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, management of team members, metrics management, and development of multiple streams of income.

The role of the Online Business Manager is to play the bigger role in the overall management of the online business as described in the definition above.

Once the business owner has moved out of the start up phase of their online business into the growth and maturity phases and are enjoying the financial rewards of consistent revenue that is meeting their revenue targets, they find that they have also hit a wall in being able to grow their business to new levels alone – they need support. Up to this point the business owner has probably hired Virtual Assistants and other online professionals to complete projects and tasks, but find that recruiting, training and performance managing takes a great deal of time and energy.

• OBM’s manage…Virtual Assistants execute.
• VA’s are responsible for their individuals tasks OBM’s are responsible for the smooth operation of the business
• OBM’s manage 2-3 clients at a time
• VA’s typically manage 5-10 clients at a time

Online Business Management is a new industry and is growing by leaps and bounds – Online Business Managers are in high demand!

Many decide to enter into the Online Business Manager profession due to their strong professional backgrounds in administrative, business management, project management, operations management and other business growth related professions.  Many Virtual Assistants have stepped into this role recently due to the tremendous growth that comes from supporting online business owners and realizing their own potentials.

Many OBM’s possess many or all of what is to be considered the 10 Critical Virtual Assistant hard skills in order to support the growth of an online business, which are:

1. The Marketing Mindset
2. Basic Website Maintenance/Design
3. Online Research
4. Newsletter Publishing
5. Blog Posting Skill
6. Written Products Skills
7. Audio Products Skills
8. Shopping Cart
9. Driving Traffic
10. Customer Service

In addition, Online Business Managers possess the soft skills such as leadership, organizational, creativity, big picture thinking, process thinking, marketing mindset, etc.  which  is  critical in order to grow a business.  The high functioning OBM and creative thinking and focused entrepreneur can create an unstoppable team by leveraging each others strengths.

The Online Business Manager role is to manage and not do.  In order for the OBM to perform and be successful in their role they should not spend more than 10-15% of their time in any doing activities.  Usually this can be found in backing up support team when needed or spending time doing a specific task until there is a development of the new task and process built around it that can be delegated out to the team.  OBM  must stay focused on the bigger picture for the growth of the business.  When your OBM is trying to perform the many tasks that should be delegated to other virtual professionals things begin to fall through the cracks and the business suffers.  OBM’s are focused on the bottom line!

Online Business Managers clear your plate of the day-to-day operations management of tasks and resources so that you can focus on what you do best!

No, the role of the Online Business Manager in your business is to get things done so that you can focus on what you need to do in your business.

If you are not already working with a Business Coach, Consultant or Strategist, your newly hired Online Business Manager will recommend that you bring one of these professionals into the team.  There must be a business for an OBM to manage!

Online Business Managers are experienced and skilled in the online business model and the strategies and tactics it takes to grow an business online, but specialize in the implementation and managing the your business.

Online Business Managers work with you to plan and implement what you have decided you want to achieve in your business.  Due to the expertise of the OBM and other professionals you are surrounded by the right experts to drive your business where you want it to go in the fastest way possible with their support.

You will be working with a complete professional who has a passion for supporting online business owners to achieve their goals for success in their business.   I have over 30 years of high level administrative and business management skills and experience.  I spent many of those years in the traditional brick and mortar small to medium sized companies then the last 10 of those years in corporate.  In February 2008 I transferred all my business skills over to the virtual space when I created VBS Virtual Assist, LLC.  I enhanced those skills to fit into my new online and entrepreneurial career by completing The Fast Trac Entrepreneur Program, VA Internet Marketing Program, 1ShoppingCart Master Strategist Certification and the most significant training, Online Business Management Certification Program with Tina Forsyth and Andrea Lea.

The benefits to you are:

• You are working with someone who cares about your success and will treat your business just like my own.  When you succeed, I succeed!
• I am a business owner just like you and understand the business owner perspective.
• I am trained and experienced in all the disciplines needed to manage your online business.
• I am connected to a huge network of resources to complete your projects.
• I have a small advisory group of OBM’s.  When it’s brain storming time, you have the benefit of 3 brains, instead of one for the generation of ideas and feedback.
• My Rolodex is open to my clients.  When I see a potential partner or critical connection for you I will make that introduction.
• I have amazing testimonials from satisfied business owners, offline and online!

My certification training and mentor ship was through Tina Forsyth and Andrea Lee.  Early in my business I read Tina Forsyth’s still popular book, “Becoming An Online Business Manager, Playing A Bigger Game With Your Clients”   I knew immediately that becoming an Online Business Manager (OBM) was the path for me.   Providing online business management services to my clients was more in align with my many years of business training, experience, skills and most important, passion.  I immediately signed up for Tina’s Online Business Manager (OBM) Certification program which consisted of 40 hours and 5 months of time directly invested into the certification process.  Certification week was grueling and I consider being one of my major accomplishments in my business career.   I was Tina Forsyth and Andrea Lee’s first student in the first ever OBM certification program and one of the first ever certified Online Business Managers!   I just celebrated my first year anniversary as a certified OBM on October 6, 2010.

The training that I received addressed the whole online business organized under the following modules:

• Module 1: Online Business Models and Strategy
• Module 2: Your Business Management Tool-belt – Sharpening your skills
• Module 3: Online Revenue Streams – Maps & Processes
• Module 4: Building your OBM Muscle
• And after the training you will be offered the opportunity to complete the final step:
• Module 5: Certification Week

You may learn more by clicking on http://www.certifiedobm.com

The typical rate range for an Online Business Manager is $60/hour to $125.00/hour as a base monthly payment, plus incentive, which is determined in negotiations.

Incentive pay can be distributed in the form of a bonus for reaching certain targets, based on sales for specific products or overall revenue that was a direct result of the work of the Online Business Manager.

The first step is that I will spend the first 30 days assessing your business to determine the business infrastructure, what’s working, what’s not working, resources needed, recommendations, etc.  This is critical foundational work that will ensure focus, planning and strategies, cost savings and ultimately success!

I created a 25-point program that touches every aspect of your business and will guide us to determine what will be the level of service required and how many hours a month will be needed to accomplish our goals. No new activities are created during this period – only current revenue generating activities must continue.

A report is presented to you and your business coach, consultant or mentor and a meeting is set to discuss and finalize both of our desires to move forward into a full Online Business Manager contract.  There is a one-time fee for this 30 day foundational work.

The next step is if we decide to continue working together we will negotiate compensation, which equals base plus incentive and enter into a full OBM contract.

• You will be sent an OBM contract and payment link for your first payment via my contract management system, EchoSign.
• You will immediately be sent a welcome package
• You will be immediately contacted to schedule out our weekly status meetings.

The final step – and away we go toward helping you achieve the business goals!

My expectations and business model are built on a long term relationship with my clients.  I partner with fewer clients in order to offer a higher level of  attention and support.  I partner with clients who have more than enough work to delegate.

My company does provide project management.

The reason that I only partner with a small number of select clients (2-3 depending on the demands of the business I am working with)  is that it allows me to get to plug into your  business provide a more personalized service.  This alone is an invaluable service to my clients.

As I become more plugged into your business the more value I add to your bottom line!

You will find me to be a warm and friendly person, but also very focused and professional when working with clients.  Your success is my success!

I am definitely a results oriented manager.  My power and marketing creativity works best for my clients when momentum is high and focused.

My ideal client is the high achieving woman entrepreneur who has a unstoppable passion to bring her message into the world.  I love women coaches, speakers and authors!

She already has a business model that is consistently generating 6 figures and above and has reached the point where she is ready to turn loose of the reins and grow her business to the next level.  She is serious about her business and wants it to not only fulfill her entrepreneurial dream but also to continue the vision of having a stable and profitable company.

She knows that she cannot do alone and is emotionally and financially ready to bring into her business an Online Business Manager and virtual team.

We will communicate about your business by maintaining weekly status/planning meetings, which will last anywhere from 45 min – 1 hour.   An agenda will guide our time together.

In addition, we will communicate via email and phone for in-between times as needed for shorter periods of time.

If you send me an email or voice mail it will be returned that day unless it is outside my normal business hours or I have notified you via email or voice mail that I will be out of the office for that day.

My office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Friday’s are my own business development days.  But I am not always available during that time. I can be reached according to a pre-arranged agreement.   Since I work with other clients, I may need to be focused on their projects for a while, just as I need to be focused on yours.  I do not offer instant turn around on projects – it’s not fair to everyone else.  If we have something coming up that we know will be on a tight time frame, we will make sure that we discuss it at our weekly meetings so that we have the plan and the time in place. An example would be a product launch.

• The first step is scheduling your complimentary 30 minute consult.  If you have not done this already, click on the link below

Schedule Consult with Brenda

• After we have met and agreed to move forward, you will be sent a Preliminary OBM contract which covers the first 30-day assessment as discussed above and in our personal consultation.  With this contract you will receive a payment link for this one-time fee via my contract management system, EchoSign.
• You will immediately be sent a welcome package
• You will be immediately contacted to schedule the first of our informational gathering calls.

Some businesses are not ready for an Online Business Manager at the current time, but require the support of other online professionals, such as Virtual Assistants. It will be my pleasure to support you in the process of getting connected to  the right professional that will get you to where you want to be in your business.