So, are you ready to stop settling for this frustrating, crazy-making approach to running a business? Are you itching to get back to doing what you love for the people who really need you?

Because the THRIVE Hiring System is finally here.

Learn proven strategies and tools for finding, hiring, and working with support teams that bolster YOUR success – consistently and reliably.

Click here to register: THRIVE Hiring System

We’ve got your hiring needs covered, from soup to nuts…

6 LIVE training calls, including:

• Team module: Who You Need and When
• Hire module: Find and Hire the Right People
• Release module: Letting Go So Your Team Can Support You Effectively
• Incentive module: Compensating Your Team to Contribute to the Bottom Line
• Validate module: Building Long Term Relationships With Your Team
• Expand module: Next Steps as Your Business Grows

• PLUS 2 “open mike” Q&A calls with me, Tina Forsyth
• PLUS 1 year of access to the THRIVE Directory & Job Board 
• PLUS a 1-year membership to the THRIVE Community Discussion Board (online)

For just $497, you can END the outsourcing misery for good and start THRIVING as an entrepreneur.

Click here to register: THRIVE Hiring System

Can you imagine? In less than 2 months, you could have a team of professionals who rally to SUPPORT YOU, exactly how you need it.

No more babysitting. No more drama. No more running for cover when something blows up. (Even better … how about no more stuff blowing up in the first place!?!)

Start LOVING Your Business Again…

Because when you have the right team in place, living that 6- or 7-figure dream no longer seems impossible but very realistic.

Up until about 2 years ago I would say that I had more of a hobby than a business…

I’ve been “self-employed” since 1999, working online for many years as an Online Business Manager for my clients and doing a few other things here and there. And then a couple of years ago I decided that it was time to branch out in a bigger way… I wanted to help other people become Online Business Managers.

I remember the moment where I made the decision to write my book – I was very clear that it was a turning point for me. If I was going to write this book and start truly helping others become Online Business Managers then I was going to need to actually “create a business.” There was no turning back.

Sounds funny to say, but even though I’d been self-employed for many years up to that point already I didn’t actually feel like I owned a business… for the simple fact that I never looked at myself as a business owner. I was just doing something I loved, working for some great clients and enjoying the freedom that came alongside having choice in my work. It really felt like more of a hobby – something I was doing for fun but didn’t have any big vision or purpose behind it.

I wasn’t taking my business seriously, or rather I wasn’t taking MYSELF seriously as a business owner, and so things were essentially flat lined – not bad, not great, just good. I quite honestly got to the point where I was bored – I needed to either step it up or shut things down (and I’m sorry, but going back to wearing pantyhose isn’t an option for me).

And for me, stepping it up meant embracing the fact that I own a business.

So what makes something a business vs. a hobby?

Now I certainly don’t claim to be the expert here, but a few of the things that have made the difference for me are:

• Why are you in business? Is it just for you or are you looking to make a bigger impact? For the longest time my business was just about me – I wanted to work from home so I could have freedom/flexibility in my day for me and my family. And this served me for many years. However once my girls got a bit older and the family stuff settled down I started to get the itch to make a bigger impact via my work… my business became bigger than just me.
• Have you invested in a coach or mentor to help you get clear on strategies to build your business? Or are you just winging it as you go? Until I hired and started working with my own coach last year I never saw the possibilities of what my business could be. I’m a FIRM believer that if you truly want to make an impact on the world you need to have a coach to help you here – help you define your business, set goals, keep you accountable, kick your butt when needed.
• Do you have the right business structures in place? This one is a BIGGIE, and something that my friend Alexis Martin Neely illustrates beautifully in her LIFT Manifesto (which is required reading imo – get your copy here). If you are in business you need to get the proper structures in place – taking care of the legal, insurance, financial and tax side of things. These are the things that many of us dislike and/or try to ignore… and if we aren’t careful they could truly make or break our businesses.
• Are you willing to hire the help you need? Or are you trying to learn and do everything yourself? I know many folks who try to save money and do everything themselves – this is impossible if you want to grow a business. Not only will you run out of time (especially as things grow) you will not be able to do a good job of everything… and your business will suffer for it. You need to be willing to invest in getting the right team in place (which of course is what the THRIVE Hiring System is all about).
• What do you call yourself? For the longest time I told people I was self-employed… and then a couple of years ago I started saying that I owned a business. At first it felt kinda funny, almost like it didn’t fit? But I knew I wanted to be that person – someone who owned a business – and now I am.

What else do you think makes something a business vs. a hobby? What has your journey been like? Curious for your thoughts on this…

Our video series re: the Top 10 Questions about how to find, hire and work with a virtual team is complete – missed any of the videos? Not a problem, you can check them out here. 

Just to recap we covered:

1. How do I know who I need to hire in the first place?
2. What attributes should I look for when hiring someone?
3. What do I delegate vs. keep to myself?
4. How to know if someone can actually do what they say?
5. Where is the best place to find the people I need?
6. How can I afford the help I need?
7. How to know when to fix something vs. fire the person?
8. How can I get great people to stay with me?
9. I think I’m a control freak, yipes! What to do?
10. How can I make sure I’m not settling?

As mentioned in the videos we are putting the final touches on the new THRIVE Hiring System – which is a complete step-by-step program to take you through the hiring process from start to finish (it will open up for registration next week.) 

If you would like to take this further and get this team thing figured out once and for all let me ask you… 

What would you like me to cover in this new program?

Just post your comment below or send me an email if you prefer. I want to make sure to include as much as possible for you to get the right team in place. 

Many thanks!

I’ve always been the smart one…

In fact i’ve taken great pride for most of my life in being a very smart person – the one that people turn to when they need answers. (I distinctly remember in grade 3 deciding I was going to be smart and had straight A report cards all throughout school after that.)

I exceled in any job that I had because I was smart – I can figure things out and get the job done. My business is built on a foundation of being smart as an Online Business Manager helping my clients and now training other people to do the same.

And now for the first time in my business (and in my life really) i’m no longer the “smartest of the bunch.”

I’ve had some moments lately where I was no longer the one with all the answers – the people around me have been coming up with some great stuff, and quite honestly stuff that is much better than I ever could have come up with myself. I’ve been very purposeful in this whole journey – being a control freak by nature i’ve been consciously working on letting go and letting my team take over these past few months. And yet I didn’t realize that part of this shift would be about me letting go of having to be the “smart one” as well.

For example, we opened up the next OBM Training for early bird registration in June… and the application process requires that we talk 1-1 with people to ensure the program is a fit for them. As always I was going to do these calls myself but my OBM Tiffany gave me a good ole slap on the wrist and said “you have enough on your plate right now, why don’t I do these calls?”

I’ll admit, at first I was quite resistant – it felt tough to let go of that and quite honestly a bit risky as this was a new thing for Tiffany to take on – but I was super busy and I know Tiffany rocks so that’s what we did.

Well let me tell you – along the way Tiffany was seeing things in the entire process that I wasn’t seeing and came up with some awesome ideas (including our super cool OBM Summer School.) Not only does she love doing these calls and talking to our potential trainees, she’s really really good at it… and yes, probably better than me.

Because of this and a few other cool things that the people around me have come up with (including a doozy from my OBM Mentorship gals… stay tuned for that one) i’ve had many moments lately where i’ve thought:

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

And at first it felt a bit ick… some ego bruising if you will. Cause i’ve always been the smart one right? I should be the one coming up with all these cools ideas! I’ve actually had moments when I wondered if I was becoming “dumb” and losing my edge (kinda like having pregnancy brain – i certainly had some dumb moments then!)

But it occurs to me, literally as i’m writing this, that because i’m releasing things to my team i’m no longer the one on the front lines anymore… and therefore i’m not the best person to come up with the ideas from the front lines. In fact, if I tried to that probably would make me dumb… as i’m not plugged into what’s going on there anymore and would basically be guessing.

So yes, my team is smarter than me and will continue to be in many ways i’m sure… and i’m learning how to embrace that even when my inner smarty pants is resisting. I’ve heard people say over the years “hire people who are smarter than you” but I never really understood why they recommended that until now… because now I get to have awesome people moving the big vision for my business forward and I don’t have to do it all myself! I’ve understood that from a ‘doing’ perspective for a long time – no one can DO it all – but now I get that it’s also important from a THINKING perspective. I don’t have to be the only one coming up with cool ideas for the biz – and I feel really blessed to have a team that allows that to be or otherwise my head might explode.

Where is your team smarter than you? Or let me ask another way… where COULD your team be smarter than you if you gave them the space to do so?

My friend Sheri McConnell has a brand new book out today - Smart Women Know Their Why. I got a sneak peek at this book just last month and it was very timely for me as I was at the point where I needed to reconnect with my WHY (don’t you love when the answer shows up right when you need it? ) Really great read and I highly recommend it. Here is an excerpt for you from the book…

Authenticity or the state of being real not only feels good, is easy to manage (let’s face it, you don’t have to remember who you were pretending to be!) and more importantly, it leads to new levels of awareness and growth.  When you are willing to just be yourself in your relationships (business and otherwise) everyone wins because the energy vibration is much higher.  When we give into the expectations of others, we begin to die.  So authenticity is really about being faithful to the internal rather than external.

So many of my customers and yours really want to do business with people they like, they know, and most importantly trust.  Being authentic is peaceful and profitable. Follow the four part path below to become more aware and practice authenticity:

One—Decide
Before anything and before everything comes decision.  Let the universe know you are ready to be real and to grow. Trust me, you will be heard.

Two—Focus on the “Why”
After decision, remember to stop and take time for the most important question of all.  Why?  See chapter two for help during your journey along this part of the path.

Three—Commit and Recommit
Did I mention that you would have to decide over and over again and well, you never get to stop asking “why?”  Not if you want to grow.

Four—Let the Universe Flow Through You
Ahhh. The entire reason you are taking your journey is because of this part of the path. Bliss and joy are your rewards. This part of the path is what makes being an entrepreneur somewhat of a manic experience because the highs can be addictive and all consuming. When the universe flows through you, time literally disappears and you forget about all the other parts of the path.

Want to learn more about Sheri McConnell and her new book, Smart Women Know Their Why? Visit www.smartwomenwhy.com

You know me – when something starts to annoy me I have to tackle it head on.  

And i’m hearing from many of you about your hiring woes and how you are struggling to find the right virtual team for you and your biz. I’ve been talking to business owners about this stuff for years now and it’s still a hot topic (and a headache for many of you!) 

I have some thoughts about what is going on here that i’ve crafted into a cool new report called: 

The Stop Settling Manifesto

Taking a stand on creating the best virtual support team for you and your business

Go ahead and grab your copy here:

Sign up now to receive this free PDF, along with our monthly newsletter First Name Primary Email We won’t share your info ever – my promise!

In this short (I promise!) report I cover a few key things that you need to know in order to create the best virtual support team for you and your business, including:

• the one thing that is hurting most business owners who are struggling with their team (and it’s not what you might think!)
• the hiring approach that I see many business owners doing (and which is almost guaranteed to fail)
• a formula for ensuring you create a successful team (just two simple things)
• how being an ostrich or a control freak can stiffle your team (and subsequently your business success!)
• the ONE question that you need to ask in order to know if you have the right team in place

Go ahead and grab your copy at the link above, and be sure to let me know what you think!

I said to my husband last night that if I’ve learned anything in the past few months of transition and growth in my business it’s this:

Everyone has an opinion AND I still have to make up my own mind

This actually hit me pretty strong over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been working on a project that is near and dear to my heart for some time now – and throughout the creative process of bringing this project to life there have of course been various decisions to make along the way. Everything from who it is for, what to include/not include, what to call it, how to launch it, etc.

At each stage along the way I found myself wondering “what is the right answer here?” or “what should I do?” And then I found myself getting stressed trying to answer questions from that perspective – trying to be “right” or doing what I “should” is alot to put on my shoulders! (and yes, wanting to be right is a thing of mine… that whole control freak thing ya know .

If I’m trying to be right or do what I should I’m looking outside of myself for the answers… and that is a recipe for insanity for the simple fact that everyone has an opinion and all of them will be different. I’ve heard it said before “if you try to please everyone you please no one.”

And then it hit me about a week or so ago when I was trying to sort through a bunch of ideas, thoughts and recommendations from different people…

What did I WANT to do here?

As soon as I had this thought it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders… I had been ignoring what I actually wanted for me, my business and my clients. I was forgetting what I love to do, what I like and (more importantly) what I don’t like. I was trying to fit myself into a mold of what other people do vs. considering what I want to do!

And then it became fun – instead of trying to figure out the right/should thing I just approached it instead from “if this was totally up to me what would I do here?” (and of course it was totally up to me the whole time but i just forgot..) I felt like a kid in a candy store – I really like this, would LOVE to do that, not so interested in doing that part so let’s not bother, etc. And clicketly-click, a bunch of stuff that I had been stuck in came together beautifully and I was able to finally move forward on some stuff. Go figure.

Now it’s not to say that I don’t want to consider other people’s ideas and opinions… as I know there is always tonnes of value in what other people have done and been successful with. But I think for me I was ultimately trying to find ‘the one big answer’ out there and everything I was coming across didn’t fit 100% for me. So I had to take bits and pieces of what everyone was sharing and create something that works for me and I’m excited about.

And so I did… you’ll be finding out more about all that soon.

Oh, and one last thought… don’t confuse being afraid to do something with it not being the best thing for you to do. There is a difference between something that truly doesn’t fit you and your business vs. something that you know in your gut you need to do but are afraid of doing. Avoiding those things won’t serve your business so you may just need to buck up and face it.

Comments, thoughts?

This one has been brewing for a while now, something that is near and dear to my heart.

Check out the video here on this page:
http://www.thrivehiringsystem.com/hire/

We will be blasting this out to the world later this week, would love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to comment here or pop me an email at tina [at] onlinebusinessmanager.com … this one is a biggie.

Here’s a snippet of the presentation I did for Andrea Lee’s Wealthy Thought Leader event this past March – my topic as the 5 W’s of Online Business Management.

We’ve had a few conversations lately in the Online Business Manager Mentorship re: what to do when a potential client asks for a proposal.

First and foremost, don’t panic!! I know alot of virtual support professionals who get a bit of a “deer in the headlights” moment when asked for a proposal… as it sounds like some big ole scary official businessy thing. It doesn’t have to be.

A proposal is simply a statement of how you can help the client and what that will look like.

After having a conversation with a potential client you come back with a proposal based on what was discussed (and yes, there needs to be a discussion before a proposal can be created so you are clear on their needs.) There are lots of proposal templates out there, I highly recommend checking out the templates that Alan Weiss offers. The template is important but what you really want to keep in mind is the intent of the proposal… a good proposal should do the following:

• Let the business owner feel that you *get* what they need – that you were listening to what they were saying and really understand the needs of them and the business. Especially powerful when you can “read between the lines” and tap into a deeper need that might not have been discussed directly.
• Have them feel confident that you can take things on – by outlining clear objectives, measures of success and methodologies so they can see that you are truly equipped and ready to help them out. Demonstrate what you are bringing to the table, what you want to accomplish and when so they can see that you are ready to dive in.

If you have a great conversation with a potential client and follow-up with a proposal that can do the above you are set to create a strong relationship.