Tina’s brand new book has hit the Amazon shelf!! Going to share just a couple of points about the book in the video below.. watch it and grab a copy here: http://www.EntrepreneursTrap.com.
Preparing for a Busy Fall
So here’s the thing – this fall is going to be rockin busy as it always is in our industry. I wanted to share a few of my tips for finishing off the summer strong while getting ready for ‘go time’ this fall.
1. Closeout any lingering projects
As OBMs there are the things that absolutely must get done, there are things that should get done and then there things that ’I would love to have done’. See if by the end of the summer you can knock out all of those projects. Often we get so caught up in the absolutely must get done things that we leave the other projects hanging. Or we don’t get to the things that might help the flow, create better communication behind the scenes, set the business up to be more easily managed.
Here are just a few projects we completed through the ‘lazy days of summer’ here at Online Business Manager.com.
- Converted our Certified OBM Training Program from a live 5 day event to a 90 day automated digital access program.
- Cleaned up and organized our Affiliate System in Infusionsoft
- Set up a full lead management funnel for anyone who visits our site and downloads the “100+ Ways and OBM Can Help Boost Your Business’ by Tina Forsyth. (which I don’t mind saying is freakin awesome and I need to give a shout out to Dan Forsyth for leading the project).
- Launched a NEW OBM only Newsletter (which you are reading now 🙂
Most of these projects had been in the works for several months but we were able to bring them to a close this summer. And we still have a few more projects to complete before the end of August to fully have our operations running as smooth as possible for all the big things to come this fall.
So if you have a few dangling projects that need just a bit of TLC to complete I challenge to you get them done! You need to free yourself up for the big things your clients will be doing this fall.
A few things I have also covered this summer that are on a quarterly basis but the summer is a good time to give them some focus:
- Look over the SOP Guide to make sure there aren’t any gaps or out of date processes
- Get a solid template in place for everything that is ‘recurring’ in the business, for example following up on declined payments.
- Look at the team, how well is it functioning as a whole? Make sure everyone is on the ‘right seat on the bus’. (you want to have solid support around YOU so you can give solid support to your client)
- Make sure all of your team members have taken time off and ‘played’ a bit this summer, you do not want them tired or burnt-out going into a fall busy season.
2. Plan out the second half of the year (with your clients)
Do you know what the revenue generators are for your clients between now and January 1, 2013? If not, I suggest you chat with your clients about it very soon.
I have had clients in the past who slowed things down purposefully in the summer months to enjoy their kids being home and such… but come August it is time to create a plan. Often my clients were not ready to get started on that plan till September when the kids go back to school. However, what that meant for me was, rushing launches, crazy hours, crunch time in every direction come September. PLEASE do not do this to yourself or your team. Even if your client isn’t ready to go at it full swing here in August do your best to get everything planned out, set up and ready for their full return.
This will save you a lot of chaos and allow your client to fully feel the support they deserve!
3. Organize Yourself
If you are at all like me you have had kids home all summer. Work has been maintained between breaking up fights (LOL… 11 yr old and 14 yr old), running kids to and fro, and later than usual mornings in the bed (woo hoo).
If you don’t have kids maybe you have enjoyed a few extra vacations this summer or more days out in the sun playing 😉
Either way I have found by the end of August my usually tidy very organized office, house, and routine has become a hot mess… therefore I like to get everything in order, ideally before the kids are back in school. Then I’m ready to rock – n – roll for the rest of the year. This can even include things like cleaning out the closets, dusting under the beds and getting my home ready for calm, quiet hours of work when we are back to our regular schedule.
When you do this you feel so much focus and energy toward what you are doing. There is no worse feeling than sitting down to work but thinking: ‘I should be taking care of something else’. Get the something else’s out of the way and prepare your surroundings for a strong finish this 2012 year!
OBM Tip of the Week – Potential OBM #1 – VA at the bursting point
You are a Virtual Assistant at the bursting point in your business
Virtual Assistants (VAs), those unseen angels who do a variety of tasks for their clients from a home-based office, are struggling; not so much from a lack of business as from an over-abundance of business. Yes, just like in any profession, there are new VAs out there who are just getting started and are struggling to find clients and get their business off the ground. However many VAs are reaching a critical point in their businesses – having too much business coming their way – which in itself brings a whole new set of challenges. As the founder of an online recruitment and matching service for VAs, I’ve worked with many hundreds of VAs over the years and have seen a common journey in the growth of their businesses:
- VA gets a few clients and some good experience under their belt
- VA’s clients refer them to other potential clients (of which there are always plenty!)
- VA says yes to these new clients and soon has a full business
- VA’s business becomes “uncomfortably full.
They are getting so much work from various clients that it is hard to keep up (and life all of a sudden is super stressful)
This is what I call the bursting point. If you’re a VA who’s even remotely capable, and you haven’t experienced the bursting point yet, trust me, you will. Any VA who has the hot skills that clients are looking for will very soon be full-to-bursting with clients.
It’s like eating a huge meal at Thanksgiving; you are so full you could burst, but the food is so good you just can’t say no!
Does this sound like YOU? Check out Tina Forsyth’s Becoming an Online Business Manager book and get more details on how to move beyond the bursting point: http://www.BecominganOBM.com
OBM Tip of the Week – Why It’s Great to Be an OBM – You can really plug into your client’s business
There is a certain level of satisfaction that comes from working very closely with a client as their OBM. You get to celebrate the successes hand-in-hand with your clients, instead of just cheering them from the sidelines. You get to see your ideas and efforts come to life, and enjoy the results of such.
This is my favorite way to work with clients. I really love getting to know their business, getting to know them and creating something bigger together than could ever be done alone. Isn’t that the whole point of business? (Or life for that matter?)
Many times as a Virtual Support Professional we sit on the sidelines waiting for the biz owner to put us in the game.. knowing we have so much more to offer, so much more to contribute.. but waiting for the opportunity. As an OBM you are the quarterback of that business.. truly playing a bigger game with your client!
OBM Interview Series – Video #5
Video #5 is with Certified OBM™ Brenda Violette – who has a story I’m sure some of you can relate to. She came from 30 years experience in corporate management and never really considered herself an entrepreneur. After being laid off she decided it was time to do something new, and after “dabbling” in a few things she came upon my book Becoming an Online Business Manager – and instantly knew this was it!
Want to hear more stories and explore becoming an Online Business Manager?
>> Click here to Register for a Free 3-part Training Series exclusively for folks interested in creating a high-end virtual support business that allows you to have a consistently full practice of top-notch clients who can easily afford your services (and are a blast to work with) <– woo hoo!