So you know you have some leaks in your bucket (from the article in Part 1) – now what do you do about it? How do you start to fix?

You need to be aware of the two biggest mistakes that people make with their systems.

Mistake #1: They keep all their “to-dos” either in their head, in a notebook or in their inbox.

I’ll be honest, I did this for years… kept a lot of the stuff that needed to be done either in my head or in my inbox. And you can get away with this to a point… but I guarantee you that it will catch up with you and become a huge source of frustration as your business grows.

When something lives in a head, a notebook or an inbox it is a recipe for dropped balls, missed tasks and mistakes. It keeps you in reactive mode, always having to think “what needs to be done next? what about this piece?” Your brain is always plugged in trying to keep track of it all – like an engine that never stops running (tiring!).

And inboxes get messy… most people have A LOT of stuff in their inbox, and trying to keep track of “what needs to be done” in there can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack at times. Not to mention that the folks on your team are generally working with many clients and trying to juggle everything from everyone. Yipes!

It’s no wonder that balls get dropped and stuff gets missed – the system is broken.

How to fix? You need to get an ONLINE project management tool in place – something that both you and your team can access anywhere, anytime. And yes, the word *online* is key here – the to-do list in your Outlook is not the answer here because only you can see it.

Here’s the kicker guys – the real reason for having a project management tool in place that you probably haven’t thought of before.

So you can stop having to constantly think about “what needs to be done? what is coming up next?” – this will suck the life out of you! (Not to mention cause those middle of the night wake-up moments.)

With a project management tool in place you get to:

put all the to-dos into the system, complete with due dates and “who is doing what”

then you forget all about it until you need to take action!

Let me give you an example. We use (and love) Central Desktop* as our project management tool. Whenever we have a new project, such as the launch of our next OBM Training, here’s what we do:

Identify what we are aiming to accomplish (overall strategy, etc.) – I do this together with my OBM Tiffany.

Lay out all the steps & to-dos for the entire projecct – Tiffany takes care of this.

Plug ALL those steps into our Central Destop, complete with due dates and who is doing each step.

The system is set up to send us notification of new tasks, as well as daily reminders of what is due and what is coming up – so everyone on the team is aware of what they need to do and when.

I just sit back and wait for the system to tell me what I need to do next. <– this has made a HUGE, life changing difference for me… I used to spend alot of brain power thinking about what needed to be done, when, who was doing it, did it get done? etc. Now I know that the system will remind me when it’s coming due and I can forget about it until then.

My project management tool gets to do all the worrying for me – love that!

Now the toughest part here is building the habit of using the project management tool – this will be tough for you as the biz owner and probably for your team as well. It can be hard to break that inbox habit!

This biggest consideration here is to make sure that someone owns the responsibility of keeping the project management tool up to date – ideally this would be an Online Business Manager (and not you as the biz owner!). This person needs to make sure all to-dos are being put into the PM tool, be a “loving nag” to ensure people are getitng stuff done and making sure stuff is marked complete along the way (so you have a real indication of where things are at).

If you don’t have a project management tool in place already, it’s time… don’t wait until the walls are falling down around you to get it set up. (Or if they are falling down already then it’s definitely time!) Lots of great ones out there, I use/love Central Desktop* as it does project management and is also a great virtual office setup.

Stay tuned for our Part 3 of the Leaky Bucket Syndrome series where we will talk about the second biggest mistake that folks make with their biz systems.

Arg! Technology… as much as we love it there is an equal amount of frustration when it doesn’t work. Just got off the phone with a business owner re: this and felt inspired to “rant” a little bit on this topic… (can’t believe I actually said “boo hiss!” in this video, LOL)

What is your biggest technology frustration or challenge? Do tell – post your comment here on the blog.

It’s time to come clean. social media marketing confuses the heck out of me.

Now this might seem funny to you right? Given that i’m the Online Business Manager “expert” out there, you would think that I know this social media stuff inside out.

I get that social media is a key business building strategy these days and I understand the key components – but I feel like there are so many options, ideas and tools out there that it is hard to know what to do at times.

• What to do/not do?
• What is worth the time/effort/money?
• What could potentially harm me and my reputation?

And so I reached out to my friend and noted social media expert Lena West for help. Not only has she agreed to answer my social media questions, but she has also offered to tackle some of YOUR burning questions & challenges around social media too (woo hoo!)

Click Here to submit your biggest question, challenge or headache around social media.

Starting the week of June 6th we’ll be answering the top questions in a “myth-busting” free video series. Super hot stuff folks, I for one can’t wait for these videos to start.

Until then, let’s gather up all your questions via the link above.

And if you are curious… why Lena? She is an award-winning social media consultant, blogger, speaker, journalist, technologist and the Founder of Real Women Do Social Media and the Authentic Influencer Braintrust. She is smart, savvy and direct – the real deal when it comes to actually making social media work and not just be a waste of time and money.

“The 5 Ws of Hiring or Becoming an Online Business Manager”

Join me for a free call on Tuesday, September 21st
>> Click here to register

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.

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 will admit, having worked in the world of online biz for a while now I’ve become a bit bored with the idea of automated marketing – in particular the world of email based marketing. It’s almost like I’ve heard so much about it over the years and worked with it in so many different ways that I’ve almost forgotten the true value of what is behind this idea.

Enter in Infusionsoft*… which has renewed my excitement for the power & value of what automated marketing can truly be. (So much so that I’m offering a new training for Infusionsoft – early bird for this expires today, check it out.)

The appeal of automated marketing is of course the fact that it’s automated – who doesn’t want to have marketing activities working to their benefit without having to lift a finger! And yet ‘traditional’ automated marketing – especially of the email kind – seems to fall apart for a few reasons:

1. Email is no longer the best way to connect - I think this goes without saying as we all know about deliverability issues, email overwhelm and such. People simply aren’t paying attention to email as much anymore, and yet most of us still rely on email in a big way to market.What to do? Connect with people in other ways of course – good ole phone, fax, letter, voicemail to mention a few. Part of what I love about Infusionsoft is that it builds these options into an automated marketing sequence, so it doesn’t have to be just strictly about email anymore. Super cool!
2. It can feel so impersonal - people want to connect with people. And I think that the purpose of any good automated marketing strategy should lead to an actual “person to person” contact in some way, shape or form. Be it a phone call, group meeting, live meeting or something along those lines.That isn’t possible of course with every single thing we do in marketing (or is it? hmmm) but I think it’s VERY important to consider. People can see through something that is just strictly “another email trying to sell them something” vs. you wanting to truly connect and provide value to them. Imagine signing up for someone’s newsletter and actually getting a call from someone as a result, wouldn’t that knock your socks off? It would mine.
3. We tend to forget it is there – when was the last time you revisited the series of emails that people get when they sign up for your newsletter? As I’m typing this I’m embarrased to say that it’s been over a year for me, eek!Like anything, automated marketing needs some good TLC in order to truly serve as a business building tool. You need to revisit your automated marketing sequences on at least a quarterly basis to really ensure they are still relevant and valuable to people.
4. Connecting with people based on where they are at – one of my fav features of Infusionsoft is how much it allows you to segment your lists. Instead of just an “everything for everyone” approach you can actually tailor how you reach out to people based on where they are at and what they want from you.For example, you can actually reach out to people who click a link in your ezine that leads to your new program. And based on whether or not they take action on that page (i.e.: make a purchase) you can follow up with them to say either “thanks for joining” or “hey, I noticed you didn’t join… ” and continue the conversation with them from either perspective.

The reason I love Infusionsoft so much is that it has reminded me of the above, and truly renewed my passion for the power of automated marketing. We are in the process of making the switch to Infusionsoft and my head is already spinning with ideas of how we can improve our connections. A delightful thing indeed.

* In the spirit of full disclosure this is an affiliate link for Infusionsoft and I will get paid a commission if/when you decide to use the system. And on that note – if you do decide you want to move forward with Infusionsoft let me know as we have a bunch of folks taking our Infusionsoft Training who would be delighted to help.

Comments, thoughts?

Curious about Infusionsoft? I was too… as I’ve seen it popping up all over the place the past year or so. And so I decided to dive in and get to know a bit more about this tool and see what all the buzz is about.

Let’s just say I’m very impressed to say the least. I’ve recorded a video for you with my thoughts PLUS have a very special invite for you to join me next week.

>> Click here to watch the video and sign up for our no-cost call on May 11th re: “Infusionsoft: What Is It and Why Should I Care?”

PS – Everyone is welcome to join me for this call, whether you are an Online Business Manager or Virtual Assistant who wants to learn a new way to support your clients, OR if you are a business owner looking for a way to *finally* automate your marketing process.

We all know the importance of hiring a team, I know I don’t need to go down that old road again with you (we can’t do it all on our own, and who would want to, etc…).

The thing is, even though most of us know we need a team to support the growth of our businesses, many of us get stuck knowing who the heck we need to hire in the first place!

I’m a firm believer that all business owners need at least two people on their team:

1. A Strategist - be it a coach or a mentor, you need someone to help you with the big picture decisions in your business around what you are creating, where you are headed and specific strategies to do so.
2. An Implementor – someone who can actually do stuff for you, help turn those strategies into revenue streams.

Now what that looks like and who those team members actually are will vary depending on what stage you are at in your business. I won’t dive into hiring a coach/mentor here right now, other than to say we all need one! However, I do want to give you some specifics re: who you need on the implementation side of things – in particular when it comes to hiring an Online Business Manager.

There are three basic stages that business owners go through:

Stage 1 – Exploration

This is the “figuring things out stage” of business – where we define exactly who we are serving and what we are offering them. Who you need to hire at this stage is usually someone to help with specific projects – setting up your website/shopping cart, general administration and such. This could be a Virtual Assistant or other kind of specialist such as a web designer, etc.

If you are in this stage of your business you want to make sure you have a strategist (coach or mentor) – someone to help you work through all these big picture decisions. It is usually too premature to look at hiring an Online Business Manager yet. As I like to say, if you want to hire an OBM you need to have a business for them to manage – which leads us to the next stage…

Stage 2 – Foundation & Growth

You have a clearly defined business model, know who you are serving and what you are offering. You have steady, proven income streams as a foundation for the business and now it’s time to focus on growth.

This is a GREAT time to bring an Online Business Manager onboard – so they can manage all the day-to-day stuff that will otherwise bog you down (and prevent you from truly focusing on growth activities – as Sandra shared in her comment above!).

Stage 3 – Flow

The business is growing by leaps and bounds, systems are in place, revenue is flowing in and everything is “set.” At this stage some business owners may actually want to actually pull themselves out of the business and maybe focus on new projects/businesses (or take some time off!).

An OBM is still a key player at this stage, and some businesses will want to consider hiring full-time dedicated employees for their business. Not all businesses will go this route, but we are starting to see this happen on a more regular basis in this virtual online world.

So let me ask you – what stage of business are you at?

This is just the start of helping to define who you need on your team – there are of course other factors that we’ll be sharing in future articles.

If you are chomping at the bit to get this figured out for you and your business I am now offering personal 1-1 Hiring Assessments. Let me dive into the specifics of your biz and tell you exactly who you need to hire (and more importantly in some cases, who not to hire!). If you are interested in a session, email my OBM Tiffany at tiffany@onlinebusinessmanager.com or give us a call at 1 (877) 576-2229.