Ep. 7: Resilience, Relationships, and Reinvention: Erika Weiss on Thriving as a Fractional CMO

05/08/25 • 29 min

In this episode of Female Fractionals, Amanda sits down with Erika Weiss — a seasoned fractional CMO, founder of Elevated Brand, and adjunct professor at Loyola Marymount University. With a rich background in brand strategy, fitness, wellness, and consumer marketing, Erika shares her journey from corporate leadership to launching her own consultancy after four layoffs in four years.

🔍 What You'll Learn:

Why Erika left the corporate world to create her own path as a fractional executive
Her personal definition of what it really means to be “fractional” — and why embedding with the client is key
The importance of resilience, upskilling, and building a strong professional network
How Erika lands clients through authentic relationship-building and a standout LinkedIn presence
Tactical advice for marketing yourself as a fractional, especially in competitive industries
How she balances her roles as a consultant, professor, and mom — and why agency over her time is her biggest win
What she wishes she’d known at the start of her fractional journey

💡 Erika’s mantras:
“Resilience is my ethos.”
“Always be learning.”
“Make friends before you need them.”

📘 Mentioned in the episode:

Obsessed by Emily Heyward (Erika’s favorite business book)
Her mentors she wants to give a shout-out to: Gordon Ho and Suzanne Blankenship

🎧 Subscribe, share, and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode!
🌐 Full transcript and links: femalefractionals.com

🔍 What You'll Learn:

Why Erika left the corporate world to create her own path as a fractional executive
Her personal definition of what it really means to be “fractional” — and why embedding with the client is key
The importance of resilience, upskilling, and building a strong professional network
How Erika lands clients through authentic relationship-building and a standout LinkedIn presence
Tactical advice for marketing yourself as a fractional, especially in competitive industries
How she balances her roles as a consultant, professor, and mom — and why agency over her time is her biggest win
What she wishes she’d known at the start of her fractional journey

💡 Erika’s mantras:
“Resilience is my ethos.”
“Always be learning.”
“Make friends before you need them.”

📘 Mentioned in the episode:

Obsessed by Emily Heyward (Erika’s favorite business book)
Her mentors she wants to give a shout-out to: Gordon Ho and Suzanne Blankenship

🎧 Subscribe, share, and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode!
🌐 Full transcript and links: femalefractionals.com

Previous Episode

Ep. 6: The AI Toolkit Every Fractional Exec Should Know—with Crys Black

What happens when a fractional CMO meets the rise of AI? Magic—and massive efficiency. You'll want to grab a pen and paper for this one!

In this episode of Female Fractionals, host Amanda Nizzere sits down with the dynamic Crys Black, a fractional CMO and RevOps leader at Crys Black Consulting. Crys shares how she leverages over a dozen AI and tech tools to run her business, amplify client results, and build an AI-powered digital twin to manage her social presence (yes, really!).

You’ll hear how her nonlinear career—from IT to marketing to fractional life—intersects with her love of experimentation, and how AI has not only improved her workflows but also helped her create a custom Valentine’s Day album.

Whether you're overwhelmed by the pace of new tools or just wondering where to start, this episode will give you inspiration, a real-world roadmap, and full permission to just start playing.

💡 Highlights:

How Crys transitioned from Silicon Valley IT to fractional CMO life
Her go-to AI tools, including ChatGPT, Motion, Storm, and Lovable
How she uses deep research tools to prep for sales calls in 10 minutes flat
Why your digital twin might be your best content creator yet
Her approach to staying current without getting overwhelmed
How she used AI to win Valentine’s Day (we’re serious)

🔗 Resources + Links:

✨ Fractional doesn’t have to mean frazzled. With the right tools, you can scale your value—without scaling your hours.

Visit FemaleFractionals.com for the full transcript and bonus resources from this episode.

Next Episode

undefined - Ep. 8: Michael Lopez, LinkedIn Top Voice and best-selling author of "Change: Six Science-Backed Strategies to Transform Your Brain, Body, and Behavior"

Ep. 8: Michael Lopez, LinkedIn Top Voice and best-selling author of "Change: Six Science-Backed Strategies to Transform Your Brain, Body, and Behavior"

In this episode of Female Fractionals, host Amanda Nizzere sits down with Michael Lopez — author, speaker, and transformational consultant — to break down what it really takes to embrace change, especially as a fractional executive or aspiring entrepreneur.

Michael shares insights from his new book, Change Six: Science-Backed Strategies to Transform Your Brain, Body, and Behavior, and explores how we can flip the script on fear, stress, and uncertainty. Whether you're already living the fractional life or contemplating your leap, this episode will rewire how you think about discomfort, motivation, and what it means to build something of your own.

🔥 Episode Highlights:

Michael’s eclectic background from government intelligence to corporate intrapreneur to founder
Why vision boards might actually demotivate you (GASP!)
How to build a healthier relationship with stress — and why it’s critical to your growth
The myth of needing to “listen to your brain”
How motivation is driven by action (not outcome)
Why falling in love with the process is more powerful than achieving the end goal
The science behind why doing hard things builds a stronger brain
Practical advice on pricing, outreach, and business development as a fractional
What Michael would do differently two years into his entrepreneurial journey

Grab Michael’s Book: Change Six: Science-Backed Strategies to Transform Your Brain, Body, and Behavior on Amazon and other major platforms. You can also find it on his website: michaeljlopez.coach

✨ Learn More: Visit femalefractionals.com for the full transcript and links to everything we discussed.

Female Fractionals - Ep. 7: Resilience, Relationships, and Reinvention: Erika Weiss on Thriving as a Fractional CMO

Transcript

Amanda:
Welcome to Female Fractionals, the biweekly podcast for successful female fractional executives and those ready to take the leap. In each episode, I'll bring you actionable lessons and inspiration through interviews with thriving fractional leaders and experts. Let's dive in.

Hi everyone, today’s guest is Erika Weiss — a fractional CMO, founder of Elevated Brand, a boutique marketing consultancy, and an adjunct professor of marketing at Loyola Mar