Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the OBM Educator. Today is such an important topic that I can't wait to get into, and that is mindset. So a lot of what we've talked about so far has obviously been education, a little bit of strategy, but not so much mindset. So a little bit of backstory. I really started learning about the word mindset in 2019, when I first entered the online space. It wasn't something that was talked about all that much in the corporate space that I came from, especially in event planning, but the word has become more prevalent now because, mostly due to the pandemic, we've had more of a mental health awakening, at least in the United States and I know in some other countries as well. So mindset is more of a topic that is talked about now. But I remember in 2019, when I first started my business, and in 2020, when I made the transition from VA to OBM, I would talk about mindset to my husband. He'd be like why are you always talking about mindset? I'm like it's important, and I remember my mentor always telling me to work on my mindset and it was usually something I would like push back until I like if I had time for it, but I definitely think especially I, you know, have seen this in helping VAs transition to OBMs, I've seen it with new OBMs and I've seen it in my own OBM journey that there is definitely something called the OBM mindset and it encompasses a lot of different things that I could probably go on and talk about for hours and I will definitely have future podcast episodes about the different portions of it. But today I wanted to narrow in on one specific thing and that is the mindset shift from when you are going from a VA to an OBM, and it's the shift of going from more of a doer and being more reactive to being more of a leader and being more proactive. So today's episode is going to dive into why that mindset needs to shift, how to shift it and what to do going forward in the future to stay in that proactive mindset.
02:11
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. Before we begin. I do want to share that I am offering discounted one-off coaching sessions. If you listened to my mini session with Galena last week and you're wondering maybe what is it like to get that high touch, personalized level of support for something going on in your business, this will be the perfect opportunity to get that support without the commitment. Usually, I only offer my full-length coaching calls, which are 45 minutes, as part of my mentoring packages, but I wanted to offer these discounted one-off sessions for a limited time to those who are listening to the podcast, so you can book the call at the link in the show notes.
03:17
Today's topic came from a chat I had a couple weeks ago with another OBM mentor who specializes working with those who are coming from the corporate space into directly working as an OBM. If you don't know, I specialize more with working with VAs who are making the transition to OBM, although this podcast is for everyone, so welcome no matter who you are. But what we talked about was the mindset shift that has to go on when you are becoming an OPM. So, chances are, if you are, or were previously a VA in your business, the way you worked and figured out what to do was by your client giving those items to you. If there was a launch going on, your client told you what they needed from you. If your client was onboarding a client, they showed you step-by-step how they wanted you to do that and basically you followed a set of repeatable tasks or you waited until your client gave you something new. Now, if you had the inkling in your mind to become an OBM, you might have been a bit more proactive on your own. So that might look like you might have seen things come up and ask your client if you could take care of them. You might have come up with better ways to do certain processes. But I think that for the majority of those listening who are still in the VA world, it kind of probably stopped there.
04:36
So why does this need to change? Obviously, the job requires it. An OBM is the leader on the team, the person who, besides the CEO, thinks proactively and can see the bigger picture, and that is what the position requires. But what does it mean for the client, like, why? So you're helping them to not have to be the one always thinking proactively, which frees up their mind space to work with clients, market themselves and basically do what needs to be done to grow their business. You are allowing them to feel taken care of, which is the feeling we want to give as service providers to feel that they're not in this alone and that they have someone reliable taking care of the details in their business. You're also helping other team members do their jobs effectively, feel supported in their tasks and ultimately produce better work.
05:34
So, as an OBM, imagine if you didn't do these things. Can you see how all sides of the business would falter. That's why it's super important that you work on this part of the OBM mindset so that you can be the most effective leader, providing what the CEO and the team needs. So there are a lot of things with the OBM mindset that the answer to how do I do X is to just do it, unfortunately, right. How do you hold better boundaries with your clients? You just say no when they try to cross their boundary. It's not easy, but that is the answer For this. Stepping into this new mindset, there are steps that you can take that will help you naturally become more proactive. They will take practice, they will feel uncomfortable and you might get it wrong sometimes. I know that's really hard to hear, but as you grow this skill, you will find that it is easier to naturally fall into this.
06:34
So first, my first piece of advice on how to become more proactive in your client's business, as an OBM or as a VA who wants to become an OBM? First thing, become a teller instead of an asker. So something that business owners the people who hire you struggle with is decision fatigue. They have to make all the decisions in their business and then, when it comes to their support especially if they only have VAs they have to make the decision on what they will be working on. The decision fatigue can lead to indecision, which can ultimately lead them to just doing the work themselves and I know this as someone who has hired VAs in the past that there are times that I'm so overwhelmed with what's going on in my business that it's just easier for me to do it myself. That's decision fatigue.
07:31
So what can you do in the role of OBM or VA if you're wanting to shift to OBM is, instead of asking what can I work on this week, look to see what is going on in their business. What's on the calendar? What projects have you been working on that might have a next step? What have they mentioned in meetings that need to be done, but maybe they haven't gotten to signing it to you yet. Then you can go to your client and tell them hey, this is what I'm working on this week X, y and Z. Let me know if you have other items that need to take priority.
08:05
The amount of decision fatigue that you just relieved from your client is huge, and if they have something else that they need to add, that's fine. They can respond with that. You can have a conversation about what makes sense to have on your plate, but by initially coming to them with a list of things that need to be done, you want to make sure that it's actually things that need to be done and that you can work on without handholding, without being told every step of the way. You are being a proactive thinker in their business and really showing your leadership. So another thing that you can do number two and this will help you with the first thing as well is keeping an eye on the calendar.
08:44
So this might seem like a small thing, but you can catch a lot just by looking at your client's calendar every couple of days. This might be catching that one of their clients booked two calls in a week, or that they have a presentation coming up that they will need slides for, or that a client is coming due for a renewal. There are so many things on the calendar that you can see that can help you be more proactive in your work. You can also catch things that aren't supposed to be there, or maybe that are supposed to be there, like you know something is coming up and you don't see it on their calendar. Or you know a vacation is coming up, but something got scheduled for that day, and then you're able to go to your client and say, hey, I noticed this, I can take care of this for you. And sometimes it's a situation of, oh no, that's OK, it's supposed to be there, but a lot of the times it's something they didn't notice, and eventually it would have been noticed. But by taking the step to be proactive, you are saving a lot of last minute scramble.
09:41
So, then, my last suggestion which most of you probably do anyway, but I just want to put it out there is make sure you're utilizing a project management system in some way. That can be ClickUp, asana, trello, or it can be a running to-do list on your notes app or in a notebook Just a side note. Remember a system is a system If it works for you. It doesn't have to be fancy or even utilize tech, but doing this ensures that you are not missing tasks, which puts you back in a reactive state, and you can write down reminders to help you so that you can be more proactive in the future. I'm also a huge fan of using the Reminders app on my iPhone, especially for things far in the future, and I mean especially as a mom, but in my personal life I do this too, and it's really helpful at 1am when you forget something and you need to remember it. So these are all things that you can do to become more proactive as an OBM or as a VA who's wanting to make the transition to OBM and, like I said, it is something you will always be working on, even now, four years into being an OBM.
10:44
There are times that I find myself in a very reactive state and it requires a reset to do these things, to do a brain dump, to look at my client's calendars to see what has been on the to-do list, what have they mentioned? Like all of those things I will still do to get myself back into a proactive state. Create a sticky note for yourself with these reminders to do these things. Make it part of your routine to check in with your clients on what you're going to be doing. Make sure to really be listening in your check-in meetings. For a random side note that you can help with Use AI meeting reporter fathom or Otterai, something that will take notes for you and put together a to-do list after, or you can just read the transcript. It may take weeks or months before all of this becomes second nature, but as it does, you just become more and more invaluable to your clients and really create those long-term partnerships that help make being an OBM a very consistent business. So I hope this gave you some insight on how to be more proactive in your business and how it can set you up for long-term success as an OBM. As with everything, this will not be overnight and if you're coming from the VA side, it will probably be a huge adjustment for you and your client. But ultimately, providing this level of support is huge in creating space for your client to make more money and have a more successful business, which is what we want as an OBM.
12:13
If you liked today's episode, please leave a rating and review. These are so helpful for the podcast to get in front of as many new and potential OBMs as possible. I'll 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.
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