Small business owners often have to wear many hats and juggle so many responsibilities in order to keep their company running smoothly. While we know this can be rewarding, it can also be incredibly overwhelming, especially when trying to balance the day-to-day, time sucking operations with long-term growth, launches and sales strategies.

CUE THE ONLINE BUSINESS MANAGER

This is where an online business manager can come in. An online business manager, or OBM, is a professional who works remotely to help manage the daily operations of a small business. OBMs can take on a wide range of tasks, from project management and delegation to financial planning and marketing. They act as a bridge between the business owner and the team and contractors working on the business, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.

INTRODUCING MY ONLINE BUSINESS MANAGER – CAT DUNN

Cat Dunn is my online business manager and I actually found her in The Modern Marketing Collective! Cat has spent 14 years across admin, marketing, and communications before starting her own business in 2022. Cat originally began as a virtual assistant before quickly moving into online business management where she is passionate about working with female coaches to help scale their businesses, make more money and impact more lives.

Cat describes the difference between a VA and an OBM as the OBM is the architect and the VA is the builder. They work alongside each other and the rest of your team to ensure that everything runs smoothly and you have the space you need to create. 

DECIDING WHEN TO HIRE

So, how do you know if hiring an OBM is right for your small business? Here are a few signs to look out for:

1. You’re feeling overwhelmed – If you’re struggling to keep up with the demands of running your business, it may be time to bring on some additional support.
2. You’re not making progress towards your goals – If you’re feeling stuck or like your business isn’t growing as quickly as you’d like, an OBM can help you create a roadmap and keep your team on track.
3. You’re spending too much time on administrative tasks – As a business owner, your time is valuable. If you’re spending too much of it on administrative tasks, an OBM can take those tasks off your plate and free you up to focus on more strategic activities.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE RIGHT PERSON AND THE RIGHT FIT

Once you’ve determined that hiring an OBM is the right move for your business, Cat takes us through how to find the right person for the job. Here are a few tips:

1. Look for someone with experience – OBMs come from a variety of backgrounds, but ideally, you want to find someone with experience in your industry or a related field.
2. Check their references – Make sure to speak with past clients and colleagues to get a sense of the candidate’s work style and reliability.
3. Set clear expectations – It’s important to have a clear understanding of what you expect from your OBM and to communicate those expectations clearly from the outset.
4. Start small – Consider starting with a small project or trial period to make sure the OBM is a good fit before committing to a longer-term contract.

HOW TO BE A DREAM CLIENT

Cat shares her top tips on how to be a dream client for your OBM to ensure they can be effective and efficient in their role. You need to work together as a team, trust your OBM and provide the framework so you can build a truly rewarding relationship that allows you to focus and grow your business for years to come. Cat only works with clients where she feels she can care about their business as much as they do so I encourage you to find an OBM that truly cares and is passionate about what you do. 

Hiring an OBM can be a great way to take your small business to the next level. By delegating tasks and streamlining operations, you can free up more time to focus on growing your business and achieving your goals.

LINKS: 

Where to find Cat Dunn: 

Website: https://msha.ke/itscatdunn.obm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itscatdunn.obm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itscatdunn.obm/

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[00:00:00] Emily: Today I have a very special guest on the podcast. It’s someone who I’ve worked very closely with over the past 18 months, although it does feel like so much longer than that, and someone who plays an integral role in my business. I’m talking to Cat Dunn, an online business manager who I’m fortunate enough to work with for my own business. But what exactly is an online business manager or O B M you might be wondering? And are they like a virtual assistant or what is the difference? What exactly is it that they do? When should you think about hiring one, if at all? And what value can one bring to your business? Well, Cat is here to share all, and I’m here in this episode to share what it’s been like as a client who has hired an OBM. But first, a quick background to Cat. She spent 14 years across admin, marketing, and communications before starting her own business in 2022. Originally starting as a virtual assistant, Cat quickly moved into online business management, and she works with female coaches to help scale their businesses, help them make more money and impact more lives.

[00:01:56] Emily: So without further ado, allow me to introduce you to O B M extraordinaire Cat Dunn. So welcome to the show, Cat Dunn.

[00:02:08] Cat: Thank you for having me. I’m very excited.

[00:02:12] Emily: So good to have you on. And it’s kind of funny, we chat a lot often just over message actually. And then a few video chats as well, which I always love. But, this time is a little bit different, as you know, because we’re not talking and digging into my business. We’re talking about you and your business, the work that you do, Cat. So, let’s start off with what exactly an O B M or online business manager is what do you do?

[00:02:36] Cat: I get asked this so much and it’s, it’s a very strange one. Cause I feel like no matter how many times I explain it, like I never get bored of talking about it, but it is a really hard thing to kneel down for some people. So, in general, I would say that an online business manager comes into somebody’s business to basically manage, and I know that sounds a bit silly, but if you think about if you were in an office building and you had an office manager, it’s like that, but virtually. So they would come into your business and manage everything that you need help with. So if you are a coach, for example, your area of genius is coaching people in your specialist area. You might not have time for all the expertise on admin or financials or team management and all those things that come with being a business owner. So what you can do is bring in an online business manager to be kind of like your chief operating officer if you are the c e O, and they can manage everything for you and with you because not only can they handle all your systems and processes and manage your team and contractors, they can also be a fantastic sounding board for you when it comes to strategically looking your business, when look comes to launches and things like that. So it’s kind of like having a right hand person. It’s your business, but they’re there with your best interests at heart.

[00:03:47] Emily: That was a really good way to, well, to explain how you support me so much and if we wind back the clock, and talk how we got started working together. So, as people know, my amazing mum, Jill started off, working for me, , I think a few hours a week when I realized that it probably wasn’t. The best, well, it was just wasn’t, ideal for me anymore to be managing my support inbox and it was starting to get a little stressful and I was just looking for some help with that. So I have my two different inboxes, the one that comes straight to me and then I set one up, , a different inbox, which is more, , maybe inquiries coming in. And then as I have a membership, there’s the admin that goes with the membership. So some failed payments, new member inquiries, member questions , so a bit of a customer support role I’d say, and some admin side of things. Anyway, so mum started off in that role she had just recently retired, so it was a good fit and she kind of stepped in to help me out and that was amazing. And I think as I was kind of figuring out. How to actually have someone in that role too, and then mum was ready to do a bit of travel and actually enjoy her retirement and, and explore a bit of Australia and we knew that it was time for me to find someone else that could step in.

[00:04:59] Emily: And so you were a member of The Modern Marketing Collective already, which was really cool. Like perfect. And I think that’s, just a word of advice. If anyone is looking for someone to bring into their business, start by looking at who’s already in your community. Cuz I think for me, Cat, knowing that you were already obviously attracted to what I do and saw value in it, and you understood the business was really, really cool to then bring you in and kind of work on the other side of it.

[00:05:24] Cat: Yeah, completely agree cause basically the way that I first found out about you was that I was at a book lunch for someone else and you just happened to come past the group I was talking to and say like, hi, how’s everyone going? Uh, we’re really friendly. And then we left the event and somebody grabbed my arm and fangirled over you going, oh my God, that was Emily. And I no offence went, who’s Emily? Cause I was quite new to Australia.

[00:05:49] Emily: That is, yeah. Obviously the normal response. It’s, yeah.

[00:05:53] Cat: No. No. Cause I was like, oh my God, who’s a lovely person? And so I literally got out my phone that second and I look, went on Instagram and I was like, oh my God, she has the Modern Marketing Collective. It’s a membership on how to improve your marketing. I’m starting my own business. This is literally serendipity. So followed. You looked up and I joined pretty much straight away and I was just like, I cannot believe this exists. This is phenomenal.

[00:06:13] Emily: So good. Thank you Cat. And so we, so we kind of, then you came to one of our events and, so I reached out to you because I knew that I needed some help. We had a chat and you got started and then that was, it feels like so much longer, but I think it’s about 18 months.

[00:06:28] Cat: Yeah. Yeah. Yep.

[00:06:29] Emily: When the one year anniversary happened, I swore it was two years and then I, I went back actually and looked at my emails. I’m like, oh my God, I can’t believe it’s only been a year. It feels like you’ve always been there. And I think as well, it’s just really grown over time and evolved as I’ve figured out what I need help with and as I’ve got better at maybe handing things over and as my business has changed too. So maybe, did you wanna take over and give a bit of an overview about the exact areas that you helped with? And, and by the way, you work with me, but you also have other clients too. So bring in different examples of kind of the main areas you help business owners with. 

[00:06:58] Cat: So, I’ll start with your first off because what was great about working in your business is obviously I came in originally as a virtual assistant and took over the tasks that, like you say, your mum, your mum Jill was doing. And so I started with kind of the, inbox management of, customers and clients and making sure they’re okay. And it has actually evolved to be a bit more community focused as well. So aside from being in the backend and helping with processes and systems and making sure payments aren’t missed and dealing with general member inquiries in inbox, I also get to be a big part of your actual community, which we have a fantastic Facebook group for that’s very, uh, vibrant and there’s lots of questions and people get on in there. So I get to be part of that and like support them with not just technical issues. It could be issues to, you know, they have questions about how do I find this, where’s this? Or even just pointing ’em to the right content in the actual.

[00:07:45] Emily: Memberships. Yeah. Yeah. The portal. 

[00:07:47] Cat: Yeah. The portal that you provide. So obviously what’s good about that is when you get to know the client’s, customers, and especially the student, the these students’ community, we get to listen to their feedback and build on what you do. So basically, when I join the collective a lot, the content is similar, but it’s been upgraded. We’ve given more value. You’re constantly finding out what could benefit members, because the idea is that when you have a yearlong membership, but it doesn’t have to be one year, there’s so much in there that you keep building on and building on, because marketing is something that constantly changes. And what’s great is you make sure our students up to date with everything that’s changing. Instagram reels, TikTok, anything that happens now. And it’s not just that, it’s all the other elements to marketing. So by being a long-term support with you and having already been in the membership myself, it’s that feedback and that balance and that relationship between what you offer them and how we can make it better. So with other clients, yeah, there’s a lot of, obviously there’s hands-on stuff, there’s admin tasks and things like that. There’s setting up processes and systems to make sure that business runs better. Writing SOPs, so anybody coming into the business knows exactly how that business runs.

[00:08:50] Emily: Explain what that is for people that don’t know.

[00:08:52] Cat: Oh yes, sorry. Standard Operating Procedure, which sounds very boring in corporate, but basically just think about any task that you do in your business. It’s just a step by step of you start by this, you do this, and this is the next step. Um, we put in like loom recordings, for example, so you can clearly see on screen how things work. And it’s just, so if anybody comes into your business, regardless of what their role is, they could just be into it. And also as a CEO e you might have to just step in some time and go, cool. It’s almost like a manual for how your business runs. And this could be marketing tasks, admin tasks, finance tasks, anything. Um, so it’s kinda like a Bible for your business, I think.

[00:09:24] Emily: Yes.

[00:09:25] Cat: I really love working in the coaching space, like I think the work that coaches do, regardless of what area, whether it’s financial, it’s marketing, it’s life, it’s business, it’s so valuable for women. If we’re helping other women make more money and have more impact, then that’s just fantastic and that’s what I’m passionate about.

[00:09:40] Cat: So I really like to work with clients who would like yourself, have a program, have a community, have a membership where we’re really just nurturing relationships between women and supporting them in whatever area they need to make sure they have the best life.

[00:09:54] Emily: Hmm. And you help with, the inbox management. You help with emails as well, helping with the weekly member email. Compiling that one with the weekly emailed to non-members too. So I segment between the two different ones. So putting that together from my podcast notes and that type of thing. A little bit of the social media, but I don’t employ you to be social media strategy. That’s not really your role. Also, what I loved you, explaining because it really is this, in your kind of intro of what an O B M is, is I think something that is yeah, just invaluable is that sounding board aspect too.

[00:10:28] Emily: And so often I’ll say to you, I’m like, Cat, what do you think of this? Or Cat, I’m thinking of doing this, or I reckon we might experiment with this. And just having someone like yourself that understands my business, understands our members, like adores our members and is just like, ah, yeah, no, we could try that. Or I don’t reckon that’d work. Or have you actually the, even the better thing is, Emily, have you thought of doing this? And just to have, I’m like, oh no, I didn’t even think of that. Thank you. Like that’s a great idea. is it’s just so invaluable. Um, so that’s, that’s a big part of the role I would say as well is not just me providing tasks to you, but you coming to me being like, Hey, Emily, I’ve have, I’ve been thinking this might be a better way to do this. Or us having a chat and you saying, well, have you thought of doing it this way? Versus just take and taking what I say and, and going with it, actually thinking about it. Um, so yeah, that’s super valuable for me.

[00:11:18] Cat: Yeah, so when I try to describe an OBM and a VA to people, I kind of come to, an analogy of if you’re gonna build a house from scratch, the person who designs the building, the architect who makes the plans, and make sure everything care, runs the process, runs the team, works with you directly. And then you’ve got the builder who’s actually gonna get the bricks and the door and actually put it together.

[00:11:39] Cat: So I look at it as an OBM, as an architect, and the VA as the builder, but they work alongside of each other. So obviously I could come in and manage a team, but I wouldn’t be like, oh, I am your boss. We all work together to make sure your business is supported as well as it can be. And that’s the thing. That’s why I like to work long term with clients, because obviously I already knew your business. From a member’s point of view, I get a comment from behind the scenes, and the more I get to know and spend time with these women or with this content, it is like, what can we try better? What can we do?

[00:12:07] Cat: Reviewing stats of, you know, like, cause like you said, Marketing strategies change. This is your area of expertise. But we also have to go with the times of, we can’t control what Instagram does. We can’t control what TikTok does. So it’s almost like thinking on your feet constantly. How can we give more value? But how can we build your business? How can we reach more people? And that’s the thing, I love to work with clients who genuinely care about what they’re doing and how they can make a bigger impact. And it is a long-term thing I wouldn’t say hiring OBM for a one-off project. It’s meant to be a bit more of a longer term relationship. And I’m very happy to get stuck in and do tasks. I’m not, I don’t shy away, you know, I was a VA to begin with, but yeah, that kind of, it’s like building a relationship and bringing someone in behind the scenes behind a green curtain if you was as well. Fun.

[00:12:48] Emily: Yes. Yes. And I think as well for us, and this maybe it would be valuable for you to share if this happens with other clients, but I know for us it started off with kind of, I’m like, okay, here’s like five tasks or something for you to do. And then I really enjoy how it’s grown from there and it’s, it’s a constant, what’s the best word to describe it? I guess just like a business is constantly evolving and molding, so is what we do together and the, the projects that change and, and all that type of thing. Has that been the same with other clients? I guess what I’m trying to say as well is when people might bring you on, they don’t have to have the perfect end vision of the role you’re going to be in, but if they know that, okay, I already know, here’s some areas that I would love some help with, and then we can grow from there and figure out how we best work together. Is that what you’ve seen work with other clients that you have or, is there a better way that you find is good to work with people?

[00:13:36] Cat: I actually have a bit of both, as in I do tend to work with clients who are a bit more established and then are looking for that next stage of increasing their revenue, increasing their impact, or maybe they wanna offer a new program or movement online. So it’s usually what I’ll start with. But actually recently I’ve, I’ve signed a few new clients who are very successful in their business, but have never necessarily had the role of an O B M and are a little bit like, Hmm, now I have you. How do we do this? So it is coming into our business under the ground floor basically going, show me behind the scenes, show how everything works, and then we’ll see how I can support you best. And it is a little bit like putting together a jigsaw because. A lot of people, you know, I know a lot of people offer like packages.

[00:14:15] Cat: This is what I do for you. But I much more would be like, I come in, I, I look at your business from a whole and see, right, how can I best fit in to support you to make things easier? That’s a whole idea. A lot of the most stressed, overwhelmed, they can’t focus on the marketing for example cause they’re doing all the admin or they can’t grow cause they’re too busy doing all the day-to-day tasks or they don’t have a sounding board. They don’t have someone they can just talk to. So a new client for example, has a very established business. They’re doing very well. But it’s that next level of, right, okay, how can I pass on these day-to-day tasks? How can I bring you in that you can really help me plan out? Cuz they have a fantastic vision, but it’s that time and space to actually implement it with somebody else who, you know, like actually cares about the business, cares about seeing their clients develop and grow. So I definitely. It’s a preference. You know, people like to start with startups. People might wanna work with seven figure business owners and that’s absolutely fine. But I really have pivoted to work with the person. I, you know, that’s why discovery calls, for example, are very good, because you get a real good insight into who they are and why they do what they do.

[00:15:15] Cat: Cause that’s what I’m interested in. I can help you, you know, if you, your aim is to make 12 million in a year, right? Okay, fantastic. Let’s see how to do that. But it’s, why do you wanna make the 12 million? What value are you given to people? Because it’s that, it’s, I care about what you offer and why. so yeah, it’s a mix of both for me. But, um, definitely I just wanna work with people who are just genuine, decent people who wanna help women. Really, that’s my aim. 

[00:15:39] Emily: I love it. And I reckon, um, do you wanna give examples of, let’s say like five different processes or systems? Because I know when we say those words, it can feel super vague, but even if you wanna give a few examples of exactly what they might be.

[00:15:54] Cat: Yeah, so obviously, um, I think what a lot of clients find as well is, how-tos don’t exist or they kind of know what they do in their head and it’s not written down somewhere. So I, what I love to do, and especially bring in to people who’ve never worked with an IBM before, is some sort of project management system. Now that sounds a bit scary, but I literally means some sort of software where we all access it and see it at once. It’s almost like working on a Google doc together. You know, you all have access. So out there there’s like, there’s even free ones you can use. There’s, , I’m gonna say names up, might not make sense to people, but things like Asana, Trello, and Click Up.

[00:16:27] Cat: So it’s basically just a piece of software that you both have access to and you could put tasks in there. So rather than email back and forth, we’re bringing each other all the time. Having Zoom meetings, I take up so much time. And the whole point is to give them time back. You’ll have one place where everything’s there, so you can create regular tasks in there. You can assign people, you can have deadlines, you can have conversations in there. So I like to do that as one process to manage any ongoing work and any projects. For example, if you had a launch and you just had one place where everything is all the steps, then you can just refer back to that and duplicate that process.

[00:16:59] Cat: I also, when I talked about standard operating procedures, you know, a really good way to do that. if you use Google or if you use OneDrive, for example, you just, if you use Microsoft Outlook, you could use OneDrive. And if you use Google, you can use obviously, uh, Google Drive. And you could even just start with a Google sheet, right? I’m gonna write down one to five, these are the steps I do for this, and give it a name. So then you could suddenly create a folder that is a document for each step in your business. So if you want to create processes for your business, , you could just sit on a piece of paper and go, okay, so there is a business off financial business admin, marketing, for example. So you’ve got four sections there. Then break those down into right marketing, what do I do, right? I have an Instagram account, I have a TikTok account. What do I do for there? I make videos, right? How do I make, it sounds really detailed and long-winded, but it’s almost like breaking down your business into the smaller, smallest task.

[00:17:46] Cat: And then you documenting that and that’s what a S A P would be. And if you had that written down somewhere, eh, it’s a dictionary or a Bible or it’s just the how-to for anyone that joins. But the good thing about having project management software is you could actually turn those SFPs into checklists or tasks that automatically becomes and do that someone knows how to do. So launch, for example, you could create an overview of if this is how your launch runs and these are the emails you send, these are the social media posts you have. These are like, who’s on this is the software you use? For example, you could have that one place and just duplicate that board time and time again for your, for the people within your business. It could even just be things like. , particularly if you’re a client, for example, and so you have one-to-one clients. There might be an onboarding process with the client, or how do they, how do they become a client in the first place? So how do people find you to start Instagram or how can they book a call with you?

[00:18:33] Cat: Right. We’ll get some software like Calendly Acuity, which works for Squarespace and booking a call with you, right? We need to have a Zoom link. We’ll have a Zoom link in that. So it’s just anything that we can do to make sure that everything happens a lot easier. So there’s not emails everywhere, there’s not lost links. You’re not constantly having to GM people. It’s setting up structures and you have to look at it from the customer’s point of view. If I wanna work with Emily, how do I find Emily, right? I’ve got an Instagram in Emily’s bio, there’s a link. If I click on this link, it takes me to the website I can join. It’s whatever’s the quickest way to get them in there, but at the same time, offering exactly what it is you offer in the clearest, most concise way. 

[00:19:07] Emily: Yes. And I think too, you know, we use Google Docs, I love Google Docs and just, and documenting those steps, like you said, the standard operating procedures. and we are always, this, this is the thing, as new things happen, like there was a email this morning from a member about different times of coaching calls and I’m like, okay, well now I’ve written the answer that you can pass on that can become basically the, the templated answer that we can tweak for that particular question. So as the business, develops and continues the day-to-day into grow and all that type of thing, we can document even more and create even more of those, processes, those, templates. So we aren’t reinventing the wheel. And for me, from the other side of this as the business owner, it means that I actually don’t, Some days, like I don’t get on my laptop and it’s just me, myself and Cat.

[00:19:55] Emily: So we use WhatsApp and Cat will send through a couple of questions or things that she needs to know what I think of or answer to. I can respond to you on there and then you take care of it and make sure that it happens or respond to that person you had the inquiry or fix whatever the thing needed to be fixed or troubleshoot the thing. So it means for me that, , I can get to have a bit of that separation there, step back a little bit and then focus on and try, and this is a continuous thing as well, to, , have my time on the things that I am best at and that where I bring the most value to the business, which is doing the coaching calls with students and then, , like the deep thinking around the business, where it’s going, what the vision is, the key projects.

[00:20:39] Emily: I need to focus on for that. And then also producing that original content, so sitting down and recording the podcast interviews. And once those are recorded, then , Cat and then also the podcast team can take over from there because I don’t have to be the one that edits it or uploads it to my website or sends it out to email list or pops up my Instagram. But I may need to make sure that I’m spending the time, in the best areas for me that make sense strategically for the business. And then the more that I can fill those other roles, really the better as well. I think it is a continuous thing, for me to work on as well and to look at, okay, hang on. What am I doing there? I need to have the discipline to actually hand that over and that might, lead into Cat as well. Some signals or signs that people are ready to look into, having an online business manager to support their business.

[00:21:28] Emily: And then also what we need to do to be good clients for you and people like you that are online business managers, what do, what do we need to keep in mind? because I know that I might give you a task and then, you know, the better that I can try and explain it and get it out of my head, the easier it makes it for you. And then also myself knowing to just be able to delegate and even now have you send out emails that I don’t need to see. I think that’s pretty cool to be like, Cat, you know what you’re doing. We’re at the stage now. You don’t have to send me the preview. Like, I’m happy for you to just send that email. So yeah, answer that question if you would, Cat, in terms of what are maybe some science people might be ready for to bring this role into their business and then how can they be a great client?

[00:22:10] Cat: Well, you’re a coach yourself. So I’m gonna say something that most coaches I think will agree with is the first decision you need to make or the first probably obstacle in your path before you hire an o BM, is your mindset. We’re business owners, our businesses are our babies. We just, we know it’s usually just been us for so long, or you had the odd contract, but you live and breathe it and it’s really hard to trust somebody else to come in, and especially if you have your own community, come in there as a support.

[00:22:38] Cat: So it’s almost like, and it’s a hard question to answer, but you, you almost need to feel ready or be able to like try and start to be ready from an idea of like, you physically gonna be passing something over, and if you’re not ready with that, it’s gonna be an uphill struggle. Cause I have worked with clients that really thought they needed me, and they just, they just couldn’t, they couldn’t, you know, it ends up being, they change their mind every day, or they micromanage, or they just, they’re so uncomfortable and it’s absolutely fine. So I think you’ll know yourself. A lot of business owners start by wearing every single hat. You know, they are the bookkeeper, they’re the marketer, they do everything. So when you’ve got to point where your business is very successful, or you’re doing quite well, but you cannot take it any further, I think you can’t skill, you can’t bring in a new offer, you can’t start your online program.

[00:23:23] Cat: You can’t do anything because you’re constantly just chasing, tell you in all those little tasks. It might be you need a year, but it’s very likely that you almost need someone to come in and assess the business as to. Where you are almost needed, for example, like you say, caution calls and needs to be you. It’s your business, it’s your, it’s your students. They need to hear from you cause you’re the expert. Everything else. You bring someone else and go look at these things. What can be passed over? And it can be step by step. Cause it is a hard thing to come in. But what good about no BM is it coming? Assess the business point of point of view of like yourself.

[00:23:57] Cat: They’ll go, right, okay, this, there’s a gap here. You need this, this is missing. If you hire a vaa, you’ll get other tests taken off view. That’s fantastic. But the point of VA year is to just get things done. They’re not gonna sit with you strategically. Look at your business and what can be streamlined, what can be outsourced, what can be done in that way.

[00:24:14] Cat: So that’s whys good. If you feel like you are so successful, but you’re stuck and you cannot progress any further, it’s also good if maybe you already have quite a few contractors, so you’ve got a team, but you are managing them. So rather than like, right, I’ve kept all these tasks, I’ve got so much space to create.

[00:24:30] Cat: Oh no I don’t because I’m people managing all the time. That’s another thing. Cause you bring in our project management systems like I discussed, that’s great, but maybe you still are in there. You’re still like checking things that done. You chase and your team members to see where things are. The O BM can come in and manage that team side, which means that they can report directly to you with updates.

[00:24:47] Cat: Maybe have a once a week update or they give you a daily report, whatever it is that you prefer, but they’re handling all the day-to-day minute tasks because it will take over. Pupil management is a big thing and obviously you’ve already built that trust because you have team members in here. So all you need to do is bring the BM and build that trust in that relationship so they can take care of your team for you.

[00:25:06] Cat: So that’s good. If you’ve already got quite a few team members, I would definitely say it. Bringing someone in, again, it’s kinda like have an office manager, they obvious oversee things and make sure everything’s running according to that. And I think also, um, if you have more than one business, you might wanna bring an OBN for one particular business or to win them that.

[00:25:19] Emily: Hmm.

[00:25:19] Cat: Um, because then again, it’s the overseeing of all the moving parts. So like you say, you can get everything out of your head because it’s in someone else’s head as well. And the longer they work with your business and more they get to know it, the more you can pass over or the more that they can provide.

[00:25:31] Emily: Could I just interject, Cat? It’s so funny because on Monday last week, I think it was, I sent you an email basically of everything that was in my head

[00:25:37] Cat: Yes. Yes. 

[00:25:38] Emily: And then you wrote back that afternoon, you’re like, it’s all done. I’m like, what? I thought that would be like the whole month. But for me it was such a relief just to kind of be like, these are all the things that I know need to be done and that I’m thinking about. And then like, oh my goodness, to then for me to sit down, maybe take half an hour to put that down, but then that to be almost it. And then you come back to me, I’m like, okay, here’s the answer to this one. Here’s what I’ve done with this one. What do you think about this thing here? Like, oh my goodness, I’m like, Cat, that was really fast.

[00:26:13] Cat: So yeah, like, so I take for granted that kind of thing in terms of obviously alls are different. We all have different skill sets. We probably offer different services as well. But that’s why it’s so important that when you feel like you’re ready to the next step, it’s not just their level of expertise or whether they’re based or their working hours, it’s who they are as a person. Because the small business owners we’re buying from the person we’re not, you know, it’s not Coca-Cola or Pepsi where you pick, I say those names where you pick a big brand, you know, like you really want a cola. You know, you like, which brand do I wanna do? I want to drink today. you need to have that level of, like, you get on, you know, you have the same values, so important because you’re gonna end up resenting each other or just not really getting on.

[00:26:55] Cat: And my big thing is I only work with clients where I feel like I can care about their business as much as they do. But I will not care about your business more than you. So that’s why you need to know you’re ready, because if you really wanna scale or move on or get you off, is, I’m going with you every step of the wave, but I will push you to go, let’s do this thing. Where’s this thing? Let’s plan this. And if you’re not ready for that, then again, that’s not going to work because you’ve hired me to make things better, but you’re just not ready. And it’s fine to not be ready. Maybe you just, you need to work with a virtual assistant. Maybe you need to work with a social media manager, but you already need to sit down and assess a business and where you actually want to go.

[00:27:31] Cat: So I think, so that leads into then how to be a good client is you figure all that stuff out first. Because when we are working together, I don’t rest my laurels. If you want something done, I’m gonna go get a done. I can’t help it. I love to tick off a list like most of us. and you know, and I have, you know, like, yes, I work with you and your wonderful students, but I do have other clients, so I need to manage my time effectively. And I have my own life. I have my own priorities that I need to make sure that I. Service my clients, but you know, we have to fill our own cup and things like that. So I’ve being a good client. Yeah. Making sure you’re ready and you know, if you’re gonna work with me, let’s work together. Don’t, you know, like it’s very hard to work with clients, but you’re constantly chasing them for information.

[00:28:06] Cat: Or they want something done they they do, but they don’t, that’s the thing. Like sometimes just wanna do it, but they don’t wanna do the work. to be a good client, obviously. I’m just very, I think communication’s so important. Just be honest with each other, particularly around like deadlines or priorities or availability.

[00:28:21] Cat: It’s also like, it’s especially the clients I’ve got now where it’s, they have had OBM before, there is that level of trust and I completely understand. I know how weird it is to bring me in. You don’t really know me that well. This is your business. I am sitting behind this curtain, but it’s but allow me to build that trust with you. You know, like if, if you gonna put up a wall, then it’s gonna be really hard to build that. Cause I’m willing, I’m here, I want to be long term with you and I’ve got a very thick skin. I trained as an actor and guess what? I’m not very good, but I’ll still get on stage and do it. Still. Get up there and I’ll sing through a crowd. I don’t mind. I have no shame. So you can say it to me. I’m very open. This isn’t working. I don’t like this. It’s fine. Okay. The idea is I wanna come in and make a life easier. I wanna build a relationship with you and your clients. You know, I don’t wanna come in looking business ago, right, let’s start from scratches, rebuild this. If it doesn’t need to be changed, I won’t change it, but I just want to make sure that it works the best for you. You know, if I bring in a project management system, do you like it? If you don’t, right, how can we change it? How can I make this process easier? It’s that you need to just be willing to let me in at least a little bit or at least try to work with me on it.

[00:29:22] Emily: Yes.

[00:29:22] Cat: Pay on time. And I know money is a big thing, but you know, if, if I’m offering you a service and I’ve completed my side of it, you know, we all are contractors and yes, money’s our own responsibility. But if you’re not gonna pay me on time, it is a, a level of disrespectful, that, you know, you can’t go to the shop, pick up a bottle of milk and tell the owner that you’re gonna pay them later on. Just doesn’t work that way. And I think we need to, we’re all small business owners and respect that we all offering the service. We are all experts in our field and we have contracts need to fulfill that. cause I know I, I, I always track talent. I get electricity bill I paid that day. I’m just and I think the last thing about being a good client is actually understanding that maybe sometimes it is time to part ways. I think people get so scared. It’s like, you know, we’re not employees, we’re not the company. I’ve worked with clients for say, six months and their business is totally pivoted. Or they started a product business, for example, which isn’t my area of expertise or, you know, financially, actually this isn’t viable for me anymore because I need to do this or, and that’s fine.

[00:30:18] Cat: I think it’s like knowing when is okay, I like to build long-term relationships, but which doesn’t mean we’re gonna work together for the next 20 years. And I think that’s absolutely fine. because sometimes you just need a particular contractor to that amount time, so don’t feel bad about it, you know, as long as , you buy by contract terms and you honest. That’s why communication’s so key cuz it is upsetting to lose clients when you like close to them and you respect them and you’ve loved working with them. But I understand like, we have to understand that this isn’t necessarily a long term thing. and it’s okay. Like just be okay with it. You’re a business owner. Do what’s best for you and your business and maybe one day we’ll get together again. You don’t know.

[00:30:52] Emily: Yeah. That’s such great advice Cat. I wasn’t expecting that one, but I think a lot of people will probably listen and might realize some things about their own, perhaps contractors or that type of thing that, um, maybe the time has come. I don’t know. So good, Cat. Thank you. And as we wrap up, I would just like to say thank you to you for being like, such an amazing role. I think too, just to add on to, to working together and having an O B M too is definitely having like, there’s, there’s so much that we do as business owners and I think that, it is also a matter of being willing to take the time.

[00:31:26] Emily: To, it’s gonna take longer to show someone how to do something than just do it yourself. But once you’ve done that, you can then get it off of your plate too. And, yeah, so I think that’s a little tip there for, people that maybe struggle to find the time to document things, to then be able to move it off there, off their plate a little bit too. And I know that I used to be like that a bit. But yeah, I just wanna say a huge thank you, Cat, for being there for my business, for being so loyal, for helping me so much. And I feel like we’re still even, you know, it’s been 18 months or so and there’s. Like so much that I think we can still do and areas that we can document better in, processes we can put in place.

[00:32:07] Emily: And I think it’s really exciting and it’s just been very very valuable for me as a business owner to have, someone in that role and for, that to be you. So Cat, where can people go to find you, connect with you and also you better explain your gorgeous accent too if you would like to, because um, people might be like, does she have an accent? Where’s that from? It sounds really good.

[00:32:26] Cat: So, yes. Hopefully you can all understand me. I’m from a place called 

[00:32:31] Emily: Sound fantastic.

[00:32:33] Cat: Uh, yes. This accent. A lot of people think I’m Irish, but they would be wrong. Unfortunately, I am from a place called Sunland in England, and I’ve been in Australia, several years now. And, uh, I get to stay here, which is wonderful. So that’s where I’m originally from. be curious. I have a documentary on Netflix called Sunland Till I Die, but that’s another topic. Um, so yes, you can find me. The best place to find me will be Instagram. it’s, itscatdunn.obm, I can’t speak itscatdunn.obm. And in there you’ll find a link to my website and you can just DM me and chat to me. Yes, I’m very open. I’m very, I’m very happy to talk to people if they’re interested. And obviously shout about your program from the.

[00:33:15] Emily: Thanks Cat. So good to have you on, and thank you for, um, sharing a bit behind the scenes of what it looks like to work with an o bm, what it is that you do, the, the immense value that you bring and, um, how to be a great client too. So thank you so much for being on the show.

[00:33:29] Cat: Thank you Emily. It’s been a pleasure.