Hello and welcome to today's episode of the OBM Educator. I am so excited for today because I am interviewing a fellow OBM to learn how she got started, how she grew to become an OBM and really just to get her story, and it's a good one. Something I am so excited about with this podcast is that it's not just me. Yes, I will be sharing my story, I share my experiences, but I want to highlight others who are killing it as an OBM, who are on their way to becoming an OBM, all of those things, and so having interviews like this is giving you you know, a potentially aspiring OBM or an OBM who's at the beginning of their business insight on what it takes to grow a business like this. So today I'm talking with Lauren Petraglia on her OBM journey how she got started in the online space, how she transitioned to becoming an OBM and what being an OBM is like for her today. And what I love is that she's also going to be sharing some struggles that she has, and this is a love is that she's also going to be sharing some struggles that she has, and this is a great reminder that, even if you get to a certain point in your business, maybe you think like, oh, if I just get there, everything will be golden. That's not actually true and while that might seem daunting or a little terrifying to some of you, it actually is really reassuring because it shows you that we all go through these struggles. Things get easier, I guess, but we still have struggles and you're really not alone in that.
01:30
So, without further ado, let's get into the interview. I hope you enjoy. Welcome to the OBM Educator. I'm your host, amanda McVicker, a veteran OBM who serves six and seven figure entrepreneurs as well as educates new OBMs with the skills and confidence they need to start and grow their own successful online business management business. Follow along as I share valuable insights behind the scenes, sneak peeks and proven strategies to help you build a better OBM business. Thanks, lauren, for being here. I'm so excited to chat with you about your OBM journey and where you are now.
02:09 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
Thanks for having me, Amanda. I really appreciate being able to talk to you again.
02:12 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
Yeah, first I would love for you to kind of give a little background, introduce yourself how you started in the online space and where you are now.
02:22 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
Yeah, some background is I was in local government slash healthcare prior to being a virtual assistant, because that's how I started off. In short, very toxic work environment. I left and then I actually got into another government position and originally it was supposed to be hybrid because I was an hour and a half away, but because of COVID they wanted me in five days a week with an hour and a half both ways commute and I just it wasn't sustainable. I was getting sick all the time. So I was taking the course the start by Sarah Wiles to become a VA in October. So I already was kind of one foot out the door because, like I knew it wasn't going to work. I actually quit when I only had one client in November of 2021.
03:01
It was a 10 hour retainer, it was like a 200. It was a 10 hour retainer. It was like a 200. It was I was 25 an hour at the time, so it was $250 a month. But I went full delulu and was like I absolutely can do this, like I know it, and quit anyway and I was able to make what I was making at my first healthcare slash government job within like three or four months. So I was able to like kind of bridge that gap financially because it was so short, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend jumping ship so fast to everybody. That's just what I did.
03:30 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
Man, what motivated that like jumping ship and, I think, like something that a lot of people have trouble with kind of believing is that they can put themselves like fully in to make it happen. So what was it like? The mindset that you had to fully jump in and do the work needed?
03:48 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
I think it was really fueled by this is so bad. I think it was really fueled by like pure rage, honestly, and when I'm like in that mindset it sucks because obviously, like I'm not feeling well, but I, when I am in that mindset, I make things happen really fast. I've noticed so because I knew this was a pattern, because at this point it was, it was two jobs where the same kind of thing was happening, but because I knew it wasn't working and clearly working for someone else wasn't doing it for me. The next thing was well, this must be the only thing. Like again went full delulu.
04:19
I was like this must be the only thing that makes sense, that like if I can't work for someone else, I must only be able to work for myself.
04:25
Like it was just so black and white in my head. So that's where that came from and because I think, honestly, because of the messaging in the program I did, the start also was very like motivating. It helped me stay in that like delusional mindset she is very transparent about like this takes work. But I was like like bet, like I'm great at working, like I work too much already, like let's just why not make it worse, like let's just add on to this. So I think, because I knew that I could handle the work, whatever that required, because I had already dug myself so far in a hole with different work I was just like, if I can coordinate with the state and get these COVID clinics and vaccines all over the place and the state is not fun to coordinate with, then I'm pretty sure I can work with people one-on-one to help their business. It was like a very weird bridge I made in my head, but that's how I was able to convince myself that I could do this.
05:17 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
Awesome. When did you learn about OBM?
05:20 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
So I was a VA for like I've probably been doing this like almost three years now. I was like strictly a VA for like half of that time. I always knew of OBM because it's kind of like tag teamed together almost it's like VA and or like OBM. So I knew OBM was like the next step in my head. I always knew I wasn't really someone who was latching on to. It just wasn't clicking for me Like I wasn't latching on to VIP days, I wasn't. So I kind of knew my next step was going to be like well, when I get better at this VI thing, like I can step into an OBM space. And it kind of happened naturally with my biggest client because I was in her business Like the biggest client I have. I still have today like 15 hours a week.
06:01
So because it's so much work in one person's business, I saw myself kind of shifting more into that OBM space because of what's required of me with that many hours was evolving very quickly. And then I realized if I could do that for this business, like I can kind of do that for others as well. And I just slowly started kind of like rotating clients, Like they were either shifting with me from VA to OBM or I was kind of like swapping them out slowly with OBM clients. It was natural I did get lucky because I did have a lot of referrals. Like I'm going to say like my business is like 100% referral based, Like all of my clients have come from either yeah, I'm not big on social media at all, Like if you look at my social media it's 90% personal. I don't even have a business account. Like it's literally all referrals and or lead magnets from the start course that I took.
06:50
So it did happen pretty naturally. But it was kind of just like me realizing like cause I had that messaging around me from this course and from the source also that I'm in, which is like once you're off the ground as a VA and you need help, scaling the source is like a monthly program. So I was getting messaging from that to seeing other OBMs in there, like what they did, how they evolved, and I kind of think I just like embedded that in my brain and was like just kind of climbing up my current clients, businesses or taking in some higher level skills, because I also started to get bored of doing like reoccurring VA tasks after a while too. So it was easier for me to like kind of grab onto the next challenge and go from there. What?
07:29 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
were you excited about when it came to being an OBM?
07:34 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
I liked having more skin in the game. I liked having more strategy. I guess, like I had always told myself I was not a creative person, because really I wasn't raised that way Out of the womb. It was like you're going to be a nine to five, or when I was 12, I was told I was going to college, like I really just had it like put out for me, like I wasn't really able to make my own decisions.
07:55
So when I was in this really weird new online space that I picked for myself and I was creating solutions to problems on my own that weren't necessarily the clear cut solution If, like, we ran into a problem I was trying to find these loopholes, like go around the back door, figure out like tech wise. And when I was able to do that, that's what made me really excited, because I was like oh, like that is creativity, just not in like an art, music, literature kind of way. Finding out solutions in a different way than what it was normally mapped out on. It counts as creativity. Being able to be creative in a tech way while also being able to like help provide strategy for my clients when they get stuck, or being a sounding board, like those things really made me feel valued. So like that's kind of where my zone is right now and how it's evolved to that.
08:47 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
I love that. I think that myself included, but a lot of people who are the more like systems minded, put your head down, work like we don't think of ourselves as creative. But you are right, when we like, find different ways to do something or have out of the box solutions, that is creativity. So, on the flip side, what were you nervous about making that transition?
09:11 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
Oh my God, everything. Amanda, I was nervous. I live in nervousness. I just have a high baseline anxiety level.
09:19
Imposter syndrome is really bad for me because I'm like I didn't even come from this field. I came from a healthcare field. Lucky for me, there's soft skills in healthcare that come across. So that's the caringness that I have with my clients how I like truly genuinely care about their success, them themselves as people and their businesses like that does come across very strongly and genuinely and I do truly believe that they recognize that as well, so that trust is built. But what made me nervous, like I said, is really just that I came from a different field. So it's like how am I able to do this? Well, and like, how is this? I even still do this. Like I'm like how is this quote unquote successful? Like when I take on new clients, I have to make sure my team has enough hours and or I have to hire out somebody else, like in my head, for the hours, the amount of hours I work. I am quote unquote successful.
10:09
But it's just really the imposter syndrome that comes in. I'm like how am I doing this. It still doesn't really fully click for me and I think part of it was because it was very fast. In three years I went from a V8 to an OBM. I've booked it in, booked out. Most of the time I get referrals. I almost feel like it's not deserved and I know that's just a mindset piece, but that's really what comes in very strongly at times, especially when I'm interviewing or doing discovery calls with these potential leads, slash clients and they're very good fits. Their understanding of boundaries like it, just like and I came from a space where boundaries did not exist, so it just it really does mind blow me a lot of times. And then I think sometimes I get stuck in that mindset and I like panic a little bit, but like I do have to take breaks to pull myself out. But I have that pretty constantly.
10:53 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
To be transparent, I think imposter syndrome is definitely something that so many people deal with from the work itself, but also the fact that it is something that we built ourselves from the ground up and there are people who get clients more easily than others, like we have referrals, and that's always going to be like the way I recommend to grow a business, because it is quote unquote easy, but there's still like a lot that goes into it, and so I know imposter syndrome is usually the number one thing I hear from OBMs, or people who want to be OBMs, of like what is holding them back a little bit.
11:32
And so definitely and actually this kind of talks about that a little bit that you know a lot of people think that like, ok, so once I am booked out as an OBM and I get over the hump of the transition and it's like everything's good, everything's going to be awesome, and that is just simply not the case because there is always like evolution, things are happening and all of that. And so what is like a piece of advice that you give to the OBMs who are in that transition period? Just like, if I just get to this, like everyone else just seems perfect. What is something that you would say to?
12:09 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
them. Oh, that's such a good one because, honestly, like I could use advice in that area. To really like, when you get stuck in the mindset, I guess like first of all taking a break to pull yourself out Like I understand that. Like sometimes, maybe during the workday that isn't possible, but when you're done, like not just transitioning to the next part of your day, but like taking a minute to really pick apart your own thoughts. I guess, Like I sometimes have to pick apart my emotions with logic to be able to process them correctly. So like there's times when I get like that and I get really stuck in it, but like nothing's been going wrong, Like everything is fine.
12:41
Or even if there was a problem, like I was able to fix it and or my team was able to fix it, but I have to sit there and really be like, okay, why am I feeling this way? Then X, Y, Z wouldn't have happened and I wouldn't have gotten here. Because if those things were true, then I wouldn't have had this opportunity to grow as an OBM with my biggest client and get pay raises that I didn't even ask for. Like that wouldn't have happened, especially when, like a lot of other people like weren't a good fit for that client and like I've watched them rotate out and yet I'm like still here and like that says a lot and like same with other ones.
13:18
Like if that was the case then these referrals wouldn't be coming through and wouldn't be not flinching at my hourly rate, which, like a lot of people I feel like would. But like because of the track record that they've heard I've had through other clients, they're more than happy to pay it. Like again, that wouldn't be the case of these intrusive thoughts that come through were true. So I kind of really have to sit there and like pick myself apart the opposite direction when I start to do it the negative way, and also just like this is a smaller way to do that but like keeping if you get like a compliment or something from a client, just like keeping a screenshot of it in a folder, Cause there's a lot of times like I have one in each of my clients Google folders that I'll go look at and like little things like that. But almost like reverse engineering, your thought process is how I'm able to like pull myself back out, but it takes a minute.
14:01 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
I love that. Okay, and then my last question is just general advice. What is a piece of advice that you would give to an aspiring OBM who is wanting to make that transition?
14:13 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
My biggest thing is and this is like almost a weird piece of advice, because I feel like, as a VA transitioning in an OBM, this can happen naturally. But I guess, like, if it's not happening naturally for you, if these bigger projects aren't coming up that your clients are trusting you with, ask them for it, put yourself out there. They might be used to just like having everything run. If you're doing like a lot of reoccurring tasks for someone, they might not think to like give you that extra big thing coming across. Like they might be doing it themselves because they have all that other stuff that you're doing running in the background. They're not thinking of it. Just like letting them know that you're available, even if you haven't actually like increased your skills. Like you can let them know that like you're working towards that and you're working on that and you're open to more challenging tasks to take more things off your plate and at least half the time they're like some at some level will bite and using those current clients as referrals for people who may be open to more of an OBM type role. So if you have a VA like a tech VA client, but you want to take on more OBM people, when you're taking that, those new people on. Like change your lead magnet. If you had used Upsado or HoneyBook or whatever, like change it.
15:19
So it says OBM instead of VA. Kind of get those people new people funneling in in the mindset like that that's who you are and come out the gate like letting them know that these are the kinds of services you can provide. Because, like honestly, if you come across confident or at least that like you're open to doing these things, like most of the time especially if it's a referral people aren't going to be like but can you like, and if they are like you can give examples from your VA tasks that maybe kind of bridge into OBM. Because at this point if you're looking to be an OBM and you're a VA, there's probably 90% chance at least some tasks that kind of bridge that gap there that you can use as an example. So kind of just playing on what you've already done to expedite the process and make it seem as if you are already doing that. I know, again, that sounds like delusional, but that's what I did and it worked. So it's sometimes you got to do it.
16:08
Yeah, it's like the borrowing past belief and you know past like what actually happened, to like further your belief into what can happen, and a lot of it is mindset yeah, and honestly, if you come across that you actually genuinely care and you're not just trying to like nickel and dime this person or get money out of them, because I can't like personally, like I have like a huge people pleaser complex I'm recovering from that but if you really care, there's a better chance they're going to trust you rather than if they feel like there's some kind of sleaziness going on there. Right, but if you are able to genuinely care about what you're doing and the people you're serving, that will actually get you a lot farther than you think it will. And a lot of times people will pick up on that genuine piece where they may not be getting it from like other people they're interviewing. I thought it was like kind of an everybody thing, but I've discovered it is so. So it goes a long way.
16:58 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
Yeah, definitely. Well, thank you so much for being a guest on the podcast and sharing your insight and your journey. I know it's going to help so many people who are wanting to become an OBM or are OBMs and still struggling, so thank you so much for being here.
17:16 - Lauren Petraglia (Guest)
Thank you so much for having me. This was so nice struggling, so thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for having me.
17:20 - Amanda McVicker (Host)
This was so nice. I really do appreciate it. Thank you so much to Lauren for joining me for today's episode. This was such a great conversation. If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, please fill out the guest interest form. There's a link in the show notes. And if you were listening to this interview wondering if you are ready to become an OBM, I have a new quiz that'll help you answer just that. So it's quick 10 questions and it will give you really great insight on whether or not you're ready to take the leap to becoming an OBM. So you can get that link in the show notes as well, or you can go to amandamcvickercom slash quiz, as always.
18:00
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, share it with others who might benefit from it. I will talk with you guys next week. Bye, thanks for joining me for this episode of the OBM Educator. I hope what you heard today is helpful for you on your OBM journey. If you loved today's episode, I would so appreciate you sharing it and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Want to be a guest on the OBM Educator? Fill out the form in the show notes and I'll be in touch. Join us next time on the OBM Educator. Thank you.
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