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November 6, 2025 32 mins

What if scaling your business didn’t mean overcomplicating it?

In this episode of we sit down with Makena Finger Zannini, founder of The Boutique COO, who scaled her operations agency to seven figures in under a year by focusing on simplicity, profitability, and people.

We dive deep into the operations blueprint every founder needs to master, from understanding ROI on every hire, to building incentive-based compensation plans, and creating systems that run without you. 

Makena shares her real-world insights on balancing visionary leadership with operational structure, hiring smarter (not faster), and creating a culture that scales sustainably.

Whether you’re a founder, entrepreneur, or sales leader trying to bridge the gap between vision and execution, this episode is packed with tangible takeaways you can implement right away.

In this episode we’ll cover:

[02:23] The biggest mistake founders make in operations
 [04:45] How to scale sustainably without over-hiring
 [06:10] Incentive-based compensation and ROI-driven roles
 [08:32] Building momentum through strategic systems
 [13:42] Knowing when to hire and when to wait
 [19:44] Why every founder needs SOPs
 [24:28] How to measure operational success
 [26:16] The role of culture in scaling profitably
 [31:59] Lessons in hiring, firing, and leadership


Connect with Makena Finger Zannini:


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About The Hosts:

  • Tim & Cindy Dodd are the Co-founders of PEMA.io, based out of Miami, FL. Connect with Tim and Cindy on LinkedIn and Instagram:

About PEMA.io:

  • Need B2B Appointments or want to grow your authority on LinkedIn? Learn more about our services here: https://www.pema.io/discover


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