If you’ve ever dreamed of having a business bestie who was a more organized clone of you — an Online Business Manager (OBM) just might be the answer. OBMs are highly skilled at ensuring your business has the right support to be sustainable, successful, and scalable.
In this blog, I’m sharing every reason I’ve been hired as an OBM and what signals that it’s time for help. And before you get overwhelmed or overthink this, let me reassure you that you don’t have to identify with every sign in this list to be ready to hire an OBM.
The best part about hiring an OBM is that you don’t have to figure out their entire role and every responsibility you need them to take on before hiring. A skilled OBM will help you audit your time and tasks to identify areas in the business where you have too much on your plate. They can also determine what type of support you need even beyond the support of an OBM, such as a Virtual Assistant or other team members.
#1: Your business is creeping into your evenings and weekends.
If you’re working overtime in your business, there’s a good chance it’s time to outsource part of your job. For most business owners, the easiest thing to outsource first is their day-to-day admin. If you’re losing your free time, losing sleep, or just feeling drained by your business, an OBM can take all of the day-to-day tasks off of your plate and fully manage them.
#2: You can’t double your business without doubling your working hours.
Maybe you’ve got rock-solid boundaries around your time, so you’re still enjoying your evenings and weekends, but because of that, you can’t take on any new clients, start any new projects, or create any new offers. You’re stuck where you’re at because to double your business, you’d have to double your hours, and you absolutely will not do it. OBMs are fantastic backed strategists who can help you set your business up for scaling while protecting your time and energy.
#3: You’re missing deadlines and struggling to keep up with the demands of your business.
Regardless of how efficient you are with your time, sometimes it’s just not enough. When you start missing client emails, delivering late work to clients or are constantly pushing off today’s work into tomorrow — it’s time for help! OBMs can set up the proper systems and processes in your business so that your workload becomes more manageable and you’re not taking on more than you can handle.
#4: Your role hasn’t grown since you started your business.
If what you’re doing in your business today still looks the same as what you were doing on day one (and you’re several years and six figures in), there’s a good chance you’re not in the proper role anymore. It can be uncomfortable to give up responsibilities to an OBM when you’re used to ‘touching’ everything that comes in and goes out of your business. It can also be a huge relief! OBMs will take on everything from managing your calendar to managing your team, leaving you to do only what you do best.
#5: You can’t keep up with the organizational needs of your business.
Many entrepreneurs start their businesses with a vision and passion for what they do, not for organizing and systemizing their back end. OBMs are the exception. This is great news because if you’re finding that things feel chaotic and disorganized in your business and on your team — an OBM can come in with an enthusiasm for spreadsheets and SOPs unlike any you’ve ever seen before and help you transform the way your business runs.
#6: You have a love-hate relationship with your high-touch team.
It may be hard to admit that sometimes your team makes you want to scream — because they’re amazing, you love them, and they keep your business going! But, when you build a high-touch team that is used to collaborating with you, running everything by you, and depending on you to provide everything they need to do your job — managing them can become a full-time job of its own! This is where an OBM comes in. An OBM can fully manage your team and act as a sort of liaison between you and your team on a daily and weekly basis, keeping you in the loop just enough to protect your brain space and sanity.
#7: You’re tired of leading alone.
There are aspects of entrepreneurship and leadership that are inherently lonely. So, while we can’t avoid those uncomfortable moments completely, it is possible to reduce them significantly. An OBM often joins with you as a growth partner who is a little bit of a coach, strategist, shoulder to cry on, and whip-smart sounding board. And the right OBM will love fulfilling these roles for you. In my experience, OBMs are natural helpers who love to build others up, contribute their expertise generously, and find a way to bring visions into reality. Having an OBM on your team means more than someone to handle tasks. It’s also having someone that simply has your back.
#8: You know you work better under pressure.
Sometimes the loneliness of business can really leave you lacking motivation, too. And while I’m not advocating for an OBM who bosses you around, I do think that a bit of healthy pressure (aka accountability) can go a long way. When running your business in an echo chamber, you miss out on feedback, encouragement, and the nudges you might need from another person. And while this isn’t medical advice by any means, if you are neurodivergent, have ADHD, or have any other physical or mental condition that changes the way you work and focus — an OBM can work with you to make your business work for you, not against you.
#9: You’re ready to make the investment.
When hiring an OBM, it’s wise to consider the investment you’ll need to make to keep this person on retainer. You can hire an OBM (like me!) for a strategy session or help on a specific project, but this won’t bring you the long-term benefits of consistently saving 10+ hours and keeping you out of heaps of stress every week. Being ready to invest an OBM can look different for each business owner. A decent rule of thumb is that you’re in a pretty good position to hire if you’re around the $10K/month mark.
If this post really hits home for you and you’re ready to explore what it would look like to have an OBM on your team, let’s have a chat! Click here to send me a little info about you and your biz, and myself or someone on my team will get in touch with you super soon!
April 25, 2023
