Scale Without Sacrifice: How an OBM is a CEO’s Secret Weapon with Ashley Connell

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of The Marketing, Media & Money podcast. I am so excited that you're here. Kind of on fire this week. I just got back from a conference of over 100 women that were six, seven and eight figures, and, oh, I have to tell you, I'm still on that high and I'm excited because one of them is actually here with me today. So let me just kind of ask you a question and kind of tell you what we're going to be diving into, because as a CEO, your drive and hands on approach, it probably built your business. But could those same superpowers now be holding you back? Well, this episode is going to tackle the lonely reality of leadership and how it impacts your growth or lack thereof. And today we're going to explore how partnering with an online business manager or an OBM, for sure, can transform your role from an isolated operator to a visionary leader. And don't we all want that. So let me tell you a little bit about Ashley. So Ashley Connell is the CEO of prowess project, and she matches visionary CEOs with skilled online business managers to help scale businesses efficiently and using an innovative algorithm, the prowess project connects leaders with vetted OBM often professional women seeking a work life harmony. And these obms Combine COO and virtual assistant skills managing daily operations so CEOs can focus on strategy and with a 95% satisfaction rate. That's pretty impressive, 95% the prowess project has become the go to solution for CEOs looking to scale without sacrificing balance. And Ashley's background in tech marketing and her passion for empowering women drive prowess project's mission to support both ambitious CEOs and talented professionals. So I have to tell you, Ashley, that is exciting, because you're right. I think people we get so caught up in the day to day operation of our own business, that that works good in the beginning when you're in the hustle stage, but when you're ready to scale and go beyond that and be able to do the things that are pretty much the reason why we got into business in the first place, right?

That's exactly it. Well, first I'm so pumped to be on here. I too am still riding the high of last week's conference, but you nailed it, just there. You nailed it. Why we got into business in the first place? We probably had this grand vision, how we wanted to change the world, or something we wanted to be spending our time on. Then, you know, fast forward three years. We've been doing this for a bit, and you're like, oh my gosh, I'm doing none of that visionary work. I am in spreadsheets. I am putting out fires, and this is none of my zone of genius. And that's a problem we see over and over and over again

Oh, and one of the things that I love is that you talk about the CEO strengths, parents sometimes become our limitations. And how do you think that these superpowers start holding us back as our businesses grow?

Well, we started businesses like I just said, because we had this big vision, we wanted to either change the world or do something different, or we saw this gap. And in order to start a business, you have to start talking to people. You have to start vetting your idea. You have to start getting people to become your customers. So you are so good at casting that vision and building relationships, and that's where you need to stay. But as you get more and more clients, all of the operations and the how, not the why, not the what, but the how starts taking over your time. Look, maybe you build for about maybe you build for the CRM details, maybe you want built for technology and automation. Let me tell you, there are people who are build critical, and that's really what promise is here to fall is matching those two.

You know, I really love that, because I think I learned early on in my business from one of my very first coaches that, you know, work in your brilliance and hire other people to work in theirs. And that's the name of the game is. And I think it's pretty much been, the key to my success is to not get stuck in the minutia. And it is so easy to do that. And I have to tell you, sometimes I laugh, and, you know, with my clients occasionally, although they pretty much know what they hired before, but sometimes when they'll say something about, oh, Patty, could you go on the you know, I'm stuck here, and I'm like, nope. And they're like, What do you mean? And I'm like, I can't even tell you the last time I went in on the back end of my own website, I am. I mean, I know how to do it, right? I know how to roll it. But. It, but it's not what I want to do. It's like, no, that's what somebody else puts my podcast up, on my website, my I am somebody who puts my blogs up, and somebody who does all those things. Because that is not only not my zone of genius, but what I feel like. And this is just my own personal opinion. You can tell me what you think, but I feel like the minute I step out of my creativity brilliance and go do something that is not there, it's really hard for me to go back. It's almost like done for that day. Like tomorrow, we can go with that again, but for the rest of the day. Now, I'm in admin. Now I'm in doing all the detail stuff that is really not what I want to do. And to say truth is not what my clients really want me to do either.

What is exactly in it that your clients don't want you doing that either? And almost a business owner, you're constantly thinking about how you are allocating resources, whether it is time, whether it's money, whether it's focus, whether it's attention. And as a business owner, you need to know the value of your time and what you should be doing that is going to move you the furthest. I am willing to say that it is the strategy and it is the vision cussing, not you getting into the back end of your business. And again, which is is crazy for a lot of visionary CEOs to think about. There are people who love to get into the back end of your website, check every little box to make sure that it is perfect and can get lost in the best way and let them Oh,

I'm so thankful that they are there and that they love to do that because, oh, it is so not what I want to do. But I absolutely love it when they come to me and say, You know what? Patty, you know how we're doing this, this and this. Well, while we're already doing this, this and this, we could do this too. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, they just saved me, you know, another two hours, right? You know? So I love it

Hours or time. What I love about it is a lot of our online business managers who love the technology and love the operations. They are looking at your business as their own, and they get so dialed into the technology that they may say to you, hey, Patty, there is this functionality that we aren't using, that you can get rid of this other software, save you $2,000 a year, and it's going to be more integrated, like we see that type of cost savings all the time from our clients.

You know? I really feel that having an OBM literally not only makes you money, but they pay for themselves and then make you money

Without a doubt. I mean, not only do they make you money, but what I hear over and over again is the relief that our CEOs feel. They're actually sleeping through the night knowing their business, aka their baby, is taken care of at all times. They don't even know where the fires are. They don't know where the problems are, because they don't have to know someone else is taking care of all of that. And

I think that's really important, because I think one of the things that I heard you say, that I think is so true is that you don't just hire an OBM, you partner with an OPM. And I really, I heard you say that, and I was like, Oh, that is so true. So like, how can partnering with an OBM help a CEO kind of shift right from being stuck in those daily operations to really becoming a true visionary leader.

So this is the difference as a business owner, especially when you're getting started or you haven't hired a ton of people, you are lonely at the top, it is very lonely. And I'm sure you can go to a coach and ask questions, but they're not going to know the insides and outsides of your business and have all the so what I wanted to give to more business owners was a thought partner. It's beyond a someone you hire. It's beyond a contractor. It is someone who thinks very differently than you, who's going to help you solve your biggest problems that oftentimes you've never seen before, or you've never encountered, or you have no idea how to solve, but they have, and they're bringing in their genius and really working in their zone. And it's magic. I truly believe that the visionary and integrator or ops type role are the most important to get that compatibility right, than than the rest of the entire company.

I think that's true. I know that as a marketing strategist. And I think of all the things in my business, sometimes I have thought, and I'm going to challenge that every person who's listening to this. How many times have you ever thought it yourself if I could just do this and if I could just do that? But sometimes that thing, that one thing, isn't something that you need to hire a whole another employee for to do that one thing, right? You know. But then all of a sudden, you know, like how I knew it was time for me to go from a VA to a OBM. Was I just started writing down every time I thought, Oh, wait, wait a second, I do know how to do this, but if I knew how to do it at this level over here, man, I could some of the things that are in my parking lot, right? You know, of things that I wanted to do like, I couldn't quite do them yet, because I'm busy doing other things to do that, right? And all of a sudden I started looking at that list, and I thought, Wow, if I had somebody who could do this, and they could do this, and they could do this, and I could see the pattern of what the skills would be that were kind of similar, like there was like a like, a pattern there. And I thought, Wow, if I could find somebody who could do that, and then, because of what their skill set is. They also know how to explain it to you, because I know what I do. I know what my genius is. So when they come to me and say, Well, you know, Patty, have we ever thought about doing this? And I'm like, No, and I'll give you an example, please, one of the things so I, you know, publish my magazine, right? And, you know, we just hit 240,000 subscribers. However, my OBM said to me one day, she said, You know what, Betty, you have books and you have them on Amazon. Have you ever thought about putting your magazine on Amazon? I was like, I'm like, what? Like, how would I put my magazine? I mean, like, I never, ever even thought of that. And she says, yes, because when people are doing that, how many subscribers would you get? And if they were subscribing to your magazine from Amazon, then they would find out what you do, and maybe that would get you clients, and it would get you other subscribers, and it would support the other people that write for your magazine. And I thought, how, that's really great idea. How would I do that? Like, in my mind, like, now I go to a detail now. I was like, Oh, I gotta go and do this, that. And I was like, well, could you do that for me? She's like, Yeah, she had it done in like, two days.

I was like, Yes, this is a prime example. So just like, what you do with your clients, you are looking at them from your marketing grain, helping them make more money. That is what your OBM is doing for your business. They understand how connected it is. They know where all the skeletons are. But more importantly, they're thinking about what activities and what investment should we be making that's going to give us the most leverage or get us closer to our goal that is their focus, day in and day out, so you have someone who's not just you thinking about that, so you can go out there and serve and be that visionary that you were meant to be.

I know I love that. And sometimes they have said, You know what, if we got this, then I would be able to do this for you, and we wouldn't have to do this other thing, and if we had this, and then I love it too. Because I think for a long time I was like, Oh, why is my BA just not very techy? And I'm like, because she's a BA, yeah, that's answer, right? That's actually not their skill set, right? Not to say there aren't some tech VAs out there, but the fact of the matter is, I feel like, I feel like CEOs, we struggle whether we want to knit it or not in micromanagement of our own business. I mean, too, because it's our baby, right? So we get caught up in the operations. And really honestly, it isn't why we did it. And I think that even when you get past scale, there might be a time in somebody's business where you need to hire a COO and all this kind of stuff. And you figured, oh yeah, like in, you know, three years, I could do this. This is what my goal is. And I think if you have the right OBM, I feel like that's going to get you there faster. And not only that, but they're going to work on what you need to do to enable to do it. I also even think, like, for example, sometimes people have said, Oh, well, you know, I want to do my business. And, well, this isn't me, you know, I have heard people say that, you know, in like five years, I want to be able to sell my business. Well, if you're in your business, doing your business, you need somebody on the outside looking in to think about, what do you need to do in order to make that happen, right? Or when people say, you know, I want legacy, it's like, okay, well, that's really, really great. But if you're the face of your brand, and you're this, like, what do you. To make that happen. So while you're doing this, somebody else can be in the background doing that especially. And I keep going back to that partner word, if you're a partner with them, and you're telling them, this is kind of the goal, and this is what I want to do, like they're going to help you to be able to get there and be able to manage some of those things. So I have to tell you, I think that that is really important. What do you think if you had somebody I like the way you call it a ops alley, but an ops minding partner? How can this help overcome that tendency that CEOs really have of micromanaging their own business, even though they're the first ones to tell their clients to not do it to theirs.

So let's go back to how important it is to have a compatible partner in your OBM. What that means is you need to be able to respect that person, that when they are holding you accountable for staying in your lane. You're going to be like, Oh, wait, Susie, the OB, you are right. I need to stay in my lane. And so we're going to take a step back and share a story of how we even got started in prows project, because I think it will shed some light on what we're trying to do here. Oh, I love that. I yeah, I so background, like you said, tech marketing. I did that for 15 years. Looked up all of the leadership were men, and went around, asked all the women, like, in my cohort of marketing, they were all probably linked, you know, 20s, hey, you going up with an X promotion, or you're going and taking on that next project, and they're like, actually, I can't I have children and I cannot spend any more time at my job. I was like, okay, yeah, totally get that. And so then hopped online, found the horrific Harvard Business Review statistic that 43% of educated professional women lead the workforce to raise kids. When they do, they lose 30% of their cop forever, but 97% would return if they had access to flexible jobs. So I'll come back to this. I'll come back. I'll bring it home. Thank you. So I shared this story with this woman who I was working with, and she was an ops wizard, and when she was working part time with us, I was like, Yeah, you could be mobile, so much more money. Like, why are you working with us? You could be a CEO. And she said, Ashley, I have two children, and I need the flexibility, and most like bingo, it was only when I so with her, I shared with her my vision of how I wanted to help women pivot in their careers. Have something that is flexible and have something that uses their emotional intelligence skills that always come into work and also their up skills and and I told her this, within three days, she came back to me with a full on plan for exactly what our matching algorithm needed to look like, exactly what the training program for our obms needed to look like so that they could go from Hey, I've been out of the workforce for three years, or hey, I want to start my own business, to being a six figure. Phobia came that entire plan, and I was like this. Then guess what happened? Word about Leah spread like wildfire, and I had so many people being like, how do I find a Leah? And so that's why we started delivering obms who are just like Leah,

So they go through your training program. I love the fact that you're like, a matchmaker, right? Yes, one of the things is like, what should CEOs look for when they're searching, right? You know, in what does the prowess projects like you said this word, and I'm like, Oh, how does your algorithm like? That's a great word, right? Your algorithm make this process more efficient, and really what it aligns with what the business needs are, right? You know, because sometimes they don't even exactly know themselves, right? You know, so being playing that matchmaker, so you get that right thing. I mean, I think that every entrepreneur I know to be told to ask everyone I know. I can't think of one that hasn't said this to me in some way, shape or form, has gone through a series of vas. I had this work. She didn't have to do this, or I did this, and she didn't know how to do that. And I have to have four vas, because it takes that many to do all the things that I need to do, because everybody's trying to find that perfect one, right? But they're looking for a VA, and a VA isn't that and so I feel like, you know you need to find someone who does align with your vision and your beliefs, right? And dare I even say sort of the personalities too, right? You know? Know. And I mean, what a gift that is, if you were working with somebody. And I kind of even like the flexible thing, I think the flexible thing can really be, can really be wonderful, right, you know? So, you know, how is, how do you guys do that? Like, what are the things that, what we should be looking for? What would we need to tell you that would make it so you guys would know how to come in and do your matching I'm not asking you to tell your proprietary secrets, but no, no, no, like, what is the thing that you do that makes this process and this algorithm work so well and make it so you are matched up with the people that you need to have, and it meets your business needs, but also aligns with you as well, absolutely

So point blank, recruiting and hiring is broken. We focus way, way, way more on what you have done in your previous life and the quote, unquote, professional skills or hard skills that you have than the emotional intelligence skills, and those are the soft skills, those are the communication style and the interpersonal skills. So what we realized, especially with the visionary ops relationship, is you need to focus on compatibility of that emotional intelligence, because communication between those two is so important and so the way that I would describe our matching algorithm is a cross between LinkedIn and match.com we are trying to help you find your perfect ops partner. And so we look at hundreds of data points. Of course, the I need someone who's going to be really good at Excel, sure, like, yeah, it's on there. But we go deeper. What type of communication style, are you what type of teamwork Do you really thrive in? What type of conflict resolution do you prefer? And it's not always sameness that is the right answer. It is compatibility and how you can have that healthy discourse and healthy, not necessarily arguments, but just like conversations that really uncover the gold that you need to get to the next level in the business. That is what our algorithm does. It does that type of matching and Patty, I will tell you 99 times out of 100 I will run our algorithm. I will give three different candidates of OBM to the CEO, and they will come to me after interviewing all of them, and they'll be like, Ashley. I could have sworn it was going to be Annie, the OBM, her and I are so similar. We got on like house on fire, like I thought she was our person. And then I spoke to Susie. Susie is wildly different than me. She has a ton of different gifts, and she's the one I want to hire, because we are so complimentary. I hear it time and time again,

And I think that's so true too, though, because I think before we got all of the things that we have now, all the personality test here, you know, human design and all the different stuff, I think. And I know I did this too. And I'm actually going to tell you, there was this time that I was at this event, and there was somebody who was coming to speak, who was the owner. It was actually Roger, and he came from wealth dynamics, if anybody knows that, and he was the speaker, and he had us all take it, and I took it and I was a creator. Oh, really a surprise there. But here was the thing that really shifted everything for me in this thing that we're discussing, because he did this thing. He said, I'm going to share a story, and I want all the creators here on this wall and the stars over here and and he put everybody there, and he said, Now I'm going to tell you a story, and then I'm going to ask then I'm going to ask you a question. I want you to pick somebody in your group that's going to be the Spurs person. I'm going to give you guys five minutes to come up with their answer. I was thinking, Oh, I thrive in these techniques. And of course, they fit me to be the leader of our group. Also not a surprise, right? Yeah. But then he says this story, and I'm like, So here was the story. You're going to love it, and you could feel free to borrow it. So anyway, here was this story. He said, you get a call from a client who is your number one client and brings in over 50% of your income. And that client tells you that they want to have a call with you tomorrow, and that they're kind of thinking about making some changes. So you have 24 hours, what would you do? That was the question. And I looked at the people in my group, and I'm like, Duh. Like, first of all, why would you ever let one person be 50% of your income? Like, first super. Abroad, yeah,

Never let that fly first of all

You know. So that was, like, the first thing. And then I thought, Oh, well, if I only have 24 hours, like, I'm spending my 24 hours, like replacing that income, or as close as I can, and that's what we'd be doing. And I literally, I'm going to tell you, Ashley, I thought, Is there any other answer, like, to me, that was like, no brainer. Okay, so then he came to us first, and I remember, I mean, this was, like, 10 years ago, and I remember when he said, Okay, I mean, I felt like we were on, like, Family Feud or something, right, you know? And I literally, he's like, Okay, what's your answer? And I was like, okay, yes, like, I knew we were going to get it, you know, we had the answer. And I was thinking, yeah, that was a great answer. And he's like, Oh, that's a good answer. And then he went to the next group, and he asked them their answer, and they said, Oh, well, we would spend that 24 hours trying to figure out what the problem could be, so that we would have a solution for them. When we got on the phone with them, and I was like, Well, of course, we're going to do that, but first we need to replace the income and don't go to the next group, but the next group's like, oh, well, we'll create a policy and procedure so this would never happen again. And I'm thinking, Well, of course, we're going to do that too, but first we're going to please. And I thought to myself, there was actually a group of people that actually thought that was the answer. Like, totally. Like, what's like, why are we making a policy and procedure? We gotta save the client first, right? But they were so adamant that that was the answer. And so then, after we all did that, we're all sitting there, probably every one of us are all thinking our answer was right. Answer out Sure. He said, here's the thing, when you hire, you always pick somebody that's just like you, because you want them to think like you, when the answer is, really you need to have somebody on your team that has all the skills that you do not have. And that was a eye opener for me, and I realize you're right. That's exactly what I've done, because I loved it when we got on a call and I was all fired up and I was excited, and they're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, right alongside of me, but then we didn't have the people that were actually able to do that, and I realized could be ra, ra, ra, all by myself. I'm the CEO. I need somebody who can do the vase.

Hello, Patty, like drum roller. Yes, that is exactly it. I'm not hiring you to be my cheerleader. I'm hiring you to help me come up with the best solution possible, a multi faceted one and one that thinks through all of the different problems or all the different status. That's what you need in the OBM, someone who thinks differently and you can work well with and that's exactly what we deliver. Oh, I love that. Yes, I'm borrowing that story without

It's a great it's a great story. And every time I share, everybody's like, Oh, wow, either they've already come to that conclusion somewhere along their journey, or they had it right? And they're like, oh. And I really realized that I needed them on my team, right? You know, and stuff, though. And so I thought, oh. And one of the things that I love about an OBM for me in my personal journey, is the OBM also comes to me and says, You know what, Patty like, we need to hire somebody else. And this is what we who we need to hire. And guess what? They manage them too, and I don't have to do that either.

Oh my gosh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. That is exactly it. I was just about to say that they say, Hey, look, we need this expert in X, Y and Z to hire to solve this gap. Oh, and by the way, I will onboard them, I will manage them, I will make sure that they are producing and so going back into how our SEO superpower can really turn against them. If, if I'm the visionary, and I think big, and I think broad, and I think 10 years down the line, do you think I'm a good onboarder When I have to build a plan that is two weeks long and get every single detail that this person needs to do in order to do their job. Absolutely. We just had this happen. We brought on someone with the team, our OBM now. Coo, she looked at me. She's like, I'm taking this it's like, don't even get near on boarding process. You pass the motion. I'm taking all the details. Thank you very much.

I know, I think one of my favorite things that they do for me is they create the SOPs. Like, hi, whoa. It is just so wonderful. Rim. Just like, okay, good. And like, once we go through the process, and they come to me and they say, okay, Patty, like, here's, here's the process, right? And I even love that she came to me. Her name is Jesse, and she came to me, she said, Okay, Patty, we got this whole SOP done everything, because what if I gotta get by a bus? And I was like, what? I was like, you know? And so she said, Yes, I am making it so that. Should anything happen? Somebody else could step right in. And you're like, Whoa. How many times have you had an employee or a contract? After work for you, and then they're gone, and all of a sudden, you're like, oh, wow, what am I gonna do now? Right? You know, so to me, that actually said a lot about her character, you know, said a lot about her work ethic. And I love it. And sometimes I go in there and I look at the SOPs, you know, if I'm, you know, up at night after you go to sleep, that'll bore me to tears and makes me go to sleep, and I'm like, Whoa. Am I so thankful that I have somebody else to do that? Because it's not really what I need to do. So what would say, like, go ahead

Let me take that a step further. So what I have seen obms do is, as they're building adult SOPs, they go back to the CEO in this like, Hey, you have an SOP. That's 50 steps. We can implement automation and turn this into three steps. It's gonna take me one hour to do and probably save you manual time of at least 20 hours a week. That's the magic.

Well, that is the magic. I love that. Yeah, that just gave me cold chills. I love it so much. So that kind of leads me into something that I'm kind of thinking about, really is so yes, they can provide the sounding board, and yes, they can be a strategic partner, which I think is beautiful. But how can they unlock, like new growth opportunities, right? You know now, they just saved me 20 hours a week, and they just did all these things and stuff, which frees me up to be the visionary. But also they can unlock some growth opportunities because they're seeing it, they're in there seeing it. So they should be able to and I know mine, again, literally say, Well, you know what? Now that you're not doing this, you have time to do this, and I did this, and now here's some opportunities that you may have missed. So I mean, really honestly, what's the power in that?

Well, first of all, it's priceless, right? Like you have this tool that, again, is thinking about your goals and how quickly or efficiently you're going to get there at all. So to answer your question, how they can help with growth, my follow up question is, growth in what? Growth in revenue, growth in profit, growth in number of people that you're serving that's super, super key, and that would be the first question that they're going to ask you. So let's say it's profit, right? And I think a lot of business owners get really, really excited about revenue, but at the end of the day, it's a profit that puts the money in your pocket. So they're looking at, Hey, Ashley, you're taking on. Let's say you have 50 clients who really the top 20% of these clients are your most lucrative. They're the easiest. You love them the most, and they pay the most. Why don't we shift our strategy and focus more on on the avatar that is this 20% and then we can set these other people are figure out a different way to serve them that isn't going to take up so much of your time, or hire someone else to do this for you, and it's like cha ching Cha Ching, cha ching cha ching. So it's really all about what is your goal when it comes to growth, and then they work backwards and think about how they're going to get there. And it's not always the sexy new rollout of a product type of thing. Oftentimes it's just like, hey, do less?

Do you know sometimes it really does matter, though, because I know for me, what brings me joy and feeds my soul is really working with people I love that that's kind of like the thing for me. And at some point you've taken on and you just don't have any more time, like you, you know. And I actually really value my time, and I am. I'm very, very careful with my time, but with that said, like you're saying you may have these 20% and then the other people, you know, finding a way like you said, what's another way to serve them? And I know for me, like, five years ago, that answer was that I should create a course, that type of group, program, yes, but because I didn't want to develop it like that was like, no, no, like. And I kept thinking, why do I not do that? And I finally realized this, like, because I just didn't want to do the creation of it, the delivery of it, I was okay, the creation of it was what I didn't want to do, and I didn't realize it. And finally, they asked me enough questions, is it just that you don't want to create it because I could create it for you? Like, I'm, you know, they're in your whole business, right? And then they create they came back, and I was like, Oh, that's a great idea. Then there were, and if you did this and and you did that, and here's some of the other things. And what's so funny about it to me is that my obn does for me what I pretty much do to my clients, because it's so easy to see it when my clients, because I'm not having to do it for them, I'm just telling them, okay, so here's what we need to do, and here's what we need to do. And here's what we need to do. And they're like, yes, but in my own business, I I knew that taking on those like I don't have time to do the creation or the execution of it, and believe me, they just do it so much better than me deliver it. They only have time.

They love it. Love development. My daddy in that was literally on the back, because I never get into reality. And it sounds like that's exactly what your oat limbs do. And you said, like, that's what I do for other clients. I relate it to the wine bottle all the time. You can't read the label when you're inside the bottle. Just period, right? And so that's what you are doing, or that is what your OBM is doing for you, reading that label, helping you navigate, and helping turning all of your what ifs into reality. And that is the goal that right there is gold.

And I think one of the things that I love about what you do is, you know, sometimes we're our own roadblock, right? You know, we get in our own way. Imagine that. I know the people that are listening you're thinking, right? But we know that we are sometimes the thing that is in our own way. So having somebody be able to listen to us and do the matching for us. I mean, so that we get out of that, right? You know, we get out of that. And really, like, this is what you said that you wanted. This is what you're looking for. This is what your business needs, or whatever the information that they would share with you, for you to be able to go and find that, like you're giving us exactly what we needed, and we didn't have any of the emotion in it. And then also, I think he kind of like, I feel like, by the time I decided to do that, I mean, I one time I had so many vas, just because I just had so many, and I literally hated babysitting them. I felt like I had become a babysitter, right, you know? So it was just a nice logical step for me to be able to even though I had managed all kinds of teams in this one thing, and especially once we went to a virtual world, like when I was in an office, it seemed like it was much easier. And when I went to a virtual world, I just didn't for me. So having somebody else manage that actually worked for me. And literally, I was getting like, burnt out on it, like I was, it was like, this isn't what I wanted to do, I, you know, and so I felt like I was really, like, getting burned down on that. I was like, every time, you know, I would be like, like, like, I just didn't want to do what that. And I kept thinking, Oh, I remember one time I was just like, I'm firing my whole team. This was, like, 12 years ago. I was just like, I just like, I've just played my whole team and starting it from the beginning, because I didn't have the right people working for me, right? You know, stress

And in the entrepreneurial world, we hear all the time, delegate, delegate, delegate, there's, there's bird seed that goes with, like, with a VA you delegate, a task with an OBM, you delegate a problem, they come back to you within the solution, how it's going to get done, and then go do it. That alone is such a difference in what you are delegating. And then the type of person that you need there are absolutely there's so much value in a VA like I am not saying that whatsoever, and I know that you aren't either, but you need to know what you're hiring and what that's going to require from you. It's going to be every single day you telling them, step by step, what to go do. So guess what? When they don't know what to do, or you don't know what to do, it falls back on you, and with an OBM, that's not how it works. You just say, hey, my problem today is I want to have another growth. Problem today is figuring out our forecasting model. My problem today is I want to automate more of our business so that we're more efficient. And they go figure it out, I swear,

Because they have access to all this stuff. And not only that, they only have the they're not emotionally attached to it like we are to our business too, right? You know, anything you know, math is math, and it doesn't lie, right? You know, that's what I would like to say, right? Right? Yeah. And enough. And so I feel like it's taking that emotion out and then having somebody who can create the solution too. Because, you know, sometimes when we get in our own way and we get emotional, once we do figure it out, we're so emotionally vested that it kind of wipes us out for a little while, right? You know what I mean, until we do it, but not like somebody be able to say, yes, that's okay, Patty, here's the problem. Oh, I already got a solution. We could do this, or we could do this, or we could do this. And I'm like, That's what I love. And my whole team now knows that. It's like, you know what? I just want to hear. What are our options? I'm very decisive. Give me a choice of solution, I'll be able to go, Okay, this, tell me this. And this is what I need. To know, and I can make that decision and move on. And I feel like we don't get caught up in that minutia. Then it's a different minutia, right? Then you get caught in the minutia, oh my gosh. And I'm emotionally attached to all that. So I feel like, even though it wasn't really, this wasn't really for me, but I do notice it in my clients, when they move from a VA to an OBM, like they don't even realize the first some of them, it's a stretch for them, a little bit stretch, really. But I have to tell you when the very first time I hired my OBM kind of funny looking back at this, I mean, I can't even believe I said it, but I'm going to be honest and vulnerable here. The very first thing I told my OBM after we did all this stuff, and I said, Okay, so I have worked with a whole bunch of VAs and I realized this is what I need, and I'm really, really excited, but I want you to know the very first thing that I want you to do is tell me how you're going to pay for yourself.

Like I literally said that. Tara, whoa, that's brilliant. And I'm so glad that you submit a ton of clients who asked that during the interview how they should be thinking that is, that is an example of when

Before you're gonna make you're helping make money. How are you gonna pay for you first,

Without a doubt, it is perfectly fine. If the DA says, You know what Patty, give me 24 hours. Let me go understand your business a little bit more, and I'll come back to you with how I'm going to pay for myself and probably 10x what you're pulling for me inside your business. When he said, Go, I actually wish more people did ask that that is one thing that is really huge for me at prowess, for all of our CEO clients, is that they know the ROI that they are getting on their OBM from a month to month standpoint, we said reports because without understanding what they're doing, emails are very bright, shiny object, right? And so, you know, here probably your OBM, and maybe she's like, in the wings, like, really getting stuff done, that little breed starts thinking, Oh, wait, what is she doing? Oh, wait, what am I paying for? Because you're still used to the VA that it's asking you questions and checking up, and you have to tell them what to do all the time, but if you know that each week, you're going to get a report on all these things that I've done and how I've saved you money or made you money, boom, you're not worried anymore. If anything, you're taking that two week laptop free vacation that you've always promised yourself that you would do and never done.

Well, you know. And I think the other thing too is I had somebody say that, like, this was not me, because I'm very abundant. Mindset is some but I had somebody say to me once, not even a client, I was at an event, and somebody said, you know, they're talking about this. OBM when I want to, but once I let her in my business, and she knows everything in my business, how do I know that she won't take everything that she knows and goping my competition. And I'm like, well, because the reason why she's in OBM is because she doesn't want to do that. If she wanted, you guys, she would have already done that. She's doing this because, just like us, we want to work on our brilliance, she wants to work on hers. You know why? Because what she's done through the work, she gets to go home and not worry about this or that or do any of that stuff, because this is what she's doing. So I feel like, yes, that was being scarcity mindset. So I when I help them to shift that, they're like, Oh, I hadn't really thought of that. So what do you think are some I always like to I think people need to know what not to do as well, as well, right? You know. So what do you think are some of the common mistakes that CEOs make when they're first working with an OBM, and how can they avoid some of those pitfalls?

Fact question, over communicate, over communicate, over communicate.

That one is so can't be honest if you hate text messages, sitting for hate text messages, it's just every single OBM CEO relationship that we have paired or both of them, and this is my best compliment I get when both of them said, How did I get so lucky to have found the other every single one of them over communicate and has a very frequent cadence that they can depend on, that they know what's going on and what that OBM is doing. That is the number one thing. Another pitfall starts way before figuring out what you actually need. That is a huge one, and the answer can be Ashley, I have no idea. That's a fine answer. There are so many OBM who are trained to come in and figure out exactly what you need in your business to get to your goal. We talk about this a lot because obms means so many different things, and so I understand that it is confusing, but we like. Can it to. You can get the Swiss Army knife, who is your right hand, who can do it all right? You can get the butter knife that's going to come in and smooth out all your processes and build all the automations and really be focused on, like the plumbing of your business. Or you can get the steak Knight, the person who is really, really, really, really, really good in one ear area, because your business has already scaled, but you still need this. And they really need to focus on this as well as running your business. So it really depends and understanding what you need. And we help with that. Of course, that's key.

Well, one knife isn't going to do it all like yes, but suddenly I love it. So how do you see the role of OBM evolving, right, in the next five to 10 years, as business continues to prioritize both growth and leadership balance, right? You know, we really feel like we're having that. And for me, when people say, you know, work life balance, I'm like, It's not work life balance. Is flow. It's work life, flow. You have to have flow. But we are prioritizing now, you know, both growth and leadership, and as more and more CEOs are actually understanding they want more freedom, right, you know. And time freedom is it? You know, for me, I have a lifestyle business time freedom means more to me than even money, right? You know? And so I feel like it is going to evolve. And how do you see it evolving in, say, the next five years? What are the I don't want to say trends, because I don't think this is a trend. I really think it's more important than that. But how do you see it involving? Because what's next for you?

Well, what's next for us is we are creating the new standard of online business manager. And what that means is all of our in our all of our obms are wizards with AI. So what that then means for the CEOs is they can hire one person, an online business manager who loves and is obsessed with AI tools. Know how to integrate them all the different things, and that OBM plus AI can get that CEO about 70% there in every aspect of their business if they then be the expert. Okay, go hire the expert in marketing. Go hire the expert in you know the fractional CFO. That's where it's going, that these obms who embrace AI are going to just skyrocket in sure the amount of money that they can make, but even more so the amount of money that and time they can give these CEOs back. So we are going all in on AI, and what OBM is because they love this stuff, horn boom, deliver to their CEOs. Yeah. Well,

I think that's really good because, again, that's automating some of your processes, which saves you time and money. So I love that this has been so wonderful, Ashley, so you actually came bearing a gift. I love that, right? So tell everybody a little bit about the gift. Sure.

My background, right? We talked about before is tech marketing, and one of the things I used to say all the time with marketing is show versus tell. So someone what it would be like to have an online business manager in their business, versus me saying, like, oh yeah, that'd be cool. You'd have this thought partner and like, I always, you know, that would be dope, but, like, whatever, right? That doesn't, it doesn't get you in that feeling. Showing them does. And so we built out an AI power tool where CEO takes two minutes, fills out some information, and they get a full on report of what a day in the life would look like for them. Do they hire their OBM, where the OBM can help them grow their business, the ROI that they will get on their OBM and what they should immediately delegate to their OBM. So very, very, very powerful rapport

And strategy, strategy of all, they're like, you know, like, a lot of times when people hire someone at first, they're like, oh, I don't know what to do. So, oh, that is powerful. So thank you so much. Outside Greg, and if you guys are going to want that, also, she has a podcast too, so the OBM opportunity podcast. So we will, if you're actually, if you're listening or watching this, just look below it. We have the button right here for that and for her gift as well. And so Ashley, what's the best way for people to connect with you? What's your website and where do you like to hang out?

Yes, it is prowess project.com I am on LinkedIn, the most Ashley Connell dash, CEO, that's my my handle on on LinkedIn. I'm constantly just again, trying to do more show and tell of what an OBM in your business could look like. So drop me a message nearly to chat with you more. So. Lies the limit with an OBM all. I gotta say

I absolutely love that. Thank you so much, Ashley for being here with me. I'm looking forward to seeing you and Jessica few weeks. I mean, getting to see you twice in 30 days is kind of nice, and you guys can't really see it, but she's got a little one in the oven there, yeah. But that's kind of exciting, so that's awesome. So thank you so much, Ashley, for being here with me today. I appreciate you so much,

Patty, the pleasure in all mine. Thank you for this opportunity. It was fun like I had a great old time Gavin with an old friend, right?

l love that. Love it so much. That's how it is for me too and for my audience. Thank you so much for being here with me again today. I love that you show up every single week and kind of join into this conversation. And if you enjoyed today's episode, and I'm sure you did, please like subscribe and review your podcast on your favorite listening platform. And if you haven't checked out our sister, the marketing media Money Magazine, please do so as well, and you can get that at WWW.m3digital mag.com thank you so much for being here with us this week, and every week, I'll see you again next week. Make it a fabulous week. Thank you. Bye, bye. Now.