Managing your business can feel exhausting. I'm not talking falling asleep before you get to the end of this week's episode of Real Housewives exhausted. I'm talking it's Monday morning and you just have SO.MANY.THINGS. on your to do list that you can't even bear to open your laptop. Not because you don’t want to be productive. But because you’re too overwhelmed to know where to start.
And let’s face it. Being a solopreneur, especially in the online space, can feel so dang lonely. You don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of or turn to if you need a second opinion.
Wouldn't it feel good if you could bring in reinforcements before you felt totally burnt out?
An Online Business Manager could help you ditch that behind the scenes mess and never ending task list and help set you up for long term success (aka you’ll have enough spare time to rearrange your snack cabinet into color coded containers.)
What Exactly Is An Online Business Manager?
An online business manager (OBM) is an independent contractor who you can bring on to help run your operations more efficiently and effectively. They can also help you create and implement systems, making it easier for you to focus on the parts of your business that make you happy!
An OBM brings a level of experience to the table that many business owners may not have.
For example, an OBM may have worked with a variety of different types of tech platforms, and would be able to suggest the right one for you or your business. Some OBM's have specialized skill sets like funnel building or launch management that can be tremendously valuable.
The right OBM can be an invaluable partner in helping you build and grow your business.
An OBM's job description can be customized based on the needs of your specific business, but here are 4 main areas where they can help you:
1) Project Management
Want to create a new sales funnel? Ready to launch a new offer? You won't actually have to think about any of the logistics - just tell your OBM what your vision is and they’ll make it happen! No more projects grinding to a halt if you want to take a week off; they’ll keep your business running like a well oiled machine even while you’re on the beach sipping a cold marg.
2) Metrics Management
When was the last time you checked in on your email open rate? The number of people who read your latest blog post? How many people opted in to your freebie last quarter?
Your OBM can keep track of these metrics and present them to you monthly or quarterly so that you can work together to strategize any necessary changes.
3) Team Management
Do you dread opening Slack on Monday mornings because you really don't want to sort through the 230 new messages in there? Your OBM will be the new point person for the VA, podcast manager, and graphic designer. You'll no longer be bogged down by daily back and forth between team members.
4) Strategic Support:
Have you ever wished for a trusted partner to bounce ideas off for new services, courses or projects? What about a biz bestie to keep you grounded and make suggestions when things don't go as planned? An OBM can provide an objective sounding board when you're looking for a second opinion.
Overall, an online business manager is a valuable asset to any business owner who wants to save time, increase their profitability, and focus on growing their business.
What Are The Benefits Of Hiring An OBM?
Running a business can be a lot of work. You have to manage your team, come up with new ideas, and make sure everything runs smoothly. But as your business grows, it can become overwhelming to handle all the tasks yourself. That's where an OBM comes in.
Here are some of the ways an OBM could help you:
Improved Time Management
As a business owner, your time is valuable. You can't be everywhere at once, and you can't do everything yourself. An OBM can help you save time by managing day-to-day tasks and delegating responsibilities, allowing you to focus on the areas of your business that need your attention the most.
Growth Without Burnout
As a business grows, it becomes more difficult to manage all the moving parts. If you want to grow (without tearing your hair out!), you'll need to delegate tasks to people who are skilled in those areas. An OBM can create systems and processes that allow you to streamline operations. With their expertise, they can also help you identify areas where you can improve and come up with solutions that will help you achieve your goals.
Creating A More Systemized Business
An OBM can help you create structure and organization within your business, which can lead to increased efficiency and profitability. They can help you document standard operating procedures and implement processes that will streamline your operations, making it easier to manage the business.
How Do You Know If You’re Ready For An OBM?
Hiring an OBM can be a game-changer for your business, but most OBM’s run between $1500-3500 per month so it's important to know if you're ready to make that investment.
Many business owners who are ready to hire an OBM have teams or multiple independent contractors. They might run a blog or a podcast or are regularly launching new offers and products.
Some other signs that you might be ready to hire an OBM are:
➡️You're feeling overwhelmed
You're feeling burnt out and exhausted at the end of every week. You're constantly running in circles, doing the same things over and over again, but not making any forward progress.
➡️You're disorganized
Your business systems are a HOT mess. Your SOP's are non-existent. You spend your time searching for Docs in your Google Drive or trying to find out if a client signed their contract in your CRM, never really knowing where things are stored or how to locate them..
➡️Your team isn't happy
Your team is actually causing you MORE work. The constant Slack messages, missed due dates are making you wonder if this wouldn’t be easier on your own. But at the same time, your team doesn’t really know how to read your mind - there are no SOP’s to follow, so they’re really just trying their best but they don’t know exactly what you want them to do.
➡️You have no flexibility
You wanted to start your own business so that you could show up to your kids events, or meet your bestie for brunch, or binge the entire first season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City on a Wednesday morning, if you felt like it. What’s happening now is pretty much the opposite of that.
What If I'm Not Ready For An OBM?
So you're reading this thinking, disorganized? ✅Check. Overwhelmed? ✅Check. Projects left on the back burner? ✅Check, check, check. But you don't have a team, you're not launching multiple new offers this quarter, and you reallllly don't have the money to spend $2000 on a regular employee just yet.
Here are some options to consider:
Standard Operating Procedures. Have you spent time documenting your business processes and creating standard operation procedures? Sometimes we're just feeling overwhelmed because we're recreating the wheel each time we sit down to write a blog post or onboard a client. When you have documented processes in place, you can get all those tasks out of your head and free up some much needed mental space. If you're not sure where to start, take a peek at the SOP Blueprint, a short and sweet training I created that will walk you through exactly how to use SOP's to organize your business.
A Virtual Assistant. Do you have a lot of admin tasks on your plate? Sending & responding to emails, posting on social media, creating graphics, publishing blog posts? An hourly Virtual Assistant (VA) might be exactly what you need. While a VA won't be a strategic partner or manager, but they are adept at task completion and an incredible resource to have to take administrative tasks off your hands at a relatively low price point.
Project Based Support. You've got a project that has been taking up space in your brain for way too long. You want to complete it, but between client work and day to day business operations, you're kinda....exhausted. Or maybe you want someone to come in one time, get you organized, and set you up with a framework that you can use over the next 6 months to a year. If you're not quite ready (or don't have the need) to hire an OBM, but you would love to be able to call in some additional support from someone who knows what the heck they are doing so you can finally get your business moving in the right direction, project based support may be just what you need. Learn more about my project based support packages HERE.
Now I KNOW I Need An OBM!
You want the weight of your business to be lifted from your shoulders and you are SO ready to find the perfect strategic partner to help you transform your overwhelmed Mondays into energized beginnings...but you're probably wondering where to even start!
Head over to my website and learn more about my OBM retainer services HERE so that you can say goodbye to the chaos behind the scenes and hello to a well-oiled, efficient operation that leaves you with not just spare time, but the satisfaction of a snack cabinet organized to perfection.