10 years at Shoe Carnival in turnarounds, teams, and P&L. COVID pointed out that I could no longer rely on brick and mortar alone, so I started exploring the ecommerce product space and broke into tech. After local web work in Joplin, I spent five years at Midwestern Interactive in hands-on engineering (production C#, React) and technical project management for enterprise clients.
I work the space between executive stakeholders and engineers: same conversation, two audiences, one delivery plan. I tighten understanding on both sides, keep releases moving when they're complex, and I still understand the codebase. If bridging that gap is what you're hiring for, let's talk.
I'm Kirsten Bachert, Founder, CEO, and Director of Business Strategy for an independent consulting practice. We deliver systems-first execution: strategy your team can run, documented processes, and a handoff once you're steady. We focus on small and mid-size businesses where owners, leaders, or managers are strong at the core work but still need coaching or hands-on help on hiring, policies, training, margin, and everything that never came with a playbook.
You need execution, not another report. If you want help that closes the loop between leadership, your people, and how the business actually runs, let's talk.
"The best project managers, the best business analysts, the best operators:
they're all doing the same job.
Finding what's broken and fixing it before it compounds."
My career looks like a pivot. It isn't. It's the same work in two different languages. In retail, I fixed broken stores: operations, culture, shrink, P&L, teams. In software, I fixed broken delivery: processes, teams, releases, backlogs. In both, the real job was the same: walk into a system that isn't working, understand it completely, and rebuild it to hold.
That same operator standard carries through in my consulting work, and If you're hiring, you're getting someone who's run operations and shipped enterprise delivery with real accountability, not a background built on advice alone.
10 years of operations work at Shoe Carnival, focused on the hard stores corporate flagged for closure due to chronic shrink, broken culture, and failing P&Ls. Specialized in walking in, diagnosing fast, and executing a full operational rebuild. When a full staff walked out, I ran the store myself and kept trade moving while hiring and training a new team in parallel. Broke inventory records. Turned high-theft locations into low-shrink performers. Managed full P&L, teams of 20 to 60, loss prevention strategy, and peak season operations moving millions of dollars.
Built Darling Web Development around simple website builds and updates for local businesses in Joplin, Missouri, while I learned how the tech world operated at a practical level. After connecting with Midwestern Interactive, I put the solo practice on hold to focus on large-scale, enterprise-level systems and how serious delivery teams run.
Five years at Midwestern Interactive across hands-on engineering and technical project management: writing production C# and React, leading Scrum teams as a CSM, and owning delivery for enterprise clients including Mpix, Beck's Hybrids, MillersLab, and You.com. Jira anchored the work: backlogs, sprints, releases, defect cycles, and stakeholder communication. Built delivery frameworks where none existed.
That led me into a Telecom Release Manager role in Device Engineering and Operations: disciplined firmware release execution, coordination across engineering and operations, and clear stakeholder communication on scope, readiness, and go-live for deployments spanning millions of devices.
The practice is built for small and mid-size business owners and for leaders and managers who need coaching, operational backup, or an experienced partner to help fix what's breaking. That usually shows up as work running on instinct, spreadsheets, and heroics. I scope to the real problem, whether that's one hiring mess, a policy gap, cash and margin discipline, or a full operating reset, and adapt the playbook instead of forcing a one-size template. The handoff includes systems and training your team can actually keep running so you're not back in the same fire next quarter.
For owners who are expert at their craft and exhausted by everything else.
"I'm what you bring in when the task list outruns your experience and you need an operator who will actually finish the work."
Kirsten Bachert · Founder, CEO, and Director of Business Strategy
The practice delivers operational precision and systems-first strategy: diagnose and untangle broken workflows and people infrastructure, build and modernize compliance, documentation, and policy kits, then scale without breaking through training and leadership frameworks. We don't exit until it runs without us.
Whether you're hiring for a project manager or business analyst role, exploring a consulting engagement, or just want to understand what I do, I'm direct and I don't waste time.
Looking for something specific? Email me and I'll send the version most relevant to your role.