April 15, 2025 • 20 mins
What does it really take to transition from a decade in the legal world to running a successful OBM agency—while raising a family and prioritizing your values?
In this episode of The OBM Show (also available on YouTube), I sit down with Julie Calcote, Accredited OBM, founder of Julie Calcote OBM Services, and a beloved mentor inside OBM School. Julie shares her journey from working behind the scenes in law offices to building a thriving business that gives her more space, purpose, and presence—both at work and at home.
Julie first entered the online business world as a Virtual Assistant, but quickly realized she was already doing OBM-level work. Once she claimed the title (and the rates), everything changed. In this honest conversation, Julie shares how she built her OBM business around the life she wanted—not the other way around.
We cover what her workdays actually look like, how she manages priorities as a mom and business owner, and the strategies she uses to stay productive without burnout.
You’ll learn:
- How Julie made the leap from VA to OBM
- What her day-to-day looks like now running an OBM agency
- How she uses tools like the Pomodoro Technique to stay focused and present
- Why values-aligned clients are key to sustainable success
- Her advice for aspiring OBMs ready to make their next move
If you’re wondering how to build a business that fits your real life—not just your résumé—Julie’s story is packed with practical insight and heartfelt encouragement.
This episode is for anyone who's juggling ambition and life, and ready to build a business that works for them.
Thanks for tuning in to The OBM Show — your go-to podcast for Online Business Managers and entrepreneurs who want to scale strategically and sustainably.
If this episode resonated with you, be sure to follow the show and leave a review. It helps more aspiring and established Online Business Managers find this content and grow their businesses with confidence.
✨ Ready to take the next step?
Grab your free OBM Starter Kit → obmschool.com/starter
Explore more tools and trainings → obmschool.com/resources
Learn about becoming a CPD-certified Accredited Online Business Manager → obmaccreditation.com
📺 Prefer to watch?
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Until next time—keep building the business behind the business.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 00 (00:00):
In today's episode, we are spotlighting someone who
made one of the most common andpowerful shifts in the OBM
space, and that is thetransition from virtual
assistant to online businessmanager.
I am joined by Julie Calcutt.
She is a former student and nowone of our OBM school mentors
and the founder of her ownthriving OBM agency based in
(00:24):
Alaska.
Julie's story is such abeautiful example of how you can
move from task to strategicpartner and do it in a way that
supports both your clients andyour lifestyle.
We talk about her VA to OBMtransition, how she structures
her day to day to balance deepwork and family time, and how
(00:45):
choosing value aligned clientsallows her to stay in her zone
of genius while being presentwith her kids.
If you are currently working asa VA and wondering if becoming
an OBM is the next right stepfor you or you're just starting
to explore the online space,this episode will give you real
(01:06):
insight into what's possiblewhen you're intentional about
how you grow.
Let's dive in.
Welcome to the OBM Show, thepodcast that pulls back the
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
I'm your host, Sarah Noked,agency owner, OBM mentor, and
(01:30):
founder of OBM School.
I've been working in the backend of online businesses since
2009, building systems, managingremote teams, and mentoring
OBMs who make businesses runlike clockwork.
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories
(01:55):
that drive sustainable If you'reready to stop spinning your
wheels, step into yourleadership role, and see what
actually happens behind thescenes of thriving businesses,
you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
I can't imagine a better personto bring on today to talk a
(02:19):
little bit about what a day inthe life of an OBM looks like.
We were just kind of chucklingbeforehand.
Julie, I'm so excited to haveyou here.
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself, like especially where
you're from and how you got intothis crazy online world.
Speaker 01 (02:33):
Hi, I'm so happy to hang out with you.
You know, it's always one of myfavorite things to do.
So I am here in Alaska where itis cold, snowing in September,
and I came into the online spacethrough a podcast.
I heard about this world ofvirtual assisting, and I knew I
wanted something to do while mykids were at school.
(02:55):
And I knew that I wantedflexibility because I didn't
want to be tied to a desk whenthey were sick or they had field
trips or any of those things.
So I started doing virtualassisting work.
I did that for probably sixmonths and then transitioned
into podcast management, which Ilove podcasts.
And I thought this is going tobe it.
It's going to be my jam.
(03:15):
And-
Speaker 00 (03:16):
think it's going to be it.
It's always, this is going tobe it.
This is it.
I want it to stay like thisforever.
And then you're like, Oh,change.
I'm so great.
Kind of changed.
Speaker 01 (03:23):
It was funny because I hired a website designer and
I was like, okay, I'm going tobuild this website for podcast
management.
So she started, and I think itwas a month in, and I heard you
on a podcast, of course, apodcast.
And I was like, I'm so sorry.
I'm Absolutely.
This is going to be my people.
I know this is like, I felt itdeep down.
(03:45):
It was a different feeling thanthe other things before, which
were interests and I liked themall.
But hearing you talk about theworld of OBMs and online
business
Speaker 00 (03:54):
management.
I had chills as you said that.
Cause I, I too had that samefeeling.
I was like, yeah, it was, Ican, I can rock that
Speaker 01 (04:02):
OBM.
A hundred percent.
So I called Mackenzie and Isaid, I'm so sorry.
Stop the presses.
We're going to have to redo thewebsite because I just signed
up for this program and I'm allin.
So that was when I was lookingit up, it was more than two and
a half years ago that I startedwith the program.
And then, you know, we wentthrough all the coursework and
(04:23):
then I've been working as an OBMfor two and a half years now.
Speaker 00 (04:26):
Wow.
I mean, I think that's amazing.
And I think there's so much tobe said about what it looks like
to be in the shoes of an OBM.
So why don't we start by likereally getting into it and
talking a little bit about whatit really looks like.
like, your day-to-day?
Because I know not all of ushave the same day-to-day, but
I'm curious to know, like, whatdoes your day look like when
you're OBMing?
Speaker 01 (04:46):
Yeah.
And this depends on the season,right?
Right now, my kids arethankfully back in school.
We'll see how long they staythere.
Yeah.
So my day really revolvesaround their schedule.
I get up with them, get ready,pack lunches, take them to
school, come home and it's fullOBM mode.
I start off in the projectmanagement tools, check in with
(05:06):
clients, check in with Slack andjust see if anything fires or
anything crazy has happened.
I check in on Voxer and seewhat's happening on there, which
is like a walkie talkie voiceapp.
And then usually my days areset between meetings and then
work.
So the meetings in thebeginning of the week are
usually more clients usuallywant to start their week with
(05:28):
meetings.
So Monday is pretty much fullof that.
And then as the week goes on,the meetings get lighter.
I block out my time by whatprojects are coming up.
If there's any launches comingup, working on ongoing projects
for for clients.
So I look at my week.
at the start and say, what do Ineed to accomplish?
What can I delegate?
And then block out my time.
(05:48):
So by the time I get to my deskon any given day, I know what
I'm going to tackle, what I'mgoing to work through.
And I use a Pomodoro timer.
Mostly I'm at home.
So it's me, my dog.
I set the timer.
It just really helps me do thisfocused work.
And I find that if I can focusfor the, my timer is 25 minutes.
If I can focus for 25 minutes,sometimes I'll do two blocks in
(06:12):
a row, but no more than that.
And then I'll get up, stretch.
Sometimes I throw a load oflaundry in, you know, get
another cup of something todrink.
Get some popcorn.
That's my favorite desk snack.
So it just
Speaker 00 (06:33):
gives me that like five minutes.
So I think that's a really goodtip right there that.
(06:59):
Pomodoro's time tracking andusing those 20 to 25 minute time
blocks and then taking a break.
And you can race
Speaker 01 (07:06):
yourself, you know, you could race and see, can you
get this amount of work donebefore the timer goes off?
It's like, there's thatprinciple that we.
Speaker 00 (07:14):
Parkinson's law.
That's my, I talk aboutParkinson's law like weekly.
I'm like, you know, Parkinson'slaws.
I was like, what?
Like time fills the space thatyou have.
So if you give yourself fivehours to do something, it's
literally an intake five hours.
So.
Every
Speaker 01 (07:30):
time.
Speaker 00 (07:30):
Every time.
But that's so smart.
I'm going to try that.
I'm going to try that.
So you have these greatmethods.
You have a great work-lifebalance because I know you base
your day around your kids andyour kids' schedule.
So you get the majority of yourwork done while the kids are at
school.
Hopefully they stay there.
And then what does it look likewhen they come home and you
have dinner?
Do you ever work in the eveningtime for anything?
(07:51):
If I want.
Speaker 01 (07:52):
I find that depending on the season right
now, we're just full on likekids activities.
Um, it's cold here.
And so I like to start up myknitting projects and I'm great
boundaries with my clients.
And so there are times whenyou're just really excited about
something and you want to comeback into it and then launch
time, we're all just geared up,excited and gung-ho.
(08:14):
And so for launches, then allbets are off.
Like I'll show up whenever, um,to just keep an eye on things
and do whatever is needed.
But otherwise I of really greatwork-life balance.
Speaker 00 (08:25):
You mentioned a little bit about these
boundaries that you have withclients.
And I'm so curious, do you haveany tips to share with our
listeners?
Because we are all aboutboundaries as OBMs.
So do share if you have somejuice to give around boundaries
and expectations with clients.
Speaker 01 (08:41):
Yeah, I think setting up really clear
communication and boundariesfrom the beginning for me is key
because it's really hard toroll back what has already
happened.
So if we have communication Andthen starting to work with
(09:04):
someone, I really make surethat.
I stick to those myself becauseit's tempting sometimes to see
a voice message come through onthe weekend and you have the
time and you just want to listenand respond.
But especially in thebeginning, I make myself not
respond and stick to my ownboundaries.
(09:25):
Then on Monday morning, I openup my stuff.
We get responding.
We respond to emails.
We get going.
But if I don't respond to, orif I don't respect my own
boundaries, then my client's notgoing to respect my own
boundaries.
And so with the clients I'vehad, because I've started that
upfront and been reallyconsistent and clear with those
things.
I haven't had an issue thenwith later on things falling
(09:48):
apart or somebody trying to pushthrough those boundaries.
Speaker 00 (09:50):
That's a really good tip to share.
I think getting, you know,setting up those habits to begin
with because clients, I mean,they also need the right
guidelines too.
You know, part of what we do isOBMs as we lead our clients.
So I think that's so pertinentto the whole relationship,
really.
I think this is all reallygreat.
And I know that when we spokethose two and a years ago, you
were coming from the VA space.
(10:13):
What was it like to transitionfrom being a virtual assistant
to an online business manager?
And what would you say toyourself back then?
What would be the words ofwisdom you would have said?
Speaker 01 (10:24):
Oh man, so many things.
I think the transition becauseI had the support of you in a
community was so seamless andsmooth.
There is information out thereand some people come from really
interesting backgrounds and thecorporate world or with their
previous experience, everybody'sbringing things to this space
(10:45):
that are valuable and helpful,but For me, I wanted a
community, like a hive mind toreally help me.
Yeah.
When all those questions comeup and you're like, I've, this
has never happened.
What do you think about this?
Or just having a bank oftemplates to use all those
things made the process oftransitioning really easy
(11:05):
because it's like, I can go inand I, for the longest time, and
I still sometimes go back andlook at stuff.
I would have my notebook of allthe trainings and I would say,
okay, what am I doing next?
How should I write thismeeting?
agenda.
I'm going to hire a teammember.
Everything was there for me.
I really appreciated that.
And I loved the transition.
It was so much fun to work at ahigher level with clients, dig
(11:29):
into their business more andmake impacts that I wasn't able
to make working as a VA.
Speaker 00 (11:35):
Was it difficult to transition your clients to OBM
or was it also seamless?
Speaker 01 (11:41):
I knew...
there were some clients that Ihad that weren't ready for an
OBM.
And so I felt really good aboutbeing able to set them up with
what I had been learning withsystems and some videos and
things.
So they could bring on someoneelse to fill that spot.
And then one of my clients wasready to rock and roll.
So we transitioned her.
We had a lot of greatcommunication.
(12:03):
We learned and grew togetherand she's still my client to
this day.
Speaker 00 (12:07):
I love those clients.
I have a client like that too.
I mean, she's not a clientanymore, but we We speak on a
regular basis and I talk abouther all the time.
She's Lou, my stepping stoneclient.
I think it's so nice when youare transitioning from the VA
space, if you do have a clientlike that.
But on the other hand, youknow, I think sometimes when
we're transitioning from VA, youknow, there's a lot of mindset,
(12:28):
you know, you with yourcoaching background, I'm sure
you were aware of some of themindset shifts you needed to
make where some of us who don'tnecessarily have those tools.
I really struggled with mytransition.
It took me two years totransition my clients over, but
I also didn't Didn't have the...
Kind of community.
I think that we've beenbuilding in OBM school
Speaker 01 (12:54):
together.
going in a loop with certainthings that you pick up in the
(13:18):
space.
And then you'd say, what aboutthis?
And it was like, okay, I'm outof it.
I'm ready to go.
Speaker 00 (13:24):
I love that.
So you started off in thepodcast space, which I love.
And I know you still lovepodcasts.
You've taught me so much aboutpodcasts as well, but you've
sort of transitioned in a lot ofways to the OBM role.
Would you say that you're moregeneralist or do you specialize
still in podcasts or otherthings of that nature marketing
wise?
Speaker 01 (13:44):
I would say I would categorize myself as a
generalist.
There are definitely areas thatI love and that I dig into with
clients, but the beauty of itfor me is that I love doing so
many different things.
And so in my business, I stilldo podcast system setups.
You know, I still have my teamdo podcast pitching just for my
(14:08):
own clients now, not for outsideclients, but you know, launches
has been something this yearthat has just been absolutely
delightful and really
Speaker 00 (14:21):
fun to dig into.
So I've had a great time.
It's no longer thatintimidating and it can be
really exciting andexhilarating.
And, you know, the adrenaline'sdefinitely pumping over there.
Yeah.
And finding the right
Speaker 01 (14:40):
clients, right?
Because there are people whowant to launch in a way that
would not be aligned with myfamily.
We wouldn't be aligned.
And so finding clients that arereally interested in launching
in a way that works well withboth of us is something that we
can find out before we evenstart working together.
And then we know going intothat relationship, it's going to
(15:01):
work really well.
Speaker 00 (15:02):
Yeah.
Ooh, I like that.
So you mentioned family inthere and I know, I know we're
both really big on being familyand prioritizing being a mom
over everything.
When was the last time you hadan encounter in your personal
life that made you just stop andthink and say to yourself, I am
so damn happy that I took theleap, even from your VA time,
(15:22):
just to like make the move andtransition to this sort of out
of the box career, which is notso out of the box, I think these
days, but this new sort ofworking from home where I'm sure
even in the town you live in,in Alaska, people were like,
what, what are you doing?
What is this?
You know, what was the last bigthing that happened to you
where it just made you sit andthink to yourself, thank God I
(15:43):
made this transition.
When I did, I
Speaker 01 (15:45):
joke that my husband still thinks I build websites.
Speaker 00 (15:50):
My husband, he doesn't even know what I do.
So,
Speaker 01 (15:54):
so I think there has to be something at least every
week with the kids becausethings are always popping up and
happening.
But last week, One of my kidscalled from school and said, I
miss you.
And he just was having a roughday.
He was so upset.
And so I was like computer offor drove straight to the school,
picked him up and we went tothe park.
(16:16):
It was a beautiful day beforethe snow.
And we just had a little lunchand got to hang out for a couple
of hours.
And it was a beautiful reminderof the flexibility that I had.
And even if I had client callsor client meetings, I know that
I I could call and say, I'm sosorry.
I have had a family emergencycome up and they share those
same values and we could haverearranged and reworked our
(16:40):
schedule.
It was amazing.
And then the kids were out onSaturday.
So I did spend a couple hoursjust catching up on some things,
but it was really joyful.
It wasn't like, oh, I got tosit down and do this.
It was like, oh, I get to digin and
Speaker 00 (16:53):
finish up.
I've been wanting to like mapthis out.
I know.
Yeah.
That's, that's really great.
The work that we do as OBMs isfun and exciting, but it also,
it also can sometimes feel youknow, not amazing and exciting,
but when you, when it does feellike that, it's great.
And that makes me really happy.
Are there any words of adviceor wisdom that you would sort of
share with yourself back whenyou first started?
I mean, I know we mentioned notthat you ever had a fear of
(17:15):
investing in yourself, butsomething that you would have
said to yourself, like Iactually vividly have this
vision in my mind.
When we had our OBM interview,you were sitting in your car and
you were telling me about, Ican literally see the angle.
Like I have that in my mind.
What was going on in your mindat that moment?
Like, Do you remember?
I
Speaker 01 (17:32):
totally, it was one of those conversations where I
was putting a lot of pressure onmyself.
It was at that time in mycommunity, there was this talk,
everybody was bringing theirhusbands home and that was their
goal.
And so it was like, I'm doingthis.
So my husband doesn't have togo to work anymore and he can
come home.
And so in my mind, I was like,okay, well, how am I going to
(17:55):
scale this to this?
And you were like, would yourhusband even want to come home?
That was our conversation.
And I was like, He'd be bored.
And then he'd get annoyed athim.
I
Speaker 02 (18:06):
was
Speaker 00 (18:07):
like, I don't get the whole retire your husband
thing.
I'm like, send them away.
Who needs them at home?
We want to be at home byourselves as quiet.
I don't want to clean and
Speaker 01 (18:15):
cook for somebody.
It was just exactly what Ineeded in that moment to be
like, why am I even trying tofit somebody else's sort of
goals and philosophy?
Speaker 00 (18:25):
Ideal ideals.
Yeah.
Crazy.
Speaker 01 (18:28):
Yeah.
Just that.
conversation with myself, Iwould keep reminding myself to
turn back and really rememberwhy I started and follow the
path that works for me becausesome type of clients, you know,
you learn and you grow and youknow, who's going to work for
you and what relationships willmake the most sense and be the
(18:48):
most productive and fruitful.
All those lessons and thingshave come because I've been able
to turn back to my, myself andmy inner guidance and say, this
is what's working and this isnot and tuning out some of those
outside influences and, um, andvoices.
Speaker 00 (19:04):
A lot of people listening here will totally be
able to relate to the fittinginto someone else's box or
someone else's ideals.
And, you know, we have toreally do this for ourselves,
for, for our own personalfreedom and flexibility or
financial, what it, whatever itis, but it has to really be your
own in order to make this leapand make it work.
(19:24):
I loved this conversation withJulie.
Her calm, thoughtful approachto business is such a refreshing
reminder that success doesn'thave to mean hustle or burnout.
It's about building a businessthat truly aligns with your
life, your energy and yourvalues.
Julie's transition from VA toOBM is a path so many of our
(19:45):
students take.
And her story is proof thatwith the right guidance, the
right systems and a little bitof courage, it's absolutely
possible to move into a morestrategic If this episode spoke
to you, I'd love to invite youto explore some of our free
resources that we've puttogether to support your next
(20:07):
step.
Whether you're looking fortools or templates or just more
clarity around the OBM role,head on over to obmschool.com
forward slash resources to checkout everything we have for you.
You'll also find in the shownotes links to connect with
Julie and and explore her workas you are looking to work with
(20:29):
an OBM or wondering more abouther journey.
Thank you for tuning in, and Iwill see you next time on The
OBM Show.
In today's episode, we are spotlighting someone who
made one of the most common andpowerful shifts in the OBM
space, and that is thetransition from virtual
assistant to online businessmanager.
I am joined by Julie Calcutt.
She is a former student and nowone of our OBM school mentors
and the founder of her ownthriving OBM agency based in
(00:24):
Alaska.
Julie's story is such abeautiful example of how you can
move from task to strategicpartner and do it in a way that
supports both your clients andyour lifestyle.
We talk about her VA to OBMtransition, how she structures
her day to day to balance deepwork and family time, and how
(00:45):
choosing value aligned clientsallows her to stay in her zone
of genius while being presentwith her kids.
If you are currently working asa VA and wondering if becoming
an OBM is the next right stepfor you or you're just starting
to explore the online space,this episode will give you real
(01:06):
insight into what's possiblewhen you're intentional about
how you grow.
Let's dive in.
Welcome to the OBM Show, thepodcast that pulls back the
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
I'm your host, Sarah Noked,agency owner, OBM mentor, and
(01:30):
founder of OBM School.
I've been working in the backend of online businesses since
2009, building systems, managingremote teams, and mentoring
OBMs who make businesses runlike clockwork.
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories
(01:55):
that drive sustainable If you'reready to stop spinning your
wheels, step into yourleadership role, and see what
actually happens behind thescenes of thriving businesses,
you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
I can't imagine a better personto bring on today to talk a
(02:19):
little bit about what a day inthe life of an OBM looks like.
We were just kind of chucklingbeforehand.
Julie, I'm so excited to haveyou here.
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself, like especially where
you're from and how you got intothis crazy online world.
Speaker 01 (02:33):
Hi, I'm so happy to hang out with you.
You know, it's always one of myfavorite things to do.
So I am here in Alaska where itis cold, snowing in September,
and I came into the online spacethrough a podcast.
I heard about this world ofvirtual assisting, and I knew I
wanted something to do while mykids were at school.
(02:55):
And I knew that I wantedflexibility because I didn't
want to be tied to a desk whenthey were sick or they had field
trips or any of those things.
So I started doing virtualassisting work.
I did that for probably sixmonths and then transitioned
into podcast management, which Ilove podcasts.
And I thought this is going tobe it.
It's going to be my jam.
(03:15):
And-
Speaker 00 (03:16):
think it's going to be it.
It's always, this is going tobe it.
This is it.
I want it to stay like thisforever.
And then you're like, Oh,change.
I'm so great.
Kind of changed.
Speaker 01 (03:23):
It was funny because I hired a website designer and
I was like, okay, I'm going tobuild this website for podcast
management.
So she started, and I think itwas a month in, and I heard you
on a podcast, of course, apodcast.
And I was like, I'm so sorry.
I'm Absolutely.
This is going to be my people.
I know this is like, I felt itdeep down.
(03:45):
It was a different feeling thanthe other things before, which
were interests and I liked themall.
But hearing you talk about theworld of OBMs and online
business
Speaker 00 (03:54):
management.
I had chills as you said that.
Cause I, I too had that samefeeling.
I was like, yeah, it was, Ican, I can rock that
Speaker 01 (04:02):
OBM.
A hundred percent.
So I called Mackenzie and Isaid, I'm so sorry.
Stop the presses.
We're going to have to redo thewebsite because I just signed
up for this program and I'm allin.
So that was when I was lookingit up, it was more than two and
a half years ago that I startedwith the program.
And then, you know, we wentthrough all the coursework and
(04:23):
then I've been working as an OBMfor two and a half years now.
Speaker 00 (04:26):
Wow.
I mean, I think that's amazing.
And I think there's so much tobe said about what it looks like
to be in the shoes of an OBM.
So why don't we start by likereally getting into it and
talking a little bit about whatit really looks like.
like, your day-to-day?
Because I know not all of ushave the same day-to-day, but
I'm curious to know, like, whatdoes your day look like when
you're OBMing?
Speaker 01 (04:46):
Yeah.
And this depends on the season,right?
Right now, my kids arethankfully back in school.
We'll see how long they staythere.
Yeah.
So my day really revolvesaround their schedule.
I get up with them, get ready,pack lunches, take them to
school, come home and it's fullOBM mode.
I start off in the projectmanagement tools, check in with
(05:06):
clients, check in with Slack andjust see if anything fires or
anything crazy has happened.
I check in on Voxer and seewhat's happening on there, which
is like a walkie talkie voiceapp.
And then usually my days areset between meetings and then
work.
So the meetings in thebeginning of the week are
usually more clients usuallywant to start their week with
(05:28):
meetings.
So Monday is pretty much fullof that.
And then as the week goes on,the meetings get lighter.
I block out my time by whatprojects are coming up.
If there's any launches comingup, working on ongoing projects
for for clients.
So I look at my week.
at the start and say, what do Ineed to accomplish?
What can I delegate?
And then block out my time.
(05:48):
So by the time I get to my deskon any given day, I know what
I'm going to tackle, what I'mgoing to work through.
And I use a Pomodoro timer.
Mostly I'm at home.
So it's me, my dog.
I set the timer.
It just really helps me do thisfocused work.
And I find that if I can focusfor the, my timer is 25 minutes.
If I can focus for 25 minutes,sometimes I'll do two blocks in
(06:12):
a row, but no more than that.
And then I'll get up, stretch.
Sometimes I throw a load oflaundry in, you know, get
another cup of something todrink.
Get some popcorn.
That's my favorite desk snack.
So it just
Speaker 00 (06:33):
gives me that like five minutes.
So I think that's a really goodtip right there that.
(06:59):
Pomodoro's time tracking andusing those 20 to 25 minute time
blocks and then taking a break.
And you can race
Speaker 01 (07:06):
yourself, you know, you could race and see, can you
get this amount of work donebefore the timer goes off?
It's like, there's thatprinciple that we.
Speaker 00 (07:14):
Parkinson's law.
That's my, I talk aboutParkinson's law like weekly.
I'm like, you know, Parkinson'slaws.
I was like, what?
Like time fills the space thatyou have.
So if you give yourself fivehours to do something, it's
literally an intake five hours.
So.
Every
Speaker 01 (07:30):
time.
Speaker 00 (07:30):
Every time.
But that's so smart.
I'm going to try that.
I'm going to try that.
So you have these greatmethods.
You have a great work-lifebalance because I know you base
your day around your kids andyour kids' schedule.
So you get the majority of yourwork done while the kids are at
school.
Hopefully they stay there.
And then what does it look likewhen they come home and you
have dinner?
Do you ever work in the eveningtime for anything?
(07:51):
If I want.
Speaker 01 (07:52):
I find that depending on the season right
now, we're just full on likekids activities.
Um, it's cold here.
And so I like to start up myknitting projects and I'm great
boundaries with my clients.
And so there are times whenyou're just really excited about
something and you want to comeback into it and then launch
time, we're all just geared up,excited and gung-ho.
(08:14):
And so for launches, then allbets are off.
Like I'll show up whenever, um,to just keep an eye on things
and do whatever is needed.
But otherwise I of really greatwork-life balance.
Speaker 00 (08:25):
You mentioned a little bit about these
boundaries that you have withclients.
And I'm so curious, do you haveany tips to share with our
listeners?
Because we are all aboutboundaries as OBMs.
So do share if you have somejuice to give around boundaries
and expectations with clients.
Speaker 01 (08:41):
Yeah, I think setting up really clear
communication and boundariesfrom the beginning for me is key
because it's really hard toroll back what has already
happened.
So if we have communication Andthen starting to work with
(09:04):
someone, I really make surethat.
I stick to those myself becauseit's tempting sometimes to see
a voice message come through onthe weekend and you have the
time and you just want to listenand respond.
But especially in thebeginning, I make myself not
respond and stick to my ownboundaries.
(09:25):
Then on Monday morning, I openup my stuff.
We get responding.
We respond to emails.
We get going.
But if I don't respond to, orif I don't respect my own
boundaries, then my client's notgoing to respect my own
boundaries.
And so with the clients I'vehad, because I've started that
upfront and been reallyconsistent and clear with those
things.
I haven't had an issue thenwith later on things falling
(09:48):
apart or somebody trying to pushthrough those boundaries.
Speaker 00 (09:50):
That's a really good tip to share.
I think getting, you know,setting up those habits to begin
with because clients, I mean,they also need the right
guidelines too.
You know, part of what we do isOBMs as we lead our clients.
So I think that's so pertinentto the whole relationship,
really.
I think this is all reallygreat.
And I know that when we spokethose two and a years ago, you
were coming from the VA space.
(10:13):
What was it like to transitionfrom being a virtual assistant
to an online business manager?
And what would you say toyourself back then?
What would be the words ofwisdom you would have said?
Speaker 01 (10:24):
Oh man, so many things.
I think the transition becauseI had the support of you in a
community was so seamless andsmooth.
There is information out thereand some people come from really
interesting backgrounds and thecorporate world or with their
previous experience, everybody'sbringing things to this space
(10:45):
that are valuable and helpful,but For me, I wanted a
community, like a hive mind toreally help me.
Yeah.
When all those questions comeup and you're like, I've, this
has never happened.
What do you think about this?
Or just having a bank oftemplates to use all those
things made the process oftransitioning really easy
(11:05):
because it's like, I can go inand I, for the longest time, and
I still sometimes go back andlook at stuff.
I would have my notebook of allthe trainings and I would say,
okay, what am I doing next?
How should I write thismeeting?
agenda.
I'm going to hire a teammember.
Everything was there for me.
I really appreciated that.
And I loved the transition.
It was so much fun to work at ahigher level with clients, dig
(11:29):
into their business more andmake impacts that I wasn't able
to make working as a VA.
Speaker 00 (11:35):
Was it difficult to transition your clients to OBM
or was it also seamless?
Speaker 01 (11:41):
I knew...
there were some clients that Ihad that weren't ready for an
OBM.
And so I felt really good aboutbeing able to set them up with
what I had been learning withsystems and some videos and
things.
So they could bring on someoneelse to fill that spot.
And then one of my clients wasready to rock and roll.
So we transitioned her.
We had a lot of greatcommunication.
(12:03):
We learned and grew togetherand she's still my client to
this day.
Speaker 00 (12:07):
I love those clients.
I have a client like that too.
I mean, she's not a clientanymore, but we We speak on a
regular basis and I talk abouther all the time.
She's Lou, my stepping stoneclient.
I think it's so nice when youare transitioning from the VA
space, if you do have a clientlike that.
But on the other hand, youknow, I think sometimes when
we're transitioning from VA, youknow, there's a lot of mindset,
(12:28):
you know, you with yourcoaching background, I'm sure
you were aware of some of themindset shifts you needed to
make where some of us who don'tnecessarily have those tools.
I really struggled with mytransition.
It took me two years totransition my clients over, but
I also didn't Didn't have the...
Kind of community.
I think that we've beenbuilding in OBM school
Speaker 01 (12:54):
together.
going in a loop with certainthings that you pick up in the
(13:18):
space.
And then you'd say, what aboutthis?
And it was like, okay, I'm outof it.
I'm ready to go.
Speaker 00 (13:24):
I love that.
So you started off in thepodcast space, which I love.
And I know you still lovepodcasts.
You've taught me so much aboutpodcasts as well, but you've
sort of transitioned in a lot ofways to the OBM role.
Would you say that you're moregeneralist or do you specialize
still in podcasts or otherthings of that nature marketing
wise?
Speaker 01 (13:44):
I would say I would categorize myself as a
generalist.
There are definitely areas thatI love and that I dig into with
clients, but the beauty of itfor me is that I love doing so
many different things.
And so in my business, I stilldo podcast system setups.
You know, I still have my teamdo podcast pitching just for my
(14:08):
own clients now, not for outsideclients, but you know, launches
has been something this yearthat has just been absolutely
delightful and really
Speaker 00 (14:21):
fun to dig into.
So I've had a great time.
It's no longer thatintimidating and it can be
really exciting andexhilarating.
And, you know, the adrenaline'sdefinitely pumping over there.
Yeah.
And finding the right
Speaker 01 (14:40):
clients, right?
Because there are people whowant to launch in a way that
would not be aligned with myfamily.
We wouldn't be aligned.
And so finding clients that arereally interested in launching
in a way that works well withboth of us is something that we
can find out before we evenstart working together.
And then we know going intothat relationship, it's going to
(15:01):
work really well.
Speaker 00 (15:02):
Yeah.
Ooh, I like that.
So you mentioned family inthere and I know, I know we're
both really big on being familyand prioritizing being a mom
over everything.
When was the last time you hadan encounter in your personal
life that made you just stop andthink and say to yourself, I am
so damn happy that I took theleap, even from your VA time,
(15:22):
just to like make the move andtransition to this sort of out
of the box career, which is notso out of the box, I think these
days, but this new sort ofworking from home where I'm sure
even in the town you live in,in Alaska, people were like,
what, what are you doing?
What is this?
You know, what was the last bigthing that happened to you
where it just made you sit andthink to yourself, thank God I
(15:43):
made this transition.
When I did, I
Speaker 01 (15:45):
joke that my husband still thinks I build websites.
Speaker 00 (15:50):
My husband, he doesn't even know what I do.
So,
Speaker 01 (15:54):
so I think there has to be something at least every
week with the kids becausethings are always popping up and
happening.
But last week, One of my kidscalled from school and said, I
miss you.
And he just was having a roughday.
He was so upset.
And so I was like computer offor drove straight to the school,
picked him up and we went tothe park.
(16:16):
It was a beautiful day beforethe snow.
And we just had a little lunchand got to hang out for a couple
of hours.
And it was a beautiful reminderof the flexibility that I had.
And even if I had client callsor client meetings, I know that
I I could call and say, I'm sosorry.
I have had a family emergencycome up and they share those
same values and we could haverearranged and reworked our
(16:40):
schedule.
It was amazing.
And then the kids were out onSaturday.
So I did spend a couple hoursjust catching up on some things,
but it was really joyful.
It wasn't like, oh, I got tosit down and do this.
It was like, oh, I get to digin and
Speaker 00 (16:53):
finish up.
I've been wanting to like mapthis out.
I know.
Yeah.
That's, that's really great.
The work that we do as OBMs isfun and exciting, but it also,
it also can sometimes feel youknow, not amazing and exciting,
but when you, when it does feellike that, it's great.
And that makes me really happy.
Are there any words of adviceor wisdom that you would sort of
share with yourself back whenyou first started?
I mean, I know we mentioned notthat you ever had a fear of
(17:15):
investing in yourself, butsomething that you would have
said to yourself, like Iactually vividly have this
vision in my mind.
When we had our OBM interview,you were sitting in your car and
you were telling me about, Ican literally see the angle.
Like I have that in my mind.
What was going on in your mindat that moment?
Like, Do you remember?
I
Speaker 01 (17:32):
totally, it was one of those conversations where I
was putting a lot of pressure onmyself.
It was at that time in mycommunity, there was this talk,
everybody was bringing theirhusbands home and that was their
goal.
And so it was like, I'm doingthis.
So my husband doesn't have togo to work anymore and he can
come home.
And so in my mind, I was like,okay, well, how am I going to
(17:55):
scale this to this?
And you were like, would yourhusband even want to come home?
That was our conversation.
And I was like, He'd be bored.
And then he'd get annoyed athim.
I
Speaker 02 (18:06):
was
Speaker 00 (18:07):
like, I don't get the whole retire your husband
thing.
I'm like, send them away.
Who needs them at home?
We want to be at home byourselves as quiet.
I don't want to clean and
Speaker 01 (18:15):
cook for somebody.
It was just exactly what Ineeded in that moment to be
like, why am I even trying tofit somebody else's sort of
goals and philosophy?
Speaker 00 (18:25):
Ideal ideals.
Yeah.
Crazy.
Speaker 01 (18:28):
Yeah.
Just that.
conversation with myself, Iwould keep reminding myself to
turn back and really rememberwhy I started and follow the
path that works for me becausesome type of clients, you know,
you learn and you grow and youknow, who's going to work for
you and what relationships willmake the most sense and be the
(18:48):
most productive and fruitful.
All those lessons and thingshave come because I've been able
to turn back to my, myself andmy inner guidance and say, this
is what's working and this isnot and tuning out some of those
outside influences and, um, andvoices.
Speaker 00 (19:04):
A lot of people listening here will totally be
able to relate to the fittinginto someone else's box or
someone else's ideals.
And, you know, we have toreally do this for ourselves,
for, for our own personalfreedom and flexibility or
financial, what it, whatever itis, but it has to really be your
own in order to make this leapand make it work.
(19:24):
I loved this conversation withJulie.
Her calm, thoughtful approachto business is such a refreshing
reminder that success doesn'thave to mean hustle or burnout.
It's about building a businessthat truly aligns with your
life, your energy and yourvalues.
Julie's transition from VA toOBM is a path so many of our
(19:45):
students take.
And her story is proof thatwith the right guidance, the
right systems and a little bitof courage, it's absolutely
possible to move into a morestrategic If this episode spoke
to you, I'd love to invite youto explore some of our free
resources that we've puttogether to support your next
(20:07):
step.
Whether you're looking fortools or templates or just more
clarity around the OBM role,head on over to obmschool.com
forward slash resources to checkout everything we have for you.
You'll also find in the shownotes links to connect with
Julie and and explore her workas you are looking to work with
(20:29):
an OBM or wondering more abouther journey.
Thank you for tuning in, and Iwill see you next time on The
OBM Show.
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