Company: Ideal Assistant Services, LLC Website: www.ideal-assistant.com Phone #: 908-264-4983 Location: Cranford, NJ Time Zone: Eastern

My Experience, I am a: Certified OBM

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

I’ve been working online since: I started working online as a VA in my own practice, Ideal Assistant Services, LLC, in January 2004. The expertise I gained in my years in corporate, combined with my years of working in supportive online roles, have been key factors to my success in transitioning from the role of VA to Online Business Manager.

I began my administrative career as a clerk in a small branch of a large import company. My organization skills, great attention to detail, and innovative ideas on how to get things done efficiently helped me stand out and gain the reputation as the ‘go to’ person in the office. In only six short years I worked my way up to Office Manager, and eventually Branch HR Manager.

I loved that job and stayed in the HR position for several years. However, I ultimately let it go so I could take some time off while my children were small. When I returned to the workforce I secured a job in a large pharmaceutical company which I expected to love, but strangely enough, didn’t. I found that I missed the challenges of working in a small business atmosphere and longed to use all of my skills to make a real difference in a company. That’s when I discovered virtual assistance, and I knew I had found my niche in life.

Since then I have worked with as many as five businesses at a time providing services ranging from online customer service, website updates, shopping cart setup and management and newsletter creation and management, to assisting with the creation of new info-products, assisting with marketing plans, writing website copy, editing and getting books published and much more.

When I read Tina Forsyth’s book “Becoming an Online Business Manager” in the spring of 2009 I identified with it immediately. I knew I was performing at this level for a few of my clients already, and decided that certification was the next logical step for me. I jumped in with both feet, and now here I am, certified and ready for new clients and new challenges!

Why I love working as an OBM: First and foremost I just love working with entrepreneurs. In my opinion, they’re the spice in the soup of the business world, and I love the innovativeness and vibrancy that comes with working with them.

But what I also love about being an OBM is that feeling of leaving something better than I found it. Part of the thrill for me is putting processes in place that make businesses run smoothly with little chance for error. I always dissect projects from the desired end-result backwards with the goal to determine how to set it up efficiently and intelligently from the beginning. When I’m done with something, it gives me great satisfaction to know that it will continue to run like a well-oiled machine long after I am no longer involved with it.

My Strengths and Areas of Specialty: Some of my strengths are:

• My ability to see the details surrounding big projects and break them down into small projects that can be managed easily;
• Setting up processes that work well in a team environment
• Collaborating with business owners about “what’s next,” creating a to do list from the brainstorming session and managing the tasks;

I also love:

• Working with shopping carts
• Creating brochures and PowerPoint presentations
• Managing newsletters
• and lots of other administrative tasks.

I’m also well-versed in eCommerce and have studied the programs of well-known online marketers.

My clients hire me because of my ability to help them develop strategies and manage the resources that will grow their businesses, as well as my exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and my “can-do” attitude.

My favorite kind of client to work with is…: My ideal clients are willing to share the vision of their business with me and want me to help them achieve it. They should be successful in, and passionate about, their chosen field; have specific business goals and a plan to reach them; have high standards for their lives and businesses; be honest and live a life of integrity; and be trustworthy and also able to trust. They should also know that they are able to delegate tasks and responsibilities and trust that they are being taken care of.

In addition, I appreciate regular communication, being told when a job is well done, and any and all feedback on projects and tasks. I do not need to be micro-managed, but I do require feedback to ensure that I’m meeting (preferably exceeding) expectations.

My Business Goals for this year are: To be working as an Online Business Manager for a few select entrepreneurs who fit my ideal client profile. I would like to be managing their teams, product launches and marketing plans as well as collaborating with them on how to increase the profitability of their businesses.

I would also like to continue to learn at the feet of the big names in eCommerce and add people to my team who are experts in copywriting, graphic design and marketing via social media.