Description:In this episode of The MediaBooks Podcast, Kristen sits down with Ashley Carroll, founder of Operations House and a fractional COO for accounting and creative service firms. Ashley shares her inspiring journey from growing up below the poverty line to becoming a COO and building 40% margin service firms that prioritize both people and profit. She opens up about what operations really means, how burnout is often a business model issue, and the exact steps she takes to bring calm to the chaos.

If you’ve ever felt like your systems are crumbling right when your business is growing—this one’s for you.

✨ What You’ll Learn:

- Ashley’s unconventional journey from nonprofit accountant to COO (08:32 )

- Why operations is more than just zaps and SOPs—it’s your firm’s culture (40:03 )

- Her “Founder Reset” method to help overwhelmed owners reclaim their time (52:12 )

- Getting team buy-in for operational changes without pushback (01:09:45 )

- Why burnout isn’t your fault—and how operations can fix it (01:20:16 )

- Building human-first firms in a high-demand industry (01:35:50 )

🔗 Resources & Links Mentioned:

💻 Operations House:

https://operations.house/

🎁 Free Burnout Recovery Kit:

https://operations.house/recovery-kit?utm_source=mediabooks&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=burnout_recovery_2025

🔄 Three-Week Founder Reset:

https://operations.house/the-founder-reset?utm_source=mediabooks&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=founder_reset_2025

🤝 Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleykcarroll/

📚 Book Mentioned: The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+12+week+year+by+brian+p+moran&hvadid=694243191293&hvdev=c&hvexpln=67&hvlocphy=9030693&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15373525053237492171--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15373525053237492171&hvtargid=kwd-443426484431&hydadcr=15543_13657471&mcid=1552963dd6eb341f91b13301ceb19280&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_3ksudr83fw_e_p67

🎙️ Learn more about MediaBooks Agency:

https://www.mediabooksagency.com/

🕒 Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro to Ashley Carroll

04:33 – From accounting to entrepreneurship

12:45 – Discovering her operational superpower

20:18 – How one payment system change reduced late payments by 78%

26:11 – What is “operations,” really?

40:03 – Operations as communication glue

52:12 – What a Founder Reset actually looks like

01:09:45 – Getting team buy-in when they’re already overloaded

01:20:16 – Why burnout is a business model flaw

01:35:50 – Tech, AI & why automations are only part of the story

01:41:20 – Ashley’s parting advice and offers

📢 Like what you heard?

Subscribe to The MediaBooks Podcast for more conversations at the intersection of accounting and marketing. And don't forget to leave a review!