Amanda McVicker (00:00)
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the OBM Educator. I am excited to get into this week's topic. If you see from the title, it's how you can build an OBM business without the overwhelm. So I have been an OBM for almost five years now. I have seen OBM businesses come and go and I have been helping
VA specifically transitioned from VA to OVM for about three years now. And so in that capacity, I've seen businesses start, stop, come, go, all of that. And something that strikes me that was different in a way from my experience, but that I see plenty is that
There are times that someone will become so overwhelmed by the transition of becoming an OBM that they stop the process altogether. And this can look like someone taking years to finally make that transition, not for a lack of getting clients or not because they wouldn't be good at it.
but because get so overwhelmed about the idea of making that transition. When in reality, if you look at all that it takes, I say all, but all that it takes to become an OBM, to transition your business from VA to OBM, that kind of, that legwork to get to the point that you're ready to get an OBM client really is not.
unmanageable. It's not impossible. And that's what I'm going to talk about today is kind of the steps of how you can make it less overwhelming so that when you are making that transition, it really is.
something that you can do while you're a VA, while you're a stay at home full time mom, while you're working a nine to five, right? Like how can you start and build and grow this OBM business when you have all of these other things in your life going on that of course you want to keep?
So that's what we're gonna be talking about today. So let's get into it.
So the first thing to remember when you are in the midst of this transition or you're about to start the transition is that this is a journey, right? I mean, you're starting a freaking business. Like when you look at the quote unquote real business world, like starting a company, that's a thing. Like that's a big thing. And just because we are doing it differently,
that we're doing it our way, that we're doing it in our homes, that we're doing it without startup capital or
or investors, like that doesn't mean what we're doing is not starting a business. And so
I want you to just remember that this is a journey because starting a business and growing a business is a journey.
You know, lot of businesses have years before they become profitable or really gain a large following, right? Luckily, we don't have to do that with being a service provider, with being an OBM. You know, we need four clients to really have a sustainable business. But that doesn't take away the fact that
It is still a journey.
and it's gonna take time. Now, when you are making the transition to OBM or you're becoming an OBM, there are kind of like three different pathways that you could be coming from,
You could have zero clients and go to being an OBM and getting OBM clients. You could be a VA with VA clients and transition your VA clients to OBM clients. Or you could be a VA with clients that, and not have clients that fit the bill for OBM. And then you need new clients, right? And it might be a mixture of them.
All of that is a journey.
And no matter what pathway you are coming from, it's going to take time. And so when we think about how can I reduce the overwhelm, it really is kind of a mindset piece of remembering this is not meant to be overnight. And just because you don't have results overnight doesn't mean it's not going to happen.
I remember being in the thick of the transition and showing up every day and putting myself out there, putting out content, really, you know.
perfecting my backend setup, just waiting, waiting each day. Is this the day I'm gonna get a client? I remember pitching, I remember hearing nos, I remember doing project packages and speaking in groups and I put myself out there and in the moment, it felt so long. It felt like I was doing all of this work for nothing. Now, being out of it,
being five years removed from it and also seeing others journeys into being an OBM, I see that my pathway was actually pretty normal. I would say while it does happen, making the transition to OBM seemingly overnight is actually not the norm. Putting in work, waiting a few months and then signing a client,
that is much more normal, but that's not what's shown. And so being, you know, removed from my own personal journey, I see that now as I was doing the work, I was putting in the effort.
and then I received the reward. And the timeline, when I look back at it.
was actually very normal.
And so when you are in the thick of it and you're trying to get through it and you feel like you're doing everything right and you're not seeing results for it, just remember it is a journey. And again, like I said, it's a mindset piece. You have to work at it every day. Just telling yourself it's a journey is not going to change how you think about it and it's not going to remove the overwhelm.
But if you remind yourself each day, this is a journey, it's going to take time, eventually your mind is going to believe that.
So then the next thing, the next tip in how we can build an OBM business without the overwhelm is actually something practical you can do, which is always helpful. And that is breaking down the steps, right? Like I said, there are things that have to be done to make the transition from VA to OBM or start an OBM business.
And that's what can make it seem overwhelming, even though it's not a lot, but it's when you look at those steps.
and how you, them or how you approach them, that is what could be overwhelming. Now, I would suppose that if you are wanting to become an OBM, you are a planner, you like to plan things out, write down steps, things like that. And you might write down a step in the process of becoming an OBM
and say, I need to figure out my packages. And that might be like your first step or whatever. And you sit down and you look.
to figure out your packages and you get stuck, right? You're like, well, like what kind of package do I even do? And it's like, I need to do all of these different packages, I guess for different people and you know, like what type of services should I do? Like two systems a month or like, you know, all of these thoughts enter your head and you're just like, I can't do this. This is too much to think about. And so what you wanna do to
avoid that overwhelm is break that down, right? Like figuring out your packages, that's a pretty big task. It can be broken down. One day you can figure out what services you might want to provide, and that's it. I know that I want to do systems. I want to help with launches. I want to manage team. I don't really want to do content.
I do want to do data metrics and tracking.
but I don't wanna do website design, right?
Just thinking of the different services that you do want to provide and you don't want to provide. Day one, write that down. Now you have a list. Day two, how can package that up? Does it make sense to create different packages based off of those services? Do you just kind of want to have all the services for a set amount of hours?
how can you create a scope out of those services that you already figured out, right? So day two, figure out your packages.
Day three, how are you gonna price it? Do I wanna do hourly? Okay, let's do a little research. What's a normal OBM rate?
and then figure out your pricing. So you took one task that really did seem overwhelming when you sat down to look at it and you broke it down into three days, right? You you might've spent three days thinking about the one big task. So maybe it takes the same amount of time, but you feel much less overwhelmed having broken it down, completed each task well.
and had it build off of each other every day. And that's what breaking tasks down into smaller steps does, right? It gives you little win. You can check something off. You can say, hey, I did that. Step closer to becoming an OVM.
Because before you know it, the little steps, the broken down steps, compound on each other. Before you know it, you've done 30 days of small tasks that really have made a difference, that have gotten you to the point that you're ready to be an OBM. Whereas if you say you had four large tasks that...
maybe could have taken you the same 30 days, maybe you would have gotten overwhelmed and stopped halfway through.
Maybe you would have knocked it out, but.
If you are more prone to being overwhelmed by larger tasks, breaking it down is going give you that motivation to keep going.
And then that kind of leads into the third thing, right? The third thing of what you can do to build an OBM business without being overwhelmed is to don't get discouraged. And I know way, way easier said than done. This is another mindset thing that you really do need to work on.
but if you can look setbacks as opportunities, as the chance to rethink something.
or to go another way, are much more likely to not be overwhelmed by the change, by the setback, right? If you can look at it as this is only gonna make things better in the long run, it's not as overwhelming.
And then there are times that, you know, you really do have to step the transition, maybe there's a lot of things going on with your family or something like And you really cannot devote the time that you need to, even if it was, you know, 30 minutes a day or less in like a task. It's okay to take a step back, but I would do it with the intention that you're coming back.
Right, maybe it's I need to take 30 days to take a step back. I'm gonna set a reminder or put it on my calendar that in 30 days, this is a task that I'm gonna do
to get back in the swing of things.
because nothing wrong with stopping. There's nothing wrong with needing to take a break. And there's also nothing wrong with needing to take a break and not coming back. But if you know that becoming an OBM is what you wanna do,
and you need to take the break, take it with intention. Take it with the intention of coming back and set yourself up for success by what does it look like when I come back.
because that is ultimately what is going help you succeed while also respecting that you need time, space, energy, whatever it is.
So I hope this was helpful if you been thinking about making the transition to OBM and you just kind of feel overwhelmed, like a little bit paralyzed by what it means and what to do. You know, really take these tips to heart in planning out that transition.
Now, if you need a little bit more support around it, I did just create a 30 day calendar that has daily tasks that you can do to make the transition to OBM. And it's gonna take you from idea of I want to be an OBM, right? Like that's the idea in your head. I'm ready to do this. What do I do next? To have an OBM business, I'm ready to go, right? In those 30 days.
Each task really takes 30 minutes or less. Some of them are shorter than others, but they all build off of each other.
and they all lead you forward, right?
There's no fluff. celebration days or kind of like reset days. But that's important in any journey.
but you'll get task for the day, why are you doing it?
and any helpful hints around it.
I've also set it up so you'll get an email each day for 30 days with your task for that day so that you would be able to.
see what it is that you're supposed to be doing for that day.
without having to like dig through it or anything like that. So I'm really excited for this. I've been hearing from people how helpful it is. It's called Your First 30 Days as an OVM. It's normally $47, but as a listener of the podcast, I have put the link in the show notes with a $10 off coupon attached to it so you can get it for $37. So for...
you know, a little bit more than a dollar a day, you get a task that will bring you a full-fledged OPM business.
So the link to grab it is in my show notes. If you have any questions about it, feel free to DM me on Instagram at Amanda McVicker underscore OBM.
I'll talk with you guys next week. Bye.
