What is an Online Business Manager?

The definition of an Online Business Manager is

In September 2020, I attended the Adventure Trade & Travel Associations Adventure Elevate event for the first time as an OBM. Being the only one there with the job title ‘Online Business Manager’ meant I spent most of my 2 minutes in the speed networking event explaining what an OBM is. Since this is a new role in the adventure business space, I want to explore; what is an Online Business Manager, what they actually do, why you would need one, and why they are different from virtual assistants. 

What is their role?

An OBM’s role would be similar to that of an Operations Manager in a traditional brick and mortar business. They are service providers who work on a freelance basis. Although they play the role of a typical ‘operations manager’ they don’t show up at your location. Online Business Managers always work remotely and communicate through a previously established communication channel either via email, slack, asana, etc. 

Each situation and need could be different with the business they are working with. It might be on an ongoing basis to free the business owner up for other things, for a temporary period while the business owner takes a break, for a limited time when things are particularly busy or if a product launch needs to be put into place. 

What is an ‘Operations role’?

In an operations role, an OBM would focus on creating processes for all day-to-day activities. Creating these processes in the business would help streamline things and simplify how things operate. They ensure the people involved are trained sufficiently to oversee the process on a regular basis. SOP’s are used and created to document all business activities and play an essential role.

An OBM can come in and help set up the tracking and oversee monitoring of the metrics. They watch for what is working and what is not working and bring recommendations to the business owner tailored to their business.

Online Business Managers come with lots of experience and often have very strong skills in regards to software and online technology, team management, process development, and project management.

Are they like regular employees?

Online Business Managers are independent contractors. The great thing about working with an OBM is you get leadership support added to your team without the requirements of hiring full-time staff, providing benefits, or paying for the usual payroll costs.

OBM’s tend to perform their work based on one of the following compensation arrangements;

• Planning and managing projects from start to finish. 
• Working on new product development launches or marketing projects. 
• Setting up or taking the lead on migrating you from one software to another.
• Tracking key metrics of the business that more often than not business owners don’t have the time to do. 
• They manage the in house team and lead the efforts to make sure stuff gets done. 
• Finding and overseeing other contractors for special tasks like video editing.
• Being the ‘liaison’ between the business owner and the rest of the team. 
• For a full job description, check out the Role of the Online Business Manager.

Why would I need an OBM?

Well, usually this comes down to time. You might be feeling squeezed and like you can’t do it on your own anymore. Maybe…

1. Your business is growing while your own free-time is shrinking.
2. You are having to turn away opportunities because you are so busy!
3. As the owner, you are still doing the same things you were doing when you started your business.
4. You have a great team, but find yourself frustrated by them always ‘bugging’ you.
5. You are stuck at $X revenue and can’t seem to get past that point!

The basic criteria come down to this;

• you have hit and can maintain the 6-figure revenue mark
• you are armed with an action plan to grow your business
• you’re ready to delegate and let someone else help you run your business

If the above sounds like you then you are ready to hire an OBM and could greatly benefit from having professional support added to your team. 

How can I benefit from an OBM?

A good OBM does more than just keep things running smoothly or ticking over, they implement positive changes and put those designs and ideas to life that you have wanted to do for a long time. 

An OBM will support their clients with strategy, and they’re often a good sounding board for business owners who need help organizing their thoughts and connecting the dots.

If you grow, your OBM will grow, so they’re committed to making your business a success. They’ll be invested in you and your business but have that level head to give you fair assessments, clarity and remain objective.

What’s the difference between an online business manager and a virtual assistant?

It’s easy to get the two job roles confused. More often than not Online Business Managers get compared to Virtual Assistants. Yes, they both work virtually and have strong computer skills but OBM’s offer a different set of services, skills and their priorities are much different.

OBM’s tend to be more strategy-focused rather than task-focused and use their own initiative to help drive the growth of the business they are helping rather than be told what tasks to complete. Virtual Assistants work with more clients on a smaller retainer where OBMs take on fewer clients but charge larger fees. 

What should I look for in a OBM?

Personality is a big thing – you need to be able to feel comfortable when working with each other. Being able to trust them is essential when they are coming in to help you and your business and communication is always key. 

An Online Business Manager should have a strong background in project management and feel comfortable leading a team. They need to write, talk and listen well and most importantly respect you and your employees. 

They need a strong knowledge and understanding of all the software, tools, and systems you currently use and many many more that will help level up your business! 

It is important for the OBM to have a strong idea of what is involved within that business and the industry they are in. For example, Katie specializes in helping adventure travel and tourism businesses because she has the knowledge that it requires. She was in the adventure space as a guide for over 10 years and during that time she was leading the Adventure Program team, managing the transition into online office 2.0, training new staff to oversee critical processes and discussing strategy regularly with the CEO. 

Resources

I recommend reading Tina Forsyth’s article – she identifies the five signs that you may need to hire an OBM.

To Conclude

Bringing on an OBM into your business can be a big step BUT it doesn’t have to be as scary as you think! We have covered the general idea of what an OBM is and how you can benefit one, but we really recommend having a FREE discovery call. It helps you learn what to expect, the strategies that would be implemented into your business, a full assessment of the gaps currently in your business, and an understanding of how it works.

Join the Conversation

We would love for you to join our Business of Adventure Facebook group. This is a collaborative space for business owners or freelancers in the adventure travel and tourism space. The focus here is to share best practices and tips about online presence and digital marketing (front end) and online systems (backend) so you can establish a rock-solid foundation for your adventure business. If this is something you could benefit from, please join!