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I was reminded on a call this week about the importance of having the *right* support in your business – and so I wanted to share with you one of my favorite checklists from the THRIVE Hiring System.

• If you are HIRING (aka – you are the boss) – use this list to determine if the people on your team are truly doing a good job for you (or not.)
• If you are BEING HIRED (VA, OBM or otherwise) – consider this list from the perspective of how you can serve your clients in the best way possible so that they simply can’t imagine doing business without you!

Check the ones that apply, and if need be, look to make improvements that will truly create a strong working relationship. (I’m of the opinion that most stuff is fixable, with the right amount of communication and intention.)

• They over communicate – never leaving you to wonder if they received your email/request.
• They tell you if they can’t meet a deadline and work to find a new deadline that will fit both sides.
• They under promise and over deliver.
• Things are getting done and with very little time and energy from you.
• You feel at peace knowing you are being looked after.
• Continue to read on blog here…
• You feel a sense of pride that they are on your team.
• Your level of stress is reduced knowing that they are taking care of things.
• You feel comfortable and a new sense of excitement for your business and what you are creating.
• You find yourself easily letting go of things that were previously difficult to do so.
• You don’t need to delegate … things are looked after before you even think of them.
• Commitments are looked after, stuff is organized and flowing.
• They ‘take inventory’ of your needs without you even realizing it.
• They essentially create their own job description with little input from you (they just know what needs to happen next).
• They ask you questions that demonstrate they know you, your business model and understand your goals and priorities.
• You start to work on projects you thought you’d never have time to do.
• You are spending more time “off” – rather than sitting at your computer working all the time.
• You look forward to telling them about your new ideas to get their thoughts and feedback.
• Every time you find yourself having to make a decision, you know you have someone to bounce things off of.
• You start to realize you have very little to do with the day-to-day functions of your business – instead you’re working ON your business.
• You feel like you can take a vacation again and your business will be just fine in your absence.
• You look forward to learning new strategies and implementing them in your business … you now have someone else to do it for you!
• You start to feel very comfortable with investing in additional areas to build your business.
• Your profits increase (over time) and business ‘is good’.

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I remember about 2 years ago now when I decided that I was ready for the next level in my business. Up until that point I had pretty much been a DIYer – I literally did everything there was to do in my business (and quite honestly enjoyed it – I’m a tech geek and I love doing stuff.

Then my coach said to me “Tina, if you want to walk your talk then it’s time you hired your own team…. get help for yourself”

That was literally a bop over the head for me (or a ”duh” moment quite honestly.) And yet I knew he had hit the nail on the head. Not only was it impossible to do everything I wanted to be doing moving forward, it simply wasn’t the best use of my time to be updating websites and sending broadcasts and such.

And so I started proactively building my team… and i’m at the point now where I simply couldn’t imagine doing it without them (nor would I want to quite honestly.) These guys rock, and so I wanted to brag on them a bit here today.

Tiffany Johnson – she is officially my Online Business Manager which means she takes care of “all the day to day nutty stuff that goes on around here.” And she’s darn good at it. Not only does she make sure stuff gets done but she gives me a slap on the wrist from time to time, ie: “No Tina, we can’t launch 8 things at once”…. hehe.  Tiffany also LOVES being an OBM and loves supporting the OBM industry at large, which means the world to me and to the folks in our programs as well. Together we are our own grand experiment of what it means to grow a biz and support each other in our roles/responsibilities. We have lots of fun together and actually look alot alike too.

Ana Hillis – our VA “behind the scenes” extraordinaire. Ana works directly with Tiffany and helps to get stuff done. She takes care of alot of the things that keep our engine running for various programs, making sure stuff gets sent out on time, chasing folks down for info, etc. Plus she has a knack for product creation (one of her specialties) – so if you need someone to help create various products and such Ana is your gal. Note that I’ve never actually talked to Ana – believe it or not – she has only ever worked directly with Tiffany (one of the benefits to having an OBM!) and yet I feel totally connected and supported by Ana. She rocks.

Marki Talley - web techy gal and ezine producer. I’ve actually known Marki for many long years now, since we met working together at CoachVille circa 2002. Marki has been around these halls for many years now, once upon a time as my “helping out with a bit of everything” gal and has since shifted her focus to more techie/wordpress work. However I wouldn’t let her go away totally, so she agreed to stay on to help produce/send out my ezine… phew! I have yet to throw a techie project at her that she couldn’t figure out, love that.

Tanya Watson – video recording & production. She records, edits and produces all the video recordings for our various trainings and programs (including our week long OBM Certification program.) Once upon a time I used to record my own videos, now i’ve “slapped my own wrist” and Tanya is the one to do it all from A to Z. End result? We get complete recordings for all our stuff loaded up and ready to roll.

So how about you? Who are the awesome folks that make your engine run? Do tell.

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One of my fav articles is the Common Denominator of Success by Albert E.N. Gray. This article was originally written in the 40′s for a group of life insurance professionals so it has some quirks – however what the author shares applies to us as entrepreneurs regardless of the time. He was exploring the simple question of “what makes someone successful?” and what he came to was:

“The common denominator of success — the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful — lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do.”

I find this so fascinating, especially when we look around us and consider that success shows up in so many different ways. Someone might come from an underprivledged background and create success “from nothing”, whereas someone else may have had a “good upbringing” and find themselves struggling through out life.

When we consider it from this perspective the answer is very clear – regardless of background successful people do things that *most* people don’t want to do. They pick up the phone and make that call. They are willing to risk investing time, money and energy into their business. They are willing to face their fear and potentially make a fool of themselves in the process.

Does this mean that they love doing these things? In many cases probably not… but they are willing to do them anyhow knowing that the success they are looking for comes as a result. And I know for me, the more I “do the things I don’t want to do” the stronger that muscle becomes. It’s certainly not easy, but it does become easier to just take a deep breath, say what the h**l and do it anyhow.

So how about you? What is it that you don’t want to do right now?

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Here it is folks… as promised, round two of the Top 5 Tools that I couldn’t live without (check out part one here) I guess this makes it my Top 10 Tools then right?

Wonder what we use here in the OBM offices? Here is a list of more of my favorites – the ones that I truly could not live without – and why I love them so.

* In the spirit of full disclosure there are affiliate links within this article, as indicated by a lovely little * beside the link.

6) Infusionsoft* – Ecommerce, Broadcasting and CRM
This tool is truly the hub of our business these days (it really should be #1 on the list) – it’s ecommerce, email marketing, automated follow-up and CRM all rolled into one. If you aren’t familiar yet with Infusionsoft you need to get this on your radar… and a warning, as awesome as it is, Infusionsoft is not very “user-friendly” to learn. Don’t try to figure it out yourself or you might go batty, get help from someone who is trained in the system.

7) WishList Member* – Membership Management
This is a powerful WordPress plugin that allows you to create a private “members-only” site for any of your programs – trainings, memberships, associations, you name it. I’ve used WishList for years now for all of my sites – it’s simple to learn, simple to use and makes a lovely protected member site in a snap. (Because it’s a WordPress plugin, you need to have a WordPress based site to use it, but of course.)

8 ) AudioAcrobat* – Recording & Hosting
An oldie but a goodie (if you consider 7 years old, hehe) – I know there are loads of different ways to host and record audios these days but I still always come back to AudioAcrobat. I love that I can record any call, anywhere, anytime simply by dialing into the AA recording system by 3-way calling. And I ESPECIALLY love that AA hosts all the recordings and gives you lots of lovely options for sharing your recordings – cool play buttons, download links and the like. Easy to use, customizable and affordable.

9) VirtualPBX – Virtual Toll-free Number
I know there are lots of great toll-free and virtual phone services out there, this is the one I’ve used for years now. We don’t get a lot of phone calls, but I do like giving people a toll-free number to use if they want to call. You can set up calls to be directed to whomever you like, and also get copies of voicemail messages sent to you via email (which I LOVE). Plus it’s inexpensive, I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $15/month.

10) Amazon S3 – Big File Hosting
This is a super dreamy tool if you have large files to host – like videos for example. I remember back in the day when I started in this biz, you used to have to pay ooodles of money to be able to host video. Amazon S3 does the trick and literally costs just dollars a month. We host all of our training videos here for all of our programs – also great to host audio files, PDF files and anything that you don’t want to put on your own servers.

There you have it – my next top 5 favorites.

And being that I’m such a tool geek please tell me – what are your favorite tools and why?

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I’m talking any kind of work – even if it’s a super quick “I just want to check email on Sunday night so I don’t get slammed Monday morning” sort of thing. I’m curious how many of us do (or don’t.)

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Received this question from Wayne Lindholm just yesterday:

I’ve recently led a Not-for-Profit from physical office space in on state to virtual, on-line space. My biggest question revolves around keeping a ‘high touch’ to relationships in a virtual model?

In my experience the key to high-touch in a virtual world is simply to keep the lines of communication open. Have regular calls with the team (at least once a week) – could even use something like skype or oovoo to do video calls where the team can see each other. Keep the flow of email going so people see “conversation” happening in their inbox. Maybe even connect with each other via instant message throughout the day (if that’s not too distracting for the team.)

I’ve worked virtually for over 10 years now and people have always asked me “don’t you get lonely being at home by yourself?” The answer is no, I’ve never felt lonely because I’m always in communication with the people that I work with, even if it’s just for fun. Not seeing people doesn’t mean you have to lose the connection.

I’m curious, what makes you feel connected to your virtual colleagues/clients?

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We are doing a free call on November 8th re: video… and what better way to invite you to attend than by video!

>> Click here to register for this free call

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Tiffany and I on a San Fran trolley

As many of you know Tiffany Johnson is my wonderful Online Business Manager and has been working with me  in this role since January – the OBM’s OBM as it were (hehe).

We’ve had a really busy year with launching the THRIVE Hiring System, doing 2 Online Business Manager Trainings, the OBM Mentorship and such… and along the way a few things have been falling through the cracks. Mainly because we have been so busy (as many of you know, launch time can be a gong show!) and also because I haven’t clearly shared with Tiffany what is most important to me in the work we do together. That last part is the key really… if I don’t share this, how can she support me and the biz in the best way possible?

Now that we have a “breather moment” in the business we are revisiting some of these things and I made a list of what I really need from Tiffany to support both me and the business in the best way possible. I thought I’d share this list with you to give you a sneak peek into what goes on in my brain… and I know you guys love seeing the real-deal stuff right?

These are the “must haves” for me – things that really frustrate me when they fall through the cracks. It’s worth noting that not everything is a must-have, that will be different for each business owner based on who we are and what our business offers. Stuff will fall through the cracks from time to time – nothing is perfect! – but you also need to be aware of your “must-haves” in order to make sure you get the support you need. (Especially if you are a recovering control freak like me, hehe

And it’s also worth nothing that Tiffany and I have already chatted re: this and she came to the conversation with some new systems to prevent any more ball-droppage. Which is why she rocks (and no, you can’t have her .

What is most important to me is:

• Sending out reminders for calls – I’m a really big believer in overcommunicating with our clients and want to make sure we are in touch with them on a regular basis re: upcoming calls, resources, recordings and such. I know that I love to get these kinds of reminders when I’m participating in something, and so I like to do the same for our clients as well (vs. assuming that they will remember about a call… many times they don’t). It’s really important to me that we send a reminder the day before a call (and again the day of in some cases) and that we also send a follow-up email after the call with a link to the recordings, etc.
• Testing to make sure things work – Whenever we make an update to our websites, I want to make sure that the process actually works. For example, setting up a Teleclass page, actually going through the process of signing up ourselves to make sure that the thank-you page is correct, we get the right “welcome” email and that the person ends up on the right list in our system.
• Following steps as outlined in the SOP - We have a really great SOP guide set up with details on the “how to’s” for many of the things in the business (SOOOO important for any biz to have). It’s really important to me that the steps are followed as outlined and the proper templates are used… therwise steps get missed and things may fall apart.
• Reviewing for “old” or outdated information – If updating a website doing a quick review to check on outdated information – past class dates, references to old pricing or promotions and just generally things that don’t make sense anymore. I love having an extra eye on that stuff as I think it looks “ick” when pages are full of outdated info (what I call a ghost town webpage).
• Keeping an eye on the money – Making sure that payments are going through, and if/where there are any declines, they are being followed up on. (We’ve always been really good about this stuff, but I’m surprised how many business owners actually let this slip through the cracks… should be on everyone’s list, imo, and is something that an OBM can help with.)

As I read this list I also couldn’t help but wonder… am I being too picky here? I know I can be a control freak and have to be aware of that, but then I also know there is a difference between being picky/controlling and having high standards for your business. It’s really the latter here that is at play and I invite you to do the same for your business. Let folks know what you really want and need from them to support you… it’s the little things that really do count over time.

If you are hiring an OBM, VA or other team member, let me ask you – what is the most important stuff they can do to support you and your business?

If you are the OBM, VA or otherwise – is there anything else you could be doing to perhaps take things up a notch, and truly make yourself indispensible to your client?

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