VBS Online Business Manager » Operations

Are You Suffering from Online Business Burnout? How to Create Time for Business Growth

Brenda M. Violette — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 21:10:36 +0000

Online business owners are in a league of their own. It takes hard work and dedication, long hours and determination to be successful among the thousands of competing online businesses. New products and services, email marketing, joint ventures, networking, teleclasses, and newsletters are just a handful of the various projects an online business owner must handle. Is it any wonder online business burnout is so common?

It’s not that these online business owners aren’t successful, quite the contrary. Their hard work causes them to be very successful – but at what cost? If you are successful but unhappy then what is the point? Online business owners often take on all the tasks and projects involved in their business; administrative, marketing and technical to name just a few. This can leave little time for taking on new and exciting projects, growing the business and enjoying life outside of the business.

So how do online business owners create time for business growth and a personal life? They partner with another online business owner – more specifically – an Online Business Manager (OBM). Not to be mistaken with a Virtual Assistant, an OBM does not perform individual tasks but actually manages your business. This can be done in a variety of ways; for example, often an OBM will manage a team of online professionals who will complete the business tasks at hand.

Imagine having a team of virtual professionals dedicated to your business. Your OBM will manage and monitor all assigned projects and team members, ensuring that all tasks are being completed with excellence and on time so that your business continues to run smoothly. Imagine what you could do now with all that available time!

Partnering with an OBM is an absolute must for successful businesses that want to experience growth and whose owners want to avoid or eliminate business burnout. Some online business owners try outsourcing essential business tasks only to discover that it is even more time consuming to watch over the outsourced projects. To create the time needed for business growth and reduce burnout, there should be someone else in charge of project management – an Online Business Manager.

Online business owners who have successfully partnered with an OBM have more peace of mind and feel a better sense of control and accomplishment in their business. For example, since your OBM has an active and comprehensive role, vacations can now be enjoyed rather than skipped or compromised by worry. You can count on your OBM to provide continuous follow-up with their outsourced team, allowing you, the business owner to focus on creating new products or contacts which lead to increased revenue.

Therefore, it is important to choose the right OBM; someone you feel comfortable with and who you can trust. Your business is your baby, so choosing the right OBM may take some time. Be sure to have your business information, goals and needs organized along with specific interview questions. You may find that the first OBM you interview is “the one” or you may have to interview a few OBMs to get a good feel for what you’re really looking for.

Are you interested in finding out more about Online Business Managers? “Grow Your Online Business to New Heights with an Online Business Manager” is a free ebook that explains what an online business owner should know before hiring an OBM. It provides many resources such as interview questions and prep sheets to fully prepare the reader for the interviewing process. Also, included is a 7-Day eCourse that walks you through critical questions to determine whether your business is ready for an OBM. In summary, it is a fantastic resource for a successful business interested in growing bigger and better with the help of an OBM.

For more information please visit Brenda Violette, Your Online Business Manager at www.vbsvirtualassist.com

Copyright © 2010 COPYRIGHT BRENDA VIOLETTE, VBS VIRTUAL ASSIST, LLC. All rights reserved.

Why Would An Online Business Manager Care About Growing My Business?

Brenda M. Violette — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:35:53 +0000

Quite simply put, an OBM succeeds when you succeed. They have a passion for working with business owners to accomplish their growth goals. You will find that many OBM’s have a wide variety of experience; like me, many were former corporate employees who have chosen to take their vast knowledge to a new playing field – their own online business. They are naturally motivated and compelled to take not only their own business but yours to new heights of profitability and manageability!

Discover How to Grow Your Business to New Levels with Standard Operating Procedures.

Brenda M. Violette — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:50:26 +0000

Today, I want to share with you an excellent way to keep on top of the operations of your business. Most small business owners have reached a level of disorganization in their business and regret it when they are under pressure to meet critical deadlines. This state is not because they are necessarily disorganized people, but just very busy people, and perhaps think that some day they will sit down when they have time and document everything.
Do any of these situations sound familiar? You dread performing a task because you cannot remember all the steps, so there is procrastination. You spend precious time trying to find the log in information to get into the files. Someone on your team is ill and they know everything there is about running your business. You lose time and money because you are recreating documents because you cannot locate the last revised document. You are spending money on tools that you hope will be the fix to all your problems. By now you get the picture. What I am leading up to is the creation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for your business.

What is an SOP?

An SOP is an operations manual that provides a business with structure and efficiency. Many of the day-to-day administrative processes in your business are repetitive and should be reviewed regularly. SOP’s are a set of written instructions that document a routine or repetitive activity followed by a business or organization. The development and use of SOP’s are an integral part of a successful quality systems as it provides individuals with the information to perform a job properly and facilitates consistently in the quality and integrity of a product or end-result. An online business manager can add value to the company by challenging the efficiency and reliability of procedures that the company has been using or not been using.

Advantages of SOP?

Many business owners and their teams resist taking the time to create an SOP because of the perception that time and money can be better spent on the most immediate tasks and projects. Team members may be resistant to the creation of the document because of the time consuming nature of capturing a company’s procedures and turning it into a document, as well as insecurity on the part of the team member. In reality, there is little need for the team member to feel insecure because the smoother the operation of the company the more opportunities will open up.

Are you are a business owner who is serious about your business and implementing cost cutting and time saving measures? Are you ready to grow your business to new levels? These are some important questions to ask yourself.

When was the last time I took a real vacation?
What would happen to my business if I needed to be away from it for an extended period of time, such as sudden illness or family issues? I can’t sell what is in my head.
Would the business run seamlessly in my absence?
Would I still have a business to return to?
What would happen if the people that worked for me suddenly left? Would I know exactly what to do to keep the business running and cut down on retraining time and cost?

Finally, some essential elements to make an SOP effective would be for it to be well written, easy to understand, used regularly and accessible to everyone in the business. Creating and sharing documents in the online world has never been easier with wiki spaces and is a perfect online collaborative tool for creating online SOP’s. A Wikispace, in simple terms, is a group of web pages with “edit” buttons on them. You can collaborate with anyone you choose on your wikispace. You may want a place to keep information about your organization, or to easily manage your team’s schedules. Wikispaces is simple enough for anyone to use, but has enough sophistication so that you can be creative and get things done. Please feel free to click on the quick video below for the simplest and most fun explanation of how to use wiki spaces.