, and operates in Eastern Time. It’s not unusual for Robert to schedule work outside of normal business hours for one-off needs, such as to allow for travel for on-site meetings and events, or to accommodate occasional meetings with stakeholders in different time zones. It’s always best to schedule meetings at least a few days in advance, and travel at least a few weeks in advance, in order to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Schedule permitting, Robert can join you for in-person brainstorming, planning sessions, tradeshows, conferences, and other activities. Travel time and expenses will need to be addressed in addition to consulting or other active working time.

If you form a long-term contract, such as for a 12-month fractional or advisory role, and you’d like his relationship with your organization to be public, Robert can absolutely be listed on your website, list himself as part of your team via his LinkedIn profile, etc.

You can put an NDA in place, protecting any sensitive business information. Robert’s activities with your business can be kept private under NDA as well.

Robert can share rates on an initial call. Rates are based on two factors: (a) the size of the engagement, and (b) its duration. For instance, if you want to engage with Robert for 20 hours a week for 12 months, the hourly rate will be lower than 5 hours a week for 3 months.

Consulting can be very defined, such as to lead strategic planning sessions or assist with a specific event. Fractional and advisory roles can vary in their term, with the understanding that the longer the term you sign up for, the better the hourly rate Robert can offer. You can always go from a month-to-month contract to a longer-term contract to lock in a better rate, but discounts aren’t applied retroactively to already completed services.

Experience. Robert has a track record of 100% of clients retaining his services again after the initial term. Clients are welcome to get firsthand experience working with Robert before deciding to lock in longer-term agreements.

Teal Oak invoices clients in USD. Payments can be submitted by check, wire transfer, or other means. There may be a processing fee associated with electronic payments.

Only if you choose to. For instance, if you’d like Robert to utilize a particular piece of software on your behalf, such as a specific AI platform, it’ll be your responsibility to provide an account or provide reimbursement. Basic equipment and supplies are factored into Robert’s rates. Anything that has to be purchased or procured for your specific needs is not included.

No, if you’re paying for hourly services, only work-time counts toward your retainer or allotment. While you’d pay for breaks for traditional employees, Robert’s rates factor in that this is strictly a contractor relationship. However, there can be exceptions, such as if it’s a working lunch, or you’ve booked Robert to be at a tradeshow, happy hour, or other off-site activity.

No, you’re not responsible for healthcare, retirement, PTO, or similar expenses that you’d have with an employee. This is strictly a contractor relationship. That’s all factored into Robert’s rates. However, like any member of your team, Robert may occasionally be unavailable due to family or other matters. He may leverage flex time to keep up with his responsibilities to your organization, while having some personal days off from work.