Your online coaching business is your passion project. When your passion meets your purpose, this is where the magic and inspiration happen. After all, if you’re a coach, your goal is to inspire and guide others.
So who’s going to help you while you’re helping other people? Running and growing a business can be time-consuming. That’s why working with an online business manager (an OBM) could be the best decision you make for your business.
It’s an investment that you’ll thank yourself for time and time again. Your clients will thank you, too; after all, the less time you’re preoccupied with the day-to-day running of the business, the more time you have to help them achieve their goals.
But before rushing out and hiring the first OBM you find on Google, it’s important to think carefully about what your coaching business needs. Often online business managers are seen as virtual assistants, and in many cases, that’s all they are utilized as.
While a virtual assistant can be an invaluable addition to your online team, that’s not what the best OBMs are. We think it’s time to redefine the role of the online business manager to pave a new way for the business managers of tomorrow.
Many online managers are hired to relieve you as the business owner of the many tasks on your to-do list. Whether it’s managing your overflowing email inbox, scheduling social media posts or updating a website, handing over these tasks to someone else can give you some much-needed space to focus on your specialism.
So much for handing over some tasks; most of us are totally comfortable doing this. But how about handing over some control? This is where many of us small business owners get worried. Giving someone else the responsibility for your online business can be, put it bluntly, pretty terrifying.
However, it’s also a vital part of growing a business. When you get down to it, you have to let go of some control, to gain control. This is why your online coaching business needs more than just the traditional interpretation of an OBM. Your business needs an online manager who is specialized, passionate and driven. After all, when it comes to the vision-driven coaching industry, it’s important to work with someone as passionate and knowledgeable about it as you are.
You’ll want a manager who takes initiative. Often it’s the process of making decisions that end up sucking up all your time. If you’ve only hired an online manager to complete tasks, you’ll still be spending lots of time delegating and explaining things. On the other hand, take on an online business manager with experience in your industry, and you’ll be amazed at how much time you free up to focus on your coaching.
A specialized online business manager will be proactive and able to take the initiative where necessary. Their experience enables them to grasp the big picture of your online business quickly; they help you have oversight of all the puzzle pieces. With this understanding of your vision and strategy, they’re well placed to make decisions that benefit your business.
You’ll want a manager who can ensure your dream become a concrete reality. You’ve trained as a coach, and that’s where your passion lies. An OBM who goes above and beyond the conventional online business manager role will help you take this passion and your big ideas and turn them into a tangible plan.
Let’s face it; your online coaching business doesn’t necessarily need someone doing all the admin (as useful as that is!). It needs someone who can take your vision and implement it so that there’s a coherent strategy. It’s both inspiring and enjoyable to bounce ideas off someone else, particularly someone who’s as invested in your industry as you are – so why can’t that someone else be an online business manager?
You’ll want a manager who can give you advice. We talk a lot about the importance of trust in the relationship between a business owner and an online business manager. Learning to trust an OBM is the most important step in redefining the role of a business manager. That’s what makes the role from a helping hand to a collaborator and guide.
Of course, your OBM is working within and towards your vision, but they also bring extensive experience of their own. They can draw on this not only to give you support but to give you advice. This advice could help you grow, could help you develop your skills and could take you out of your comfort zone – this is always a positive thing.
To thrive in what we call your zone of genius, you need a positive and enthusiastic online business manager with a solid skill set. Redefining this role means understanding that an OBM is not only a ‘doer’; they’re a manager, a thinker, and a collaborator.
To strengthen your online coaching business, you want someone who has experience in building an online presence and who believes in the work that you do. You have been showing up every day to create your business. With a business manager, you’ll still need to do that, but now someone else will be showing up too.
You need more than an OBM so you can maximize your success, consolidate your brand and help your clients be the best they can be. Take the leap and help create a path for business managers in the future at the same time as ensuring a strong and successful coaching business.
