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Anne Clark
The Best Way to Grow Your Business is to Bring in an Online Business Manager

The Best Way to Grow Your Business is to Bring in an Online Business Manager

by | Jan 13, 2024 | Business, Online Business Manager

As an entrepreneur or business owner, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the myriad of tasks and responsibilities that come with managing a business. From marketing and sales to operations and customer service, the list seems never-ending. However, one of the most effective ways to scale your business and ensure long-term success is to bring in an online business manager (OBM) to help you manage your operations. By delegating tasks and responsibilities to an OBM, you can free up your time and energy to focus on your zone of genius.

Who is an Online Business Manager?

An online business manager is a skilled professional who works remotely to help entrepreneurs and businesses streamline their operations, increase efficiency, and promote growth. They typically have a diverse skill set and can handle a wide range of tasks, from project management and team coordination to marketing strategy and systems implementation.

Benefits of Hiring an Online Business Manager

1. Focus on Your Zone of Genius

Every entrepreneur has their own unique talents and expertise that contribute to the success of their business. By bringing in an OBM, you can delegate time-consuming and non-essential tasks, allowing you to focus on what you do best. This empowers you to leverage your skills to drive innovation, create new products or services, and develop your business further.

2. Increased Productivity and Efficiency

An OBM is trained to identify and eliminate bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your business processes. They can optimize systems, implement automation, and establish standardized workflows to streamline your operations. By doing so, an OBM can significantly improve your productivity and overall business efficiency.

3. Strategic Planning and Execution

Growing a business requires strategic planning and effective execution. An OBM can work closely with you to develop strategies, set goals, and create action plans. With their experience and expertise, they can help you align your business objectives with your target market and industry trends, ensuring that your growth efforts are well-planned and executed.

4. Team Management and Communication

If you have a team, an OBM can serve as a liaison between you and your employees. They can effectively communicate your vision, goals, and expectations to your team, ensuring everyone is on the same page. Additionally, an OBM can help you with hiring and training new team members, managing performance and deadlines, and fostering a positive and productive work environment.

5. Scalability and Flexibility

As your business grows, so do your needs. An OBM can adapt to changing requirements and help you scale your business effectively. They can assist in managing new projects, expanding your team, and implementing systems and processes to support growth. The flexibility of an OBM ensures that as your business evolves, they can evolve with it.

Finding the Right Online Business Manager

When looking for an OBM, it’s crucial to find someone who has the right skills, experience, and values that align with your business. Conduct thorough interviews and consider asking for client references to gauge their track record and professionalism. Communication skills, reliability, and attention to detail are also critical attributes to look for in an OBM.

Bringing in an online business manager is a strategic move that can enhance your business growth. By delegating operational tasks and responsibilities, you can focus on your zone of genius, drive innovation, and accelerate your business’s success. With their expertise in managing projects, teams, and systems, an OBM can optimize your operations, increase productivity, and ensure scalability. As you consider ways to grow your business, hiring an OBM should be high on your priority list.

How Time Off Can Skyrocket Your Business Productivity and Creativity

How Time Off Can Skyrocket Your Business Productivity and Creativity

by | Dec 24, 2023 | Business

Have you ever felt like you’re running on a never-ending treadmill in your business? The hustle culture often glorifies the ‘no days off’ mantra, but what if I told you that stepping away from your business could actually be the secret ingredient to your success? Taking time off isn’t just a luxury; it’s a strategic tool for boosting productivity and creativity.

The Power of Pause

Mental Health and Burnout Prevention

Continuous work without adequate breaks can lead to burnout, a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It hampers decision-making abilities and can significantly reduce job satisfaction. Regular breaks are crucial for mental rejuvenation, helping maintain long-term productivity and a healthy relationship with work.

A Breeding Ground for Creativity

Ever noticed how your best ideas often come to you when you’re not actively thinking about work? Taking time off allows your mind to wander, opening up the floodgates to creativity. It’s during these moments of relaxation that our brain makes unique connections, leading to breakthrough ideas and innovative solutions.

Surging Productivity

Rest is a powerful productivity tool. After a break, you’re likely to return with increased energy levels and a refreshed perspective, enabling you to tackle tasks more efficiently and effectively. This rejuvenation can lead to a notable surge in your overall productivity.

Implementing Effective Time Off

Plan and Prepare

Plan your time off in advance to ensure a smooth transition. Inform your clients and team about your unavailability and wrap up or delegate essential tasks.

Trust Your Team

Delegating responsibilities is not just about offloading work; it’s about trusting your team. This trust empowers them and gives you the peace of mind to truly disconnect.

Complete Unplugging

To reap the full benefits of your time off, disconnect completely. This means stepping away from work emails and calls. It’s crucial for mental detachment and allows you to fully engage in your rest period.

Success Stories: The Proof

Incorporate anecdotes or case studies of successful entrepreneurs who advocate for and benefit from regular breaks. This real-world evidence strengthens the argument and provides relatable examples.

Overcoming Challenges

Address the common fears and guilt associated with taking time off. Offer practical solutions and strategies to help readers overcome these challenges, emphasizing the long-term benefits of well-being and business success.

 

Taking time off isn’t just about resting; it’s about recharging and reinvigorating yourself for future challenges. By understanding its importance and learning how to disconnect effectively, you can turn time off into a powerful tool for enhancing your business’s productivity and creativity.

Intuitively Setting Goals for Your Business

Intuitively Setting Goals for Your Business

by | Dec 17, 2023 | Business

As the New Year approaches, the holiday season offers a perfect opportunity to engage with your intuition and envision what you desire for your business in the coming year. Taking a break from your daily business routine to recharge is not just beneficial but essential. In this relaxed state, you’re likely to find your intuition sharpening, allowing creative thoughts and ideas to emerge more freely. Always keep a pen and paper handy to capture these insights as they come to you.

To effectively connect with your New Year goals, find a comfortable spot that brings you joy and tranquility. For instance, I find a special kind of magic in sitting in my sun chair on the deck. There’s something about feeling the fresh air, hearing the birds, and letting my shoulders relax in this environment. I make it a point to ground myself, feeling the earth and grass beneath my feet. The crucial step here is to breathe deeply, close your eyes, clear your mind, and simply soak in the sounds and sensations around you. In this state of relaxation, invite guidance on what the New Year may hold for you. Just breathe and stay open to the experience.

As thoughts and ideas surface, jot them down without overanalysing. If specific questions about programs, opportunities, or ideas arise, relax and allow the answers to flow to you from your guiding forces

After capturing your thoughts, set your notes aside for a day or two. You might find additional insights emerging during this period, which should also be recorded.

When you’re ready, revisit your notes to review what you’ve written. As you read through them, new thoughts will likely start flowing, helping you further shape your plans for the New Year. This process often ignites creativity and excitement.

Now, it’s time to transform these ideas into achievable goals:

Identify the Top Three Ideas:

Start by selecting the first three ideas that resonate with you the most.

Connect With Your Motivation:

Reflect on why these three ideas stand out. Understanding your connection to these ideas is crucial as it fuels your motivation to succeed.

Develop an Action Plan:

– Set Launch or Completion Dates: Establish timelines for your goals.

– Reverse Engineering: Work backwards from your launch date to identify the steps needed for realization. Create a detailed action list.

– Delegate and Collaborate: Determine what you can do independently and what requires assistance. Identify who can help and how.

– Tracking Progress: Utilize tools like ASANA for project management, allowing for collaborative and efficient progress tracking.

– Regular Check-Ins: Set dates for reviewing progress on your goals, with intervals tailored to the project’s duration.

– Budgeting and Planning: Define budgets, actions, and check-in frequencies (weekly, monthly, quarterly) and plan celebrations for milestones.

For those seeking accountability, consider partnering with a coach or a peer. Accountability partnerships can significantly enhance your commitment and progress. You can learn more about that here.

Additionally, I’ve prepared a business goal template for your convenience, available for download.

Remember to celebrate every milestone, no matter its size, and regularly reflect on the progress you’ve made. Weekly and monthly check-ins on each project are crucial for monitoring progress and addressing any challenges that arise. Should obstacles occur, stay solution-focused, always seeking alternative paths.

I eagerly anticipate hearing about your successes and the goals you’ve achieved by the end of the year.

50 different ways to sign off an email

50 different ways to sign off an email

by | Dec 6, 2023 | Business, Email Marketing

Signing off an email appropriately can leave a lasting impression on the recipient. Here are 50 different ways to sign off an email, each suitable for various contexts and relationships:

1. Best,
2. Best regards,
3. Warm regards,
4. Kind regards,
5. Regards,
6. Sincerely,
7. Yours sincerely,
8. Respectfully,
9. Yours truly,
10. Faithfully,
11. Yours faithfully,
12. Thank you,
13. Thanks,
14. Many thanks,
15. Appreciatively,
16. Gratefully,
17. With appreciation,
18. With gratitude,
19. Take care,
20. Best wishes,
21. Warm wishes,
22. Wishing you well,
23. All the best,
24. Cheers,
25. Warmly,
26. Cordially,
27. With respect,
28. With best regards,
29. Looking forward,
30. Hope to hear from you soon,
31. Until next time,
32. Keep in touch,
33. In anticipation,
34. Talk soon,
35. Yours,
36. With kindest regards,
37. Fond regards,
38. With warmth,
39. Peace,
40. Blessings,
41. Joyfully,
42. With cheer,
43. Stay safe,
44. Stay healthy,
45. Be well,
46. With sympathy,
47. Thinking of you,
48. With care,
49. With affection,
50. Fondly.

Each of these sign-offs can be adapted to fit the tone and formality of your email, whether it’s a professional exchange, a casual message, or something more personal.

20 Google Hacks To Get The Effective Search Results

20 Google Hacks To Get The Effective Search Results

by | Nov 20, 2023 | Business

Did you know that approximately 99,000 search queries are processed by Google every second, resulting in about 8.5 billion searches daily and roughly 2 trillion global searches annually. Given that the average individual conducts 3 to 4 searches daily, it can be inferred that hundreds of millions of people use Google each day. However, finding those accurate tangible results can be at times challenging.

Here is a list of 20 Google search hacks that can help you get more effective results:

  1. Exact Phrase: Use quotes to search for an exact phrase. For example, “climate change effects”.
  2. Exclude Words: Use a minus sign (-) before a word to exclude all results that include that word. For instance, jaguar -car.
  3. Site-Specific Search: Use “site:” to search within a specific website. Example: site:nytimes.com economy.
  4. Related Sites: Use “related:” to find sites similar to one you already know. E.g., related:time.com.
  5. File Type: Search for specific file types with “filetype:”. For example, climate report filetype:pdf.
  6. Wildcard Search: Use an asterisk (*) as a placeholder for any unknown or wildcard terms. E.g., “largest * in the world”.
  7. Search Within a Range: Use two dots (..) to convey ranges. Example: smartphone $200..$500.
  8. Definitions: Use “define:” to get the definition of a word. E.g., define:philanthropy.
  9. Cache: Use “cache:” to view the most recent cached version of a webpage. Example: cache:bbc.com.
  10. Specific Location News: Use “location:” to find news related to a specific location. Example: election location:Canada.
  11. Weather: Type “weather” followed by a location to get the current weather. E.g., weather Paris.
  12. Stock Information: Type the stock symbol to get real-time stock information. Example: AAPL.
  13. Calculator: Use Google as a calculator by typing in equations. E.g., 15% of 300.
  14. Time Zones: Type “time in [location]” to see the current time in a specific location. Example: time in Tokyo.
  15. Flight Status: Type the airline and flight number to get flight status. Example: AA 120.
  16. Sunrise and Sunset: Type “sunrise” or “sunset” followed by a location to find out times. E.g., sunrise New York.
  17. Convert Units: Use Google to convert between different units. Example: 10 dollars in euros.
  18. Search History: Use “my searches” to see your recent search history if you’re logged in.
  19. Specific Date Range: Under ‘Tools’, you can select a specific date range for more timely results.
  20. Advanced Search: Utilize Google’s Advanced Search for more detailed searching, accessible at the bottom of the search settings.

These hacks can significantly improve the precision and efficiency of your searches on Google.

The distinction between an Online Business Manager (OBM) and a Virtual Assistant (VA)

The distinction between an Online Business Manager (OBM) and a Virtual Assistant (VA)

by | Nov 19, 2023 | Business, Online Business Manager, Virtual Assistant

Are you struggling to understand the fundamental difference between an Online Business Manager (OBM) and a Virtual Assistant (VA). In this article I am going to explore key fundamentals for you in terms of their roles.

Execution vs. Oversight

  • A Virtual Assistant acts as an executor within the business. The specific tasks they handle can vary based on their skills, which might include administrative duties, customer service, technical support, or marketing.
  • An Online Business Manager, on the other hand, plays a supervisory role, ensuring that tasks are completed correctly, efficiently, and by the appropriate team members.

Individual vs. Team Responsibility

  • VAs are accountable for their own set of tasks and projects, ensuring they are finished accurately and punctually.
  • OBMs oversee the collective efforts of the entire team, ensuring all members are completing their assignments in a timely manner, contributing to the broader business objectives.

Task Management vs. Strategic Planning

  • VAs focus on managing their own workload and time to fulfill their designated tasks.
  • OBMs engage in broader business planning, looking ahead to future needs and developing strategies and systems to maintain smooth and effective operations, avoiding last-minute pressures and disorganization.

Team Interaction

  • VAs concentrate on their own responsibilities, interacting with other team members as necessary to complete their tasks.
  • OBMs serve as a central liaison for the entire team. They work closely with team members daily, clarifying tasks and deadlines, and ensuring each member has the resources they need to perform effectively.

In summary, a Virtual Assistant functions independently, focusing on executing specific tasks often assigned by the business owner. An Online Business Manager, in contrast, takes a comprehensive view, organising plans and coordinating the team’s efforts to achieve the business’s goals efficiently.