Frequently Asked Questions
There are several frequently asked questions I get when connecting with small business owners — usually along the lines of trying to understand the titles and qualifications of various virtual support professionals.
When seeking support for business operations and marketing, small business owners often explore a variety of terms to find the right fit. These terms include virtual assistant services, which encompass a broad range of administrative tasks; online business manager, indicating a higher level of strategic oversight and management; remote business support, emphasizing the distance aspect of the service provision; virtual office assistant or virtual assistant, implying support with day-to-day administrative duties; virtual administrative services, encompassing various administrative tasks; virtual executive assistant, indicating support at an executive level; remote project management, highlighting the management of projects from a distance; virtual business support, offering assistance in various business-related tasks; outsourced administrative services, indicating the delegation of administrative tasks to external professionals; and remote administrative assistant, emphasizing assistance provided from a distance.
Amidst these options, Online Business Managers stand out as the best choice for small businesses. They possess a comprehensive understanding of business operations, marketing, and strategic planning capabilities, enabling them to offer tailored solutions to meet the specific needs and challenges faced by small businesses. Additionally, Online Business Managers excel in managing projects in a virtual environment, providing administrative support remotely, offering personalized assistance, managing office-related tasks virtually, providing executive-level support from a distance, overseeing virtual teams, delivering administrative support through online channels, focusing on remote operations management, and providing various business solutions in a virtual environment. These qualities underscore the specialized expertise that Online Business Managers bring to the table, making them invaluable partners for small businesses seeking efficient and effective business support.
- Online business managers are responsible for implementing strategies and processes that help the company reach its objectives. When the owner comes to them with a new idea, experienced online business owners automatically start thinking about the steps they need to take to make it happen — breaking large projects and goals into measurable milestones.
- We have exceptional technical skills and the ability to learn new things (of all sorts) with ease.
- We are able to communicate (both written and verbal) effectively with clients, team members and customers. We can make sense of complex information, data, and processes and distill it for others to easily understand and implement.
- We have excellent time and project management skills and can help others to learn how to become more organized and effective.
- Online business managers have excellent leadership skills to motivate their teams and deliver positive results enabling us to make important decisions and overcome workplace challenges effectively.
Though it varies from OBM to OBM, for me, it includes:
- Coaching & Consulting: Advising clients on the most effective way forward, based on their unique needs and with best practices and resources considered.
- Managing projects: Online business managers are often in charge of launching, implementing and overseeing new virtual projects. Examples can include website upgrades, membership portals and marketing initiatives.
- Overseeing operations: As an online business manager, overseeing basic business operations may be a critical part of your job.
- Tracking metrics: Online business managers identify which KPIs are the most beneficial to track for specific projects, departments and business areas. This allows them to monitor the company’s progress, provide updates to clients and offer suggestions for improvement to senior leaders within the company.
- Managing people: We may be in charge of managing a team of people to ensure they meet their deadlines. This can involve providing support, allocating resources, conducting performance reviews and monitoring daily activities.
- Depending on the type of work, we will come to an agreement on fees and billing terms, and honor that.
- I used Freshbooks to track my time and work — and that detail is provided to clients via an invoice, emailed to them within the intervals we’ve set.
- Payments may be made via old fashioned check in the mail, Zelle, or Venmo.
