What is an OBM and How is it Different from a VA?

A lot of people are often mistaken or confused by OBM’s (Online Business Manager) and VA’s (Virtual Assistant) since they both work online and at home. I often hear questions about it in groups so I decided to do a little more digging to show you their difference.

I’ve made a few comparison that may help you see the difference. Who knows, you might want to become and OBM instead of a VA? Or vice versa?

OBM vs VA Comparison Chart

Particulars	VA	OBM
Definition	A virtual assistant (VA) is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients remotely from a home office. -Wikipedia Replace the Business Owner’s tasks/projects to free up their time Works on a more personal level	A virtually based support professional who manages online based businesses,including the day-to-day management of projects, operations, team members and metrics. -obmconnect Replace the Business Owner’ managerial obligations and free up their time
Place of Work	Home-based	Home-based
Industry	Online	Online
Clients	SME in Stage 1 of their business (Small & Medium Entrepreneurs)	SME in Business Growth (Stage 2 – Larger Scale Operation)
Scope of work	Handles a certain task or project May work alone or as a team to manage multiple clients and tasks. May work on general administrative tasks or has a specialty (web design, social media,etc) Works on an hourly, retainer or project based	Handles the whole operation of a business, doesn’t work on a specific task or project but in overseeing that the business runs as it should Project Management Team Management Metrics Tracking Manage Revenue System Manage websites Product Launches Marketing and more! Works on a different compensation plan with bonuses upon hitting targets and operation growth

The above comparison on workload and responsibility shows that an OBM is someone with more adept experience in the online business and knows all the processes to make the whole business run smoothly.

There is a website that connects business owners and OBM’s, the http://obmconnect.com/what-is-an-online-business-manager/. They train OBM’s and aspirants and give certification. They even have this eBook called 101+ Ways that an Online business Managers can help Boost your Business that can be downloaded from their site if you want to learn more about what an OBM does.

So, for VA’s out there…this is another opportunity for you to grow your business if you’re looking into this direction. It’s not going to be easy but if you love managing a business man’s business, this might be for you.

Let us know is this post has helped you in some ways. Feel free to comment below and let’s share some ideas!

What is an OBM and How is it Different from a VA?

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