Free Articles for Online Business Managers

I just had to ditto this post by Seth Godin last week - A clean sheet of paper. It’s a must read… go ahead, read it now.

This is so very very true! I’ve seen it time and again… business owners struggling and complaining that they aren’t getting what they want. When in reality, they haven’t defined the parameters of what they want in the first place.

One of my favorite questions when a coaching client tells me that they want a new website is to ask them:

“Great - what action do you want people to take when they visit your site?”

Seems like such an obvious question, and yet many times they have no clue what the answer is. And so we work together to figure that out first before they get anywhere near hiring a web designer to start on the site. Otherwise it can be REALLY easy to go down the road of spending loads of money to get something that isn’t going to serve their business.

And I can tell you from the perspective of someone who has worked as an online support professional for years now… it can be really frustrating to not get clear direction up front. Nine times out of ten the client will end up dissatisfied or even upset! So for all of us on the ‘providing services’ side of the coin - if you aren’t clear on what someone wants dig a bit deeper, insist that they get specific and if they can’t that suggests to me that they aren’t yet ready to hire you (or anyone) at this point.

Don’t assume that the business owner ‘knows what they want’ because they might not. Don’t assume that they want what ‘you have to offer’ as it may be way off track. And don’t be afraid to turn down business and suggest that they figure it out before you can start working with them - less headaches for all concerned and really, that is part of being a professional imo.

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A sure sign of being a geek is when finding a new system just makes you want to sing out loud in glee! I will admit that I am a geek, and have recently ’sung out loud’ about the (relatively) new membership management system Wishlist Member.

We’ve been using Wordpress to manage our membership sites for years now - basically just piecing together some stuff in the blog to make it work. Well Wishlist Member takes a regular Wordpress blogsite and turns it into a full fledged membership system. Tres cool!

What makes it so great? Let me share a few of my favorite things…

• As per any great membership system, it allows you to setup separate login accounts for each member vs. doing the ‘one login for all’. So you can give/remove access for people as they come and go in your membership. REALLY important.
• It connects to the 1ShoppingCart system - so people can automatically get access to your membership site when they join the membership vs. having to load them manually. And it will also remove access for people who fall behind on payments.
• You can email members direct from this system - which I love! It’s super quick and easy to send messages to members vs. sending through the cart (which can be slow at times).
• You can have more than one level of membership setup in the same Wordpress blog. So people will get access only to the stuff that applies to them, and not those areas that they aren’t a member of. This really opens up some pretty cool opps for expanding membership offerings!
• It’s really easy to add a nice ‘login’ box in the sidebar of the blog. Makes the site looks so professional and is of course easy for folks to know how to login to the site (which can be surprisingly hard to find on some sites.)

Want to see a sample of Wishlist Member in action? We recently implemented Wishlist for the Thomas Leonard Success Strategies program - click here to check it out. Unless you are a member you won’t be able to access the material of course, but you can see the overall flow/layout of this membership site.

There are many other cool features in this system beyond my favs, go to the Wishlist Member site to learn more.

Want to learn how to use Wishlist? Or get someone on your team up to speed?

 We are offering a brand new course for VAs and online support professionals on how to manage memberships using Wishlist Member. Be sure to check it out - early bird registration is in effect until May 29th ($100 savings).

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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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I’ve literally had this conversation with 3 different people this past week… it went something like this:

(Friday afternoon) My client just sent me a whole bunch of work that needs to be done for Monday, i’m going to be working all weekend!

My response:

Why didn’t you say no?

Now here is what I really love about this scenario, and it rings true for *most* of the online based professionals that I work with (VAs, OBMs, and otherwise).

We WANT to support our clients in the best way possible. We want to see them succeed, and when there is work to be done we are willing to bend over backwards to make sure it happens. In fact, with all three of these conversations after I asked why they didn’t say no the response was:

But the work needs to be done, I don’t want to leave my client high and dry here… that wouldn’t be fair.

A very heartfelt and responsible sentiment yes? You can see that they truly have the client’s best interest at heart.

But what this scenario also says to me is that this person has not set any boundaries with their clients. Or if they have set boundaries they aren’t willing to enforce them. And over time this can become a serious issue - to the point where it can actually ruin what is otherwise a good working relationship.

Taking a look at boundaries for a moment - boundaries are setting the guideline for how we want to be treated. What is acceptable, what is not acceptable, etc.

As it applies to our businesses and the work we do with our clients, boundaries become very important when it comes to turnaround times, getting notice on tasks/projects and your working hours. You want to be very clear with your clients up front as to how much advance notice you need for a task/project, how long it will take (which can of course vary depending on the task/project) and when you actually are available for work.

If you don’t set these boundaries with your clients AND enforce them as needed… you run this risk of basically working yourself to the bone and not having any dedicated time for yourself. And this is when people become burnt-out, resentful and in some cases so tired of their business that they are thinking of shutting it down. I’ve seen it happen many a time, and quite honestly it makes me sad.

I like to use a Dr. Phil-ism when I think of setting boundaries with our clients (I’m not a big Dr. Phil fan these days, but this certainly fits.)

Continue reading…

The questions keep rolling in since announcing the Online Business Manager Certification, here is another one that i’m asked quite often:

“I’d like to become an Online Business Manager, how do I know if i’m ready?”

I really love this question for the simple fact that it is a reflection of those who are asking it - someone who wants to make sure that the role of OBM is a good fit for them vs. just jumping into it willy-nilly (which is NOT a good idea!)

So how do you know if you are ready?

Or, perhaps you are a business owner who has a virtual assistant or someone else on your team who you suspect may be a great OBM for you… how do you know if they are ready?

If this is a question you are considering, I invite you to take the Online Business Manager Readiness quiz - download a copy of the quiz here.

Those of you who have read the book Becoming an Online Business Manager will remember this quiz from page 31 - if you haven’t taken it already set aside a few moments to do so now.

I invite you to consider this - the most important aspect of being ready is so much more about the ‘inner game’ than it is about skills and experience.

Does this sound like you?

“I stay calm in the middle of confusion and chaos, and will naturally take charge to fix a situation when conflict arises.”

Or

“I thrive on the challenge of being thrown into new (and sometimes uncertain) situations.”

If you can say a resounding yes to these (and the many other) statements in the quiz, then you have a pretty strong foundation to build on.

Here is that link again to the quiz

Remember that the skills of the OBM can be taught (which we will be doing via the Certification Training that starts in 2 weeks) and experience will come over time.

But your inner conviction, excitement and dedication to the role is what *really* counts.

With that, all things are possible in the wide-world of becoming an Online Business Manager.

It is by far the question I am asked most often, and for good reason.

Although similar in nature, there are some very key differences between the role of Online Business Manager and Virtual Assistant.

If you are a VA or aspiring OBM it’s really important for you to understand these differences, so that you can a) decide which role is the best fit for you and then b) be able to clearly articulate the difference to your clients.

If you are a business owner it is really important for you to get clear on a) what your business actually needs and then b) look at whether you need to hire a VA or OBM to fill that need.

There is alot of ‘grey area’ right now when it comes to understanding the difference in these roles, and so i’ve put together a comparision chart to help illustrate each role and how they work together. (And to also clarify when a business owner is ready to hire either a VA or OBM).

>> Click here to download the Comparison Chart

Feel free to share this report with your clients and colleagues, you have my blessing to do so as long as you don’t make changes to the PDF.

I was talking to a colleague of mine yesterday who was sharing that she loves her Virtual Assistant, but in her words:

“the one thing that she won’t do is nag me to get stuff done… I need someone to nag me like my mom does!”

Now this may make you chuckle, but it really is a very common complaint that I hear from business owners… they really want someone who is going to keep them on task. Someone who will follow up with them to ensure that they are doing the things that need to be done - and perhaps nudge them along or hold them accountable when they don’t stay on task. I like to call this being a ‘professional nag’ for your clients.

And yet many VAs out there aren’t doing a very good job of this. Even when their clients specifically ask them to ‘be a nag’ they still aren’t doing it.

Where is the disconnect? I am a natural nag (just ask my husband, haha) so I think that I take for granted that this is an easy thing to do. But when I step back and look at it from an objective perspective I have to wonder if part of the problem is that

a) people just don’t know how to nag and

b) they aren’t comfortable doing it.

So let’s break it down a bit and take a look at how we can lovingly nag our clients.

1. Understand why nagging is important! At face value it is easy to think that our clients shouldn’t need to be nagged - after all, we are all adults and it is their business right? Shouldn’t they already be motivated to get things done? Even with the best of intentions, most business owners are simply too busy or distracted and they forget about or lose track of priorities in their own business. They want someone who is going to remind them of what is important and help them keep it front of mind. Once you *get* this you can see where nagging is actually a very important benefit to your clients.

2. Ask them for regular updates on project X. Sometimes the simple act of knowing that you are going to be asking them on a regular basis about X is enough to get people moving. Make sure to give them a deadline for completing X or remind them of a previously set deadline… people are more likely to complete a task when they know they have a deadline (it’s human nature).

3. Ask them where they are stuck. If something isn’t getting done it is usually symptomatic of an underlying issue. For example, let’s say you are waiting on your client to write an article for the newsletter. It could be that they can’t think of a topic to write about (brainstorm with them) or they know what they want to write about but haven’t had the time to sit down and do it (start the article for them and have them edit/finish it). In some cases it could be that priorities have shifted and project X is no longer as important as it was. Regardless of the cause, if you ask where things are stuck then you can look at ways to help move things forward or let things go.

4. Look for ways to clear their plate. Alot of times our clients get busy or distracted with things that they actually shouldn’t be doing. If your client seems overwhelmed to the point where things aren’t getting done take a look at where they are spending their time. Chances are that there is some stuff that you or another team member could take off of their plate to free them up to focus on other things.

5. Ask them how the want to be nagged. You might have it in your head that it needs to be some big elaborate nagging solution, when all they actually want is for you to ask them once a week about X. Or maybe send them a weekly list of ‘projects on the go’.

Nagging is actually more of an art than a science - there is no one way that is going to work for all clients. And a certain approach that works really well with one client may not work for another. So look to be a bit creative when you can, consider different ways that you could help your clients get things done and aim to have some fun along the way! For example, I have a running joke with my business partners where i’m ‘The Boot’. In our relationship i’m the one responsible to do the nagging, and so we have some fun and joke about it - ‘Oh no! Tina is putting The Boot on - watch out!’ LOL

The heart of nagging is about providing a constant reminder to your client about what is important - so that they can refocus themselves to do the things that are important. Regardless of what that constant reminder looks like, be sure to do it.

As a sidenote for you aspiring Online Business Managers - if you are going to play this role for your clients it is *essential* that you get comfortable with nagging. It is a key skill of the Online Business Manager - so much so that it is in the name - Online Business MaNAGer, hehe. We’ll be talking about this alot in the new Online Business Manager Certification and Training program.

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One of the biggest challenges for OBMs is the transition from being a ‘doer’ to being a ‘delegator’.

Any good OBM has been the one doing the work at some point - this is the best way to learn and get the experience we need to play the OBM role. So our natural inclination is to do the work ourselves, usually without giving it a second thought.

However as your client’s business grows (which it surely will, with your help), it is simply impossible for you to be both doer and manager. Over time you need to learn to let go of more and more ‘doing’ so that you can focus your attention where it is needed most.

Keep in mind that the “doing to delegating” transition will take time - you won’t put on your OBM hat one day and instantly stop doing the work. Rather, you will start to delegate various tasks and projects over time to the various members of your team… which may happen over a period of a months or years, depending on how fast the business is growing.

So what do you delegate and when? A few tips:

• One of the very first things to delegate are any administrative tasks- things such as managing someone’s calendar, customer service emails, basic website updates, etc. Another way to look at this is delegating any of the tasks that aren’t directly related to money. If a task doesn’t directly affect the bottom line than it is a good one to delegate sooner rather than later.
• Delegate the stuff that you don’t like doing. You don’t want to go overboard here of course, but you have certainly earned the right to let go of tasks/projects that you really don’t enjoy. When we do things that we don’t enjoy it can be a HUGE energy drain, and as an OBM you really can’t afford to be leaking out energy. So get a few of the ick tasks off your plate! And remember that what is an ick to you may be alot of fun for someone else…
• Delegate the stuff you like doing, and that gets in the way. I remember a client telling me once that she hired a bookkeeper - not because she hated doing the books but because she enjoyed it! And she would find herself doing the books when she should have been focusing on other money-making activities. Which tasks/projects do you hang onto simply because you enjoy them? Keep an eye on yourself and see if it is time to let some of these tasks go in order to free up space for more important activities.
• If you are establishing a new process you may want to be the one to ‘do’ the work the first few times around. It is really hard to delegate a brand new process if the tasks and milestones are not yet defined. For example, say you are setting up a membership site for the very first time. You would probably want to be quite involved and actually do some of the work, so that you can then turn around and refine/create the process to be added to the Standard Operating Procedures Guide. Once you’ve worked out the kinks, tweaked for maximum efficiency and clearly outlined the process in the Guide then you can delegate the next time around.
• Which tasks are you doing simply because you haven’t gotten around to training someone else? I know it can sometimes be easier to simply ‘do it ourselves’ than to take the time to lay out the process and details necessary to train someone. But I challenge you here, what are you (still) doing that could be passed along to someone else with a bit of training? Keep in mind it is more important for you to train now than it is for you to do. Training is an investment in your own time and energy, and once someone else is trained to do certain tasks it can feel great to have them off your plate!
• That being said, don’t be afraid to jump in and do the work in times of urgency/emergency. There may be times when certain deadlines aren’t being met, people fall ill and can’t get their work done or other things pop up that simply need to be done NOW and can’t wait for you to delegate. During these times it is certainly OK to jump in and get things done… just keep in mind that you want to consider how to prevent these kind of situations from happening again. If you are always having to jump in for urgencies/emergencies then there is something bigger going on in the business that needs to be addressed.

When it comes to hiring i’m reminded of the philosophy:

How you do anything is how you do everything

As an OBM I’ve done my fair share of hiring virtual professionals over the years, and i’ve found that you can learn ALOT about someone from the very first moment you connect with them (which is usually by email). How people respond to you from day one can be a good reflection of how they would actually be on a project.

There are a few things you can pay attention to that may help filter out some potentially unsuitable people along the way:

• How quickly do they respond to your emails?
  I expect a 24 hour turnaround time when I send someone an email (except on weekends/holidays of course). If I send someone an email saying ‘hey, i’m interested in hiring you’ and I don’t hear from them for 3 days I will most likely not consider them further. Most of our projects require a 24 hour turnaround in communcation, and if I don’t see that right away it is a red flag.
• Did they provide what you asked them for?
  If you asked them for specific information, did they provide it in full detail? I’m actually surprised how often I will get¬†a response from a potential hire and they didn’t include half of the information I requested. If they have a lack of attention to details in these early stages it makes me wonder how much would be missed on the job.
• What is the tone of their response?
  Are they casual or do they take a more professional approach in their writing? (depending on your needs you may prefer either one). How is their spelling & grammar? The actual tone of their response can be very telling - for example if you are hiring someone to response to customer service emails and their spelling/grammar is poor that may not be a good fit.
• Do they follow up with you?
  If you haven’t responded to someone in a day or so, do they follow up with you? I’ll admit that I sometimes do this on purpose - not respond to an email for a couple of days just to see if the person will follow up with me to check in. If someone is eager/excited about the opportunity they should send a follow up email to check in with you (even just to ensure that you received their last message).

The official definition of an Online Business Manager (OBM) is:

A virtually based support professional who manages online based businesses, including the day-to-day management of projects, operations, team members and metrics.

However I like to look at the role from a bit of a different angle - what is the purpose of an Online Business Manager beyond ‘what they do’?

The role of the OBM boils down to one simple thing:

To free up the business owner so that they can focus their time and energy on the things that only THEY can do in their business.

Most business owners look to hire an Online Business Manager (OBM) when they simply cannot grow their business anymore being the only one in charge. In order for them to take their business to the next level they need to pull themselves out of the day-to-day management activities and focus on growth.

This includes areas such as product development, strategic alliances and big picture business planning, all of which are essential to the growth of a business. Everything else becomes the responsibility of the OBM.