Amanda McVicker (00:00)
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of The OBM Educator. So this week we are going to be talking about what people don't really talk about during the transition to becoming an OBM. Right, a lot of the times you're looking at someone's social media to learn how things are going. For the most part, unless you know you're friends with someone who's going through it. If you're kind of just going at it alone and you're looking at peers, all you're seeing is them presenting their offer, them signing clients, them having client wins, all of those things. You don't really see the backside of it and because of this you might have unrealistic expectations of what that transition looks like. You know, you might be going at it for a couple months thinking that you're doing something wrong because you're not seeing instant results, because that's what you saw someone else have, but really you didn't see their couple of months behind the scenes and their process for getting there. And so that's what this episode is going to be. It's going to be kind of drawing back the curtain to see what is that like real unfiltered look into the transition from VA to OBM or even just starting your own OBM business. One of the things that I love about this podcast and you know the work that I do with helping VAs transition to OBM is that I do really get to bring to light a lot of the struggles that are so common yet very much not talked about, and so if you have found yourself kind of going through the transition from VA to OBM or starting your own OBM business and you're struggling and it's hard and you're not sure what you're missing, I really hope that this episode is encouraging to you. Maybe there is something that you can shift in what you're doing, but for the most part, chances are you're right where you need to be and you just need to keep going a little bit longer to. You know, get to that top of the mountain, so let's dive into it. Get to that top of the mountain, so let's dive into it.
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. So a little backstory on my own transition from VA to OBM, talked about it on this podcast before, but if you're new or you just need a little refresher, I decided in March of 2020 to make the transition to OBM. Of course, there were a lot of things going on in the world in March 2020, and that really did help expedite my answer and my decision to do that. But I mean, I remember it was like March 17th, so like right, when everything shut down, I made the decision to that I was going to have an OBM business. I made the announcement that I was going to be an OBM the end of April, so I had a month and a half in between those two things. I didn't get my first client until middle of July, so that would be two and a half months, right. So, all said and done, there were four months in between the decision that I am going to become an OBM to my first client.
Now, there were a lot of things that were going on behind the scenes during that time. Right, there were a lot of struggles. There was a lot of wondering what to do. There was a lot of plans, there were a lot of plans being made, but in that first month and a half when I was not talking about anything on social media. Talking about anything on social media, no one knew. No one knew what was going on behind the scenes. And then, from the time that I made that announcement to when I got my first client, what was shown on social media was me trying to get a client, it was me marketing myself, it was me doing daily mini trainings, it was me posting on social media, it was me connecting with others, right, but there was still so much that was going on behind the scenes. I was still trying to learn things, I was still setting up my systems, but people didn't see that. And so if you were kind of like haphazardly following my journey, you might have seen an announcement, a couple posts there were more than a couple, but a couple posts of me, you know, saying hey, I'm looking for OBM clients, and then me celebrating signing my first client, right, and you would be like, wow, it was just so easy for her. But there was so much more going on behind the scenes that people didn't see. But there was so much more going on behind the scenes that people didn't see and people don't talk about that. And so that's why this episode is what we're talking about today. That's why we're diving into this, because we need to talk about it.
People who are going through the transition need to know that they are not falling behind, that they are not failing, that this is all part of the process. So the first thing we're going to talk about are kind of the biggest myths about becoming an OBM, right? So one of the biggest things I hear from so many people is that they think they need to know all of the tech and the tools before they become an OBM, and that really isn't true. So in that period where you are marketing yourself, setting up systems in the back end right, you should be learning. You should be growing your skills, learning what you can, but you don't want to let the act of learning hold you back from putting yourself out there, right? Right, the biggest benefits that an OBM can bring is being resourceful in being able to learn as you go, because you can learn as much as you want. Right? You're going to get a client who has some platform you've never heard of and you're going to be expected to learn it, right? So it's like, at that point, don't focus on trying to learn everything. Learn some things and supplement as you go.
Another big myth that I hear a lot is people thinking that they need to have perfect branding website, all of that stuff, before they can put anything out. And in my story, when I was talking about it in that in in between time, the forward-facing thing that people did see was my marketing, and that is how potential clients are going to find you right. You need to be putting yourself out there and you cannot wait on the perfect website, the perfect brand colors or whatever. You need to just go out there and put yourself out there. It's great if you have like a one pager, if you have a landing page on Squarespace or lead pages or something like that that people can go to, but don't put so much emphasis on making it perfect. In this case, done is better than perfect every day.
And then another myth that I see that really does hold people back from actually like making the transition is thinking that becoming an OBM is going to be harder than becoming a VA. And it's not that it's harder, it's that it's different, different, right, the way that you are showing up and presenting yourself. You're coming definitely more from a place of authority and as the expert, but in a lot of cases it is easier right to build an OBM business. You probably don't need as many clients as you did as a VA, because you're making more money and working less hours. You're not strapped to your desk. You know doing hourly tasks, admin tasks, you know you have more of a overall approach to the work that you're doing and so in ways it is easier. But just know like the whole process is just going to be different. You don't, you can't really compare the process of becoming a VA to becoming an OBM, but that doesn't mean that there aren't hard things, right.
So the next thing we're going to talk about is actually what is hard about the transition that a lot of people don't talk about. So the first thing is letting go of the VA mindset. So I talk a lot about the OBM mindset and that's, you know, kind of the mindset that you shift into when you are becoming an OBM, where you're taking a look at things from a more strategic approach, you're acting more of a leader, you are more proactive instead of reactive. You know you're taking yourself out of that doer mindset and really focusing on a bigger picture, and so you really do need to work on letting go of that mindset. And I do have an episode it's an earlier one about the OBM mindset, and if this is something that you are struggling with, I really encourage you to go listen to that, because mindset is going to be one of the main things that can make or break your OBM business and you really want to make sure that not only is like your OBM mindset good that you are doing the work to be the proactive leader, but you're also kind of leaving behind those VA mindset aspects that really are not going to benefit you as an OBM.
Another thing that is really hard about the transition that people don't talk about is pricing right. Transition that people don't talk about is pricing right. A lot of OBMs, I think more than they would care to admit, lowball their pricing just to get a client right. You might have experienced this as a VA. I know that's very common too, but raising your prices with confidence is a hard thing to do. As a new OBM, it really can feel scary at first, but what I want to encourage you to do is be firm in your pricing. There has to be, or can be, an element of fake it till you make it so that you can show up with confidence, even if it's fake confidence, to charge it, so that you can show up with confidence, even if it's fake confidence to charge the amount that you feel like you should be earning for the OBM work that you're doing. But that is really hard, and something that I know people don't talk about much is they have clients that are on lower retainer and it takes a while to get them up to what it is that you want them to be at, or they become a client that you're just ready to let go of as soon as you get a higher paying client, and neither of those are really good things when we're trying to do the best work that we can for our clients. So, just off the bat, be confident as you're raising your rates.
And then the third thing that people don't really talk about is that you kind of have to start acting like an OBM before you even are one, and I don't mean this in the way of like doing OBM work unpaid or at a VA rate or anything like that. But if you have VA clients, start acting like an OBM. Thinking about how would an OBM approach this? What could I do? That just puts this a little bit over the top.
As an OBM would do Like, how can you step into a leadership role even before you technically have your first OBM client? How can you show up in your marketing as an OBM even before you get that first OBM client? Because that confidence that you bring is really going to show the world hey, this is an OBM, this person, she's got that OBM moxie. You know you don't need permission to make the transition right. You don't need permission from someone. You don't need to pass a test and you know, get a go-ahead from someone to make this transition. It's your business and you get to decide when you do that. And so you get to show up with confidence before you have an OBM client because it is your OBM business. It is your business that you get to do whatever it is that you want.
So I hope this conversation was helpful about kind of the behind the scenes of making that transition from VA to OBM, the things that people don't really talk about, and that it is a lot of stuff behind the scenes. There is a lot going on and just because you're not getting a client, you know, five minutes after you announce you're an OBM doesn't mean that this is not the right path for you, and so I do encourage you right, take one action today that can move you forward. Maybe it's you know updating your Instagram from VA to OBM, right? Maybe it's starting a conversation with a warm lead someone that you have been talking with, or maybe it's you know defining what your OBM offer is going to be, what your OBM pricing is going to be. I encourage you to take one action today and keep building on it, and if you want to take the guesswork out of what these actions should be that make up the VA to OBM transition, I created a 30-day calendar that gives you a daily activity that is going to bring you, in 30 days, from like yeah, I want to be an OBM to I am an OBM and I'm ready to go.
It is a roadmap that you can follow, that you can build off of each day. It's not overwhelming. It's less than 30 minutes a day of direct actions that are going to help you in starting and building your OBM business, and so the link to grab it is in my show notes. It's $37, which is a little bit more than a dollar a day to get you to your dream OBM business, and so I encourage you to check it out and grab it If this is something that, if you listened to this episode and was like I really wish that I had a plan that could get me to building my OBM business because that's what that is.
I hope this episode was helpful for you in busting some myths and, you know, kind of giving you some clear direction and remember that you are not alone in this journey and there are so many other people who are going through this. There are so many people who want to support you and so many people cheering you on. I will talk with you 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.
