Myths to Bust About Working With an OBM

There are a lot of misconceptions out there floating around about Online Business Managers and working with them, and I think that stems from a lot of confusion about what an OBM actually is and does.

This drives me crazy sometimes, because it stops people from working with an OBM when that could make all the difference in their business. 

Knowledge is power, and I want to make sure you know what to expect when you work with an OBM and how they can help your business.

If you have concerns about working with an OBM or if you just aren't sure what an OBM does (don’t worry, you aren’t alone!), I’m here to shed some light on things.

Here are some of the most common misconceptions I hear about OBMs and working with them.

 

Myths about working with an Online Business Manager 

 

Myth #1: “An online business manager is just a super VA. You’re better off hiring a VA for less and managing them yourself.” 

The Truth: An Online Business Manager isn’t just a VA who can do a ton more things. They’re a manager.

Their role is to implement your plans, assign tasks to other team members, and make sure tasks don’t fall through the cracks so your goals stay on track.

Picture this: You want to create an ecourse and launch it. You know what you want to teach, but you aren’t sure how to make this vision a reality.

It’s a big task! You feel overwhelmed and you don’t even know where to start.

When you hire an OBM to help you figure out the details, she (or he) helps you come up with a schedule for creating the course content, a strategy for figuring out which teaching platform would work best, what promotional materials need to be created, any techy additions you might need to your site (like a shopping cart), and everything else that needs to get done to make your goal happen.

Then they will create a project plan, breaking those tasks down into smaller, doable pieces and assign them to team members (yours or theirs) to be completed.

You get to focus on creating your course materials while all the bells and whistles get taken care of without you having to babysit everybody or feel like you are herding cats! 

Pretty cool, right?

At the end of the day, an OBM may jump in and do some tasks a virtual assistant might do if someone on the team is out, but for the most part, they’re your copilot in business.

 

An Online Business Manager isn’t just a VA who can do a ton more things. They’re a manager. Click To Tweet

 

Myth #2: “When you hire an OBM, all your stress goes away.” 

The Truth: As much as I wish I could wave a magic wand and make all your business woes disappear, it doesn’t work like that. At least not right away.

Yes, an OBM can take a ton of work off your plate. Once you get into a flow, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without them.

Remember, even the most incredible OBM is human, and there will be an adjustment period while they get to know your business and you both get used to working with each other.

Everyone has different communication styles and ways they like to do things. And if you come to your OBM with a very disorganized business, it can take a little longer to get everything organized and systematized. While that is happening, your OBM will also be keeping their eye on your bottom line and watching for opportunities to grow it as well.

Once you hit that sweet spot together…the flow is indescribable. Your business will be unstoppable!

 

Myth #3: “When I work with an OBM, I won’t have to do anything.” 

The Truth: You will definitely free up some time when you get in the groove with your OBM, but you’re still at the helm. You’re in the driver’s seat.

You won’t have to worry about the little tasks like scheduling social media content or emails, but you’ll still be in charge of the bigger vision of your business, even more than when you were flying solo. 

Your OBM can run a lot of your business for you (which is ideal, because that means more freedom for you!), but you have to let them know where it’s going. You have to have a vision and a plan for them to implement.

To be clear, it’s okay if you don’t know exactly how to make your vision or plan a reality. You don’t have to know all the steps, and part of an OBM’s job is to help you create a plan.

You simply can’t just show up and dump your business in their lap and say “Okay, make this work. Tell me what to do. Make me successful.” This is a partnership.  A collaboration.

It’s YOUR business. Ultimately, your success is up to you, because you’ve got the POWER and VISION!

 

Myth #4: “Hiring an OBM is way too expensive.” 

The Truth: It’s an investment that pays for itself.

At first glance, hiring an OBM might seem like a massive cost. After all, you’re paying a lot more than you would for a VA who was handling a few tasks for you. The higher sticker price is no myth, but the value you’re getting is exponentially greater.

When you hire an OBM, you’re not just taking tasks off your schedule. You’re getting your brain space back.

You’re transferring most of the managing piece of your business, and you probably won’t realize how much brainpower that frees up until you hand it off.

For example, when you hire me, you aren’t just getting me. You’re getting my whole team. You’re getting the power of 2 VAs (and counting), a copywriter, two graphics designers, AND my organization and management skills so you don’t even need to tell the rest of the team what to do (or make sure they did it).

An OBM will save you so much time, you’ll easily recoup your investment. For most entrepreneurs, all it takes is another client or two a month to pay for their OBM, which they can easily fit into their schedules now that they’ve freed up some time.

(And now that they’re doing the marketing stuff like blogging, sending emails, and keeping your businesses organized, you’re able to get those clients or create content for that new course or offering!)

 

Myth #5: “OBM = Marketing Consultant”

The Truth: This isn’t necessarily true, but it’s not not true.

Every OBM is different, and they all have different backgrounds and areas of expertise.

This means some OBMs can give you recommendations based on their experience and what they’ve seen others do, but overall, OBMs are managers.

They’re organization, implementation, and management experts. They may have some marketing knowledge they’re happy to share, but for many, they’re implementing your marketing plan.

If you have no idea how to market your business, you may want to hire an actual marketing expert (which an OBM can help you do!) to make sure you see the results you are after. The OBM and your team will put it in place and many times they can recycle that marketing plan for another offering.

Your OBM figures out how to break down that big dream into doable pieces and makes it happen.

At the end of the day, not all OBMs are the same. We all have different strengths, specialties, personalities, and organizational methods.

It’s okay if not every OBM jives with your business, that’s simply human nature.

The right OBM is worth the investment several times over. They’ll help you create and implement plans to reach your business dreams.

They’ll take so much off your plate, and your mind, which leaves you free to guide the business. It comes down to you and what you want to accomplish. An OBM will help you cross the finish line.

Need help making your business dreams a reality? Let’s talk about how my team and I can turn your goals into plans and actions!