April 28, 2025 • 40 mins
What does it really take to transition straight from a 15-year corporate career into building a purpose-driven OBM business—without any stops in between? In this inspiring episode of The OBM Show (also available to watch on YouTube), I sit down with Accredited OBM LeAngela Aitken to share her powerful journey from burnout to business ownership.
LeAngela didn’t start as a VA or freelancer. She made a bold leap from corporate leadership into the OBM role—and did so with strategy, confidence, and a deep commitment to serving her community. In this conversation, she opens up about the mindset shifts, systems, and purpose-led mission that helped her find success working with nonprofit clients.
We talk about:
- What pushed LeAngela to leave corporate and how she navigated the early days of her transition
- How she found her first OBM clients by leaning into community over cold outreach
- Why she chose to focus her business on nonprofits—and how it’s transformed her impact
- What her day-to-day looks like as an OBM, including client rhythms and strategic planning
- The importance of clarity, confidence, and staying connected to your “why” when building your business
If you’ve ever wondered whether your corporate background could translate into a fulfilling OBM business—this episode will give you the inspiration, clarity, and proof that it absolutely can.
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?
Subscribe to our Youtube Channel and hit the bell icon to get notified when we drop a new video → youtube.com/@SarahNokedOBM
Until next time—keep building the business behind the business.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:00):
Today, I have the absolute pleasure of
reconnecting with one of ourincredible OBM school grads,
LeAngela Aitken.
LeAngela made a bold leapstraight from a long
accomplished corporate careerinto the world of online
business management, and she'sdone it with heart, strategy,
and a powerful sense of purpose.
(00:21):
In this conversation, we talkabout how she transitioned into
the OBM role without passingthrough the VA route, how she
found her niche in thenon-profits space, and how
building a business grounded inservice has transformed her life
and her community.
If you've ever wondered whetheryour corporate background is
enough to make a change, or ifyou're curious how OBMs can make
(00:45):
a real impact in industries likenonprofit, this episode is for
you.
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.
(01:05):
I'm your host, Sarah Noked,agency owner, OBM mentor and
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 run likeclockwork.
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
(01:27):
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories
that drive sustainable success,plus the tech mishaps, growing
pains, and lessons learned alongthe way.
If you're ready to stop spinningyour wheels, step into your
leadership role, and see whatactually happens behind the
(01:49):
scenes of thriving businesses,you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
Let's get started.
Wow, wow, wow.
LiAngela Aitken.
It's been far, far too long andI'm thrilled and ecstatic to be
able to interview you heretoday.
You know, there's a lot ofstudents that come through OBM
(02:09):
school, but you, my love,definitely left an impression on
me because you come from such arich corporate background as an
online business manager and youtransitioned from corporate to
OBM without anything in between.
So LiAngela, Thank you.
Welcome to the show.
And I'd love for you to take asecond to just introduce
(02:30):
yourself.
Where are you from and what wereyou doing before you became an
online business manager?
SPEAKER_00 (02:36):
Okay.
Sarah, first of all, thank youso much for inviting me to do
this.
I'm so excited.
I'm so excited that I wentthrough the program.
So I'm Leigh Angela and I am anOBM in Melbourne, Florida.
I've been here in Florida forabout five years now, moved here
(02:56):
to be a caretaker for my mom andsister who were having some
health problems, but I movedhere from Cleveland, Ohio.
I jumped into the OVM world sortof like just jumping into the
deep end of a pool, never havinglearned how to swim before.
So I was really outside of mycomfort zone.
(03:20):
I have some, what I believe areamazing skills.
I have really a heart ofservice.
to people.
So most of my corporate life,I've been in a role of
leadership.
Also, of course, moving upthrough the ranks to get into
the leadership.
But what I learned the wholetime that I've been working is
(03:41):
that I view myself as someonewho's responsibility is to make
someone else's life easier.
So I took that approach incorporate.
I took that approach when Imoved it into the nonprofit
world.
And that allowed me to, eventhough I wasn't a VA or had done
any virtual work ever, I thinkthat's what allowed me to move
(04:02):
into the role of an OBM becausemy mind has already been set on
making life better and easierfor someone else.
Every supervisor, manager,leader I've ever had I've always
had a conversation with them tolet them know that I viewed my
job in whatever capacity I wasin I always had this
(04:23):
conversation that I view my jobto make your job easier because
I know when you are comfortablewith the work that's being done
my life is gonna be easier I getno grief or from you if I make
your job easier.
So that's the approach I'vealways taken.
SPEAKER_03 (04:42):
I love that.
I love that, LiAngela.
And it was such an honor workingwith you throughout OBM School
because you are and were ashining star.
And I love how you've had thisunderpin of confidence in your
skill set throughout the entiretime.
You know, I think in OBM School,we really worked on getting
clarity around the services andwhat you were willing and not
(05:03):
willing to offer specifically.
But you always had that drive.
You always had the confidence.
You knew you were going to besuccessful.
You just needed the rightclients.
And I feel like you've alwaysknown that it sort of permeated
from your existence.
And, you know, I think it's beenwhat, six months since you
completed accreditation?
SPEAKER_00 (05:21):
Almost six months.
It was in December of 22.
So we're not quite at sixmonths.
But the thing about that, I'mjust so excited that I took the
leap to go to OBM school becauseI have skills, but they were
segmented and directed inspecific areas.
areas and structure in OBMschool that I had never done
(05:42):
before.
You know, I learned how in OBMschool, how to methodically and
systematically build fromnothing to something in specific
areas, whether it's marketing orlaunch management or project
management.
There were specific skills thatyou helped bring out and you led
(06:04):
us to through the program thatnever connected in my entire
career.
Isn't that
SPEAKER_03 (06:11):
strange how it works like that?
It's sometimes like, I mean, Ifeel like I say this on the
daily, but you can't see thelabel from inside the bottle as
they say.
And I feel like you were reallyan example of that because you
were, you had all thiswonderfulness inside of you, but
from the outside, you know,whether potential clients were
getting confused or you wereleading with the wrong service,
(06:32):
you know, we needed to getclarity around that so that you
could go forth and really Ithink the best way to say it is
to really spread your wings anddo something that was so
meaningful.
And I remember periods of timewell inside the program having
conversations with you aroundhow you were moving and shaking
in the real world and justcreating these collaborations
(06:55):
with your own community locally.
And I can't wait to talk aboutsome of those things because I
know it fired me up and itshowed me the possibility of
what happens when you know,incredible people come together.
But I think it's important toknow that in this, you know,
crazy mixed up world that welive in today, that there are
still really good things to lookforward to and people who are
(07:18):
doing incredible things, whichleads me to my first question
for you around your clientniche.
So tell me a little bit aboutthe nonprofit world.
And for those businesseslistening here to this or
watching this on YouTube, whatcan you say about how an OBM can
really benefit a nonprofit?
SPEAKER_00 (07:38):
That's a really great question.
So I just a little bit moreabout my background.
I spent about 18 years incorporate America and through a
downsizing during early, well,mid 2000s, 2009, 10, 11, there
was a great downsizing.
And so when I left corporateAmerica, I said that the next
thing I wanted to do was to, youknow, be in a role where I'm
(08:02):
doing something to help others.
I spent a lot of time making alot of money for corporations.
This time I want to do somethingto help others.
And so I ended up in thenonprofit world shortly after
maybe 2012.
So I've been in that arena forthe past 10, 11 years.
And what I learned is thatnonprofits do a lot with a
(08:26):
little.
And few people, very few peoplehave to do so many roles.
And the mindset of nonprofit inmy experience has been that, oh,
we have to do it this way.
We don't have any money and wejust have to pull up our
bootstraps Our bootstraps.
So two things about nonprofit.
(08:47):
They are really great atfundraising and they're really
great at doing a lot with fewerresources.
SPEAKER_03 (08:55):
I like a great client to me.
Yes, exactly.
And smart about stretching atight budget.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (09:03):
What they don't really understand is that that
budget that they already havecan be better utilized by
parsing some things out to otherpeople to do for themselves.
smaller projects, some projectwork.
You know, you don't have to hiresomeone full time in your
organization to get the workdone.
And so that's something thatbecause of my experience in
(09:28):
nonprofit, I fully understandthe struggle and the
inefficiencies that exist innonprofit, and I want to bring
to the nonprofit industry, to mycommunity, to smaller
organizations still working incorporate or startups or
(09:48):
whomever, but I want to bring tothem solutions of how they can
operate more efficiently and howthey can have more time to spend
in the world of helping thepeople that they want to help in
less time and doing the gruntwork of how to get that help.
So because of my experience iswhy I've really gravitated
(10:09):
towards nonprofit for as beingan OBM.
There are so many technologiesthat tech stack that we talk
about that we learned in OBMschool tech stacks that are some
are free.
Some are, you know, little tonothing to acquire that will
(10:29):
help them be so much moreefficient and automate some of
the processes that they have.
or to manage their donors ormanage their volunteer base that
will really allow them to havemore hands on opportunities in
the communities that they wantto serve, doing the work with
the people that they want tohelp.
SPEAKER_03 (10:52):
It's amazing.
It's so amazing that you're ableas an OBM to make such an impact
in this world.
And I know that it's very buzzyto be like, oh, we work with
impact-driven entrepreneurs AndI know that that's a goal for a
lot of online business managersbecause we're so, you know,
we're hard of service and wewant to give back and we want to
work with nice people.
(11:13):
But you are really doing it andyou're really working with, you
know, I feel like the nonprofitworld is really what makes the
world a better place.
Absolutely.
So it's incredible that you'vebeen able to recognize that your
skill set is in nonprofitsbecause I remember when you came
into OBM school, I wouldn't saythat you were rejecting the
(11:35):
nonprofit, but it wasn't in yourperspective.
Like, well, I'm starting thisnew career as an OBM.
Maybe I should look at otheroptions.
So I would love for you to tellthe story of how you sort of
considered the different optionsand how ultimately you found
yourself back almost where youcame from working with
(11:55):
nonprofits and how that mighthave felt like a full circle for
you.
SPEAKER_00 (11:59):
So you're absolutely right, Sarah.
When I came into the program, Iwasn't sure that I was going to
be able to find the clients.
clients that were going to be agood fit for me.
That was my biggest fear.
Like, where do I find clients?
I remember that distinctly.
Yeah.
Where am I going to get thesepeople from if he's going to
(12:20):
believe in me?
They don't know me this way.
And I've, you know, I've, I'veworked my career based on
collaborations, partnerships inthe community, getting to know.
That is
SPEAKER_03 (12:32):
you.
That is how I, when I think ofyou, LeAngela, that is what
comes up in my mind.
Collaboration and partnershipand community because I know you
are very much driven with peoplein that way you're a people
person yeah
SPEAKER_00 (12:46):
and so I was I was scared I was really afraid but
you kept encouraging me to justkeep going and we kept you know
looking at different things andthese are you know some things
you can do and here's thecommunities where you can go to
online through Facebook throughyour connections with people
(13:07):
that you already have but I wasfocusing specifically on what
you've taught us as our steppingstone clients.
And all of those clients are incorporate America, right?
I just didn't know how to findpeople in my cohort.
They had clients.
They came from the VA as VAs toOBMs, which is something that I
(13:29):
never did.
So I've never had any experienceworking with anyone virtually or
how to find clients workingvirtually.
So I was nervous because wewould be in our sessions and
everyone's talking about theirclients this and this is an
issue that I'm having with myclients and I'm sitting there
like oh my god when am I gonnahave this problem This
SPEAKER_03 (13:53):
is funny.
Isn't it funny in retrospect?
Like you think you're nevergoing to get that first client.
You think it's never going tohappen for you.
You're always going to beconfused.
And yes, to a degree, we arealways confused.
But that's because we'reconstantly pushing the envelope
of what can be
SPEAKER_00 (14:08):
our own businesses.
Yes.
You just wouldn't let us likenot keep pushing.
Yeah.
Like that's the one thing thatSarah and you are just amazing.
The school, the otherparticipants in the cohort,
those before me, those who cameafter me, like we're creating
our own community with this, youknow, helping each other,
(14:28):
sharing best practices on ourprivate Facebook group, you
know, through that wholeconnection.
I had to embrace that which Ialready knew and that experience
that I already had and not tryto push that aside to do
something else.
And somewhere along the way, itclicked.
(14:48):
Well, it wasn't just me.
It was still the pulling forcefrom my community that I had
already created, the one thatnot I created, but I was a part
of, I was still having pullingfrom that community, the
nonprofit community, that I wasreally trying to walk away from
for no reason.
(15:09):
For no reason.
Except I thought that this otherarea was my niche.
My niche is this thing that Ilove.
Yes.
This thing that I've been doing,this thing that I know so well.
And so that's what clicked forme.
And I was on TikTok.
I was doing all kinds of crazythings on TikTok, Sarah.
(15:29):
I'm so serious.
Like, I'm way out there.
My son saw me on something.
He was like, Mom, what are youdoing?
What on earth are you doing?
I mean, this is a 30-year-oldman that somehow ran across me
on TikTok.
And he was like, Mom, no.
UNKNOWN (15:45):
Mom, no.
SPEAKER_02 (15:46):
so
SPEAKER_00 (15:48):
I mean I was trying all kind of things but in
reality some people are good atthat some people are great with
Instagram all of those thingsI'm present but I'm more present
in the community that I know andso I'm getting you know
referrals word of mouth morepeople are calling me
SPEAKER_03 (16:07):
okay so let's talk about that because I too in the
program remember the shift thathappened with you like I did it
was like a period of time.
And we can talk about thecatalyst for that because I'm
not even exactly sure if it wasone specific thing, but I know
it comes back to your community.
But suddenly it just clicked foryou and it was almost like
(16:28):
opening a floodgate.
What happened that elicited sucha strong shift in not only your
mindset, but in your reach andyour ability to connect with
your community in, I guess, anew way because you've always
been in that community, weren'tnew to that community.
SPEAKER_00 (16:49):
So my previous job before jumping into this, I was
a center director at a communitycenter that literally I, along
with the other employees, openedthis facility brand new in a
blighted community in Palm Bayof Florida.
(17:12):
And the organization is calledthe Evans Center.
And its mission was to solve theproblem of food insecurity in
the community.
And so the programs that we weredoing there and the food that we
provided to the community waskey.
And so I was out and I I was inthe community and I was talking
(17:36):
about the programs and I wasjust being a voice and a face of
really bringing people on intothat center.
There was also a health clinicas well at the community center.
There's also a classroom for jobtraining.
So we were doing a lot there.
So, you know, once again, I wasthe face and the voice, you
(17:58):
know, in the community, justbringing people in to know that
this resource existed.
Natural skill set.
You're just such a natural.
So when I left there, for ashort time, there was a void.
But because I was the one whowas the face when it opened, I
was the one who was out thereduring COVID, you know, passing
(18:20):
out food to families.
We put together a drive-thruwhere they came in and we served
them hot meals in their cars.
We would give them to-go boxes.
And so because there was a shortvoid before someone else came
into that And when one of theemployees opened a food truck
and he was having some strugglesand I saw that and I went to him
(18:44):
and I told him, look, I want tohelp you with a few things to
help move your business along.
And it was then that I was outagain in the community, you
know, doing something.
And it was then that people werelike, oh, how are you doing?
You know, what's going on?
What are you doing?
And then I started talking aboutbeing an OB and what that means.
(19:06):
And I started getting moreinquiries.
This person who has the foodtruck started talking about what
I was doing for him and helpinghim with his business.
And he's also in the community.
So, you know, he started justsharing about what I was doing
for him.
They trusted me.
People started calling me fordifferent things, help with
this, that, and the other.
(19:27):
And then, you know, it clicked.
It just started to click.
And then that was when Irealized I don't want to walk
away from this.
No.
This is what I've been doing forthe last 10 years.
And that's what you're reallypassionate about.
Yes.
I love it.
Yes, you do.
I love doing it.
What's in it for me is I knowwhere I came from.
(19:47):
I know the struggle from mychildhood to where I am right
now.
And looking at these youngpeople and knowing what the
struggles are right now in ourcountry as far as economics and
the opportunities that theyhave, you know, it's a hard
road.
So it's just perfect for me.
Nonprofit is where I belong.
(20:09):
I love that.
SPEAKER_03 (20:09):
I love that because, you know, a lot of the times we
say part of figuring out yourniche, if there is a niche, and
I lovingly joke that I niche onpersonality, but truly, if you
have a passion for something andyour why speaks back to when I
was a child and I would haveneeded something like this and
having being able to really tieit back to what genuinely makes
(20:33):
you tick.
and where your heart is, I justfeel like you can't go wrong.
And so for those of youlistening, and maybe your brain
is exploding because you'rethinking about, wow, in
corporate, I did X, Y, and Z, ormy passions lie, or my why is
this, maybe I should findclients that align with that
specific why and their heart iswhere mine is.
SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
One other thing I would like to say also is that I
connected with a coworking spaceas well.
Oh,
SPEAKER_03 (21:05):
yes.
Talk about that.
That's juicy.
I remember that too.
Where you are right now, whereyou're sitting
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
right now.
That's exactly where I am rightnow is Groundswell Startups.
And it's mostly high techcommunity.
But what I love about this wholeecosystem is that it is a give
first community, right?
So there are experts here in allkinds of high tech.
They're in defense and aerospaceand aviation and engineering and
(21:35):
all kind of crap that I knownothing about.
SPEAKER_03 (21:38):
And we don't want to know also.
SPEAKER_00 (21:40):
But if I need help, we have a Slack channel and I
could ask, I'm having troublewith this.
Does anyone know how I can getthis fixed?
Two or three people will chimein and I've got a solution in
almost no time.
I'm saying that to say this,don't be afraid to connect with
someone else and share yourknowledge and experience with
(22:04):
them as they share it with you.
And you can continue to buildyour network of resources that
way by being willing to give tosomeone else, not always for
pay.
Sometimes, yes, sometimes thepay is so much greater when you
have someone that you can go towho's willing to share their
(22:25):
knowledge and their experienceto help you get over a hurdle
that you would have to pay awhole lot of money for.
So being Being in this communityhas really helped me expand my
vision that way as well.
I'm not going to give the storeaway, but I'm definitely going
to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_03 (22:46):
Entrepreneur.
I love that.
And you've always said that allthroughout the program.
So I love that we're able tokind of have this conversation.
And it's so interesting to mebecause I know that we have many
people who start off in thecorporate space and move right
to being an online businessmanager.
What did that look like for you?
What was the time in between?
(23:07):
How long did it take you beforeyou landed your first, let's
say, paying client?
Because I know that youobviously gave a lot of value
SPEAKER_00 (23:16):
first.
But I did struggle with that.
So first of all, I was stalkingyou during COVID.
I did.
I knew that there was somethingelse I wanted to do and how I
ran across you online.
But I mean, I was sitting athome just like everyone else on
the computer for hours and hoursand hours.
every day.
Yes.
I ran across you somehow and Iwas like, online business
(23:39):
manager?
What's that?
SPEAKER_01 (23:41):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (23:41):
And I did some research and I saw like, there's
not a whole lot of people doingthis.
Right.
And this was in 21, I guess?
I don't know when it was.
COVID, I've lost a couple ofyears.
I know, time is like, I know.
I've lost a couple of years, butanyway.
We all mushed together.
And then I stalked you andstalked you and stalked you
(24:01):
until I did save up enough moneyto go to to register for your
for your school which is thebest thing i've ever invested in
myself period okay That'spowerful.
It is, you know, college wasgreat.
It was theory.
It was theory.
I
SPEAKER_03 (24:21):
got out on the real world.
Yes.
The accreditation.
So yeah, you started off in theaccelerator and then I, I did, I
do remember that.
And then you moved intoaccreditation.
You, you were, you went all in,you
SPEAKER_00 (24:32):
went all in.
So from the time I startedschool, which was six month
program, I would say maybe likeat the fifth month.
Oh, wow.
I got my first paying client.
Now everybody else was moving.
like warp speed ahead of me
SPEAKER_03 (24:46):
there's something about that flavor I always tell
people yes people are atdifferent levels some people
already have clients some peoplehave a really rich corporate
transferable thing there's Ithink excitement and potential
that comes from looking atothers but then there's this
other edge of the sword that canfeel a little bit intimidating
and discouraging
SPEAKER_00 (25:04):
yes yes it was because people were talking
about money issues and theirmoney issue wasn't the same as
my my money issue I wasn'tgetting any and they were
wondering like how am I going tomove this person from a VA role
to pay me as an OVM but it wasall good for me to be in those
(25:26):
conversations so that when I getto that space if I ever get
there I mean when
SPEAKER_03 (25:32):
you get there because
SPEAKER_00 (25:33):
yes yes but I mean not from VA to OVM but really
just how to learning practicallyright how to deal with clients
who don't want to pay you yourvalue.
And being able to stand on,stand firm on your skills and
your knowledge and yourconfidence and your ability and
(25:54):
the need that you're going tofulfill for them, the solutions
that you're going to provide forthem.
For you, you're going to savepeople so much time and so much
money.
I just learned so much in how todeal with those conversations.
But it's so much easier whenyou're doing something that you
love, you can share you canbring out those solutions
SPEAKER_03 (26:17):
five months in and you land your first client which
was a non-profit
SPEAKER_00 (26:21):
yes which was a
SPEAKER_03 (26:23):
non-profit after you had i think dabbled in trying to
kind of venture into newindustries Right.
By your nonprofit.
So what did that look like afterthat?
Was it like a snowball effect?
The client started coming out ofthe woodwork?
When did you really feel like,I've got this, this business is
(26:43):
solid?
Because I really, I want theseday in the life to show
potential OBMs and clients whowant to work with an OBM, what
it really does look like in thereal world and not just
theoretically, per se.
SPEAKER_00 (26:54):
Correct.
So my very first client wassomeone that I had been working
with, helping them out with alot of things.
In my doing that, they were ableto spend more time doing other
things.
Only the things that they cando.
Only the things that they cando.
And that meant that in doingthat, they were expanding, began
(27:18):
expanding their organization.
This particular person thenstarted getting invitations
across the country to go andspeak.
Wow.
Right.
environmental.
SPEAKER_03 (27:31):
I hope we have a case study about this somewhere
on your website.
So I'm writing something.
I am.
I am because it's awesome.
That really does highlight, wow,I was able to get them back time
to do only the things that theycould do.
And now they're scaling wildlysuccessful.
Amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (27:47):
To be honest, this is, this person is the executive
director and, but she doesalmost everything, fundraising,
event planning, and she's reallyan amazing mom.
in environmental justice.
Wow.
Again, she's a part of thecommunity that's providing
solutions for food insecurity.
(28:09):
Wow.
Right?
She's just growing leaps andbounds, right?
So, I was...
You're playing a huge part inthat.
And she's just teaching me somuch about that subject matter
and, you know, how all of ushave a role to play
SPEAKER_03 (28:25):
in it.
And I think this is why it's somuch interesting than just being
in corporate, right?
Because, like, you could...
might think, well, you know,she's, why not just stay in
corporate if you're doing allthe same things that you were
doing?
But it's not the same.
You know, you have autonomy.
It's meaningful.
You can
SPEAKER_00 (28:40):
choose.
You can say no.
You can walk away.
And it's long lasting.
It's long lasting.
You know, the work that's beingdone right now in the community
through her organization isgoing to last for generations.
Wow.
It's purpose here.
Getting like goosebumps becausethat's so powerful.
And I'm not saying that I didthis for her because she's
(29:00):
driven enough it's just thati've taken some you give her
SPEAKER_03 (29:03):
back some more time to do more of that
SPEAKER_00 (29:05):
yes and she's the
SPEAKER_03 (29:06):
only thing we can't get more of
SPEAKER_00 (29:07):
right right and so just doing follow-up work for
her and i'm blocking time withher weekly that we have
conversations sometimes she'slike super busy and we don't get
to talk and then i'll get aphone call from her and say look
i just need to talk to you and ineed to talk to you too you know
(29:29):
and so because we're We're sobusy.
She's so busy.
So that's what I really try todo in my daily operation for
myself because I want to bringon more clients.
I'm blocking time specificallywhen I'm going to do interviews,
something like this, or havediscovery calls with potential
(29:49):
clients.
I block time away for that.
I block time away during my daywhere I'm working specifically
on my business as well becauseas I bring on more clients.
I'm learning where the holes arein my own business that need to
be
SPEAKER_03 (30:05):
fixed.
The most beautiful byproduct ofbeing an online business manager
is you just get better at doingbusiness overall, you know,
whether it's your own marketing,your own business development,
you start to realize that, youknow, you have to put time back
into your own business in orderto continue to grow in order to
support more people.
And now you are, you know, ifI'm calculating correctly, like
(30:27):
seven months into havingclients, you've still got this
client on your roster and you'vegot other nonprofits that you're
working with.
You said that you have more roomfor more potential clients,
which is awesome.
If you're a nonprofit lookingfor a killer OBM, you got to
talk to LeAngela on thedirectory over at obmschool.com
for social records.
But tell me a little bit aboutfinancially what this has done
(30:50):
for you over the last sevenmonths.
Now you have paying clients.
You've sort of overcome thatblock.
you know, for lack of a betterway of describing it.
The ball is rolling.
What do things look like now?
Like, how do you feel?
What does your family say?
I mean, your son who's laughingbecause you're on TikTok, but
you know, I mean, you can laugh,but like you're making it,
you're making it, you're landingclients.
SPEAKER_00 (31:11):
I'm definitely making it happen.
I've set some goals for thisyear, for the next quarter and
for my fourth quarter.
I'm not taking on too manyclients right now because I
really want to, I mean, I am I'mtaking on, I have space right
now for more clients for thenext quarter, next two quarters,
(31:32):
but financially I'm able toexhale a little bit, right?
Right, because I've been holdingmy breath.
I know.
For a while.
I've been holding my breath.
I'm moving intentionally rightnow, not to get a bunch of
clients, but to really beimpactful for those who I'm
working with right now, becauseas I've learned through my OBM
(31:56):
school, I want to leave anyorganization that I work with
better than it was when I camein.
And in doing that, I'm beingvery intentional in helping them
with a assigned projects thatwe're working on, as well as
strategically looking out thenext six months, the next year,
(32:17):
and making recommendations onhow they can continue moving
forward with me being rightthere by their side if they
want, or really just, you know,providing them with a program
or, you know, a projectmanagement strategy that they
can, you know, implement.
I will help them implement ifthey wanted to bring on new
(32:38):
staff members, whatever the casemay But I'm able to exhale
somewhat right now.
And as I continue to take onmore clients, I'm looking to
breathe more.
I spend probably about rightnow, I would say maybe 40, 30 to
40 hours a month right now onclient work.
SPEAKER_03 (32:59):
Okay, that's nice.
I know because I know you have alot of passion projects and
family.
SPEAKER_00 (33:04):
Yes.
Yes, I've got that to manage aswell, you know, as well as
myself, which I haven't, youknow.
The other thing that I wanted tosay is that I'm really
passionate about making surethat I'm putting together plans
for the organization that I'mworking with, leaving them with
(33:25):
a plan and helping them tounderstand that this is forward
looking.
Nonprofits often get into beingon their heels and a lot of
cases, but, you know, reallybeing able to project out and
look forward and plan thosethings ahead will, you know,
give you, you know, the spacethat you need to breathe and
(33:47):
really work at the mission thatyou have set out to solve.
SPEAKER_03 (33:53):
What a beautiful, beautiful thing.
And I know, you know, from, youknow, leaving them with the
proper strategic plan and theautomation and the systems and
all of this magicalness that youbring into clients And also the
way I remember when you were inthe program, just listening to
you speak about the co-workingspace and the community.
And you were really puttingyourself out there.
(34:15):
And I really love that about youbecause you are very
charismatic.
You are very you're also a verylike caring human being, you
know, whether it's with yourfamily or, you know, just with
the other individuals in theprogram.
And it's like it's such apleasure for me to work with
students like yourself, withonline business managers like
yourself.
I think that if you guys arelistening to this and and you
(34:35):
have an opportunity to work withLiAngela, hands down, like you
are, you're an incrediblyexperienced person.
And I say this all the time, youknow, people, there's so many
talented women that come in fromthese rich corporate histories
and they come into the OBM worldand they're like, I'm just going
to put my corporate thing overhere in a box and I'm going to
go try this new thing and justchallenging, you know, instead
(34:56):
of kind of like taking piecesfrom their corporate box and
applying them to, new potentialOBM clients.
So if you were to give advice tothat corporate individual who's
maybe listening from their deskor on their lunch break and
thinking to themselves, youknow, can I really make this
work?
What would be a piece of adviceor a few pieces of advice that
(35:18):
you could give this individual?
SPEAKER_00 (35:20):
I would say, first of all, that you know yourself.
I mean, truly, truly, truly behonest with yourself and what
your passion is and what youlove to do.
Some Sometimes, you know, wewant to do something because it
looks like it can make a wholelot of money for us.
But it's a struggle to get therebecause you're not tapping into
(35:43):
what makes you perfect as theindividual, skillful individual
that you are.
So I would say first be honestabout who you are, what you love
and not be influenced by whatsomeone else thinks that you
should be or you have thepotential of being, which could
be true, but that's not yourpassion, right?
(36:05):
That's what I would say.
first.
And then I would say, do do alittle research about
specifically OVM school.
I cannot tell you enough, likewhat the support looks like in
this community, how Sarah andher team are all givers, freely
sharing their expertise with thecohort.
(36:27):
They hold nothing back.
They don't hold anything back.
You know, they give it, theygive it, they give it, and they
bring in so many other Thankyou.
(36:56):
You just need someone to helpyou develop.
That's what I always tellpeople.
SPEAKER_03 (36:59):
I'm like, it's inside of
SPEAKER_04 (37:01):
you.
SPEAKER_03 (37:01):
It's not about reinventing the wheel here.
It's about leaning into theskill set that you have.
And I always tell people, and Iwill scream this from the
rooftop, no two OBMs are alike.
I know a lot of OBMs who work inthe, not a lot, but I know a
good few OBMs in the nonprofitworld.
They're all very different.
You know, they have differentskill sets, different
backgrounds, different history,but they all really lead with
(37:23):
the things that feel natural tothem.
And it really makes for a uniqueonline business manager.
And you, LiAngela, are, I think,as unique as it gets.
Thank you.
And it's really been a pleasureto work with you.
And I think for those who arelistening, how can they learn
more about you and about workingwith you?
Where can they find you online?
SPEAKER_00 (37:43):
So you can find me online.
My website isovmprofessionals.com.
You can also find me onFacebook.
I am LiAngela.
Angela Aitken, OBM on Facebook.
Once again, I'm on TikTok, butyou're probably not going to see
much of me anymore since my sonhas banned me from there.
(38:08):
Shame on him.
Kids these days.
And also I have my cell phonethat's with me all the time that
I'm not afraid to take yourcall.
Nice.
I will be, you know, it'd bewonderful to talk to you.
You'll be speaking direct And myphone number is 216-543-5961.
(38:32):
So you can find me in any ofthose places.
And the last thing I want to sayspecifically to nonprofits is
that I will help you buildsystems that will put SOPs in
place so that any employeecoming on board will have
processes and procedures thatthey can see and refer to that
(38:55):
will help your business run.
run the same way every day, allthe time, if you're there, if
you're not there.
Those are the things that I likedoing for nonprofits.
I will help you automate some ofyour processes that you have in
place right now that will,again, give you more time to
spend in your community doingthe things that you want to do
(39:16):
and still get the work done.
So those are the things that Iwant to do to help you.
Please call me, go to mywebsite, and you can schedule an
appointment there as I wouldlove to talk to you and just
explore, you know, what thingswe can do to help.
I love that.
SPEAKER_03 (39:32):
Thank you so much, LeAngela.
And thank you for sharing yourwisdom.
We'll leave every, all of thosedetails in the show notes below
so that you guys can get intouch with LeAngela.
And I hope you have a wonderfulday.
And thank you for sharing thismoment with me and for sharing a
day.
Thank you so much, Sarah.
Lovely, lovely, lovely seeingyou.
The Angela story is such apowerful reminder that your past
(39:55):
experience, especially fromcorporate, can become the exact
toolkit you need to build abusiness that aligns with your
purpose and creates real change.
From leading nonprofit clientsto building systems that leave a
lasting legacy, The Angela showsus what's possible when you
combine strategy with serviceand when you say yes to what's
(40:15):
already inside of you.
If this episode resonated withyou, head on over to
obmschool.com to download yourfree OBM starter kit, explore
our top tools and accesstrainings designed to help you
take the next step in your ownOBM journey.
And if you're a nonprofit leaderlooking for a powerful
operational support, you'll findall LiAngela's business details
(40:39):
linked in the show notes below.
Thanks so much for joining meand I'll catch you next time on
the OBM show.
Today, I have the absolute pleasure of
reconnecting with one of ourincredible OBM school grads,
LeAngela Aitken.
LeAngela made a bold leapstraight from a long
accomplished corporate careerinto the world of online
business management, and she'sdone it with heart, strategy,
and a powerful sense of purpose.
(00:21):
In this conversation, we talkabout how she transitioned into
the OBM role without passingthrough the VA route, how she
found her niche in thenon-profits space, and how
building a business grounded inservice has transformed her life
and her community.
If you've ever wondered whetheryour corporate background is
enough to make a change, or ifyou're curious how OBMs can make
(00:45):
a real impact in industries likenonprofit, this episode is for
you.
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.
(01:05):
I'm your host, Sarah Noked,agency owner, OBM mentor and
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 run likeclockwork.
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
(01:27):
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories
that drive sustainable success,plus the tech mishaps, growing
pains, and lessons learned alongthe way.
If you're ready to stop spinningyour wheels, step into your
leadership role, and see whatactually happens behind the
(01:49):
scenes of thriving businesses,you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
Let's get started.
Wow, wow, wow.
LiAngela Aitken.
It's been far, far too long andI'm thrilled and ecstatic to be
able to interview you heretoday.
You know, there's a lot ofstudents that come through OBM
(02:09):
school, but you, my love,definitely left an impression on
me because you come from such arich corporate background as an
online business manager and youtransitioned from corporate to
OBM without anything in between.
So LiAngela, Thank you.
Welcome to the show.
And I'd love for you to take asecond to just introduce
(02:30):
yourself.
Where are you from and what wereyou doing before you became an
online business manager?
SPEAKER_00 (02:36):
Okay.
Sarah, first of all, thank youso much for inviting me to do
this.
I'm so excited.
I'm so excited that I wentthrough the program.
So I'm Leigh Angela and I am anOBM in Melbourne, Florida.
I've been here in Florida forabout five years now, moved here
(02:56):
to be a caretaker for my mom andsister who were having some
health problems, but I movedhere from Cleveland, Ohio.
I jumped into the OVM world sortof like just jumping into the
deep end of a pool, never havinglearned how to swim before.
So I was really outside of mycomfort zone.
(03:20):
I have some, what I believe areamazing skills.
I have really a heart ofservice.
to people.
So most of my corporate life,I've been in a role of
leadership.
Also, of course, moving upthrough the ranks to get into
the leadership.
But what I learned the wholetime that I've been working is
(03:41):
that I view myself as someonewho's responsibility is to make
someone else's life easier.
So I took that approach incorporate.
I took that approach when Imoved it into the nonprofit
world.
And that allowed me to, eventhough I wasn't a VA or had done
any virtual work ever, I thinkthat's what allowed me to move
(04:02):
into the role of an OBM becausemy mind has already been set on
making life better and easierfor someone else.
Every supervisor, manager,leader I've ever had I've always
had a conversation with them tolet them know that I viewed my
job in whatever capacity I wasin I always had this
(04:23):
conversation that I view my jobto make your job easier because
I know when you are comfortablewith the work that's being done
my life is gonna be easier I getno grief or from you if I make
your job easier.
So that's the approach I'vealways taken.
SPEAKER_03 (04:42):
I love that.
I love that, LiAngela.
And it was such an honor workingwith you throughout OBM School
because you are and were ashining star.
And I love how you've had thisunderpin of confidence in your
skill set throughout the entiretime.
You know, I think in OBM School,we really worked on getting
clarity around the services andwhat you were willing and not
(05:03):
willing to offer specifically.
But you always had that drive.
You always had the confidence.
You knew you were going to besuccessful.
You just needed the rightclients.
And I feel like you've alwaysknown that it sort of permeated
from your existence.
And, you know, I think it's beenwhat, six months since you
completed accreditation?
SPEAKER_00 (05:21):
Almost six months.
It was in December of 22.
So we're not quite at sixmonths.
But the thing about that, I'mjust so excited that I took the
leap to go to OBM school becauseI have skills, but they were
segmented and directed inspecific areas.
areas and structure in OBMschool that I had never done
(05:42):
before.
You know, I learned how in OBMschool, how to methodically and
systematically build fromnothing to something in specific
areas, whether it's marketing orlaunch management or project
management.
There were specific skills thatyou helped bring out and you led
(06:04):
us to through the program thatnever connected in my entire
career.
Isn't that
SPEAKER_03 (06:11):
strange how it works like that?
It's sometimes like, I mean, Ifeel like I say this on the
daily, but you can't see thelabel from inside the bottle as
they say.
And I feel like you were reallyan example of that because you
were, you had all thiswonderfulness inside of you, but
from the outside, you know,whether potential clients were
getting confused or you wereleading with the wrong service,
(06:32):
you know, we needed to getclarity around that so that you
could go forth and really Ithink the best way to say it is
to really spread your wings anddo something that was so
meaningful.
And I remember periods of timewell inside the program having
conversations with you aroundhow you were moving and shaking
in the real world and justcreating these collaborations
(06:55):
with your own community locally.
And I can't wait to talk aboutsome of those things because I
know it fired me up and itshowed me the possibility of
what happens when you know,incredible people come together.
But I think it's important toknow that in this, you know,
crazy mixed up world that welive in today, that there are
still really good things to lookforward to and people who are
(07:18):
doing incredible things, whichleads me to my first question
for you around your clientniche.
So tell me a little bit aboutthe nonprofit world.
And for those businesseslistening here to this or
watching this on YouTube, whatcan you say about how an OBM can
really benefit a nonprofit?
SPEAKER_00 (07:38):
That's a really great question.
So I just a little bit moreabout my background.
I spent about 18 years incorporate America and through a
downsizing during early, well,mid 2000s, 2009, 10, 11, there
was a great downsizing.
And so when I left corporateAmerica, I said that the next
thing I wanted to do was to, youknow, be in a role where I'm
(08:02):
doing something to help others.
I spent a lot of time making alot of money for corporations.
This time I want to do somethingto help others.
And so I ended up in thenonprofit world shortly after
maybe 2012.
So I've been in that arena forthe past 10, 11 years.
And what I learned is thatnonprofits do a lot with a
(08:26):
little.
And few people, very few peoplehave to do so many roles.
And the mindset of nonprofit inmy experience has been that, oh,
we have to do it this way.
We don't have any money and wejust have to pull up our
bootstraps Our bootstraps.
So two things about nonprofit.
(08:47):
They are really great atfundraising and they're really
great at doing a lot with fewerresources.
SPEAKER_03 (08:55):
I like a great client to me.
Yes, exactly.
And smart about stretching atight budget.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (09:03):
What they don't really understand is that that
budget that they already havecan be better utilized by
parsing some things out to otherpeople to do for themselves.
smaller projects, some projectwork.
You know, you don't have to hiresomeone full time in your
organization to get the workdone.
And so that's something thatbecause of my experience in
(09:28):
nonprofit, I fully understandthe struggle and the
inefficiencies that exist innonprofit, and I want to bring
to the nonprofit industry, to mycommunity, to smaller
organizations still working incorporate or startups or
(09:48):
whomever, but I want to bring tothem solutions of how they can
operate more efficiently and howthey can have more time to spend
in the world of helping thepeople that they want to help in
less time and doing the gruntwork of how to get that help.
So because of my experience iswhy I've really gravitated
(10:09):
towards nonprofit for as beingan OBM.
There are so many technologiesthat tech stack that we talk
about that we learned in OBMschool tech stacks that are some
are free.
Some are, you know, little tonothing to acquire that will
(10:29):
help them be so much moreefficient and automate some of
the processes that they have.
or to manage their donors ormanage their volunteer base that
will really allow them to havemore hands on opportunities in
the communities that they wantto serve, doing the work with
the people that they want tohelp.
SPEAKER_03 (10:52):
It's amazing.
It's so amazing that you're ableas an OBM to make such an impact
in this world.
And I know that it's very buzzyto be like, oh, we work with
impact-driven entrepreneurs AndI know that that's a goal for a
lot of online business managersbecause we're so, you know,
we're hard of service and wewant to give back and we want to
work with nice people.
(11:13):
But you are really doing it andyou're really working with, you
know, I feel like the nonprofitworld is really what makes the
world a better place.
Absolutely.
So it's incredible that you'vebeen able to recognize that your
skill set is in nonprofitsbecause I remember when you came
into OBM school, I wouldn't saythat you were rejecting the
(11:35):
nonprofit, but it wasn't in yourperspective.
Like, well, I'm starting thisnew career as an OBM.
Maybe I should look at otheroptions.
So I would love for you to tellthe story of how you sort of
considered the different optionsand how ultimately you found
yourself back almost where youcame from working with
(11:55):
nonprofits and how that mighthave felt like a full circle for
you.
SPEAKER_00 (11:59):
So you're absolutely right, Sarah.
When I came into the program, Iwasn't sure that I was going to
be able to find the clients.
clients that were going to be agood fit for me.
That was my biggest fear.
Like, where do I find clients?
I remember that distinctly.
Yeah.
Where am I going to get thesepeople from if he's going to
(12:20):
believe in me?
They don't know me this way.
And I've, you know, I've, I'veworked my career based on
collaborations, partnerships inthe community, getting to know.
That is
SPEAKER_03 (12:32):
you.
That is how I, when I think ofyou, LeAngela, that is what
comes up in my mind.
Collaboration and partnershipand community because I know you
are very much driven with peoplein that way you're a people
person yeah
SPEAKER_00 (12:46):
and so I was I was scared I was really afraid but
you kept encouraging me to justkeep going and we kept you know
looking at different things andthese are you know some things
you can do and here's thecommunities where you can go to
online through Facebook throughyour connections with people
(13:07):
that you already have but I wasfocusing specifically on what
you've taught us as our steppingstone clients.
And all of those clients are incorporate America, right?
I just didn't know how to findpeople in my cohort.
They had clients.
They came from the VA as VAs toOBMs, which is something that I
(13:29):
never did.
So I've never had any experienceworking with anyone virtually or
how to find clients workingvirtually.
So I was nervous because wewould be in our sessions and
everyone's talking about theirclients this and this is an
issue that I'm having with myclients and I'm sitting there
like oh my god when am I gonnahave this problem This
SPEAKER_03 (13:53):
is funny.
Isn't it funny in retrospect?
Like you think you're nevergoing to get that first client.
You think it's never going tohappen for you.
You're always going to beconfused.
And yes, to a degree, we arealways confused.
But that's because we'reconstantly pushing the envelope
of what can be
SPEAKER_00 (14:08):
our own businesses.
Yes.
You just wouldn't let us likenot keep pushing.
Yeah.
Like that's the one thing thatSarah and you are just amazing.
The school, the otherparticipants in the cohort,
those before me, those who cameafter me, like we're creating
our own community with this, youknow, helping each other,
(14:28):
sharing best practices on ourprivate Facebook group, you
know, through that wholeconnection.
I had to embrace that which Ialready knew and that experience
that I already had and not tryto push that aside to do
something else.
And somewhere along the way, itclicked.
(14:48):
Well, it wasn't just me.
It was still the pulling forcefrom my community that I had
already created, the one thatnot I created, but I was a part
of, I was still having pullingfrom that community, the
nonprofit community, that I wasreally trying to walk away from
for no reason.
(15:09):
For no reason.
Except I thought that this otherarea was my niche.
My niche is this thing that Ilove.
Yes.
This thing that I've been doing,this thing that I know so well.
And so that's what clicked forme.
And I was on TikTok.
I was doing all kinds of crazythings on TikTok, Sarah.
(15:29):
I'm so serious.
Like, I'm way out there.
My son saw me on something.
He was like, Mom, what are youdoing?
What on earth are you doing?
I mean, this is a 30-year-oldman that somehow ran across me
on TikTok.
And he was like, Mom, no.
UNKNOWN (15:45):
Mom, no.
SPEAKER_02 (15:46):
so
SPEAKER_00 (15:48):
I mean I was trying all kind of things but in
reality some people are good atthat some people are great with
Instagram all of those thingsI'm present but I'm more present
in the community that I know andso I'm getting you know
referrals word of mouth morepeople are calling me
SPEAKER_03 (16:07):
okay so let's talk about that because I too in the
program remember the shift thathappened with you like I did it
was like a period of time.
And we can talk about thecatalyst for that because I'm
not even exactly sure if it wasone specific thing, but I know
it comes back to your community.
But suddenly it just clicked foryou and it was almost like
(16:28):
opening a floodgate.
What happened that elicited sucha strong shift in not only your
mindset, but in your reach andyour ability to connect with
your community in, I guess, anew way because you've always
been in that community, weren'tnew to that community.
SPEAKER_00 (16:49):
So my previous job before jumping into this, I was
a center director at a communitycenter that literally I, along
with the other employees, openedthis facility brand new in a
blighted community in Palm Bayof Florida.
(17:12):
And the organization is calledthe Evans Center.
And its mission was to solve theproblem of food insecurity in
the community.
And so the programs that we weredoing there and the food that we
provided to the community waskey.
And so I was out and I I was inthe community and I was talking
(17:36):
about the programs and I wasjust being a voice and a face of
really bringing people on intothat center.
There was also a health clinicas well at the community center.
There's also a classroom for jobtraining.
So we were doing a lot there.
So, you know, once again, I wasthe face and the voice, you
(17:58):
know, in the community, justbringing people in to know that
this resource existed.
Natural skill set.
You're just such a natural.
So when I left there, for ashort time, there was a void.
But because I was the one whowas the face when it opened, I
was the one who was out thereduring COVID, you know, passing
(18:20):
out food to families.
We put together a drive-thruwhere they came in and we served
them hot meals in their cars.
We would give them to-go boxes.
And so because there was a shortvoid before someone else came
into that And when one of theemployees opened a food truck
and he was having some strugglesand I saw that and I went to him
(18:44):
and I told him, look, I want tohelp you with a few things to
help move your business along.
And it was then that I was outagain in the community, you
know, doing something.
And it was then that people werelike, oh, how are you doing?
You know, what's going on?
What are you doing?
And then I started talking aboutbeing an OB and what that means.
(19:06):
And I started getting moreinquiries.
This person who has the foodtruck started talking about what
I was doing for him and helpinghim with his business.
And he's also in the community.
So, you know, he started justsharing about what I was doing
for him.
They trusted me.
People started calling me fordifferent things, help with
this, that, and the other.
(19:27):
And then, you know, it clicked.
It just started to click.
And then that was when Irealized I don't want to walk
away from this.
No.
This is what I've been doing forthe last 10 years.
And that's what you're reallypassionate about.
Yes.
I love it.
Yes, you do.
I love doing it.
What's in it for me is I knowwhere I came from.
(19:47):
I know the struggle from mychildhood to where I am right
now.
And looking at these youngpeople and knowing what the
struggles are right now in ourcountry as far as economics and
the opportunities that theyhave, you know, it's a hard
road.
So it's just perfect for me.
Nonprofit is where I belong.
(20:09):
I love that.
SPEAKER_03 (20:09):
I love that because, you know, a lot of the times we
say part of figuring out yourniche, if there is a niche, and
I lovingly joke that I niche onpersonality, but truly, if you
have a passion for something andyour why speaks back to when I
was a child and I would haveneeded something like this and
having being able to really tieit back to what genuinely makes
(20:33):
you tick.
and where your heart is, I justfeel like you can't go wrong.
And so for those of youlistening, and maybe your brain
is exploding because you'rethinking about, wow, in
corporate, I did X, Y, and Z, ormy passions lie, or my why is
this, maybe I should findclients that align with that
specific why and their heart iswhere mine is.
SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
One other thing I would like to say also is that I
connected with a coworking spaceas well.
Oh,
SPEAKER_03 (21:05):
yes.
Talk about that.
That's juicy.
I remember that too.
Where you are right now, whereyou're sitting
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
right now.
That's exactly where I am rightnow is Groundswell Startups.
And it's mostly high techcommunity.
But what I love about this wholeecosystem is that it is a give
first community, right?
So there are experts here in allkinds of high tech.
They're in defense and aerospaceand aviation and engineering and
(21:35):
all kind of crap that I knownothing about.
SPEAKER_03 (21:38):
And we don't want to know also.
SPEAKER_00 (21:40):
But if I need help, we have a Slack channel and I
could ask, I'm having troublewith this.
Does anyone know how I can getthis fixed?
Two or three people will chimein and I've got a solution in
almost no time.
I'm saying that to say this,don't be afraid to connect with
someone else and share yourknowledge and experience with
(22:04):
them as they share it with you.
And you can continue to buildyour network of resources that
way by being willing to give tosomeone else, not always for
pay.
Sometimes, yes, sometimes thepay is so much greater when you
have someone that you can go towho's willing to share their
(22:25):
knowledge and their experienceto help you get over a hurdle
that you would have to pay awhole lot of money for.
So being Being in this communityhas really helped me expand my
vision that way as well.
I'm not going to give the storeaway, but I'm definitely going
to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_03 (22:46):
Entrepreneur.
I love that.
And you've always said that allthroughout the program.
So I love that we're able tokind of have this conversation.
And it's so interesting to mebecause I know that we have many
people who start off in thecorporate space and move right
to being an online businessmanager.
What did that look like for you?
What was the time in between?
(23:07):
How long did it take you beforeyou landed your first, let's
say, paying client?
Because I know that youobviously gave a lot of value
SPEAKER_00 (23:16):
first.
But I did struggle with that.
So first of all, I was stalkingyou during COVID.
I did.
I knew that there was somethingelse I wanted to do and how I
ran across you online.
But I mean, I was sitting athome just like everyone else on
the computer for hours and hoursand hours.
every day.
Yes.
I ran across you somehow and Iwas like, online business
(23:39):
manager?
What's that?
SPEAKER_01 (23:41):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (23:41):
And I did some research and I saw like, there's
not a whole lot of people doingthis.
Right.
And this was in 21, I guess?
I don't know when it was.
COVID, I've lost a couple ofyears.
I know, time is like, I know.
I've lost a couple of years, butanyway.
We all mushed together.
And then I stalked you andstalked you and stalked you
(24:01):
until I did save up enough moneyto go to to register for your
for your school which is thebest thing i've ever invested in
myself period okay That'spowerful.
It is, you know, college wasgreat.
It was theory.
It was theory.
I
SPEAKER_03 (24:21):
got out on the real world.
Yes.
The accreditation.
So yeah, you started off in theaccelerator and then I, I did, I
do remember that.
And then you moved intoaccreditation.
You, you were, you went all in,you
SPEAKER_00 (24:32):
went all in.
So from the time I startedschool, which was six month
program, I would say maybe likeat the fifth month.
Oh, wow.
I got my first paying client.
Now everybody else was moving.
like warp speed ahead of me
SPEAKER_03 (24:46):
there's something about that flavor I always tell
people yes people are atdifferent levels some people
already have clients some peoplehave a really rich corporate
transferable thing there's Ithink excitement and potential
that comes from looking atothers but then there's this
other edge of the sword that canfeel a little bit intimidating
and discouraging
SPEAKER_00 (25:04):
yes yes it was because people were talking
about money issues and theirmoney issue wasn't the same as
my my money issue I wasn'tgetting any and they were
wondering like how am I going tomove this person from a VA role
to pay me as an OVM but it wasall good for me to be in those
(25:26):
conversations so that when I getto that space if I ever get
there I mean when
SPEAKER_03 (25:32):
you get there because
SPEAKER_00 (25:33):
yes yes but I mean not from VA to OVM but really
just how to learning practicallyright how to deal with clients
who don't want to pay you yourvalue.
And being able to stand on,stand firm on your skills and
your knowledge and yourconfidence and your ability and
(25:54):
the need that you're going tofulfill for them, the solutions
that you're going to provide forthem.
For you, you're going to savepeople so much time and so much
money.
I just learned so much in how todeal with those conversations.
But it's so much easier whenyou're doing something that you
love, you can share you canbring out those solutions
SPEAKER_03 (26:17):
five months in and you land your first client which
was a non-profit
SPEAKER_00 (26:21):
yes which was a
SPEAKER_03 (26:23):
non-profit after you had i think dabbled in trying to
kind of venture into newindustries Right.
By your nonprofit.
So what did that look like afterthat?
Was it like a snowball effect?
The client started coming out ofthe woodwork?
When did you really feel like,I've got this, this business is
(26:43):
solid?
Because I really, I want theseday in the life to show
potential OBMs and clients whowant to work with an OBM, what
it really does look like in thereal world and not just
theoretically, per se.
SPEAKER_00 (26:54):
Correct.
So my very first client wassomeone that I had been working
with, helping them out with alot of things.
In my doing that, they were ableto spend more time doing other
things.
Only the things that they cando.
Only the things that they cando.
And that meant that in doingthat, they were expanding, began
(27:18):
expanding their organization.
This particular person thenstarted getting invitations
across the country to go andspeak.
Wow.
Right.
environmental.
SPEAKER_03 (27:31):
I hope we have a case study about this somewhere
on your website.
So I'm writing something.
I am.
I am because it's awesome.
That really does highlight, wow,I was able to get them back time
to do only the things that theycould do.
And now they're scaling wildlysuccessful.
Amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (27:47):
To be honest, this is, this person is the executive
director and, but she doesalmost everything, fundraising,
event planning, and she's reallyan amazing mom.
in environmental justice.
Wow.
Again, she's a part of thecommunity that's providing
solutions for food insecurity.
(28:09):
Wow.
Right?
She's just growing leaps andbounds, right?
So, I was...
You're playing a huge part inthat.
And she's just teaching me somuch about that subject matter
and, you know, how all of ushave a role to play
SPEAKER_03 (28:25):
in it.
And I think this is why it's somuch interesting than just being
in corporate, right?
Because, like, you could...
might think, well, you know,she's, why not just stay in
corporate if you're doing allthe same things that you were
doing?
But it's not the same.
You know, you have autonomy.
It's meaningful.
You can
SPEAKER_00 (28:40):
choose.
You can say no.
You can walk away.
And it's long lasting.
It's long lasting.
You know, the work that's beingdone right now in the community
through her organization isgoing to last for generations.
Wow.
It's purpose here.
Getting like goosebumps becausethat's so powerful.
And I'm not saying that I didthis for her because she's
(29:00):
driven enough it's just thati've taken some you give her
SPEAKER_03 (29:03):
back some more time to do more of that
SPEAKER_00 (29:05):
yes and she's the
SPEAKER_03 (29:06):
only thing we can't get more of
SPEAKER_00 (29:07):
right right and so just doing follow-up work for
her and i'm blocking time withher weekly that we have
conversations sometimes she'slike super busy and we don't get
to talk and then i'll get aphone call from her and say look
i just need to talk to you and ineed to talk to you too you know
(29:29):
and so because we're We're sobusy.
She's so busy.
So that's what I really try todo in my daily operation for
myself because I want to bringon more clients.
I'm blocking time specificallywhen I'm going to do interviews,
something like this, or havediscovery calls with potential
(29:49):
clients.
I block time away for that.
I block time away during my daywhere I'm working specifically
on my business as well becauseas I bring on more clients.
I'm learning where the holes arein my own business that need to
be
SPEAKER_03 (30:05):
fixed.
The most beautiful byproduct ofbeing an online business manager
is you just get better at doingbusiness overall, you know,
whether it's your own marketing,your own business development,
you start to realize that, youknow, you have to put time back
into your own business in orderto continue to grow in order to
support more people.
And now you are, you know, ifI'm calculating correctly, like
(30:27):
seven months into havingclients, you've still got this
client on your roster and you'vegot other nonprofits that you're
working with.
You said that you have more roomfor more potential clients,
which is awesome.
If you're a nonprofit lookingfor a killer OBM, you got to
talk to LeAngela on thedirectory over at obmschool.com
for social records.
But tell me a little bit aboutfinancially what this has done
(30:50):
for you over the last sevenmonths.
Now you have paying clients.
You've sort of overcome thatblock.
you know, for lack of a betterway of describing it.
The ball is rolling.
What do things look like now?
Like, how do you feel?
What does your family say?
I mean, your son who's laughingbecause you're on TikTok, but
you know, I mean, you can laugh,but like you're making it,
you're making it, you're landingclients.
SPEAKER_00 (31:11):
I'm definitely making it happen.
I've set some goals for thisyear, for the next quarter and
for my fourth quarter.
I'm not taking on too manyclients right now because I
really want to, I mean, I am I'mtaking on, I have space right
now for more clients for thenext quarter, next two quarters,
(31:32):
but financially I'm able toexhale a little bit, right?
Right, because I've been holdingmy breath.
I know.
For a while.
I've been holding my breath.
I'm moving intentionally rightnow, not to get a bunch of
clients, but to really beimpactful for those who I'm
working with right now, becauseas I've learned through my OBM
(31:56):
school, I want to leave anyorganization that I work with
better than it was when I camein.
And in doing that, I'm beingvery intentional in helping them
with a assigned projects thatwe're working on, as well as
strategically looking out thenext six months, the next year,
(32:17):
and making recommendations onhow they can continue moving
forward with me being rightthere by their side if they
want, or really just, you know,providing them with a program
or, you know, a projectmanagement strategy that they
can, you know, implement.
I will help them implement ifthey wanted to bring on new
(32:38):
staff members, whatever the casemay But I'm able to exhale
somewhat right now.
And as I continue to take onmore clients, I'm looking to
breathe more.
I spend probably about rightnow, I would say maybe 40, 30 to
40 hours a month right now onclient work.
SPEAKER_03 (32:59):
Okay, that's nice.
I know because I know you have alot of passion projects and
family.
SPEAKER_00 (33:04):
Yes.
Yes, I've got that to manage aswell, you know, as well as
myself, which I haven't, youknow.
The other thing that I wanted tosay is that I'm really
passionate about making surethat I'm putting together plans
for the organization that I'mworking with, leaving them with
(33:25):
a plan and helping them tounderstand that this is forward
looking.
Nonprofits often get into beingon their heels and a lot of
cases, but, you know, reallybeing able to project out and
look forward and plan thosethings ahead will, you know,
give you, you know, the spacethat you need to breathe and
(33:47):
really work at the mission thatyou have set out to solve.
SPEAKER_03 (33:53):
What a beautiful, beautiful thing.
And I know, you know, from, youknow, leaving them with the
proper strategic plan and theautomation and the systems and
all of this magicalness that youbring into clients And also the
way I remember when you were inthe program, just listening to
you speak about the co-workingspace and the community.
And you were really puttingyourself out there.
(34:15):
And I really love that about youbecause you are very
charismatic.
You are very you're also a verylike caring human being, you
know, whether it's with yourfamily or, you know, just with
the other individuals in theprogram.
And it's like it's such apleasure for me to work with
students like yourself, withonline business managers like
yourself.
I think that if you guys arelistening to this and and you
(34:35):
have an opportunity to work withLiAngela, hands down, like you
are, you're an incrediblyexperienced person.
And I say this all the time, youknow, people, there's so many
talented women that come in fromthese rich corporate histories
and they come into the OBM worldand they're like, I'm just going
to put my corporate thing overhere in a box and I'm going to
go try this new thing and justchallenging, you know, instead
(34:56):
of kind of like taking piecesfrom their corporate box and
applying them to, new potentialOBM clients.
So if you were to give advice tothat corporate individual who's
maybe listening from their deskor on their lunch break and
thinking to themselves, youknow, can I really make this
work?
What would be a piece of adviceor a few pieces of advice that
(35:18):
you could give this individual?
SPEAKER_00 (35:20):
I would say, first of all, that you know yourself.
I mean, truly, truly, truly behonest with yourself and what
your passion is and what youlove to do.
Some Sometimes, you know, wewant to do something because it
looks like it can make a wholelot of money for us.
But it's a struggle to get therebecause you're not tapping into
(35:43):
what makes you perfect as theindividual, skillful individual
that you are.
So I would say first be honestabout who you are, what you love
and not be influenced by whatsomeone else thinks that you
should be or you have thepotential of being, which could
be true, but that's not yourpassion, right?
(36:05):
That's what I would say.
first.
And then I would say, do do alittle research about
specifically OVM school.
I cannot tell you enough, likewhat the support looks like in
this community, how Sarah andher team are all givers, freely
sharing their expertise with thecohort.
(36:27):
They hold nothing back.
They don't hold anything back.
You know, they give it, theygive it, they give it, and they
bring in so many other Thankyou.
(36:56):
You just need someone to helpyou develop.
That's what I always tellpeople.
SPEAKER_03 (36:59):
I'm like, it's inside of
SPEAKER_04 (37:01):
you.
SPEAKER_03 (37:01):
It's not about reinventing the wheel here.
It's about leaning into theskill set that you have.
And I always tell people, and Iwill scream this from the
rooftop, no two OBMs are alike.
I know a lot of OBMs who work inthe, not a lot, but I know a
good few OBMs in the nonprofitworld.
They're all very different.
You know, they have differentskill sets, different
backgrounds, different history,but they all really lead with
(37:23):
the things that feel natural tothem.
And it really makes for a uniqueonline business manager.
And you, LiAngela, are, I think,as unique as it gets.
Thank you.
And it's really been a pleasureto work with you.
And I think for those who arelistening, how can they learn
more about you and about workingwith you?
Where can they find you online?
SPEAKER_00 (37:43):
So you can find me online.
My website isovmprofessionals.com.
You can also find me onFacebook.
I am LiAngela.
Angela Aitken, OBM on Facebook.
Once again, I'm on TikTok, butyou're probably not going to see
much of me anymore since my sonhas banned me from there.
(38:08):
Shame on him.
Kids these days.
And also I have my cell phonethat's with me all the time that
I'm not afraid to take yourcall.
Nice.
I will be, you know, it'd bewonderful to talk to you.
You'll be speaking direct And myphone number is 216-543-5961.
(38:32):
So you can find me in any ofthose places.
And the last thing I want to sayspecifically to nonprofits is
that I will help you buildsystems that will put SOPs in
place so that any employeecoming on board will have
processes and procedures thatthey can see and refer to that
(38:55):
will help your business run.
run the same way every day, allthe time, if you're there, if
you're not there.
Those are the things that I likedoing for nonprofits.
I will help you automate some ofyour processes that you have in
place right now that will,again, give you more time to
spend in your community doingthe things that you want to do
(39:16):
and still get the work done.
So those are the things that Iwant to do to help you.
Please call me, go to mywebsite, and you can schedule an
appointment there as I wouldlove to talk to you and just
explore, you know, what thingswe can do to help.
I love that.
SPEAKER_03 (39:32):
Thank you so much, LeAngela.
And thank you for sharing yourwisdom.
We'll leave every, all of thosedetails in the show notes below
so that you guys can get intouch with LeAngela.
And I hope you have a wonderfulday.
And thank you for sharing thismoment with me and for sharing a
day.
Thank you so much, Sarah.
Lovely, lovely, lovely seeingyou.
The Angela story is such apowerful reminder that your past
(39:55):
experience, especially fromcorporate, can become the exact
toolkit you need to build abusiness that aligns with your
purpose and creates real change.
From leading nonprofit clientsto building systems that leave a
lasting legacy, The Angela showsus what's possible when you
combine strategy with serviceand when you say yes to what's
(40:15):
already inside of you.
If this episode resonated withyou, head on over to
obmschool.com to download yourfree OBM starter kit, explore
our top tools and accesstrainings designed to help you
take the next step in your ownOBM journey.
And if you're a nonprofit leaderlooking for a powerful
operational support, you'll findall LiAngela's business details
(40:39):
linked in the show notes below.
Thanks so much for joining meand I'll catch you next time on
the OBM show.
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