As Online Business Managers we always have so much on the go – new clients, current clients, new technology, new strategies, new ideas and from time-to-time… new headaches. Join Tina Forsyth for this open style member-only Q&A call – we are opening up the lines for you to ask a question and get an answer so as to be able to move forward quickly.

What is weighing on your mind? Causing you to feel frustrated or stuck? What do you wish you knew right now? Looking for new tools or tips? This is an ‘anything goes’ call – we are open to all of your questions from A to Z - so bring ‘em on.

This class is hosted by Tina Forsyth, Founder of the International Association of Online Business Managers.

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 at support@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

• Do you feel like you’re stuck in your business and you’re not sure why?
• Wonder why you aren’t making the kind of revenue you thought you would make?
• Not sure how to get new clients or more referrals regularly and consistently?

Regardless of what type of financial situation you’re in, many people struggle because of lack of love in their life… love and support for or by a significant other, love and confidence in yourself or love for life in general.

It may not be something you think about very often in regards to your own success as an Online Business Manager, but lack of love in any capacity can surely hold you back from creating the success, growth and income that you and your clients deserve.

In this talk we learned:

• Multiple Ways to Think Bigger and Go After What You Really Want
• The 7 SIMPLE STEPS to Loving Your Way to Big Money
• The ONE THING That’s More Important Than Any Marketing You’re Doing
• How to Uplevel Yourself to the Expert You’re Destined to Be

Our guest expert for this Member-Only call was Katrina Sawa of Jump Start your Marketing. Katrina is known as The JumpStart Your Biz Coach because she literally kicks her clients and their businesses into high gear.  She works with highly motivated women entrepreneurs that want to maximize and fast-track their business to make more money and enjoy more free time.  Katrina uses online and offline Relationship Marketing Systems & Strategies to leverage your resources, contacts and your expertise; plus she kicks you in the butt to implement it all too!

Audio Recording (60 mins) | Click Here for MP3
Handout for this Call | PDF

Take big steps to bigger success, passion, freedom and money by attending Kat’s Love and Money Business Summit happening November  11-14, 2009 in San Francisco. Read all about it at www.TheLoveandMoneySummit.com!

By being part of this teleclass, you get a special discount price to attend AND you get $2000 worth of bonuses!!! (And you can still bring a second person, assistant, significant other, etc. for only an extra $500 – you’ll find out more via email about that once you register.)

Download this BEFORE OCTOBER 26th AT MIDNIGHT!!! and fax it in to register to 208-723-4142. Click here for Registration Form:
www.ksawamarketing.com/pdf/LMBSVIP.pdf

(PAY WITH 1 OR 3 MONTHLY PAYMENTS TOO!) + first 3 people will get 30 min call with Kat

My Experience, I am a: Certified OBM

(More details coming soon.)

My Experience, I am a: Certified OBM

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

Ive been working online since: It was 2007 that I got started being online as the first AssistU-graduate VA in Japan. I have worked with several Japanese entrepreneurs (coaches, speakers, etc.) assisting their brand building, human network enlargement, speaking opportunity development, etc.

Why I love working as an OBM: I love to make my clients “bigger” or grow up together as a business partner who manages various things from figures to human issues - the OBM role is the one I can do everything I want to do.

My Strengths and Areas of Specialty: I always follow up with professionals who have different strengths and skills that I have. Right now most of those who are running their own businesses in Japan tend to handle everything like lone rangers - I can offer excellent help to them as a producer rather than assistant, in view of brand development, speaking/presentation opportunity making, drafting and refining documents/manuscripts, and much more.

My favorite kind of client to work with is…: (Now my client status is full, but I will be available on and after Jan 2010 since one of my clients will move to another step - will update my status then.)

My Business Goals for this year are: I am going to work with client(s) who need my bilingual ability, since present clients do not use it. Also I will build my practice more globally using big advantage of time difference (my time zone is 14 hours ahead of EST)…

My Experience, I am a: Certified OBM

My Client Intake status is: Open - I am looking to work with new clients

I’ve been working online since: I started working online as a VA in my own practice, Ideal Assistant Services, LLC, in January 2004. The expertise I gained in my years in corporate, combined with my years of working in supportive online roles, have been key factors to my success in transitioning from the role of VA to Online Business Manager.

I began my administrative career as a clerk in a small branch of a large import company. My organization skills, great attention to detail, and innovative ideas on how to get things done efficiently helped me stand out and gain the reputation as the ‘go to’ person in the office. In only six short years I worked my way up to Office Manager, and eventually Branch HR Manager.

I loved that job and stayed in the HR position for several years. However, I ultimately let it go so I could take some time off while my children were small. When I returned to the workforce I secured a job in a large pharmaceutical company which I expected to love, but strangely enough, didn’t. I found that I missed the challenges of working in a small business atmosphere and longed to use all of my skills to make a real difference in a company. That’s when I discovered virtual assistance, and I knew I had found my niche in life.

Since then I have worked with as many as five businesses at a time providing services ranging from online customer service, website updates, shopping cart setup and management and newsletter creation and management, to assisting with the creation of new info-products, assisting with marketing plans, writing website copy, editing and getting books published and much more.

When I read Tina Forsyth’s book “Becoming an Online Business Manager” in the spring of 2009 I identified with it immediately. I knew I was performing at this level for a few of my clients already, and decided that certification was the next logical step for me. I jumped in with both feet, and now here I am, certified and ready for new clients and new challenges!

Why I love working as an OBM: First and foremost I just love working with entrepreneurs. In my opinion, they’re the spice in the soup of the business world, and I love the innovativeness and vibrancy that comes with working with them.

But what I also love about being an OBM is that feeling of leaving something better than I found it. Part of the thrill for me is putting processes in place that make businesses run smoothly with little chance for error. I always dissect projects from the desired end-result backwards with the goal to determine how to set it up efficiently and intelligently from the beginning. When I’m done with something, it gives me great satisfaction to know that it will continue to run like a well-oiled machine long after I am no longer involved with it.

My Strengths and Areas of Specialty: Some of my strengths are:

• My ability to see the details surrounding big projects and break them down into small projects that can be managed easily;
• Setting up processes that work well in a team environment
• Collaborating with business owners about “what’s next,” creating a to do list from the brainstorming session and managing the tasks;

I also love:

• Working with shopping carts
• Creating brochures and PowerPoint presentations
• Managing newsletters
• and lots of other administrative tasks.

I’m also well-versed in eCommerce and have studied the programs of well-known online marketers.

My clients hire me because of my ability to help them develop strategies and manage the resources that will grow their businesses, as well as my exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and my “can-do” attitude.

My favorite kind of client to work with is…: My ideal clients are willing to share the vision of their business with me and want me to help them achieve it. They should be successful in, and passionate about, their chosen field; have specific business goals and a plan to reach them; have high standards for their lives and businesses; be honest and live a life of integrity; and be trustworthy and also able to trust. They should also know that they are able to delegate tasks and responsibilities and trust that they are being taken care of.

In addition, I appreciate regular communication, being told when a job is well done, and any and all feedback on projects and tasks. I do not need to be micro-managed, but I do require feedback to ensure that I’m meeting (preferably exceeding) expectations.

My Business Goals for this year are: To be working as an Online Business Manager for a few select entrepreneurs who fit my ideal client profile. I would like to be managing their teams, product launches and marketing plans as well as collaborating with them on how to increase the profitability of their businesses.

I would also like to continue to learn at the feet of the big names in eCommerce and add people to my team who are experts in copywriting, graphic design and marketing via social media.

• Do you feel like you’re stuck in your business and you’re not sure why?
• Wonder why you aren’t making the kind of revenue you thought you would make?
• Not sure how to get new clients or more referrals regularly and consistently?

Regardless of what type of financial situation you’re in, many people struggle because of lack of love in their life… love and support for or by a significant other, love and confidence in yourself or love for life in general.

It may not be something you think about very often in regards to your own success as an Online Business Manager, but lack of love in any capacity can surely hold you back from creating the success, growth and income that you and your clients deserve.

In this talk you will learn:

• Multiple Ways to Think Bigger and Go After What You Really Want
• The 7 SIMPLE STEPS to Loving Your Way to Big Money
• The ONE THING That’s More Important Than Any Marketing You’re Doing
• How to Uplevel Yourself to the Expert You’re Destined to Be

Our guest expert for this Member-Only call is Katrina Sawa of Jump Start your Marketing. Katrina is known as The JumpStart Your Biz Coach because she literally kicks her clients and their businesses into high gear.  She works with highly motivated women entrepreneurs that want to maximize and fast-track their business to make more money and enjoy more free time.  Katrina uses online and offline Relationship Marketing Systems & Strategies to leverage your resources, contacts and your expertise; plus she kicks you in the butt to implement it all too!

IAOBM Members: You can access the recording for this call in the Member Area.

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

As an Online Business Manager your ultimate goal is to free up the business owner so that they can focus their time and energy on the things that only THEY can do in their business. In order to do this we need to really understand the business owner themselves, what their biggest challenges are and how to work together to create the best business possible. Once you truly understand your client’s perspective it becomes much easier to create a strong and sustainable working relationship.

On this call, we learned:

• Who your ideal client really is (and who to avoid like the plague)
• The 10 most commons scenarios that keep clients stuck in their business
• The 3 Keys to getting off on the right foot with your client
• The “Not-so-Obvious” task list that your client doesn’t even know they need
• Secrets to keeping your working relationship sane, profitable and happy

Our guest expert for this Member-Only call is Melanie Benson Strick of Success Connections. As The Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach Melanie works exclusively with entrepreneurs who are ready to put the power of leverage to work and create a “sustainable” lifestyle business. She is also the founder of the Virtual Team Building Tele-Bootcamp where she teaches business owners how to grow their business through delegation and outsourcing.

Audio Recording (60 mins) | Click Here for MP3

My Experience, I am a: Certified OBM

My Client Intake status is: Open - I am looking to work with new clients

I’ve been working online since: September 2007. It all began with a dream…

Sometimes we wish, hope and dream, but are so busy with the hustle and bustle of life, that our eyes are too wide shut to even realize how many of our dreams have come true, then multiplied and created new ones. Martin Luther King had a dream and we all woke up to find the first African American President in the White House. In order for his dream to come true, many dreams had to die and be dreamed again. My dream? I haven’t fully awakened yet. But, my dream is for my innovative Virtual Assistance practice (My Virtual Genie) to grant the dreams of others.

Here’s a preview of what’s happened so far:

I dreamed of becoming a successful songwriter. When I awoke I owned my own music publishing and production company. I dreamed of being a fierce hip-hop choreographer. When I awoke, I’d launched the first hip-hop dance team in college, landed a gig as a choreographer for a record label in Detroit, MI and taught hip-hop dance to kids in underprivileged elementary schools for a grass roots charity. I dreamed of escaping the nightmarish realities of my upbringing and surroundings. When I awoke, I met a soldier, got married and moved to a castle in Germany (a girl can dream can’t she?). I dreamed of finding my purpose. When I awoke, I was in Upstate New York in school and working full time while my husband served his country in Iraq. I dreamed of growing. When I awoke, I was in Kansas giving birth to my first child, and a new business (My Virtual Genie). I dreamed of success beyond measure. When I awoke, my husband was deploying again, I was pregnant again and my mom had passed. I stayed up for a while fearing what would happen if I dreamed again. Unable to fight it, I fell asleep and dreamed of making a difference. When I awoke, my husband was home, I had two beautiful boys, my business was gaining momentum, I met some inspiring people and made a vow to never stop dreaming. My most recent dream came last night. I dreamed of using my God-given gifts and talents to make a difference in the lives of others.

I’m still waking up so I can’t tell you everything. I can tell you that my husband is re-enlisted. We now live in Alabama and My Virtual Genie is transitioning from a Virtual Assistance company to an Online Business Management Company (woohoo!). I have to tell you, I am really anxious to fully wake up and when I do, I’ll tell you all about how this dream came true and who knows, maybe you’ll be a part of it!

Why I love working as an OBM: I am a creative and helpful spirit by nature and working as an Online Business Manager allows me the opportunity to help business owners paint a picture of success in innovative and challenging ways! I am a “knowledge connoisseur” and love to convert my arsenal of information into tangible results that improve the lives and business goals of my clients.

My Strengths and Areas of Specialty: I have been told I have a “great marketing mind”! (I don’t know about “great” but, I do excel at using my creativity and organizational skills to enhance branding presentation. My professionalism and warmth lend themselves to the cultivation of positive communication between myself, clients and partners.

I am great at learning complex systems and technologies and using them to effect business progression.

People usually hire me for my ability to provide “growth oriented support” that is always seeking, freeing and inspiring.

My favorite kind of client to work with is…: I love to work with dreamers and visionaries who know there is a way to make it happen but just aren’t sure how. I also enjoy working with speakers and coaches who are looking to productize their message, increasing their success while improving the lives and careers of thousands more..

I love to work with small businesses and soloprenuers who are open to infinite possibilities of success on their terms!

My Business Goals for this year are: To practice what I preach. I will repackage and optimize my businesses online presence with the same Online Business Management techniques I will use for my clients.

I also plan to land 2 OBM clients by Christmas…And just enjoying learning things, meeting/helping people and this amazing new ride and career path!

Let’s give a round of applause to:

Charly Alexander

Denise Milligan

Donna Frindt

Heike Miller

Janet E. Smith

These ladies tackled our admittedly tough Certification process last week and came out shining, and so it is our absolute pleasure to award them the designation of Certified Online Business Manager. Feel free to click their names to learn more about these truly talented women (and yes, they are available for hire.)

Our next Certification Week starts September 28th, getting ready for round 2!

Do you want to hire an Online Business Manager? We’ve just launched a brand new Request for Proposal (RFP) system at the International Association of Online Business Managers. Along with browsing our member profiles in the OBM Directory, you now have the option of completing an RFP form and sending your information directly to our members… who will then be able to apply directly to you if there is a fit.

Get to the front of the line and be one of the first to submit your RFP here.

A good Online Business Manager will present you with solutions and not just options.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you are Bob, a business owner who is looking for some help with picking a new broadcasting system for your newsletter. You aren’t happy with the one you have now and want to change it.

You ask a member of your team Suzy to look into this for you. Here are two potential responses that i’ve seen in this type of situation.

Response #1:

Hi Bob

I did some research and found some broadcasting systems that look pretty good. Here is a list of what I found:

[insert big list of URLs here]

Which did you want to use?

Suzy

Response #2:

Hi Bob

I did some research and found some broadcasting systems that look pretty good. I found a number of systems and these are the ones I took a good look at:

Option 1 is great because of ABC, however they don’t have D which I wish they did. Otherwise I quite liked it, would be easy to import and start using.

Option 2 could totally work, they do have D but don’t seem to be quite as robust as Option 1. Plus they have a pretty stringent re-opt in requirement when importing a list which could mean losing subscribers.

Option 3 could work as well, they seem to have great features however i’ve heard of some deliverability issues with them so I hesitate to use them.

My suggestion would be to go with Option 1 - I know of a number of people using this system and they are quite happy with it.

Let me know your thoughts? If you agree I can get started on a plan to move the list of Option 1… or if you have further questions I can look into those as well.

Suzy

Now putting yourself in the shoes of Bob - which response would you prefer to receive? I’m guessing you picked #2, but of course.

The difference in these two responses is obvious - and the reason why this is so important is that you are making it EASY for a decision to be made. Theoretically yes, the second response could (and in a real response probably would) go much deeper… however you can see in the example the focus on providing the best solution.

Business owners already have enough on their plates - and when you send a response of options (such as in #1) that just gives them more work to do. That kind of response is asking me to go to each site and check things out on my own… which most business owners don’t have the time or inclination to do!

In response #2 everything has been laid out, so that I can take a quick peek and immediately be able to respond with “yes, lets do it” or “hmmm, what about X… can you look into that for me?” No more work on my plate, and progress is made.

I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again (like a broken record, hehe). The role of the Online Business Manager is to take things off the business owners plate, so they are free to do the things only they can do in their business (marketing, strategy, development and such.)

And this includes lightening the ‘burden’ of making decisions as well as regular ole to-dos. Present your clients with solutions so that the decision making process is quick and easy. Don’t let them get ‘buried’ in having to figure things out on their own (and run the risk of not making a decision at all.)

Comments, thoughts?