Launching a business is overwhelming, scary and filled with lots of unknowns. In the same breath, it’s exciting and fun to focus your attention on something you’re truly passionate about. A lot of the time, we are the person that does it ALL. We are the creator, the manager, the finance team, the assistant, the marketing person, etc. because we have to be scrappy to start, right?
At least that’s fairly common at the start of any small business. We really just fly by the seat of our pants, take action every single day and look up to others for advice, support and examples of what to do next. But then we get to a point where we really are DOING IT ALL and we truly don’t have time for that. You now have clients/customers and revenue coming in and more of your time is taking up serving your clients and doing the thing you were so passionate to do to begin with that the other stuff takes a backseat, or eats away at the valuable time you could be using to maximize your influence and grow your brand. It happens to us all.
It’s at this point you look to start outsourcing. Maybe your social media, or your design work, but really you’re still managing those people and even that can be a lot. This is where I come in as an online business manager (OBM). Not only do I manage all the things that are taking up all your time, but I create efficiencies and set up processes that help your business run more smoothly. In short, I help you get your shit together, because let’s be real, it’s all over the place as you’re trying to get everything done.
But what exactly IS the backend of your business? What does that mean?
The backend of your business is essentially what is done “behind-the-scenes”. It’s what makes your business function. This would be your admin work, accounting, communications -- think COO (Chief Operations Officer) level in this corporate world.
So, yes, you have a backend to your business, but what you don’t realize is there’s likely a much quicker, more effective way to organize your backend, and you actually don’t have to be the one to manage them either.
Some examples of these include:
Setting up automations for things like contacts, scheduling appointments, invoicing, onboarding clients, etc. This saves you so much time because you literally set things up once and you don’t have to do the back and forth through emails with people for all of these things.
Create and manage project timelines for upcoming launches, events, new programs, or overall business planning for the year. Timelines usually include all the details around what’s needed for email marketing, social media marketing, logistics of what needs to be set up, created, purchased, etc.
Content creation and execution. Content can seem super overwhelming. I broke down how to make content creation easier in a blog post here. But that being said, this is a part of your backend business in terms of creating this content.
Project management and organization. There are so many different tools out there to organize your to-do’s, but I always recommend Asana. Asana simplifies and organizes your to-do list to where you can even set weekly recurring tasks. Project management is so important once you are out of that “entry” entrepreneur phase and are doing #allthethings.
Other backend business things include:
Client onboarding
Email marketing
Budget/finance management
Inbox management
Facebook/Community group management
Managing your team or vendors
There’s so much work that is done behind the scenes and can either be automated, optimized or managed by someone other that you, the business owner.
Now that you have a better idea as to what the “back-end” of your business includes, would an OBM be the right fit for helping you to manage some of these things and create efficiencies in your business?
Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.
After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.
Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.
Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.
