I am very happy to be able to participate in Tina Forsyth’s blog book tour for the launch of her book, Becoming an Online Business Manager: Playing a Bigger Game with Your Clients (and Yourself).

I wanted to share with my readers the conversation I had with Tina to find out more about the book, enjoy!

(1) So Tina, can you describe for posterity’s sake the ‘eureka’ moment when the concept of ‘Online Business Management’ came to you?

After my stint as Event Manager for CoachVille ended in 2003, I started doing similar ‘higher’ level work for some new clients - taking on bigger projects and management of various elements of their virtually based businesses. I knew that this wasn’t the ‘traditional’ role of a virtual assistant, and so we coined the phrase Online Business Manager (OBM) as a way to describe this role. Business owners were (and still are) looking for a higher level of support and an OBM is ideally suited to fill that need.

(2) I don’t think many people know how in demand you have been over the last 5 years. As your business partner I certainly see it, but I would love for you to share a little of that experience. The lack of online business management skills such as you have is one of the reasons you wrote this book right?

I have had the idea for this book for a number of years now, and was originally thinking that it would be targetted to the business owners who wanted to hire an OBM. I talk to business owners literally every week who are eager and excited about hiring an OBM, yet they have a hard time finding someone to fill that role. There are lots of great virtual professionals out there, but very few who are actively working at this level (yet).

Then it really clicked for me last fall - write the book for the people who want to BE an OBM! I know there are many great professionals out there, experienced virtual assistants in particular, who would love to play a bigger role with their clients. Some are already doing this level of work but haven’t formalized it with their clients, whereas others may have a ways to go before they can officially take the role on… regardless they now have a definition of the role and something they can work towards.

The book really serves both sides of the equation:

1. It gives the aspiring OBMs a bigger (and yes, more lucrative) role to play with their clients, which leads to…
2. More OBMs out there who are ready to start working with the many business owners who are eager to hire someone!

I’ve had people ask if they could clone me and then hire my clones, LOL! Writing this book is a close second to cloning - I wanted to share as much of ‘what I do’ as I could so that others can enjoy being an OBM as well.

(3) Speaking as an active in the trenches OBM yourself, what would you say are some examples of the most rewarding results you’ve helped create as an OBM?

For me the most rewarding results are those that truly would not have happened if the business owner did not have an OBM on board. A couple of years ago one of my clients was planning a big telesummit, and then had a personal crisis that took her focus away from the business. I took on ‘ownership’ of the telesummit, and made sure that we had all the pieces in place along the way so the telesummit would be a success - and it was. This particular client told me later that the telesummit simply would not have happened if I hadn’t been there to push things along. It’s funny, as I hadn’t even really thought of it along the way… I was just doing my job as OBM. And yet without an OBM on board the telesummit would have fizzled and probably not happened at all.

I also had a client tell me just this past week that having me on her team has been a huge relief for her. She recently did a big launch and said that she felt alot less stress simply knowing I was there to take care of things, answer questions, etc. This isn’t a tangible result per se, but I do consider it a very important result none the less. As I say in the book, the role of the OBM is ultimately to free up the business owner to do only the things they can do in their business - and to feel less stress as a result.

(4) What about the dark side of this story? What is the saddest thing you’ve observed happen in the online business world, that only a person in the role of OBM could be privy to?

I think the saddest thing that I’ve seen happen is when the OBM / business owner relationship falls apart because of differing expectations. We’ve witnessed this a few times, and it can be a pretty challenging situation for everyone involved. Being that the role of the OBM is quite new in the world of online business, not everyone really understands the responsibilities of both the OBM and the business owner when they enter into this kind of relationship. The business owner thinks that the OBM will do X, when the OBM doesn’t consider that to be part of their job… so things aren’t done and each side blames the other. Ick!

It is SO important that both the OBM and the business owner have the same expectations of this role if they are going to work at this level. I’ve already been getting this kind of feedback from business owners who have ready the book and are saying ‘Yes! Now I finally understand the role of the OBM… where do I find one?’. I highly recommend that both sides read the book before they enter into this relationship, so they can agree on the responsibilities of both parties and have a smooth and enjoyable experience.

(5) I know you say in your book that becoming an OBM - or even hiring an OBM - is NOT for everyone. What are the key skills or competencies needed for anyone to even consider either?

The foundation of becoming an OBM is what I like to call having a marketing mindset. I get into this in greater detail in the book, but essentially a marketing mindset is about being able to think strategically on behalf of your client’s business. You need to really enjoy and understand online business - otherwise the role of the OBM will become a burden. And there are of course the four main ‘management to-dos’ of the OBM (project, operations, people and money) - which you need to understand and have experience in. As an OBM your focus and responsibility is now on ‘growing the business’, not on ‘doing stuff’, and you need to be inspired by that.

And if you are looking to hire an OBM you need to make sure that you have a clearly defined and proven business model that is already making money. The purpose of hiring an OBM is to take an already successful business to the next level. If they are a brand new business or are struggling, an OBM is a bad idea. An OBM is an accelerant or catalyst that can create great results, but needs a foundation to stand on. Asking a client who isn’t already experiencing a modicum of success to take on an OBM can be like asking a kayak to go out into the wide open ocean – it’s way too much too soon. The business owner needs to get their business established first before they bring on an OBM.

You can get a copy of Tina’s new book at www.BecominganOBM.com.

Next stop on the tour is Donna Toothaker at 1st VA.

Twitter This

Username: Password: