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5 Signs That You May Need to Hire an Online Business Manager

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Wondering if you should hire an Online Business Manager? Here are 5 tell-tale signs that it may be time for you to add an OBM to your team.

1. Your business is growing while your own free-time is shrinking.

I’m betting you started your business to create more freedom in your life yes? Freedom of time, money and choice. Let me ask you – as your business grows are you actually working more or less time?

If you are on the ‘working more’ side of things you certainly aren’t alone… I can’t count how many times I’ve talked to business owners who have shared how they are actually working more hours in their own business than they ever did in their ‘old job’! Ugh. However it doesn’t have to be this way… as a business owner you have the freedom to be able to make changes in your business, including hiring the right help to get stuff off your plate.

This is exactly what an Online Business Manager does – their focus is to free up the business owner (YOU!) so that they can focus their time and energy on the things that only THEY can do in their business.

2. You are having to turn away opportunities because you are so busy!

This is a sad by-product of the first point. Are you so busy that you can’t take advantage of the opportunities that are coming your way? Do you ever find yourself saying “I would love to do X and know it would be a great new offer… but I simply don’t have the time for it right now.”

Not only can an Online Business Manager help free up your time to be able to explore these opportunities, they can also work on bringing some of these opportunities to life for you! An Online Business Manager helps turn your vision into reality, and can manage the process of creating new offers in your business from concept to launch.

3. You are still doing things the same things you were doing when you started your business.

Remember when you first started your business and had to wear many hats? You were the cook, hostess, waitress and busboy (so to speak, hehe.) Now that your business is growing, are you still doing the same things as you were in the beginning? Are you still updating your own website? Are you still sending out broadcasts? Are you still answering all your customer service emails?

As your business grows your role will (and should!) change. An Online Business Manager can lovingly ‘slap your wrist’ when it comes to you doing some of these things… helping you delegate the ‘old’ stuff that is taking up your time and getting in the way of you growing your business.

4. You have a great team, but find yourself frustrated by them always ‘bugging’ you.

This is a common complaint from business owners – they have a great team of VAs, techies and such. And yet they are constantly frustrated by how much their team needs from them. They feel like someone is always tapping them on the shoulder with a question or request.

The thing is, your team does need someone to manage them. They need someone who they can turn to with questions, to get what they need to complete their projects quickly and on time. And if there is not an Online Business Manager on the team who do they turn to? You – the business owner.

As a colleague of mine so eloquently shared:

“My VAs were doing a fine job – it was ME who was unhappy managing them.”

Most business owners really don’t enjoying being managers, and I’m guessing this may be the same for you. An Online Business Manager becomes the key point of contact for your team – all questions, requests and check-ins go to the OBM instead of you.

5. You are stuck at $X revenue and can’t seem to get past that point!

When you find yourself stuck at a certain point in revenue there is usually one thing getting in the way – you! This is often referred to as the quarter million dollar speedbump – where you get stuck in early 6-figures – and a big part of the solution usually requires you removing yourself from the day-to-day of your business.

Start to ask yourself as you go about your day – do I need to be the person to do X? (with X being the many things you spend your time on each day.)

Chances are many things on your to-do list could be passed along to someone else on your team. And an Online Business Manager can help with that process by delegating and managing those tasks on your behalf.

Ready to hire an Online Business Manager? Check out our Certified OBM Directory to find a match for your needs.

The ‘know it all’ trap

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There is a big difference between knowing everything and knowing that you can figure out anything.

Many service providers believe that they “have to know it all” before they can provide any value to their clients.

And that if they don’t “know it all” yet, then they aren’t ready.

So they don’t put themselves out there. They get caught in an endless loop of learning and taking courses. They lose sales because they bring their “I don’t know enough yet” mindset to the conversation, and essentially talk themselves out of clients.

The drive to “know it all” is a dangerous trap, not only because it’s impossible to achieve (I have yet to meet someone who knows it all!) but because it’s not really what your clients want from you.

Your clients want someone who can drive the work and get it done.

They want someone who is going to own their part and take responsibility for their work.

THAT is what will get you hired. The attitude of “I may not know it all, but I know MYSELF… and I know that I will do whatever it takes to fulfill on my promises and serve my clients.”

It’s the difference between “I don’t know it all yet so don’t hire me”VS”I don’t know it all yet and I can figure it out where needed.”

This might mean learning on the fly. Doing research. Hiring someone else to help you. Reaching out to a community of trusted colleagues for advice.

And to be clear – this is all based on the assumption that you have a foundation of expertise and knowledge. If you’ve never built a website before and you tell a client you have… that’s not figuring it out. That’s lying.

If you’ve taken a training in your area of expertise but don’t yet have a tonne of experience… be upfront about it! Just say “I don’t have a lot of direct experience doing X yet, but I have invested in myself with training and am committed to doing whatever it takes to fulfill on my promise to you. I have a community of colleagues I can turn to and am not afraid to roll up my sleeves and figure it out when needed.”

Take a moment and consider – where do you feel like you have to “know more”? And where does it hold you back?

Think of a time where something came up that was new to you and unexpected. How did you handle it? I suspect your “figure it out” muscle is stronger than you might even realize.

All things are possible when we know OURSELVES – not when we know it all.

Tina

Where do you stop? 

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After 1 time? 3 times? 10 times?

On a podcast I was listening to recently the speaker shared a statistic that diets are way more likely to be successful after the 7th time of trying it. That each time a person tries a diet, they are developing and strengthening neural pathways that at a certain point become natural. They become habit. And that is when a person is more likely to find success.

The other side of this coin means that the first 6 times will feel like a failure! <— and that’s the rub. That’s the hard part.

How does this show up for us in business?

When I look back over the history of my business, there are countless times where I tried something once or twice and thought “oh well, that didn’t work… what’s next?” And then I moved on to the next thing hoping it would be “it”.

From this perspective I can’t help but wonder – what would be possible if I tried 5 more times? What would become solid? What kind of momentum would be created with this ongoing attention and effort?

If I was to go back in time and change anything in my business this would be one of the things I would change. There are things I would have stuck with longer. I would have kept going past that 2nd or 3rd time when it easy to quit. #keepingitreal

The bigger question to ask ourselves is this:

Am I willing to keep going when the going gets tough?

When I get meager (or no) results? When I have to do things I don’t like doing. When I feel disappointed that “it didn’t work again”?

When we say YES to that question – a full on, deep down, “scared shitless but I’m going to do it anyways” kind of yes… then all things are possible.

Tina

The big eek!

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One of the things we talked about on our Intersection call last week was the big ‘Eeek!’

And how one of the ways we know we are tapping into our zone of genius – our calling – is that it comes with some Eeek! attached to it.

It feels scary. Risky. It might even feel downright terrifying.

Why is the big Eeek! a part of this process?

There are a couple of reasons:

1) Our resistance/ego is triggered when we come face to face with our calling – and it is going to stir up ALLLL our stuff. All our worries, doubts and fears. All the reasons why it won’t work and “have you lost your mind?”

The role of our ego is to keep us where we are at – because the KNOWN is safe to the ego (even when it’s not desired.) And boy oh boy can our egos kick up a stink! Imagine they are fighting to the death to keep you where you are at… it can feel that extreme.

And yet, the ego doesn’t really have power over us when we shift our focus to spirit. The more we build our spirit muscle, the less power ego has over us. ?

2) Our calling matters. Deeply. And tapping into our zone of genius brings us face to face with the deepest part of ourselves. Our truth.

Part of the lure of the zone of excellence is that it doesn’t really matter that much – that’s part of the ‘trap’ that keeps us there.

“Oh well, if this doesn’t work out it’s not that big of a deal. I’ll find something else.” <– that’s how you know you are in zone of excellence.

When this clicked for me my zone of genius became SO much clearer… because it scared the crap out of me!

I ran from that for a long time (years). Until I embraced the fact that there is no way to step into our zone of genius without the big Eeek! Without feeling like I might want to barf some days.

There is no way to step into the zone of genius and bring our ‘control freak’ nature with us. The part of us that wants to lay out a plan, see all the steps and wrap their arms around every variable, so that it doesn’t feel so risky.

Stepping into this space requires faith in the unknown and the unseen.

It requires support for WHO we are – people who are also on this journey and have our back. Who are there to remind us of our truth and that all is well.

I’m putting together a small group to explore this space and walk this path together. To navigate YOUR intersection of spirit and business – would you like to join us?

Tina

The rule of 3

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It takes at least 3 times of ‘doing’ something before you get it right. Before you figure it out. Before the pieces come together.

You need to work with at least 3 clients before you get clear on who your ideal client is (and isn’t!) Before you understand what you love to do most.

You need to deliver that new package at least 3 times before you land on what exactly to include and what to charge for it. To find the stuff that’s missing, the things that take longer than you thought they would.

You need to do that training program at least 3 times before you land on the final version. The one that includes everything important and that you know gets results for your clients.

We think that we are supposed to get it right the first time around. 

That our first client should be the ‘right’ client.

That we shouldn’t run into any snags the first time we deliver on a new package.

That our training program should be perfect the first time around.

It is RARELY right the first time. And putting that pressure on ourselves can mean either:

  • working so hard to to get it right that we end up not doing anything at all
    OR
  • beating ourselves up when we don’t get it right the first time around, and giving up after that

All we can do in the beginning of any new project, offering or service is do our best, learn and improve. So long as we stay committed to the journey – and give ourselves the freedom to mess up a bit along the way – we will ultimately land where we want to be.

Tina

4 questions to ask yourself when you are too busy

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“Help me Tina! I’m too busy and something needs to change…”

I get it. Being too busy isn’t sustainable and doesn’t serve you or your clients. The good news? It’s fixable, so grab your to-do list and ask yourself the following questions.

Question 1: Does this really need to be done? (If yes, now or later?)

We often have things on our to-do lists that either:

  • don’t need to be done at all – they are ideas, maybes or “wouldn’t it be nice ifs”. They are things we are thinking about, but that we haven’t actually made a firm decision on yet. Ideas are not to-dos – create a separate idea list and get those things off your to-do list!
  • don’t need to be done NOW  if you aren’t strategic about planning ahead, then as a default everything on your to-do list feels like it needs to be done NOW. Work through each item and ask yourself – when does this really need to be done? Could it be put off until next week? Maybe even next month? Take your list and put realistic due dates beside each item.

You should be left with a list of things that are actually do in the next week or so – and a list of things that aren’t due yet (or are ideas and are no longer on the list!)

Question 2: Do I need to be the one to do this?

If you are anything like I was for years, as a default you feel like you must do everything. You are good at what you do. You are used to being the one to get it all done, but now things are starting to fall behind and slip through the cracks.

Run through your list again and ask yourself – could someone else do this for me? Be aware of the following when you answer:

  • “Well yes, someone else could do this for me but it’s only me so I have to” If you don’t have anyone working with you right now this could be true, and you also have the power to change that. Growth dictates that you will need to hire help at some point – when you do it is up to you.
  • “But no one can do it as well as me – so I have to be the one to do it” This is a dangerous spot to get stuck in, because as long as you believe it to be true, it is… and it could be the thing sucks the life right out of you. Yes, you may be the best at doing something but that doesn’t mean you can’t train another person to be as good as you or find someone who does it already and bring them on board.

The goal here is simple – identify the things that others could do for you. It doesn’t mean you have to hire a bunch of people tomorrow, but at the very least you can look to give more to the people you have already and plan ahead for getting more support (which becomes a light at the end of the busy tunnel!)

This second question can be a doozy as it brings up all kinds of stuff for many of us – it can have our inner control freak kicking and screaming! I highly recommend getting the support of a coach or OBM to help you here if you go through your list and still have your name beside every task. An outside eye can often see what you can’t.

Question 3: How can I create more space?

At this point you should have a realistic list of what needs to be done in the next week or so. Now you want to ensure you have the space and time to get it done. Here are two of my favorite tips:

  • Plan ahead –book the time in your schedule to get stuff done. You might book in specific tasks, or you might book in time for types of tasks (ie: writing time, client time).
  • Set boundaries – distraction is the death of productivity. Be it team, clients, family or social media – every time you get distracted it takes you off track, and for many people it happens all day long! Close your door. Turn off your phone and email. Let people know when you aren’t available and when you are. And get really good at saying no (because they will test your boundaries!)

Question 4: Do I need to renegotiate any deadlines?

If you are truly in over your head and can’t get everything done, then you need to revise your deadlines with clients, team members or whoever may be waiting on you. I get that this sucks and you may hate having to do it, but it’s better for you to own up to something ahead of time vs. having people get upset with you because they are waiting/asking.

To simply say to someone “Hey, I got in over my head here and that’s on me. I won’t be able to get X to you until next Monday and wanted to let you know.” Yes, you might need to make concessions for being late if this affects their timelines.

Even if they are frustrated, people will respect you for stepping up and being real with what is going on – and quite often they are OK with adjusted timelines if they know ahead of time.

The beauty of these 4 questions is that you can use them over and again. Every time you find yourself too busy work through this process, and ideally overtime you won’t need to anymore.

Let me know how it goes k?

Tina