About the role
Michigan Nature Co. | Rockford, MI
Part-Time / Fractional | 3-Month Pilot | $2,000/month retainer
Michigan Nature Co. is looking for a part-time Fractional Retail Strategy & Operations Lead to help guide the next phase of our Rockford storefront.
This is not a traditional store manager role, and it is not a passive consulting role. We are looking for a part-time strategic operator — someone who can help plan ahead, create momentum, improve the store experience, and most importantly, make sure ideas actually turn into action.
Our vision is to become a consumer-obsessed experience brand — one that deeply understands our customers, creates moments they love, and builds products, events, and community connections that keep them coming back.
The right person will bring a strong mix of retail strategy, merchandising, event planning, local visibility, and operational follow-through. They should be able to think outside the box, but also know how to execute: building plans, assigning next steps, following through, measuring what worked, and making sure the store is consistently moving forward.
This role is for someone who can see the opportunity, shape the plan, and drive the execution — not just suggest ideas from the sidelines.
Role Overview The Fractional Retail Strategy & Operations Lead will help bridge the gap between ownership vision and store-level execution.
This person will help identify what needs to happen, build plans around those priorities, coordinate with the store team, and follow up to ensure work gets completed.
This role is ideal for someone who can think like an owner, operate independently, and bring structure without overcomplicating things.
Key Responsibilities
Retail Strategy & Planning
• Develop monthly retail priorities for the storefront
• Help plan seasonal themes, product focuses, displays, and customer experience improvements
• Identify opportunities to increase foot traffic, sales, and local visibility
• Bring proactive ideas for store growth, events, partnerships, and promotions
• Help ownership prioritize what matters most each month
Merchandising & Store Experience
• Lead merchandising direction for seasonal displays and product placement
• Recommend store layout, flow, and visual improvements
• Ensure the store feels fresh, intentional, and aligned with the brand
• Create simple merchandising plans the store team can execute
• Identify underutilized products, displays, or areas of the store
Events & Community Visibility
• Build and maintain a monthly/seasonal event and visibility calendar
• Plan in-store events, pop-ups, collaborations, workshops, and community moments
• Coordinate event details, timelines, and task lists
• Identify local partnership opportunities
• Help ensure events are promoted and executed well
Execution & Follow-Through
• Translate ideas into clear action plans, owners, and deadlines
• Coordinate with the store manager/team to move priorities forward
• Follow up on assigned tasks and ensure completion
• Escalate decisions, roadblocks, or needs to ownership
• Provide simple monthly recaps of what was completed, what is next, and what needs attention
What This Role Is / Is Not This role is
• A part-time strategic operator
• A planner and executor
• A merchandising and retail experience lead
• A partner to ownership
• A driver of follow-through
This role is not:
• A full-time store manager role
• A passive advisory-only consultant role
• A daily staffing role
• A role with authority to make major spending or hiring decisions without approval
Ideal Background The ideal candidate may have experience in:
• Boutique retail management
• Visual merchandising
• Retail operations
• Event planning
• Small business growth
• Local marketing/community partnerships
• Lifestyle, gift, apparel, home, coffee, candle, or maker-based retail
Ideal Candidate You may be a great fit if you are:
• Creative but practical
• Strategic but hands-on
• Highly organized
• Strong at follow-through
• Comfortable working independently
• Able to turn ideas into clear next steps
• Experienced in making retail spaces feel intentional and shoppable
• Excited by local business, community, and brand-building
• Comfortable giving direction while partnering respectfully wit