One of the most common early hires an online business owner makes is a Virtual Assistant. And, take it from me, finding a Virtual Assistant who can support you and your business is a magical, magical thing.
I rely on support from VAs in my business and that support is a vital part of what has made my business so successful.
But, what do you do when you need more than what a VA can provide?
Enter an Online Business Manager, or OBM.
Most of my clients come to me when they start to realize that they need more robust support than a VA can provide. But often, they aren’t quite sure exactly what it is they need.
If you’re beginning to realize that you aren’t leveraging your existing business like you could be, or that you’re spending way too much time putting out fires instead of growing the business, it’s definitely time for some support.
Two key factors to consider when evaluating whether you need a VA, or more robust support from an OBM: delegation and management.
Essentially, you need to ask yourself how much time you want to spend doing each of those things.
Typically, with a VA, you’ll delegate less and manage more than you would if you worked with an OBM.
Want an example of what that looks like in context? Here you go!
This is how things would typically work if you were planning a webinar three weeks out with the support of a VA:
- You decide on topic for webinar
- You draft landing page copy (or delegate that to a copywriter and coordinate the process, if that is more your style)
- VA sets up webinar pieces — coming to you with questions along the way
- You approve webinar pieces
- You draft an email reminder sequence for your audience
- VA sets up email reminder sequence in your autoresponder — coming to you with questions along the way
On the other hand, with an OBM, you will often decide on the project jointly and your OBM will delegate and manage from there (read: more delegation, less management).
This is how things would typically work if you were planning a webinar three weeks out with the support of an OBM:
- You decide on the topic
- You provide some talking points
- Your OBM drafts the landing page (or delegates to a copywriter and coordinates)
- OBM then delegates page-building to VA
- OBM manages that process and provides any necessary support
- You approve landing page
- VA sets up webinar pieces
- OBM provides support and approves set up
- OBM coordinates email sequence from your existing content
- VA sets up email sequence
- You approve the sequence
I know, I know — at first glance, it might seem like bringing in an OBM is only complicating things further. But, in reality, when you work with an OBM, all that’s required of you is to set the tone and provide final approval. This frees you from all of the management and approval you would have to otherwise give to your VA during the building process.
With an OBM, you can expect to delegate more of the project with less explanation and support. As the project is in motion, you can also expect to manage the moving pieces less and primarily concern yourself with the final results.
Know what else? Freeing up the time you would otherwise spend managing your VA means you’re able to focus more on the things only you can do. You know, the stuff that makes your business unique and beefs up your bottom line.
(Pssst…This can also be a huge relief for creatives who have zero desire to pay attention to the details.)
So, here’s how it boils down: support from both VAs and OBMs can be game-changing, but working with OBMs helps you grow your business without increasing your workload.
Win-win, right?
