The tyranny of the urgent.
It’s a frustrating, time-draining problem and one that affects just about every small business owner. The only way to truly control the operational chaos is to build better processes and bring in the right kind of help.
The kind of help we mean is experienced help, from a professional like an OBM. They can build and help manage a better process, so you can get your time back.
OBMs do more than task support. They’re professionals who can help you run your team and organize projects for more seamless efficiency and fewer emergencies. So you can spend less time on email, admin, hiring, marketing, and in other areas.
Let’s take a closer look at what an Online Business Manager, or OBM, does and when you might need one for your small business.
What is an Online Business Manager (OBM)?
An Online Business Manager is a professional who works online to help you oversee the daily operations of your business. Despite the name, they don’t only work with online businesses, but their work is done virtually or digitally.
OBMs work mostly with small- to medium-sized businesses that sell products or services, including online or brick-and-mortar companies.
They’re not to be confused with Virtual Assistants, who focus on administrative tasks. OBMs have the experience to plan, execute and run projects; manage teams; and ensure smooth operations for day-to-day business.
This post can help you compare the two roles: OBM vs. VA: What’s the Difference and How to Choose.
What does an OBM do?
OBMs use their skills in areas that help a business grow: from general operations or projects, to tightening up lead follow-up, team management, and marketing. While some focus on specific areas, OBMs like us have experience in business administration, marketing, and team management.
Online Business Managers can help small businesses improve:
Operations & Systems
- Build Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs for better efficiency
- Improve workflow organization
- Suggest tools for better workflows
Team Management
- Coordinate delegation
- Improve employee accountability
- Hire more support and assign team roles
Marketing Execution
- Marketing planning
- Campaign coordination
- Content delivery for blogs or social media
- Product launch or campaign launch support
Project Strategy & Execution
- Turning ideas into plans
- Scheduling plans and assigning team members
- Overseeing execution
- Tracking progress
OBMs like us help businesses improve efficiency. Our best tool for this is a standard operating procedure, or SOP, as described in these posts:
How SOPs Can Be the MVPs of Your Business
The Top 3 SOPs to Get Your Business to the Next Level
Overall, an OBM can help you smooth out the bumps of daily business and give you time to plan your growth. Hire one on a temporary contract basis to set up projects or procedures that you can carry forward with your team, or work together on an ongoing basis for programs like marketing or project management.
Working with an OBM
Small business owners spend up to 8 hours a week, one full day, just managing email and nearly half of owners say inefficiency is their biggest challenge in operations, per a Business.com study.
They’re calling it a productivity crisis and we agree with the term. We’ve seen signs of it amongst many small business clients, where owners are overwhelmed with tasks that could be delegated or suffering the tyranny of the urgent, where they’re too busy putting out fires.
In one example of our OBM work, we helped a construction company coordinate their marketing. The business owners didn’t have the time or help to manage marketing. So with their goals in mind, we worked on a plan, created a procedure, and assigned each team member their part. This included a writer for blog posts and social media, a designer for promotional graphics, and an assistant to close the loop and schedule content for delivery. Each person did their part and signaled the next step in a project management system.
The result was more visibility, website traffic, and calls for their business, in a seamless process that lifted the burden off the owners’ shoulders.
Check out these posts for other examples:
3 Business Tasks You’ll Wish You Delegated Years Ago
How an OBM Can Help You Use AI for Your Small Business
When should small businesses hire an OBM?
Entrepreneurial life will always involve some level of chaos, but there are signs when it’s best to bring in help, especially if you want to scale up your business.
Consider hiring an OBM when:
- You’re ready to focus on growth
- Your business is growing too big (or too quickly) for you to continue as you are
- You’re ready financially
- You need more support at a professional level
We delve deeper into each reason in our post: When is it Time to Hire an OBM?
Or take our quiz! Are You Ready to Hire an Online Business Manager? (A Quiz)
When you might not need an OBM yet
We can give you advice and show you the signs of when it’s time to bring on an OBM, but we realize every business is different.
In general, it’s been our experience that businesses should wait to hire an OBM if they are:
- Solo or early startups without a clear direction or any systems in place (a VA might be more helpful here)
- Not earning a consistent enough revenue
- Running efficiently with a small team and a decent workflow (an extra admin could be enough to help with overflow)
- Happy with their current system or managing their current team
How an OBM helps your business grow
An OBM can help you step away from daily chaos and into more consistency, fewer fires and a team that knows their role and follows through.
Learn how with our posts:
Curious if an OBM is the right fit for your business? Take a look at our Online Business Manager Services or get in touch and we’ll talk it through.
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