The Online Business Manager’s Role in Helping You Grow Your Business | Episode 53

The Online Business Manager’s Role in Helping You Grow Your Business

If you want to take your business to the next level, bringing an online business manager onto your team can be exactly what you need. 

That’s why this week on the #PrettyAwkward Entrepreneur Podcast, I’m chatting with MY online business manager, Hayleigh Bailey, about her role in the Megan Yelaney Inc. team and how an online business manager can transform your biz too.

But before we dive on in, let me introduce myself. My name is Megan Yelaney, and I have built two six-figure businesses and one multi-six-figure business by fully embracing my authentic self and not trying to hide the quirks that make me, ME. Meanwhile, Hayleigh Bailey is an Online Business Manager who plays SUCH an important role in the Megan Yelaney team.

So if you’re a female entrepreneur looking to learn, grow your business strategies and mindset, and scale your biz to multiple six figures while having fun doing it…you’re in the right place, girl! Because I made this podcast exactly for YOU! 

And today, we’re talking ALL about the benefits of having an Online Business Manager, what to keep in mind when choosing one (or when choosing clients, if you’re an OBM) and more. And for even more deets on everything outlined below, be sure to tune in to episode 53 on your fave streaming platform.

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What to Know About Online Business Managers, Point #1: Hayleigh’s story of becoming my OBM and what to look for when hiring one.

To start out, I wanted Hayleigh to share her story. She started out as a virtual assistant because she had been traveling the world for three years with her partner. But then her partner was transitioning into coaching people how to become freelancers, and he helped her start out as a virtual assistant. Pretty soon, she found me – her “dream client” – right when she was considering opening up her virtual assistance agency. After about six months working with me, Hayleigh started transitioning to working as my OBM, which is a natural transition from being a virtual assistant after you’ve had a certain level of experience working with businesses. Then you can start to do that top-down work.

Now, I know it seems like finding the perfect OBM or the perfect virtual assistant is really hard to do and it can be in the beginning. When I was originally searching for someone, we went through several people, and I mostly blame my mindset. At the time, I was looking at a virtual assistant as a kind of “task rabbit,” even though I hate that term. I thought I just needed someone to do things, but that was a non-growth mindset. Instead, if I was going to actually have a multiple six-figure or seven-figure business, I needed to start acting like it and hiring people who wanted to grow with the company. 

But when I finally got into calls with three good candidates – including Hayleigh – I went into them with the mindset that I was going to hire based on how well this person fit into the company’s culture. I considered questions like: 

• Do we have similarities? 
• Do we have similar goals and values? 
• Could we hang out? Could we be friends? 

And I realized that was more important to me than hiring someone just because they could “do” specific tasks. After all, we’re constantly changing in our business, so I would rather have someone who is a quick learner and loves to learn. Hayleigh checked all of those boxes and I felt in my gut that she was a good choice, but I felt even more sure once I heard how excited Hayleigh was about our company and the direction we wanted to go in.

So often, people forget the importance of personality and the vibe you feel when you’re hiring someone. When you’re in the hiring process, you’ll often find virtual assistants who check eight out of ten boxes you want. And instead of looking for that ten out of ten, look for somebody who checks most of the boxes and also has the motivation to grow with you and your business.

The #Prettyawkward Entrepreneur Podcast

This podcast was created with YOU in mind.  The female entrepreneur looking to learn, and grow your business strategies and mindset, to get your business off the ground and scale to multiple six figures and have fun doing it.  To inspire and empower you to take the required action you’ve been putting off to create products and make sales.

Each week we will be covering topics that will help you start, grow and scale your business.  Some topics that you can expect to be covered include: 

• The top mistakes online entrepreneurs make when signing clients
• Strategies to grow your instagram engagement and connect 
• How to break through mindset blocks that are keeping you stuck in your business

I can’t wait to hear about what you learn, what makes you laugh, and what tips allow you to grow your business and brand as your authentic self.  
Stay #prettyawkward.

What to Know About Online Business Managers, Point #2: The importance of creating open communication and using your OBM for support.

I also always recommend creating an environment where your virtual assistant can ask as many questions as possible because you want them to learn and you want them to do their work right. When Hayleigh started with me, we established an open communication and a set of expectations. Because Hayleigh has her own agency of incredible virtual assistants, we wanted to make sure even those people were really excited too. 

I’ll never forget one of the first launches that we did together. Hayleigh was so excited about it, and that made me excited. And one really valuable part of our partnership is that Hayleigh doesn’t just get the things done that I need done. She was also checking in on me during the launch, asking, “How are you doing? Are you taking care of yourself? What else do you need?” Knowing that you have someone who you can lean on during those times makes a HUGE difference. 

Keep in mind that having an OBM or a virtual assistant is essentially like having a business bestie. It’s somebody that you’re working on your business with, and community and support is so important when you’re an entrepreneur, especially because loneliness is a common obstacle. So strive to find an OBM who understands the vision and the purpose and the bigger mission behind your business.

What to Know About Online Business Managers, Point #3: Four important points to keep in mind when hiring a virtual assistant or online business manager.

So what are some other points you should keep in mind if you need a virtual assistant? Here are some tips from Hayleigh and me:

1. In the virtual assistant world, referrals are king. So always go with somebody you’ve heard is really good and who has a lot of recommendations. Referrals are actually a good place to start compared to promoting a job opening, which can lead to you being flooded with applications. 
2. If no one in your network has a good VA or a VA that’s available, it’s time to create a job post. But while drafting it, create a list of what kind of software and processes and systems you use in your business and what you’re looking for in your VA (from experience to personality). Be super clear on exactly what you’re looking for because oftentimes, this makes us realize that we’re not actually looking for a virtual assistant. Sometimes it might be a social media manager or an online business manager. That’s when you can create a job application post and get a very clear message back from applicants.
3. Don’t go for the cheap VA. What you’re paying that person is what they’re giving back to your business. So if you make a bigger investment, they’re more likely to make a bigger investment in your business as well.
   1. And I KNOW this can be a challenging mindset to adopt. But the more money we spend on Hayleigh and her team, the more money we make, no question. And one of the biggest regrets I have in my business is not finding Hayleigh sooner. We would have been where we are now way quicker and it would have been way more fun. And if you’re having a hard time paying your VA more, consider how much YOU earn per hour. If you’re doing tasks that your VA could do for $35/hr when you’re worth $150/hr, outsourcing those tasks will save you money in the long-run and give YOU more time to focus on what you really do best.
4. Hire someone who really loves doing the tasks that you don’t love doing but need to be done.

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What to Know About Online Business Managers, Point #4: How the Six Figure Level Mastermind can help you hire the right VA and level-up your business.

Another tip to help you hire your first VA? Join my Six Figure Level Mastermind. You do have to apply. You must be making five thousand dollars a month in your business consistently, and the goal of this mastermind is to help you have 10K consistent months and multiple-six-figure years. One big step a lot of women take in the Mastermind is hire their first VA, and so Hayleigh is actually our second guest speaker this year. 

Hayleigh was part of the Mastermind last year as well, so I asked her to share a few thoughts on the experience:

• When you think of a mastermind, it’s not just about the coaching that you’re getting but also the community that you’re creating and the support you get in that community. 
• Masterminds can be intimidating, but when you sit down with those other members and talk about your business and where you’re at, you’ll realize all these girls are the same as you. We’re all in the same place of having our own business and working through challenges. We’re all just people. 
• Megan makes this Mastermind feel like a family. Obviously, there are certain things that don’t, but this Mastermind becomes such a trusted community. (And I just want to say that Hayleigh and the rest of my team help me tremendously in letting me show up and be in my zone of genius. I don’t have to worry that things are going to fall through the cracks, so I can just be there to coach. And when you’re scaling your business, you need to have someone on your team help you feel that way.)
• Also know that this Mastermind will help you take your business to the next level partly by teaching you how to hire a good VA and how to outsource your business. That is what is keeping so many amazing businesses from reaching that next level, but that also isn’t going to happen overnight. You need to know how to be a good leader first. For example, how are you going to delegate tasks to a virtual assistant? How are you going to grow your team? How are you going to feel comfortable to let your virtual assistants take over tasks that you’re used to doing? And having the support of your community and a Mastermind that will show you how other people are outsourcing or running their weekly meetings will help answer those questions and overcome the obstacles you’re sure to experience along the way.
• And finally…the best part about working for or with Megan is that everything she does comes from her heart. She doesn’t just want to make money. She wants to show up and inspire people to grow in ways they never thought were possible, not only in their businesses but also in their lives. And compared to other Masterminds that just give a cookie-cutter approach and offer a panel of experts, Megan listened to what people needed to hear before she invited people to speak. Megan is always wanting to keep an ear to the ground and hear what’s needed in her community and with her clients and to respond to that, and that makes working with her so special.

And I really can’t thank Hayleigh enough, not only for the work she does for the Megan Yelaney team but also for those really kind words. I think one of the reasons we’ve connected so deeply and been able to do so much is that we both aren’t just about income. We’re also always asking, “What does that income allow you to do?” 

One last thing I wanted to mention, too, was not only did we grow our income by five times in the last year since we hired Hayleigh, but we also created so many new products. Together, we’ve launched a ton of programs, including the Six Figure Level Mastermind. So if you’re interested in signing up for the Mastermind…apply here!

What to Know About Online Business Managers, Point #5: The importance of focusing on growth, setting realistic timelines for your team and putting systems and processes in place.

To close up this episode, it’s important to recommend that you focus less on perfection and more on growth. When you’re working with VA, don’t get bogged down by little mistakes. Because the real growth will happen when you’re open to mistakes and things not being an emergency all the time. Also remember that you’re the captain of your ship. You set the pace and you guide your VA on how you want them to show up in your business, how you want them to work, and what pace you want them to work at. And if they can’t rise up to that pace, it’s time to replace them.

However, you also need to set a realistic timeline. If you’re really excited about a new idea and want it done now, you also need to take responsibility for the fact that you’re throwing something at your team. So give them 24 hours to get it done, for instance. And a lot of times, especially when you’re just starting out with a VA, you’re typically only hiring them for 20 to 30 hours per month. So you have to be aware that your VA most likely has several other clients and keep that in mind when assigning tasks. 

On a related note, it’s SUPER important for you to create systems and processes for your business and instructions that can be used over and over again. Otherwise, if you lose a team member or get someone new, you can deal with a lot of confusion or things won’t get done like you want them to. And I love the fact that Hayleigh is also very intentional about hiring people with different skill sets who have different walks of life. They get a job that’s more flexible due to its online context…and the more I outsource, the more I get closer to feeling like I can dedicate all of my time to the areas in my business where I feel the most passionate and motivated. 

And if you’re not feeling passionate and motivated in your business all the time, that’s a big red flag that it’s time to get more help!

What to Know About Online Business Managers: Main Takeaways

Without Hayleigh and her team, so many different projects and products from Megan Yelaney Inc. wouldn’t even exist, so I feel so fortunate to have them. So if you’ve never hired a VA or an OBM, I hope this episode gives you all of the information and inspiration you need to find the right team for you and the growth of your business!

I can’t wait to hear which of Hayleigh’s tips vibe with each of you the most, so be sure to listen to this episode on your fave podcasting platform while it’s hot and then let Hayleigh and I know what you think on your Instagram stories!

And as always, stay safe, stay healthy and stay #PrettyAwkward!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING!

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out the #PrettyAwkward Entrepreneur Podcast.  I would LOVE to have the opportunity to connect with you, check out my #prettyawkward Female Entrepreneurs Create Impactful Passive Income free group on Facebook!

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To connect with Hayleigh, check out her Facebook Page.

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