If You’re Thinking About Hiring for your Business, Here’s What You Need to Do First

Are you thinking about making the first hire for your business? You may think you need to start small with someone like a virtual assistant or outsource just one small task, such as graphic design. 

While this may seem like a good idea in the short term, this may cost you more money, time and energy in the long run. While these hires can be beneficial in some scenarios, you can’t hire somebody specialising in admin work and expect them to come in and fix your entire business!

So, how can you avoid wasting your precious time and resources? Hire someone who knows how to hire a team for you – an Online Business Manager!

What is an Online Business Manager?

An Online Business Manager, or an OBM, is a highly-skilled, multi-faceted individual that you bring into your business to assist you with overall strategy, financial planning, operations, and more! 

An OBM is the yin to your yang – as the CEO, you are the creative visionary! You should feel empowered to operate within your zone of genius, free to go off on your own and marinate on a brilliant idea. Opposite every successful CEO should be a masterful, operations-focused OBM.

There is a difference between managing and leading in your business – spending too much time managing can make leading more burdensome. Hiring an OBM allows you to step in where you need but step away from the things you don’t want or need to be doing! 

You may fear that stepping away from your business will affect your client experience or passion for your brand. However, stepping away often has the opposite effect! Having an expert manage the day-to-day allows you to focus on your big picture. Ditching management for leadership will reignite your passion and allow you to harness your passion and move the needle forward. 

What can an Online Business Manager do for you?

Many Online Business Managers are incredibly versatile in their skills and have multiple passions. Services may include team management, strategy/vision planning, financial analysis, launch management, and more! 

While OBMs are often highly-skilled, multi-passionate people, there are some lower-level services that most do not offer, including admin, calendar management, content creation/graphic design, and podcast production. Most OBMs do not provide full system implementation. The OBM would complete this work outside of a standard retainer. 

OBMs do not provide these lower-level skills because it often does not match their level of expertise. Performing these tasks would reduce the time they can spend completing high-level tasks that a Virtual Assistant or a Social Media Manager would need more capability or capacity to do. 

But, an OBM CAN help you make the RIGHT hire for the right role to complete the right tasks. 

Why should an OBM be the first hire in my business? 

As a business owner, you may see the price tag on an OBM retainer and immediately walk away. You see the initial investment over the return on investment you could achieve. Instead, you may opt for individual hires such as a virtual assistant, social media manager, or graphic designer. 

There are a couple of issues with this. 

Hiring anybody without a standard operating procedure for onboarding and training will be difficult. A lack of training and onboarding may cause miscommunication or friction when you begin work together due to improper training and a lack of onboarding, which may lead a team member to part ways quickly. 

And then, the cycle starts all over again. You spend more time searching for someone to fill this position, don’t correctly onboard or train new hires, and decide to part ways soon after. An OBM can stop this cycle before it starts by creating an onboarding and training system, which ensures your team feels supported. 

Another issue is a lack of priorities or financial planning. Is hiring someone for this task what you need, or can you hold off and make a better investment later? For example, a social media manager may not be the right choice if you don’t have an established brand voice or brand assets. Better yet, there may be systems you can put in place that will help you automate the task BEFORE hiring. An OBM will help you to make the decision that makes the most sense for your current stage of business! 

While an OBM may be the higher-ticket investment, the money, time, and energy they will save you, in the long run, have a much higher return than a cheap investment that results in going around in circles. An OBM will use financial planning and strategy to inform the recommendations they make in your business. 

A great OBM should prioritise forming a relationship with you and becoming an advocate for your brand. Aside from a monetary return on investment, there’s no doubt it will feel good to have someone by your side to support you on the business journey!

I can’t afford the investment in an OBM Retainer – what should I do?

If you’re still not quite there on investing in a full OBM retainer, that’s okay! Many OBMs have lower-ticket offers, such as strategy calls or VIP Days, that can clarify your next steps. 

For example, I offer an On-Demand OBM for clients that aren’t quite ready for a full retainer. During this session, I provide expert advice on streamlining operations, developing your backend, building a dream team, and mastering your marketing! Implementing the steps we speak about will help you get to a place where you feel comfortable bringing on a full-time retainer OBM. Think you’ll struggle when it comes to the execution? I deliver a business plan in your project management tool to serve as a roadmap during implementation! If you don’t have a project management system in your business, this is delivered in a PDF.

Or, maybe you’re thriving without a team or solid systems and NEED some organisation to support your growth, like yesterday! My six-phase signature framework will take you from system-less solopreneur to digitally organised entrepreneur with a solid business foundation for sustainable growth AND onboarding that first team member. You’ll walk away with the confidence to delegate tasks and step into leadership as a CEO. 

Book a call with me and let’s determine the best option for you and your business! 

OK – So, how do I hire an OBM?!

Hiring and managing a team is often the most challenging part of a business that nobody tells you about. An OBM can make hiring and team management that much easier. 

The next step is to hire the right OBM! Do I need an OBM to hire an OBM for me?! 

The answer is YES! Well, kind of…

Lauren Lea, the founder of OBM Associates® is now offering the OBM Experience! The OBM Experience is a 20-hour monthly retainer with a unique combination of implementation, strategy, and management tailored to your business goals. Our associates are highly-skilled individuals and are fully supported additionally in their role at OBM Associates® with the knowledge and skills you need in your business without the hassle of shopping around Instagram. 

Ready to scale your dream business? Join the mailing list below and get in touch to see how we can support you and your business.