Join your host, Jillian Dolberry, your “pocket online business manager,” in bi-weekly episodes of The Grace-Filled CEO podcast, the resource you’ve been waiting for to manage all the parts of your life.
Jillian speaks directly to the woman wearing many hats (you know you’re living at least some of them): mom, wife, and caretaker… or boss, a writer, a daughter, a sister, a friend, even a CEO. If you’re going to succeed at any or all of them, it’s going to take a lot of work! And Jillian is here to show you exactly how, with timely conversations and solid resources, sprinkled with a little grace for you, your work, and all of the roles you fill! Find this and more on The Grace-Filled CEO podcast.
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You are listening to episode number 9 of “The Grace-Filled CEO” podcast. Have you ever felt like you were doing too many things in your business like you knew you needed to outsource something but you're not sure what? But you know you just want to be the CEO and do CEO things like all the other CEOs! Well I hear your sister. An online business manager is who you are looking for. Still unsure how an OBM can help? Grab a cup of coffee, lean in and let's chat about it.
Now before we get into today's topic, This episode is brought to you by my deep love for ClickUp, a project management software that can not only help plan your projects, but get more done, provide reports, automation, and so much more. I seriously love it so much. If you want to check it out, head over to my website: jilliandolberry.com/resources to learn more.
While it may be a new concept for some, online business managers have been around for a while and take all shapes and specialties. Some OBMs only offer VIP days, or project builds, or are launch specialists, or are in your business in the day to day. It's very likely that there is an OBM to fit whatever need you have.
If you are to the point where you are thinking about hiring an OBM, you have already decided that your time is too valuable to do all the things. So, you are ready to figure out how to gain some of your time back whether that be through outsourcing or delegating. You may be listening today, and you have an OBM and you are wondering all the ways you can use them! Well today I'm going to walk through 7 ways an OBM can create more time for you and help you feel more joy in your business.
Let's jump in.
One of the ways and OBM can take a load off your plate is through managing projects for you.
You may come to a point in time in your business where you feel like there are too many things going on and you just need help managing some of it. Hey service providers, I am talking to you! An OBM can help you manage client projects. But they're not limited to that. Maybe there are internal projects you team is working on. they can help manage those as well.
Success could look like having an OPM oversee the day-to-day details of what needs to happen and making sure that those tasks are assigned to the right person and are getting completed to keep the project on track.
A question you might have is can I just hire a project manager instead of an OBM?
And the answer is absolutely.
A project manager can help with these things. The downfall to hiring a project manager instead of an OBM is that when you hire a project manager, they are focused only on managing your projects – that is there job! Where they typically draw the line is managing your team being able to build systems and processes and being able to offer real time strategy when it’s needed. I have been in a project management role where I was just a project manager and I was definitely tempted to do more in that role, but there’s a pretty big difference in the responsibilities and in the cost of a project manager versus an OBM. So, when you think about what the needs are in your business and where you’re needing additional support think about the big picture not just the here and now. This will help you determine if you just need a project manager or if an OBM would be a better fit.
An OBM can help you manage your team and hire.
When working with business owners sometimes the question I hear the most is I don’t even know where to start with hiring. Even if they’ve hired before they still don’t even know where to start because it just feels like such a big thing.
Putting out the job posting making sure that there’s follow up managing the candidates developing contracts, sending zoom links to schedule interviews, carving out time for the interviews, work samples on top of just trying to find the right person and the best fit for your company.
An OBM can manage the entire process for you and plan out what needs to happen when. They can create a process when one doesn't exist yet and make it a smooth transition for you, your team, and the new hire. They can either tag team the interviews with you or maybe it works out better for the OBM to take the first round of interviews and narrow it down to a couple of people so that you don’t have to spend all of your time in 10+ interviews and you’re more focused on the best people for the job. And OBM will also help you onboard this new team member and can put together a system for you that is general enough for you to onboard anyone into any role seamlessly.
And just a glimpse behind the curtain the biggest benefit that I’ve heard from business owners is that they don’t have to do it alone. They’ve got someone else who has good judgment and who is evaluating this person by skill and culture fit. Having someone to bounce those thoughts off of and make sure that it passes the test for both people is huge and can really eliminate a lot of stress.
As for managing your team, the more people you bring on to make the magic happen in your business, the more time you will be spending supporting them. Ideally, once you train someone, we can think that support is a little more hands off and that's true for the parts of their role that pertain to the business. But the parts of the role that lie within the relationship between Business owner and employee, or CEO and contractor, those take time. It takes time to care for people well and create a standard of support for you team, just like you would your clients. Which is a great segway into the next one…
An OBM can help you manage daily operations in your business.
Sometimes it can be really exhausting making sure everyone on your team has everything they need to be successful especially when there are a lot of questions. Or maybe it’s making sure that all the projects are on the right track or that the big launch you have coming up is up to date with all the right information. When someone other than you can have a pulse on where your business is at all times and have a pulse on where your team is, your capacity grows. Because you know that it’s not just you and it doesn’t all fall on you to make sure everything is the way that it needs to be.
Just an example of this…In one of the teams that I manage we are very aware of when someone’s (either a client or a team member) going through something personally because we check in often with each person – again to have a pulse. It could be something joyous or it could be something really hard…But typically one of us catches this so we communicate, and we make sure that each team member and each client are cared for. We make sure that flowers are sent cards are sent condolences are sent, because one of the greatest gifts you can give your team and clients is making them feel seen. When you’re overwhelmed in your business day-to-day operations are sacrificed and having that pulse is really hard to nail down. But when you’re able to bring someone on to help you with that to make sure everything is going the way that it should and everything is running smoothly you were going to be able to breathe deep and knowing that your people are taken care of, and so is your business.
An OBM can build out a system for you.
I feel like that sounds really simple but the value of it is huge. The way that this has worked in my client relationships is sometimes we build a system before it happens. And sometimes the system needs to be updated while it’s happening. And sometimes the system needs to be tweaked or built after it happens. Systems can sometimes get put on the back burner because if it’s not needed in that immediate moment, it’s something that you can do later and usually something that you end up not doing. When you hire an OBM they are proactive in creating the systems so before you could even say “I think we need a system for this” chances are they’re already in front of it. And a perk…. They know your business systems like the back of their hand so when you need to make a tweak or an adjustment or need to build a new one from scratch, they are going to have critical information and valuable strategy to build it. Not to mention they take it off your plate. I spend a good amount of my client work time working on systems. And often times when people inquire with me, they have shared that their business has grown faster than they have been able to build the systems for it. If you resonate with that the very best thing you can do for your business and your sanity, is hire someone to build out those systems for you.
An OBM can also build automations in your business.
An automation is something that happens without you knowing it. It’s like having invisible little minions working on your business and making sure things go smoothly while you’re sleeping. There are so many things you can automate in your business, and I highly recommend you find someone who is fluent in the programs you work with. My VA is a Dubsado specialist, and she has automated so many things for me. I can give her what I want to accomplish she’ll ask me a couple of questions about it and then she builds it (without me having to touch anything) and then the next time something happens that triggers that automation, all of those steps already queue up to happen without me even knowing it. It’s kind of magical. And now it’s just a small but mighty glimpse into what an OBM can do for you.
OBMs can manage special projects like launches or summits.
If you’ve ever been a part of a launch or a summit or some type of event, you know how much work goes into them and while they are technically “projects” they are their own animal. How much organization is required and how much needs to be done to execute it professionally and seamlessly is well… a lot. To do that on your own while you’re managing client work is enough to make you feel like you’re losing it. What’s great about having an OBM is that you bring the ideas and the strategy and the vision, and they plan out how it can be executed and then they organize your team to execute it. It’s actually a pretty beautiful thing. There are parts about these special events that need your touch, but you are able to pour in to your zone of genius for the special projects because someone else is handling the nitty gritty of it. How nice does that sound?!
Lastly, an OBM can lead your business while you’re away.
When your business is dependent upon you and you feel like you have to be present all the time or else everything stops, there is no margin for grief. There’s no margin for illness. There’s no margin for vacations.
So when you need to take a step away whether it’s for good reasons or reasons you wish weren't reasons, you need the ability to do that.
Having an OBM allows you to do that because you’ve got someone to manage your team and continue to care for your business like you would. You’ve got someone looking over your systems and making sure that things are removing slowly. You’ve got someone who’s a buffer between you and your business. Chances are when you started your business, it was just you. But then you hired people to help you and while that is such an accomplishment, there’s a huge sense of responsibility with it to.
If you’re not able to take a break when you need to take a break, then your business is not functioning the way that it should. When our businesses are new, they are going to take up more of our time but the older they get just like kids we have to put in the work to make them a little bit more self-sufficient. When you’re able to hire an OBM to help you take some of that management off your plate you’re able to take breaks from your business to then come back with a clear head and a sharper mind. And honestly probably a lot more passion.
Or maybe your story is that tragedy has happened, and you need to take a step back from your business to care for the people inside of your four walls. When you have someone in your business who can carry the burden of the day-to-day activities you’ve given yourself the gift of stepping away when you need to. That is something you cannot put a price tag on.
You don't have to take all of these 7 ways from me though…
Here is what JDOBM clients have to say…
Madison B. said, “I finally felt like I could be a CEO and say this is what I want, please make it happen and it does. You were consistent in your support and grace and firm when you needed to be and when I needed clear direction.”
Melissa said, ” I feel like you are going to make this a big girl company!”
Suu said “I’ve made more progress in the last two months than I have in the past two years!”
Madison W. said “Working with Jillian is a serious breath of fresh air. Running a business can be lonely and having someone at your right side is not only great for your business but for your sanity as well. Jillian always has a solution for a customer service issue and goes above and beyond to take care of me and my clients.”
Katie said “Jillian took the time to listen to me and was able to turn my jumbled ideas into an intentional process…”
One thing I can say about being an OBM is that nothing brings me more joy that supporting my CEO mamas. We all are in this wild ride of owning successful businesses and raising families. There is al much to distract us and steal our joy and our business should be one of those things. If you want to chat about this more reach out!
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