by IAOBM Member & Certified OBM Lynn Pearce
(a nod to the NPR and CBC radio series)
I believe that OBMs are key to the future success of small business.
When my job disappeared two and a half years ago, my natural inclination was to jump right back in the same pond – but I didn’t. In my heart I knew that pond had grown stale for me and I needed a fresh place to get my working mojo back again.
I looked at other ponds – started to dip my toes in their waters and was intrigued by what I found. I learned a lot, but something still didn’t feel quite right.
Then a couple of months ago I read about another pond and without thinking too hard and just listening to my heart, I jumped in. I enrolled in OBM certification training less than a week before it started.
I kept my intention clear – be open to whatever comes up during the training.
Suddenly training was over and then prep for certification was over and I was in the midst of the crazy world of client projects. And that was when I got it.
I love technology. It has been a part of my life for longer than I care to remember. I love how it helps me do things that before were just a dream. I love that it connects me for a virtual coffee break with my friends and family 5000 miles away. I especially love that I understand it and that I can figure out ways to have it help other people, too.
I realized that my understanding of the online world can help people who are not there yet make the transition to being there because it is only going to get bigger.
It might be my local insurance agent who wants to understand how people view insurance so that she can help them see its value, or a friend who is starting a new career as a wellness coach and needs to have people know that she is open for business. It might be someone who found my website and needs some advice on how to make their online business work better – it might even be a group in my community who want to reach out to more folks in the area.
So when people ask what I do and I tell them – the connection is almost instant. Either they, or somebody they know, needs that kind of help right now and when can I meet. The internet still seems like a big and scary place to people – especially when it comes to taking their business there – so they need us to help out and to do what we as OBMs do best – help them figure out the way.
That’s when I also realized that this OBM pond of ours is way bigger than we might think!
Comments, thoughts?
