Business-savvy professionals who are ready to start serving online based businesses
Just the other day I spoke to a lovely woman about our Hot Skills VA Training program, where we teach online skills and tools to virtual assistants (details at www.HotSkillsVATraining.com). She and her husband ran a very successful embroidery business for years, where he was the tech whiz and she was the marketing pro. After selling the business, she decided she wanted to work online. Not necessarily as a VA, but in some kind of capacity where she can help clients use the power of the Internet to grow their businesses.
“Sounds like you want to be an Online Business Manager,” I said to her. After explaining to her a bit more of what the role is about, she was thrilled to realize that it was even a possibility!
Being a successful business owner herself, she definitely already has what I call a marketing mindset (I’ll speak more about this in the next section), which is an essential piece of being a successful OBM.
With a strong business background and marketing mindset, anyone can learn the online tools and skills necessary to become an OBM.
After all, business is business. Whether it is an online or traditional business it all boils down to the same thing – create value that people will pay for.
This type of potential OBM is probably one of the most exciting to me, especially when I consider someone like the stay-at-home mom or dad. They have chosen to stay home with their children instead of going back to work, and may have amazing business and marketing skills that are lying dormant for the time being.
Many of them would love to be able to work, if only there was an opportunity that allowed them the flexibility to be home with their children while making a living. I know there are potential OBMs at home watching (yet another!) episode of Barney and wishing they could use their brain for more than memorizing the songs from kid shows.
Or, as anyone who has ever worked in the corporate world knows, there are MANY talented people out there who are under-utilized and essentially miserable in their jobs. (This could be you!) My friend Pamela Slim has an excellent blog called EscapeFromCubicleNation.com, where she helps people transform from corporate prisoner to thriving entrepreneur. One of the most common challenges her readers face is that they know they want to get out of their jobs, but they have no idea what to do next.
It is to these business-savvy professionals in particular that I send a “virtual poke” to consider becoming an Online Business Manager.