EPISODE · Apr 2, 2026 · 30 MIN
How Lance Robbins Turned a Portfolio Career into a Fractional HR Empire
from The Authority X-Factor Podcast · host Kelly Schuknecht | Two Mile High Marketing
In this episode of The Authority X-Factor Podcast, host Kelly Schuknecht reconnects with Lance Robbins, Partner to Executive leadership, Co-founder of KeelHR, and host of the Fractional podcast, to unpack how a self-described "expert generalist" built a portfolio career spanning reforestation, web development agencies, and biotech HR across six countries before launching two businesses of his own. Lance's story is one of deliberate reinvention and range over specialization, and in this candid conversation he shares why never feeling like a specialist turned out to be his greatest professional asset, and Kelly's too, as Lance was the very first coach she turned to when she launched her own business. In this episode, you'll discover: • Lance's Authority X-Factor • The career arc that took Lance from managing 300-person reforestation crews across the American Southeast to recruiting 100+ senior WordPress engineers to leading HR strategy across a six-country biotech startup • Why fractional HR leaders keep getting handed payroll and I-9s when their real value is strategy and how that gap became the founding insight behind KeelHR • How KeelHR works, who it's built for (10–100 employees), which industries are the best fit, and how it functions as a complement to and not a replacement for a PEO • The origin story of the Fractional podcast • Why Lance's personal brand grew organically rather than strategically, and what that teaches us about authentic authority building • Lance's advice to his day-one self • Kelly shares how Lance's coaching shaped her first year in business and why having someone just a few steps ahead of you on the path is one of the most underrated investments a new entrepreneur can make Resources: • KeelHR Website: https://keelhr.com • Fractional Podcast: https://fractional.fm • Connect with Lance Robbins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lancerobbins • Book mentioned — Range by David Epstein: https://davidepstein.com/the-range Connect with Kelly Schuknecht: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyschuknecht • Buy Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0el8IVIm • Website: https://twomilehighmarketing.com | https://kellyschuknecht.com Subscribe to The Authority X-Factor Podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review if this episode added value to you!
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What this episode covers
In Episode 3 of The Authority X-Factor Podcast, Kelly Schuknecht sits down with Lance Robbins — partner to executive leadership, co-founder of KeelHR, and host of the Fractional podcast — for a conversation that is equal parts career retrospective and practical roadmap for anyone building an independent or fractional practice. Lance’s Authority X-Factor is something most people would consider a liability: he’s a generalist. Not a specialist in one narrow lane, but a deeply experienced operator who has learned to thrive at the intersection of multiple disciplines — from managing 300-person reforestation crews across the American Southeast, to recruiting 100+ senior engineers for a web agency, to leading HR strategy across a six-country biotech startup. Lance’s insight is that being a specialist at being a generalist is itself a rare and valuable skill — one that the market is increasingly hungry for. This episode covers the full arc of how Lance went from fractional practitioner to business builder. He shares the gap he kept seeing in the fractional HR space — senior leaders being asked to file I-9s and run payroll when their real value was strategy — and how that frustration became the founding insight behind KeelHR, a service agency designed to handle the operational and administrative execution that fractional leaders and growing businesses can’t afford to do at the wrong hourly rate. Lance and Kelly also get personal. Lance was Kelly’s first business coach when she launched her own company, and their conversation reflects the kind of mutual respect and candor that comes from actually going through something hard together. His advice to his day-one self — get in the room with people two years ahead of you — is the same advice that shaped Kelly’s first year in business. A thoughtful, honest episode about career reinvention, building with intention, and why the most valuable thing you can do as a new entrepreneur is find someone who has already walked the path.
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How Lance Robbins Turned a Portfolio Career into a Fractional HR Empire
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