6 Signs your Business is Ready for an Online Business Manager (OBM)

I get it. There is a lot of advice out there when it comes to running and growing your business. Everyone has an opinion about what worked best for them and what will work best for your business. Your baby.

You know you need more help in order for your business to continue growing. For it to reach the goals you’ve set for it this year. But where do you start? It is a matter of bringing a few more VAs onto your team? Or do you need something more? 

You are seriously hustling trying to keep things moving ahead and you think you can hold on a little longer. 

At the same time, the thought of “just hanging on” instead of thriving and stepping into that Digital CEO role you envision for yourself has you feeling deflated. You know in your heart that you need more than a few new VAs to really take your business to the next level.

Maybe you’ve already heard about what an online business manager (OBM) does and it sounds like something that you need in your business. You’d love to get some of that admin work off your plate. You’d love to spend more time doing the things that truly light you up. 

That is what truly makes your heart sing - having a successful & growing business where you only have to do what you love the most. With someone else leveraging your vision & work to scale the business significantly.

You know bringing someone on in this role is an inevitability in your business, especially at the rate you’re growing. But your big question is, how do I know if it’s the right time to add an online business manager to my team?

Each business is inherently different and hits different milestones at different times. But there are some significant signs that your business has reached the tipping point that signals that it’s time to bring on an Online Business Manager (OBM).

You have a super successful business but you’re still hustling hard, too hard, just trying to keep things moving forward

You’re on track for your first, or next, 6-7 figure year (hell ya!) and you’re never felt more excited about your business. You’re clear on your vision and how you’ll get there. Or maybe you’re working with a coach to figure that out but you know your business is destined for great things. 

You’ve got some killer ideas to up-level your business even further and you’re currently trying to find time to implement. You’ve got tons of balls in the air and even though you have a team supporting you, you’re exhausted trying to both grow the business AND keep the wheels on the bus.

You’re craving more time to work on the creative, strategic projects. Your business is craving it too.

Your strategy & vision is what got you to where your business is today and it is your strategy & vision that will keep the business on its current growth trajectory.

Did we already mention how hard it is to balance the Strategy & Vision with the How/Doing part of the business? They use two very different parts of the brain. And it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to do both things really well at the same time.

Because a lot of the Doing in your business has a sense of urgency (hello fire drills!) often the creative aspects of the business, the ones that require higher levels of thinking and generate even more revenue, are put on hold while the more urgent things get addressed. 

As the business owner, the strategy & vision are projects that you, and only you, can do so you need to devote serious time to those projects. The rest can, and should, be handled by someone else.

You’re tired of barely making, or even missing, your target goals and desired launch dates for new products & promotions

Are all your launches like a race to the finish, leaving everyone doubled over & completely exhausted in need of a serious vacation? You know you can do this launch thing better. You know you NEED to do it better. These chaotic launches are not sustainable for you, or for your team.

No matter how hard you try to launch within your timelines, things slip through the cracks. And it’s frustrating because it’s not like you aren’t trying.

You need a detail-oriented project manager. And not just any project manager.

You need one that takes your big ideas and turns them into plans that get completed & launched on time & on budget, easily & effortlessly. A project manager on steroids that take most of the “doing” off your plate so you can focus on creating new revenue streams and converting prospects.

You know you need to build your team but don’t have time to vet rockstar employees. And even if you did you wouldn’t know where to start.

You and the rest of your team are so busy getting things done that the thought of the hiring process - carving out the exact role(s) your business needs, creating job descriptions, searching for & finding the most aligned candidates AND onboarding these rockstars-- makes you nervous because that is a lot of time that you don’t really have.

You just want someone, an amazing team member, to start. You don’t care too much about all that goes into finding them and bringing them on board.

You realize that even if you make the final hiring decisions, there is a lot of “busy work” around building a team that you can delegate when it comes to finding the perfect additions to your team.

You cringe at the thought of anyone else looking “under the hood” of your business. Shit gets done but it’s not always pretty.

Sure, work gets done and it cash money is flowing into your business big time. That’s why your business is as successful as it is. But there isn’t a ton of organization around systems & processes. It isn’t your strength, and that’s ok.

You know there are probably bottlenecks in current processes but you aren’t sure what they are or how to find them. Or maybe you’ve found them but you don’t have the bandwidth to address them properly and need some help to get to the bottom of it. 

Perhaps everyone kind of has their own way of doing things which is great because the team is empowered to get the work done. But you know if you want to get your business to the next level, you need to systematize & automate your business.

If someone left your team suddenly, you’d be in trouble because the “How” behind the work they do exists in their head, and only in their head.

You’re ready to invest in the resources to scale your business to the next level

After periods of serious growth, you’re ready to find a new, sustainable balance in your life around work and, well, not-work. You are ready to create a life where your business thrives and you aren’t glued to your computer all day, every day.

You’re ready to truly step into the Digital CEO role that your business needs. And that means delegating the parts of your business that are not in your Zone of Genius.

An online business manager (OBM) will take all the “doing” off your plate so you can focus on your business vision, strategy, and how to bring in more revenue than ever before.

What do you think? Is your business ready for an OBM?

Whether you’re ready to jump on in, or you’d like to chat to see if it truly is your time to uplevel your business, we’d love to hear from you. Click here to learn more.