We all have those days right?

• someone on your team just doesn’t seem to listen and did ‘it’ wrong again
• you can’t get something to work and have spent hours trying to fix it to no avail
• your website is down right before a big promo
• you are having a misunderstanding with one of your clients

You know, the kind of day where you just want to scream, yell, perhaps chuck your computer out the window? This happens to all of us, it’s just a fact of life imho. My question to you is:

What do you do when you feel that way?

You know how volcanos always have a little bit of steam seeping out through the cracks? I don’t know the exact science behind this but I believe that the volcano is releasing a bit of steam to ease up on the pressure building up inside -  so as to prevent an eruption!

Same thing applies to us - we need to find ways to release a bit of steam now and again so we don’t errupt! (which can be damaging to us and our biz relationships).

I really do think it is necessary to vent now and again - in business and in life. Quite often just releasing a bit of ’steam’ will go a long way towards fixing the problem (and may even dissolve the problem altogether). The key is to do it in a constructive way. A few ideas:

• Have a venting buddy - I’m quite fortunate to have a few close biz colleagues that I can call up when i’m annoyed, frustrated, angry and just VENT! And I will actually say that, “i’m so annoyed by X, just want to vent… yadda yadda”.
• Use your anger ’energy’ in a constructive way -  do something physical like go for a run or clean the kitchen. Do something creative like write an article or paint a picture.
• Get out of your environment - I find that I will get frustrated and angry much easier when i’m super busy or just plain tired. Sometimes just taking a break can make a big difference, get out of the house, go for lunch with a friend and most importantly, leave your computer behind!
• Talk to the person direct - if you are having a challenge with another person, your best (only) way to fix it is to have a conversation. Don’t start the conversation when you are angry or frustrated, best to wait and let things diffuse a bit first if need be.
• Get help! - if it is a technical or ‘how-to’ problem find someone who can help. Just yesterday I was beating my head against the wall trying to figure out something wierd with a new ezine tempalte… and finally decided to ask a super smart colleague if he knew how to fix. He did, and if I had asked him sooner it would have saved me a good hour of time and frustration. 

What do you like to do to vent? Do tell.

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Date: Wednesday, May 27th at at 1:00 pacific / 4:00pm eastern

Why is it that success comes so easily for some businesses and is such an uphill battle for others? Those who are making it know the secret - the money is in the system! Find out how you can find the money, free time and prestige hiding in your’s client’s business.

All successful businesses have one thing in common; they have business practices in place that:

• reduce errors
• bring in business
• save money

Good business processes and systems aren’t just for the Fortune 500 companies. Small businesses must also have business systems in place to effectively grow and stay focused on what matters – INCREASING PROFITS! Yet, so many small businesses skip over the crucial step of creating systems and processes (and suffer for it).

This is where the Online Business Manager comes in, helping to build and implement the processes our clients need to make more money, save time, and free up resources to focus on continued business growth.

Our guest expert for this Member-Only call is Beth Schneider, President and CEO of Process Prodigy. Beth is a highly sought after, internationally known systems expert. She works with small business owners, showing them how to streamline their business so they can work less, make more money and create Outrageously Effective Systems in their own business. Her client list reads like a who’s who of the small business world because of the results produced. Her clients have seen remarkable growth, increasing productivity by as much as 600% and revenues by as much as 250%.

IAOBM Members: You can access the recording for this call in the Member Area

If you are not an IAOBM member yet, find out more about IAOBM Membership Benefits by clicking here: http://www.obmconnect.com/membership-benefits

Date: April 22, 2009

One of the key benefits that an Online Business Manager brings to the table is their focus on helping to grow their client’s business. In other words, the OBM is keeping an eye on the ‘bottom line’ – always looking for ways to increase revenue while also decreasing expenses. This alone will make you stand head and shoulders above many of the other online support professionals out there.

Discussed on this call:

• The top 5 ways to help your clients increase revenue
• The top 5 ways to help your clients decrease expenses
• What to keep track of to measure your contribution
• How to communicate in a concrete and classy way, the difference your work has made to the bottom line

Audio Recording (60 mins) | Click Here for MP3
Quick Notes from this Call | PDF

Company: Cyberqueen VA Solutions Website: www.cyberqueen.net Phone #: 650-771-0777 Location: San Francisco, California Time Zone: Pacific

My Experience, I am a: Certified OBM

My Client Intake status is: Open - I am looking to work with new clients

Ive been working online since: I’ve been working online since 2003. However, my experience in corporate, high tech in Silicon Valley allowed me to work from home most days as I managed several roles at once.

My history in high tech ranges from large enterprise platform corporations such as Oracle, SAP Technology, Palm Computing/3Com, Excite@Home, and Electronic Arts in positions supporting senior level executives in marketing, business development, corporate communications and investor relations. I not only supported several executives simulataneously, but also planned and coordinated small to large events/off-sites within the United States.

In 2006, I decided to work from home as a Virtual Assistant quite by accident, when I researched online for a part time position, and stumbled upon the world of Virtual Assistants. Initially my business model was to work for start-ups in the area, part-time on site and off-site. It worked well for me in the beginning, but I felt dissatisfied and stuck, and knew that I needed to make a change.

In January 2009, I decided to make a leap of faith by going completely virtual, but knew that I needed to enhance my service offerings.

I enrolled in several training courses through Hot Skills VA (Ecommerce - where I learned 1shoppingcart.com, but most importantly, having and applying a marketing mindset), and the intensive OBM online training certification; and I also enrolled in VA Classroom Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Blog for Marketing using Wordpress, Facebook Pages and Virtual Events Specialist courses.

Throughout my journey this year, I have become quite passionate about helping the small business owner start and maintain his/her online business and am passionate about social media marketing.

It is my hope to not only assist the small business owner with achieving their goals and objectives, but to offer mentoring and support to local VAs in my neighborhood under the umbrella of Silicon Valley Virtual Assistant group which I created under Meetup and Ning. My goal is to educate local businesses on the value and availability of Virtual Assistants in Silicon Valley.

Continue reading…

Company: My OBM Website: www.MyOBM.com Phone #: 425-844-2573 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Time Zone: Pacific

My Experience, I am a: Certified Online Business Manager

My Client Intake status is: Open - I am looking to work with new clients

Ive been working online since: I’ve been working virtually for over 7 years - and I can’t imagine working any other way! After some interesting years in the corporate world, it was time to take control of my own destiny - and having my own business seemed the way to go! As a Certified Online Business Manager I’m taking my business, and my client’s businesses to a higher level.

Continue reading…

Company: ProBiz Partners, Inc. Website: www.probizpartners.com Phone #: 720-204-2049 Location: Longmont, Colorado and Denia, Spain Time Zone: Mountain Time & Spain

My Experience, I am a: Certified Online Business Manager

My Client Intake status is: Open - I am looking to work with new clients

Ive been working online since: I’ve worked with web technology for over 15 years and started my own online business nearly 4 years ago. I began my corporate career as an office manager, then became a paralegal. The more technical work always attracted me, so I returned to college to complete my Computer Information Systems degree which led to becoming a Senior Project Manager on multi-million dollar web development projects. When the .com bubble burst I made a shift to marketing and operations, where I worked with several start-ups to create policies and procedures and establish marketing programs. I then decided to work virtually so that I could work from anywhere in the world, while bringing the benefit of my broad background to help other online business owners.

Continue reading…

Date: April 22nd at at 10:00am pacific / 1:00pm eastern

One of the key benefits that an Online Business Manager brings to the table is their focus on helping to grow their client’s business. In other words, the OBM is keeping an eye on the ‘bottom line’ – always looking for ways to increase revenue while also decreasing expenses. This alone will make you stand head and shoulders above many of the other online support professionals out there.

Join us on this discussion to learn:

• The top 5 ways to help your clients increase revenue
• The top 5 ways to help your clients decrease expenses
• What to keep track of to measure your contribution
• How to communicate in a concrete and classy way, the difference your work has made to the bottom line

This class is hosted by Andrea J. Lee & Tina Forsyth, Founders of the International Association of Online Business Managers.

IAOBM Members: You can access the recording for this call in the Member Area

If you are not an IAOBM member yet, find out more about IAOBM Membership Benefits by clicking here: http://www.obmconnect.com/membership-benefits