One of the traps that we fall into as ‘control freak’ business owners (and yes, I am one of those 
I’m on the other side now – having transitioned from ‘being’ the OBM for clients to being the business owner who needs her own OBM. It’s a different world for sure, and I’d like to share with you what i’m learning along the way via a series of videos – this is the first one.
Comments, thoughts?
I’ve been working in the virtual support industry for over 10 years now, as an OBM for much of that time (of course) and also in coaching/supporting the business owners who are hiring their own virtual teams.
And there is one thing that can very easily go wrong when it comes to business owners hiring their virtual team members. In fact, i’ve seen this go wrong time and time again in working relationships.
What it comes down to is the answer to this question:
“Who is managing this show?”
Most business owners start their business because they have a vision of something big that they want to create – a passion, a service, a talent. They love what they do and want to give it to the world.
What they don’t love is managing the day-to-day activities of their business. They hate being bogged down in the ‘details’ of their business and quite honestly many business owners simply aren’t good at it.
But the fact of the matter is that someone needs to be in charge – there needs to be someone who is managing the day-to-day activities of your business.
And yet the traditional virtual support model doesn’t always accomodate this need. Most virtual support professionals (VAs, web designers, etc.) either aren’t interested in managing your business or don’t have the skills to do so.
So one of two things generally happens:
It’s a fatal flaw in the model, and yet it is also the reality of how many of us are working today. And I know that many of you are sick and tired of it.
What to do? Hire an Online Business Manager.
The official definition of an Online Business Manager (OBM) is:
A virtually based support professional who manages online based businesses, including the day-to-day management of projects, operations, team members and metrics.
However I like to look at the role from a bit of a different angle – what is the purpose of an Online Business Manager beyond ‘what they do’?
The role of the OBM boils down to one simple thing:
To free up the business owner so that they can focus their time and energy on the things that only THEY can do in their business.
Did I just hear a sigh of relief?
I just love this comment from Alicia, which I think illustrates this perfectly.
“After cycling through more virtual assistants than I’d like to admit, I was completely frustrated with the whole industry. And then this blessed little book ended up in my hands, and not by accident, I’m sure. What I learned was that yes, I did need and want virtual assistants to help me run my business (I knew I couldn’t do it without them, but the how to do it effectively had eluded me), but what I ALSO needed was an OBM. When that realization struck, a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. My VAs were doing a fine job – it was ME who was unhappy managing them. The solution? An OBM! I’m indebted to you, Tina – thank you for writing this book so I can go back to enjoying my business again!”
- Alicia M Forest, ClientAbundance.com
If you are interested in hiring an Online Business Manager let me know.
Comments, thoughts?
by guest author Andrea J. Lee
I know, it’s pretty presumptuous to claim I’m your ideal client, when you likely don’t even know me, but allow me to earn that title, if I may.
Here are 4 reasons why I think it’s true:
In less than 2 weeks, the first-ever Online Business Manager Certification Training will begin in intensive, 3-Day format. Tina has asked me to assist in delivering the program, and lead certain segments of it from the client perspective.
In particular there’s one segment I insisted be included – it’s called ‘Putting Yourself in the Shoes of The Client: Closing Prospective Clients as an Online Business Manager.’
You know, that’s the topic about how to actually have the conversation with prospects and closing the sale? How to consistently and reliably get hired to be an OBM. A pretty critical piece in all of this.
As I prepare the material, I realize there are some essentials that everyone in Tina’s community should know, so I’m breaking it out of the training materials to have printed here.
But first, why should you listen to me, in addition to the above?
As a business coach going into my 7th year, you and I have something pretty big in common. I help business owners grow from six figures to seven. They work with me to build their teams, increase their income, not work themselves into the ground.
At a certain point in my work with them, it’s inevitable, like day follows night, they will ask me to help them find/hire/retain/promote/compensate an Online Business Manager. Sometimes, I even get asked to help FIRE and REPLACE an OBM.
So from that perspective, I’d like to share with you 5 Simple Ways to Succeed as an Online Business Manager, from the perspective of your ideal client.
Simple Way #1: Take things away from me.
If you’re a mom, there’s a simple way to think about this. It’s just like confiscating something from your child.
Here’s some sample actual verbiage you can use to cause your client to melt in happiness and thank the heavens for you:
“Let’s make Andrea’s life easier and do XYZ.”
“Why don’t we leave Andrea out of that process; she has enough on her plate.”
“I can totally take that on, leave it with me, I got your back”
“I have room for more work.”
Simple Way #2: Present problems or obstacles only with accompanying solutions.
Again, sticking close to home for clarity on these deceptively simple, but not necessarily easy techniques…
Think of a salt and pepper shaker. You rarely see one without the other because they’re a matched set. As an Online Business Manager, think of problems and their solutions and inviolably attached. Always together.
What not to do or say:
“Andrea, I’m stuck on this.”
Depending on how much external pressure your client is feeling, saying something like this (and only this) is the equivalent of boiling the skin on your client. Instant boils.
Instead say:
“Andrea, my head isn’t clear on this right now but I’m going to take a break and come back with fresh ideas, and consult with my support community. I’ll get right back to you.”
Hear me melting again? Mhmm, oh yeah.
Simple Way #3: Know that it’s almost always about money.
When your client does something you don’t understand, ask yourself why pressure around money might be causing this behavior.
Did they just tell you to stop working on a project? Maybe they took some work back. Did they nitpick some work of yours in an unusual way? Probably they’re hoping they can make it even more effective and bring in more revenue.
One of my favorite sayings as a business coach is “Money solves a lot of problems.”
Knowing this, your job is to then find ways to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me and look at the money situation, see opportunities to increase income or decrease expenses.
More actual verbiage to use (yes, today, if needed!):
“Someone just called wanting to buy X from us. Would you like to handle this personally?”
“You know that ‘do later’ task of compiling a list of potential joint venture partners? I did it today.”
Simple Way #4: Don’t explain or require me to explain.
As someone who’s had an OBM on my team for years, I like to explain why I do things the way I do them, sometimes. But not every time. Sometimes I just want them done, and I want my OBM to be savvy enough to connect the dots, or, not need them connected.
Even more important, most of the time, I don’t care why something didn’t get done, or got done in a certain way. You as OBM are my ‘extra hard drive’ ‘project management brain’ and essential thinking partner in my business. If I have to explain, or be engaged in your explanations all the time, we lose all that extra brain capacity.
This one is simple and doesn’t require verbiage. Just do it.
Simple Way #5: Make me look better than I can make myself look.
Thomas Leonard said it this way “Add value for the joy of it.”
By taking what I create, and improving it so that it improved, without my having to do it, you give me such lift off and energy that I’ll be dancing at the joy of having you on my team.
When I write a newsletter, have it proofed for me. Add links.
If I’m doing a speaking gig, make my order forms look extra professional.
When I’m meeting a client for an important, high-ticket meeting, ensure I’m extra prepared, and help me follow up, for that very juicy next sale.
If becoming a well-paid Online Business Manager is in your future…
If trading time for dollars as a Virtual Assistant is getting old…
Or if you’re a professional looking for an up and coming, mobile, lucrative and highly inspiring career…
I can think of no better decision than to become an Online Business Manager, and it starts with the simple things above.
For more tools, skills and actual verbiage on turning ‘maybe’ into ‘yes, I want to hire you as my OBM’ be sure NOT to miss registration for the Certification Training program which starts in less than 2 weeks. It’s the only one of its kind on the planet and business owners around the world look first to graduates of Tina’s program.
Either way, I hope you take this article as a challenge to make your clients’ hearts sing, today.
Comments, thoughts? Post them here at the blog.
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Andrea J. Lee is an Entrepreneurial Futurist with her finger on the pulse of the entrepreneurial spirit and how it shows up in organizations and life. Throughout her life, Andrea has done one thing – help those she loves make m’oney. Not once, but twice, she has helped reinvent the coa’ching industry and knows just one thing for sure: the entrepreneurial spirit is everywhere, looking for a place to make a difference. She is the trusted source of coa’ching pioneer Thomas Leonard’s intellectual property, the architect behind the Pink Spoon Marketing craze, and her company was named by Seth Godin and Fast Company Magazine as one of the extraordinary ‘Bull Market’ companies helping their clients stand out and prosper. Andrea invites you to enjoy her views of the entrepreneurial landscape, and 5 of the most popular chapters from her acclaimed book on thought leadership: ‘M’oney, Meaning and Beyond: 27 Unexpected Ways To Create What Really Matters.’ at www.AndreaJLee.com |
It’s time to make lemonade right? Had a nutty few days that I wanted to share… and a change to the next Online Business Manager training program as a result.
I’m generally not a big reader of business books, as I quite honestly find many of them boring (shh, don’t tell!). But for some reason I felt drawn to read Dan Pink’s latest book, Drive – the book is about motivation and what drives us to do our best work.
I’ve been working from home now for 10 years, and in that time people have always said to me “I could never do that, I simply wouldn’t get anything done!” This comment has always stumped me a bit, as i’ve never had any problem being motivated to do my work. I mean I get where people are coming from, as you would think I’d be tempted to watch talk shows and go out for coffee with friends (which I do from time to time of course, but not often).
After reading Dan’s book I get it… he has cracked the code of what really motivates us to do our best work. In a nutshell, here is what he says:
I just love the example he shares about Best Buy, and how they implemented a ROWE work strategy at their head office. ROWE stands for results-only work environment, and what they did is take away the requirements of time. People had no set hours to be in the office, they could do their work wherever they wanted and whenever they wanted. They just had to get their work (the results) done. It was a bit of a shift for people, but once they got used to it productivity rose dramatically and stress levels went way down.
Sound familiar? This is how many of us work as home-based (or virtual) business owners. We have the freedom to get stuff done wherever and whenever it works best for us – and as a result many of us love what we do (and can never imagine going back to a job – shiver).
Likewise, this is why so called ‘traditional’ management styles don’t work for online/virtual based business owners. I hear from OBMs and VAs on a very regular basis about how their clients are trying to micro-manage them – and how demotivating it is for them when this happens. “My client keeps hanging over my shoulder with every little thing.” I’ve seen many relationships fall apart for this very reason.
The thing is, in order to get the best work out of a virtual support professional – you need to give them freedom to do their work. Let them know what result you are looking for and a deadline to get the work done, and outside of that you shouldn’t have to do too much ‘management’ in the traditional sense. There is certainly nothing wrong with checking in, getting status updates and such, you just don’t want to micro-manage every little step. Super draining for all concerned.
If this is something you struggle with I invite you to back-off a bit. I know it can be hard to let go, and very tempting to always poke our noses in… however some freedom for your team may actually bring out the best in them.
It’s now been over 10 years since I started my business, and I distinctly remember the moment when I realized I could never go back to a regular job. What was yours?
I just got this article from my mentor David Neagle and had to share it – as I was thinking about exactly this stuff just last night. It is SO important to be aware of where fear stops us, otherwise we never move forward to achieve what we want. I recorded a quick video re: my experience with this too – enjoy!
Last ezine, I wrote that if you’re making a decision from the point of fear, you’re making the wrong decision.
The sad truth is that most of the decisions people make are motivated by fear. These are fears that are so engrained in their subconscious mind that they’re not even aware of them. These fears control their thoughts and they don’t realize it.
But it’s still not enough to be conscious of your fears; to be free of them, you have to look beneath them.
There’s an old adage that can be applied to fear:“false evidence that appears real.”
In our imagination, we create some kind of catastrophe. Let’s say you picture a tsunami overtaking an island. Now, you could imagine that tsunami far away and not feel fear, but you put yourself there with your family, and boom, you’ve got a fear. What is that fear based on? Why would you fear that product of your imagination?
You fear it because something deeper has triggered that fear. What is it? It is whatever insecurity you are protecting inside. In the example, that insecurity could be that you can’t keep your children from harm. On the surface you feel fear of a tsunami, but that fear is not a cause of your feeling; that fear is an effect of your deeper insecurity. Remember, fear is not a cause; it is an effect.
But even that insecurity isn’t deep enough. Why do you think you can’t protect your children? It may be because a parent didn’t protect you. Your psyche projects this masked scenario that if you tracked it to its source, you could gain real understanding about how you are gripped by a childhood abuse.
Most people won’t do that. They’ll focus only on the surface fear, the effect. But only by facing the cause of the fear will the fear dissolve. You’ve got to find out the root cause.
The very best way to come face to face with the cause is action. You need feedback. You get feedback from action.
It looks like this: You are inspired to take an action; a fear comes up. As I’ve written before, if you have a fear, that fear will show up. You probably stop. Most people stop. But then you examine the fear. What’s causing it? What insecurity of yours is it masking? You have an insight. You take that insight as deep as you can. You gain understanding of yourself and the fear loses its power to stop you. You move past it. You take another inspired action and come face to face with another fear. Again, you pause, examine, gain understanding and move beyond the fear.
As you continue to face fear after fear, they diminish in power and frequency and eventually fade away. Meanwhile, all of those inspired actions have led you in the direction of your purpose.
This brings me back to several months ago when I wrote that you’re always heading straight toward where you belong. This is what I meant. Even your fears, your underlying insecurities will lead you to greatness. That is, if you’re willing to unmask them. If you’re willing to know the full truth of who you are and then expand toward whom you are meant to be.
David Neagle, Million Dollar Income Acceleration Coach, mentors entrepreneurs to quantum leap their current businesses past the 7-Figure income level in just 12 months. David invites you to download—as his GIFT to you—his legendary “Art of Success” 4-hour audio program. This audio series is a tremendously compelling and comprehensive program that demonstrates—once and for all—that Success has nothing to do with “getting” or “achieving”, and everything to do with WHO we must BE to manifest our hearts’ true desires. For an additional bonus, Text: success to the number: 85800
Would love to hear your comments.
For aspiring Online Business Managers… wondering if you need to be a virtual assistant first before you step into the role of Online Business Manager?
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