Alicia Sokol, The Operations Alchemist

Alicia Sokol brings 25+ years experience in business and entrepreneurship, including leadership development, business strategy, financial forecasting, business and people operations, and culture development in diverse environments including agency, association, non-profit, franchise, and local small business settings. She has demonstrated the capacity to think creatively, take calculated risks, and build powerful communities aligned with core values. Her speciality lies in creating thoughtful operations systems and processes, building and guiding strong teams, and directing learning and development of key talent to drive impactful initiatives and optimize performance capabilities. She champions a growth mindset, thriving in challenging environments with innovative ideas, enthusiasm, and unconventional solutions.

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Leadership Development
Visioning
Strategic Planning
Business Operations - Design + Execution
Franchise Operations
Financial Forecasting
Culture Development + Employee Engagement
Relationship Management + Client Success

NOTEWORTHY

Built and led team at top performing, profitable barre3® studio
Keynote Speaker, barre3® National Owner’s Summit Conference
Franchise Advisory Committee Member, barre3® (peer-nominated)
Guest speaker at various business schools, including Stanford Graduate School of Business, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and George Washington University
Member, Entrepreneur Organization (EO DC Chapter), 2020 - Present
Board Member, Entrepreneur Organization (Learning Chair 2021-2022, Membership Chair 2024-2025)

Testimonials

“We now have a better understanding of where we just needed to be more accountable to the processes we had in place. Instead of trying to change processes and systems around, Alicia allowed us to focus on what we were already doing and be more accountable. That makes it much more manageable because we realized we don't need to change as much as we thought we did.

“I hired Alicia because she ran a very successful franchise business. It was important because I knew she was a part of a very large franchise organization. She knows what it takes to have SOPs and organization for expansion.”

Jesse Lewis, Owner, District Performance & Physio (Single System Rebuild)

“Alicia is authentic, grounded, and always asks the right questions to get my mind moving forward. I loved working through challenges with her and would recommend her to anyone looking to hone in on how to be the leader that their business needs while also creating the entrepreneurial life that you want.

[She helped me] build trust with my team, develop momentum in the business, and make decisions with confidence. She encouraged me to look at my leadership style, examine the prioritization and management of my time, create space for hard conversations, organize operational systems, clarify job responsibilities, lead with vision, and truly be a listener in all aspects of my life and work. She was equally prepared for each session with a topic/goal at hand as much as she was open to focusing on whatever "issue" was top-of-mind for me that week.”

Charo Compton, Small Business Owner (1:1 Coaching: Leadership)

“Not only is Alicia an accomplished entrepreneur who built, scaled, and sold a business, she is also one of the most compassionate people I have ever known. Owning a business is extremely stressful. There is no price that can be put on having someone so uniquely talented to help you run your business better. "

Lisa Klein, Owner, Klein Integrative Physical Therapy

“I learned so much from working with Alicia. The short term impact was that I sold my business in less time than I thought I could. The long term impact was that the process was quite painless. Because of Alicia, I felt supported, listened to and confident about selling my business. I believe she saved me from the mental stress that could come from not knowing how to navigate obstacles and prolonging the process or not being able to sell at all.

“The most value came from Alicia's direction to take things one small step at a time instead of feeling overwhelmed by achieving my one big, intimidating goal. I trusted her and her process fully and it paid off big time.”

Liz Ferrante, Small Business Owner (1:1 Coaching: Exit Planning)

“Alicia approaches her work with thoughtfulness and care, which makes you feel like you have a partner to help solve the problem at hand. Her super power is that her abilities are equally as strong in the area of business strategy as they are in operations and systems. We found Alicia’s work to provide high value, and help move our business to the next level. Her attention to detail was impeccable.”

Harper Kalin, Vice President, barre3 (New System Build)