You are a Virtual Assistant at the bursting point in your business

Virtual Assistants (VAs), those unseen angels who do a variety of tasks for their clients from a home-based office, are struggling; not so much from a lack of business as from an over-abundance of business.  Yes, just like in any profession, there are new VAs out there who are just getting started and are struggling to find clients and get their business off the ground. However many VAs are reaching a critical point in their businesses – having too much business coming their way – which in itself brings a whole new set of challenges. As the founder of an online recruitment and matching service for VAs, I’ve worked with many hundreds of VAs over the years and have seen a common journey in the growth of their businesses:

1. VA gets a few clients and some good experience under their belt
2. VA’s clients refer them to other potential clients (of which there are always plenty!)
3. VA says yes to these new clients and soon has a full business
4. VA’s business becomes “uncomfortably full.

They are getting so much work from various clients that it is hard to keep up (and life all of a sudden is super stressful)

This is what I call the bursting point. If you’re a VA who’s even remotely capable, and you haven’t experienced the bursting point yet, trust me, you will. Any VA who has the hot skills that clients are looking for will very soon be full-to-bursting with clients.

It’s like eating a huge meal at Thanksgiving; you are so full you could burst, but the food is so good you just can’t say no!

Does this sound like YOU?  Check out Tina Forsyth’s Becoming an Online Business Manager book and get more details on how to move beyond the bursting point: http://www.BecominganOBM.com

Company: Elevation Virtual Assistance Website:  www.elevationva.com Phone #: (307) 203-2643 Location: Wilson, WY, USA Time Zone: Mountain

My Experience, I am an: Experienced OBM – currently working in this capacity for 1 or more clients

My Client Intake status is: Full – not taking new clients at this time

I’ve been working online since: I have been supporting online business owners since 2009. I started my business as a Virtual Assistant and quickly realized that I really wanted to be supporting my clients at a higher level. I currently work with business coaches who coach from a platform of creating a heart based, authentic-to-you business.

Why I love working as an OBM: I work with busy clients with a big vision. My clients are really making a difference in their clients’ lives and businesses. I love that I support my clients in achieving their goals and building their business and that I support my clients to be able to focus on their brilliance and really make a difference for the people they work with.

My Strengths and Areas of Specialty: My strengths and areas of specialty include: managing team members, creating processes and procedures, collaborating and brainstorming, customer care, managing coaching and membership programs, managing product and program launches, organizing virtual and live events, and managing the production of multimedia products. I work with my clients to put a strong foundation in place to support their growth including awesome team members, policies, procedures, and systems that support the business, the team, and the clients. I also have experience using Infusionsoft and 1Shoppingcart, I can do some web site management and light HTML work.

My favorite kind of client to work with is: I work with women business coaches who offer a variety of group coaching programs, as well as one-on-one coaching. My clients have successful businesses and are ready to take their business to the next level. My clients are ultimately looking to free up their time, move away from the responsibility of managing their business to work fully in their brilliance.

My Business Goals for this year are….: Complete the OBM Certification, be able to take on another OBM client, continue learning and growing to become an even better OBM, achieve better work/life balance, commit to the time I have set aside to exercise and enjoy the mountains where I live.

Date: May 16th , 2012 at 11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET

It’s hard out there for an Online Business Manager. You’re brought on to help a business run more effectively and easily, and you have to be effective at reacting to what comes up as well as being effective about anticipating what will come up – that’s no small feat. And then there’s keeping up with your own business to consider, too.

The more productive and effective you are, the more value you bear for your clients and the better you’re able to get stuff off your plate and off your mind. Join Charlie Gilkey, the go-to guy for results-driven, effective action for entrepreneurs and executives, to learn how you can boost your effectiveness with just a few tweaks to what you’re already doing.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to focus on the important stuff rather than just the urgent stuff
• How to get twice the results in the same amount of time it normally takes you to do it. (Hint: when you do the task is key)
• Why it’s your job to keep up with the progress of your work – and how to do it
• How to plan on the fly without getting caught in the over-planning trap

Charlie’s the go-to guy for creative changemakers and entrepreneurs for figuring out how to get the right things done. His blog, Productive Flourishing (http://www.productiveflourishing.com), is one of the top productivity and business blogs on the web.

Charlie is a mashup of a former military logistics officer, a philosopher, and a business advisor. That background makes a unique synthesis of theory, action, and no-BS counsel that focuses people on what matters and how to take action on it. His work is routinely cited, showcased, and shared in places like Inc.com, BNET, Project Domino, Lifehacker, Copyblogger, Problogger, Zenhabits, and others.

Charlie’s forthcoming book, Beyond Bootstrapping, helps entrepreneurs and small business owners become better executives and build better businesses from the business they’ve already built.

Call-in information for live call is on your member login page. Missed the live call? Get the audio download on your member login page within 48 hours. If you do not have your password, e-mail us atsupport@obmconnect.com

If you are not an IAOBM member yet, find out more about IAOBM Membership Benefits by clicking here: http://www.obmconnect.com/membership-benefits

I like to look at the role of the Online Business Manager through the lens of how we help support our clients.

What do clients need? What are they asking for help with (and having trouble finding!)?
What is truly going to help them grow and expand their business?

After all, if it wasn’t for the needs of our clients, the role of the Online Business Manager wouldn’t mean anything. We are here to serve them and their businesses, so it is essential The Role of  the Online Business Manager to really understand their needs in order to provide the best level of support.

Together with Andrea Lee, I’ve spoken to hundreds of small business owners over the past few years who are desperately seeking the help of an Online Business Manager. They didn’t know that’s what they needed; they just knew they needed help!

Here are some of the most common challenges that people have shared with us:

“I am so overwhelmed and just can’t do this on my own anymore – help!”“I’m making a good living, but just can’t seem to make my business grow beyond where I am now.”

“I’ve worked with a bunch of VAs but I can’t seem to find one that can do what I need. Why is it so hard to find the right person?”

“There’s so much going on in my business but I’m not sure what is getting done and what isn’t. I wish I had someone to manage all those pieces for me.”

“My brain is bursting with new ideas for my business, but I’m busy enough as it is. I guess all these ideas will have to wait …”

Are you considering becoming an Online Business Manager?  Get the full scoop here: http://www.BecominganOBM.com

(excerpt from Becoming an Online Business Manager) 

Just the other day I spoke to a lovely woman about our Hot Skills VA Training program, where we teach online skills and tools to virtual assistants.

She and her husband ran a very successful embroidery business for years, where he was the tech whiz and she was the marketing pro. After selling the business, she decided she wanted to work online. Not necessarily as a VA, but in some kind of capacity where she can help clients use the power of the Internet to grow their businesses.

“Sounds like you want to be an Online Business Manager,” I said to her. After explaining to her a bit more of what the role is about, she was thrilled to realize that it was even a possibility!

Being a successful business owner herself, she definitely already has what I call a marketing mindset, which is an essential piece of being a successful OBM. With a strong business background and marketing mindset, anyone can learn the online tools and skills necessary to become an OBM

After all, business is business. Whether it is an online or traditional business it all boils down to the same thing – create value that people will pay for.

This type of potential OBM is probably one of the most exciting to me, especially when I consider someone like the stay-at-home mom or dad. They have chosen to stay home with their children instead of going back to work, and may have amazing business and marketing skills that are lying dormant for the time being.

Many of them would love to be able to work, if only there was an opportunity that allowed them the flexibility to be home with their children while making a living. I know there are potential OBMs at home watching (yet another!) episode of Barney and wishing they could use their brain for more than memorizing the songs from kid shows.

Or, as anyone who has ever worked in the corporate world knows, there are MANY talented people out there who are under-utilized and essentially miserable in their jobs. (This could be you!) My friend Pamela Slim has an excellent blog called EscapeFromCubicleNation.com, where she helps people transform from corporate prisoner to thriving entrepreneur. One of the most common challenges her readers face is that they know they want to get out of their jobs, but they have no idea what to do next.

It is to these business-savvy professionals in particular that I send a “virtual poke” to consider becoming an Online Business Manager.

…There are many online professionals who are already doing OBM level work for their clients but don’t realize it, and because of that are selling themselves short in the marketplace and even in the eyes of their current clients. OBMs in disguise usually come to realize that they are doing more than what the virtual assistant or online support role calls for. It’s like the administrative assistant who’s really acting as HR Manager. Or the Executive Assistant who’s slowly taken on duties of the former Vice President,

Operations, only hasn’t received the title or pay raise.

High time to make an adjustment, wouldn’t you say?

There are a lot of folks out there who are already providing OBM-level support, but haven’t formalized that role, and as such, aren’t being compensated properly.In the next section we will be diving into the role of the OBM, and what exactly they do for their clients.

If you find yourself saying, “Hey, that’s what I already do!” then you may be an OBM in disguise. You’ve probably always known that you are “doing a bit more,” but haven’t really been able to articulate it to yourself or your clients. If that is the case, this book will give you a new “shingle” to hang out for your business, so that you can officially take on this role and enjoy the satisfaction and compensation that come alongside.