Head to Head Battle: Virtual Assistant vs. Online Business Manager

I get a lot of questions about what makes an online business manager different than a virtual assistant. You might have wondered about this yourself… Which one is better? What are the advantages of each? Who should I hire?

So today, I’m putting them head to head, outlining what each of them do so you can hire the right person for your team.

The Virtual Assistant (VA)

Operating as one-stop shop, they do a little of everything: admin, web design, email marketing, social media, simple graphics, copywriting, organizing, and project management.

They’re efficient, reliable, and knows at least as much as you do about operating your business behind the scenes.

Think of them like your general practitioner. You’re not going to go to them for a very specific need, where you would be better off turning to a specialist. They’re a generalist, so their knowledge within each specialty might not be as great as it would with an OBM or multi-VA team.

Who should hire a VA? Any entrepreneur or coach who is consistently making money each month needs a VA to leverage their time. They’ll allow you to focus on your clients and your growth strategy.

The Online Business Manager (OBM)

Think of them as a VA for the Major Leagues. They do everything the VA does, but at a higher level. They’ve been doing this for several years, so they know the ins and outs of running an online business better than you do.

They have a VA team supporting them with deep understanding of each of their practice areas. So in other words, they have a graphic designer doing only design work, a copywriter only writing sales copy, and a tech team handling all of the behind the scenes stuff. They’ll handle all of the team management, leaving you with time to focus on what you do best.

Who should hire an OBM? Because there’s a team involved, the work product is better but the cost is usually higher. I recommend hiring an OBM once you are earning 5-figures per month.

So who wins in this head to head battle?

That depends on you and your needs.

One of the advantages of my multi-VA team is that I can offer you both options to best meet your specific needs, even if that changes as you grow.

Now over to you! I’d love to hear in the comments about your experiences with both VA’s and OBM’s.