Do I need a Virtual Assistant, an Online Business Manager, or a Coach?
People often come to me wanting to delegate tasks but are not quite sure if our virtual assistant or business manager services would fill that need. Or they might be looking for a business coach. They quickly learn what they’re looking for is doable — but it is helpful to know which of the three are needed.
When you're starting out in your service-based business, you have this great idea! You are going to meet a need, serve a purpose, and/or serve someone else. You found the thing that you love to do and you just want to keep doing that over and over again. Isn’t that such a great feeling?! You get into a groove serving and fulfilling your purpose, but there are so many other hats to wear while running the show. Most people don’t get into business wanting to do their bookkeeping, set up a website, or track contacts and leads.
A lot of these tasks are operations, marketing, or admin related that we as CEOs and founders tend to take on.
Then, it gets to the point where you've had some success! You have an amazing offer, you have new clients, people are working with you, and then you get to a point where you are so swamped. You're busy, and it's like the restaurant owner who can't ever take a vacation. We all know someone in that boat, right? You're so invested in your business and you're the one pushing all the buttons.
Here at Bright Moments, we help other service businesses in so many ways. We make sure their systems are streamlined, we help them plan out what's needed, we put it all into place to both alleviate the stress of pushing all the buttons, but also to grow their business.
I say this all the time: Any successful business does not have just one employee.
There’s not one individual person running any super successful business. There are lots of people — it's a team effort. And as you grow, you start to recognize that there are things you don't really want to do, some things you're not great at, and some you need to delegate away.
What does that mean for you?
In our business, we have people that come to us and ask “When am I ready for a virtual assistant?” “When will I want an online business manager?” or “Do I need a business coach?”
When do you do start to explore the idea of having support for you and your team with those 3 categories?
Virtual Assistants
One of the very first hires most businesses make, especially online businesses, is a virtual assistant.
You can certainly hire internally, but it's more cost-effective to hire out to either a subcontractor or a service provider. But what exactly IS a virtual assistant (VA)?
A VA really can help with those day-to-day tasks to lighten the load. Our VAs on the Bright Moments team handle a lot of basic administrative tasks like copywriting, website maintenance, social media scheduling, or email newsletters — those repetitive tasks and things that need to get done that you don't want to spend time doing.
That’s the first outside hire I would make for a growing online business, but not the only one.
Online Business Managers
How is an online business manager different from a virtual assistant?
Online business managers (sometimes referred to as OBMs) might be a new term to some of you. This is a person that will help see your vision through fresh eyes and map out that plan to bring your vision to reality.
Business managers can often fill the role of a project manager but with more skills, like seeing what your systems are doing, where those gaps are in the systems, and create an action plan and standard operating procedures. They're the person that gets really into the details of what's happening, setting up either a template or updating your systems to make sure that things are running the way you want them to go.
An OBM, such as myself, may have their own virtual assistants. Or they might coordinate with someone that's already on your team, or they might source a VA for you. Typically they have suggestions on how to delegate the day-to-day tasks to your team.
An online business manager is typically a person who coordinates routinely with you. It is someone you talk with regularly. They coordinate the project management and the virtual assistants they manage are the implementors. They're typically systems experts — they optimize, streamline, and automate all of those things that need to happen to keep things running smoothly for your business.
Really, they're the ones that translate your goals and vision into what needs to happen to achieve them.
Business Coaches
How is a business coach different than a business manager?
There are so many differences! Most of our clients are actually business coaches, and I know many of you have had some interaction or have worked with a business coach at some point. You might even be one yourself! This can be as crucial a cog in your business as an online business manager because it's different from the other two.
The VA is the implementer or the doer, you can assign tasks to lighten your load. The OBM focuses on managing your team and keeping you focused on projects that are aligned with your vision.
But what do you do if you're not really clear on what your goals or vision are?
If you're thinking through long-term goals and ideas that are more of an eagle-eyed view of your business, or you're ready to move to the next level in your business but you're not quite sure exactly the next steps to do, that's when a business coach is your ideal next expense.
A business coach is more like a mentor for you and your team. They're going to be able to push you, hold you accountable, and get through any fears and limitations that you might have about growing your business. They will have often suggestions and different ways of doing things, or tips and tricks. They'll help you find your vision or hone in on it.
so which is best for you?
If you're a solopreneur who hasn’t grown their team yet, and you're really thinking about which steps to make next: Think about those types of roles and what you would really want out of each of those three positions.
Play a game with me: Imagine you are hiring and adding 3 people to your team into those positions. Make a list of who they might be and what are specific tasks you need from them. Then, you'll have a clear sense of who to talk to and questions to ask when you get in contact with them. Similar to any other job interview, you want to be clear about your needs and if they are a good fit.
If you're really just starting off and looking at a virtual assistant only, I would highly recommend asking your colleagues and fellow business owners you know who have raved about their VAs. If you’re new to the virtual assistant world, just contact me!
Still have questions? Let me know! It can be as detailed of a question as “What should I expect to pay for a virtual assistant?” and “How do I go about hiring them and what do I ask in interviews?” to “Do I have to interview everyone?” or “What is expected from an onboarding standpoint?”