May 26, 2025 • 31 mins
What does it really take to build a purpose-driven OBM business—from a pandemic pivot, with no roadmap, and a whole lot of courage?
In this episode of The OBM Show, I’m joined by Sam Roblett, an Accredited OBM and digital learning designer based in the UK. After 15 years in education and school leadership, Sam made a bold shift during the pandemic—rebuilding her career, business, and life from scratch.
Starting as a VA, she quickly realized she was already doing strategic, high-level work—and once she discovered the OBM role, there was no going back. Now, she runs Chaos into Calm, a thriving OBM agency serving purpose-driven entrepreneurs, course creators, and community-led brands.
🎧 Inside the episode, we cover:
- How she transitioned VA clients into OBM retainers (and didn’t lose income)
- What her day-to-day looks like balancing OBM work, team leadership, and course design
- Her experience building an 8,500+ member community through Vegan Business Network
- Why she pursued a diploma in digital learning design—and how it added a whole new income stream
- Her best advice for OBMs who feel overwhelmed by “figuring it all out”
“Sometimes you don’t need the whole plan—you just need the first step. Then take the next.”
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale into a more intentional OBM role, Sam’s story will remind you that you get to build a business that reflects your values—and supports your life.
------------------------
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.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sarah Noked (00:00):
I am so excited.
Welcome back, guys, to our Dayin the Life series.
I have the lovely Sam Robletton today.
And it's nice because we're inthis almost in the same time
zone.
So it made scheduling this callvery easy.
Sam is based in the UK.
We're abouts in the UK.
Sam Roblett (00:18):
Right at the bottom, in the middle, in
Southampton in the UK.
So
Sarah Noked (00:22):
yeah.
Nice.
I've had the privilege oftraining Sam inside of our
accreditation program.
And since then, she has gone onto create some incredible
things in her business, which iscalled Chaos Into Calm.
So Sam, I would love for you totake a couple minutes here and
just talk about your experience.
(00:44):
And I think specifically aboutwhere you started off as an OBM.
How long ago was that, really?
Sam Roblett (00:53):
Yeah, that's a tricky one, like you say,
because actually I feel like atOBM, you kind of build those
skills over so much time.
So my career actually startedway, way long ago in contracts
management.
So I was doing contractsmanagement.
And then when I had my son, Ichanged and retrained into
(01:13):
education.
So I was working for a longtime, over 15 years as a
teacher.
As a teacher, wow.
and then moved into seniorleadership and then had kind of
a quite a life a big life changeum and moved halfway across the
uk to a different location umand at that time i was due to
(01:34):
start another education positionbut something in the back of my
head was always you know i iwanted to do something different
i wanted to do something more iwanted to yeah although i felt
was having an impact ineducation i didn't feel like i
was having um of a fast enoughimpact on the things that needed
to happen now um for thosechildren so i moved and then we
(01:58):
ended up with you know thehorrid pandemic and um the role
i was supposed to startdisappeared and so there i was
sat with her nothing, no income,no anything in a new location.
No,
Sarah Noked (02:14):
I didn't actually know that about you.
I mean, I know we've spokenabout your story, but I was
like, that's scary stuff.
Sam Roblett (02:21):
Yeah, it was scary stuff, but also for me, exciting
as well, becauseprocrastination can be one of
those things that you just dropinto this sense of, well, I know
that and I do that on a regularbasis.
So you just continue to dothat.
So sometimes you need thosethings just to shake you up a
bit.
So I took stock and kind ofthought about the types of
(02:43):
things that I might like to do.
And I was keen that I wanted towork with people that were
making change, having an impacton the world.
And I knew that I needed to dosomething online.
So I took stock of all myskills and decided that actually
I had quite a lot of knowledgeof different software and bits
and pieces just from personaluse.
And decided I was going to setup as a VA and did that and
(03:07):
started my own business, madelots of horrible mistakes, as
you do when you get those firstclients, you know, taking people
on for far too few amount ofmoney and, you know, going
through all those trials andtribulations.
And then kind of about, that'sprobably about a year into my
journey, I decided decided thati was working with clients and
probably doing a lot more thankind of va tasks so i started to
(03:30):
do some searches online andlook for kind of project
management skills with vas andand all these different kinds of
things and actually came upacross obm and yourself sarah um
and just That was it then.
I just decided that that waskind of the way I wanted to go.
I felt like I was doing a fewof those things already.
And I'm the sort of person thatlikes to fill my skills in to
(03:51):
make sure that I'm actuallydoing what I'm supposed to be
doing.
Sarah Noked (03:55):
And not to mention your leadership background.
Sam Roblett (03:58):
Yes, yeah.
Sarah Noked (04:00):
Oh, wow.
That must have felt very...
I mean, I know when Idiscovered the OBM role, I was
like, oh my God, that's me.
Did you have that like ahamoment of like...
Yeah,
Sam Roblett (04:15):
I totally did.
And obviously, looking at someof the other people that were
doing OBM and doing a bit of asearch and seeing kind of the
success you'd made of things aswell was really inspiring to me
because I felt like I'd come along way with the VA route.
And I felt like my only nextjourney would be VA agency, but
I didn't really quite want to gothat route down things.
(04:35):
So for me, this was aligningwith what I felt like I was
doing with my clients alreadyanyway, but just meant that I
could up-level myself.
those skills.
And yeah, it just kind of feltlike, actually the OBM role is
so varied and I really enjoy thevariedness of things.
Whereas I think if I'd haveniched down into, say for
(04:56):
example, specifically tech VAaround, I don't know, webinar
kit or as a specific piece ofsoftware, I would have got very
bored of that very quick.
Sarah Noked (05:04):
Thank you for saying that.
I'm like, I've told people thata lot.
I'm like, well, you know, Imean, if you're, you know,
techie person and you want to goin, that's one thing.
But I want to sort of,piggyback on what you're talking
about with regard to the VA-OBMtransition.
And you mentioned just feelingvery, I don't know, I mean,
(05:25):
bored is the word that comes tomy mind, but I'm sure you
certainly weren't bored with allyour clients.
But I'd love for you to telland to describe to our listeners
what that transition lookedlike.
And I'm always curious to knowif you were able to retain any
of those VA clients, if any ofthem were suitable for OBM
services?
Sam Roblett (05:46):
It was really, it was an interesting transition.
So I got to the point where Igot more than enough work really
as a VA and did have another VAwho was working with me as
well.
So the transition was quite,was quite nice in that I was
able to take those clientsmajority of those clients so at
the time i took two of thoseclients with me over to obm with
(06:07):
the explanation of actually ican help you a lot more i can
provide you a lot moreassistance and actually I'm
doing a lot of this for you, butI can get a bit more deep in
the nitty gritty of everythingfor you and in a bit more depth
of things.
And then we can have my VA dokind of all the tasks and stuff
that come out of that.
So I was lucky enough to taketwo with me at a slightly
(06:27):
reduced rate.
And then I was lucky enoughthat the majority of my VA
clients were able to stay withme, but with a VA rate, with the
VA I was working with.
So that meant that I didn'tactually lose any clients at the
time, but that those ones thatthen...
didn't feel aligned with me Iwas able to transition out of
them myself with my choicereally which is never an easy
(06:51):
thing to transition out of aclient there comes a point where
you have to make that decisionas to whether or not they're
aligned with you still and whereyou you are as well and that's
I think The majority of dealingwith that is making sure that
you have someone good coming inplace to be able to take over
from you.
So that kind of makes thateasier.
Sarah Noked (07:10):
Yeah, like in an ideal scenario.
So you talk about reducing yourrate as an OBM.
What does that mean?
Sam Roblett (07:17):
For those clients that I'd already been working
with, obviously, the rate that Iwas working with them as a VA
was way less than half of whatI...
considered to be worth as OBM.
Because I felt that thedifferent level that you're
working at, you're not workingat kind of a task-based level.
You're working at a level whereyou're going in and you're
(07:39):
building strategy with theclient.
You're basically kind of theright-hand man Yes.
Sarah Noked (08:03):
Right.
Because you basically doubledyour rate.
So if your rate was $25, now itwas $50.
Or if it was 30, now it's 60.
Yeah.
So yeah, that is a big jump.
So you didn't go right up tothe double, you gave them just a
little bit of a reduced to kindof ease that transition.
I mean, that makes sense.
Yeah.
Sam Roblett (08:21):
But then new OBM clients that I brought on, then
they came in straight at Andactually, you know, the first
time I did that discovery calland...
I
Sarah Noked (08:31):
think, were we working together at that time?
Yeah, yeah.
I do remember that.
Sam Roblett (08:36):
I did that discovery call and actually said
the numbers.
And because I hadn't beenworking at that number before, I
said the numbers, which is suchthe brave part to go in and say
those numbers.
And they were just like, yeah,okay.
Yeah.
Just go ahead.
Where do I sign up?
I've been freaking out aboutthis.
(08:56):
So I think we definitelydownplay our own worth of
things.
And actually, if we're able toshow clients kind of our full
value, then we becomeinvaluable, really.
Sarah Noked (09:09):
Yeah, that's I mean, that's incredible.
So you went from doubling yourrates.
So let's continue the storybecause, you know, I think OBM
school is and our programs andthe accreditation specifically
that you were in is wonderful.
But for a lot of us, it'sanother starting point.
Right.
So.
(09:29):
going from VA, transitioning toonline business manager, and
offering online businessmanagement services.
But for a lot of us OBMs thatcome from experience like
yourself, Sam, where you havetons of leadership, tons of
transferable skills, you havequite a bit of client
experience, not only because youhave been just, I would say,
(09:50):
confident in offering services,but also because building your
own team.
And for those of us herelistening who maybe are
considering team growth as anoption, like it is definitely
not for the faint of heart, butI think it definitely expedites
your experience and how manyclients you can work with.
So it scales that experiencedial.
(10:12):
And so as you continue yourjourney, tell us what that next
step looks like.
Sam Roblett (10:18):
So I think bringing on an additional VA, I think
the real step there is buildingis being able to take that time
to train them in what you needthem to be able to do.
And I think often we justexpect that people will just be
able to do it.
And so knowing that someoneelse can take on the things that
I've been doing, it's justmaking sure that they've got all
the knowledge and informationthey need, because otherwise
(10:39):
they just keep coming back andsaying, well, what about this
and what about this?
So actually having our ownprocess inside our own
businesses and walking the walkof what we talk our clients
about doing is really, reallyimportant kind of before you
make that step.
And for me, it meant that I wasalso able to open myself up a
little bit.
So but now I take time everyday in my daily life, my working
(11:02):
life to take some time to buildon my business.
Sarah Noked (11:06):
So what does that look like?
Sam Roblett (11:08):
So it's really, really interesting because it's
interesting.
Kind of a mirror of what I dowith my clients anyway.
So it's kind of weird becauseyou have to sit and take stock
and think, OK, well, I do allthese things with my clients.
So I just need to do these formyself as well, because I found
at first, and particularly withthe VA side of things, doing
lots of things and moving otherpeople on, but not moving myself
(11:30):
on.
I kind of felt like I'd builtmyself a job rather than a
business, you know, how thatkind of ends up being.
So just taking that time.
So sometimes it's, you know,half an hour a day if I can find
half an hour a day and othertimes.
So I like to try and take outWednesday afternoons, hit a
coffee shop.
I've got a lovely independentcoffee shop and they keep me a
little corner, you know, where Ican go and just take some time,
(11:54):
take some time to think aboutthose things and process my own.
business and how that's goingso kind of I've evolved in terms
of the fact that I've beenworking a lot over the time that
I've been working as an OBM anda VA actually I just kind of
naturally dropped intobusinesses that were had courses
or had digital products and Ithink a lot of that was kind of
(12:15):
people hearing my educationbackground and and
Sarah Noked (12:18):
yeah naturally
Sam Roblett (12:19):
kind of using that so I've I tended to drop into
those kind of businessesnaturally.
And I felt like there was thiskind of difference between kind
of digital and online trainingand learning to kind of the
training that I'd been through.
So I actually progressed and Idid a professional diploma in
digital learning design.
Sarah Noked (12:36):
Nice.
Sam Roblett (12:38):
And so that's an additional service that I offer
now.
So I do offer that for clientseither on an ad hoc basis or
that just naturally becomes partof what I do as an OBM.
Sarah Noked (12:46):
You know, I think that is so amazing because a lot
of the times...
Right.
Sam Roblett (13:10):
And
Sarah Noked (13:11):
like really kind of digging in and being able to,
you know, have that OBM retainerand all of the benefits that
come with that, but also havingthis leg up and this sort of
angle of, I would say, attack.
where you're appealing to thosespecific clients that have
courses and memberships, butwith regard to instructional
(13:31):
design.
And I think that's a lovely,amazing, important point to make
that we are all constantlyevolving as entrepreneurs.
Now, that's, I think, a reallynice segue.
I would love to hear what yourday in the life looks like.
I mean, that Wednesdayafternoon in the coffee shop
with your own little corner.
(13:51):
I'm like, I need that.
So I love that you've dedicatedtime to like working on your
business and not always in yourbusiness because it is very easy
to kind of waffle between, isthis the job?
Am I in charge?
Who's in charge here?
So why don't you tell us whatit looks like, even what your
roster looks like, like how manyclients you have now, what a
(14:12):
day in the life of Sam lookslike, and also like where maybe
the VA folds into things.
I think that would be really,really wonderful for us to kind
of get a glimpse into yourbehind-the-scenes job.
day in the life?
Sam Roblett (14:24):
Kind of talking about clients first so I have
two main retainer clients at themoment.
One that I do slightly morehours with and they have like a
VA add-on as well so they'rewith me for the OBM but then we
use my VA also to do kind oftask-based work around what
we've kind of discussed duringstrategy and then I have another
(14:46):
retainer client for OBMservices that I also do pure
OBM.
And then she has a team that Imanage.
So we've built that team.
And that team is global, whichis lovely as well.
So all over the place.
My day kind of tends to lookkind of a bit ad hoc.
(15:08):
So on top of the two OBMclients, I also have kind of ad
hoc digital learning clientsthat I work with as well and
there's I have one larger clientthat I've a charity that I've
been working with kind of overthe last 12 months or so
building out a lot of theirtheir program so their program
is kind of in their heads andwe've been building that out
(15:29):
into course material so thatthey can provide the service
kind of on an evergreen basis sothat you know, it's getting all
that knowledge out from aservice based business,
consultancy business to kind ofbeing able to offer that so that
they can scale.
So over the last year or so,we've built out nearly 20
different courses and serviceguides across that.
(15:50):
So, yeah, it's been a bigundertaking that one as well.
So and there's more still tocome, which is exciting as well.
So my day kind of looks likethis.
Not an early one.
I'm definitely not an earlyriser.
And actually working withclients in other time zones is
really nice for that because itmeans that kind of, I mean, some
people perhaps might not likekind of the ad hocness of it,
but I quite like being able tokind of book those meetings in
(16:13):
and then do things around thosemeetings.
So for me, I might get up andhave, I have breakfast and check
over my emails, check theproject management systems that
I have in place with all theclients to just ensure that
everyone's updated all the tasksthey were supposed to be doing.
Because obviously some teammembers would be working
overnight on those and kind oftroubleshoot anything that's
(16:34):
come in, chase anything that'smissing.
And then I might dip in to dosomething.
for kind of one of my digitallearning courses or something
like that for a couple of hours.
I tend to block my time.
So that works well.
And I still time trackeverything.
I don't give all my clientsthose details, but it just helps
me just to keep a track ofwhere I'm spending my time and
(16:56):
also kind of to flag up ifthere's anything that's kind of
unusual happening.
where there's kind of like ifyou're having regular meetings
with a particular team member orsomething then obviously
there's something you need toflag up so that time tracking is
for my benefit and then as Isay I'll perhaps do a few more
emails I'll perhaps set up somemarketing funnels in the
(17:19):
afternoon I might be doing sometraining with a new freelancer
that's come on board i try toencourage all the sap's to also
have a video element to them umbecause some people struggle
with pure written sap so we wetry and i try and get my clients
to take on written sap's butput the video side of things
(17:39):
with them so smart yeah so imight kind of spend some time
running through something thati'm doing at the moment that i'm
gonna kind of pass off tosomeone else and put the
documentation together for thatthen I might jump on a call and
we might do a bit of strategy inthe afternoon and then to
finish the session I might havea discovery call with a either a
(18:00):
new client or a potential newclient or someone who's part of
my community that I've built Ioffer everyone in that joins the
community kind of a video calljust to chat about what they do
just to learn about people andkind of build a bit of
connection and because onlinebusiness you can feel
disconnected at times so Forbetter or for worse.
Yeah, definitely.
(18:20):
Definitely for better or worse.
So yeah, I might try and finishmy day with a bit of
networking.
Nice.
Drop in some coffee in betweenif I get the chance.
Sarah Noked (18:31):
Honestly, Sam, I'm like, that sounds like the best
day.
I'm like, I love that day.
That day sounds really similarto my day.
The important thing that ourlisteners should know is that no
two days are the same in OBMland.
You can block your time.
You can try as hard as youwant.
But, you know, that's thelevel, right?
(18:52):
We're leaders.
We are accountable andresponsible for things and
projects change.
Things happen to team.
And so we always have to besort of light on our toes and,
dare I say, be able to pivot.
I don't really like the wordpivot because I feel like it's
gaining a negative connotationthese days.
But, you know, just being ableto be light on our feet.
So thank you, Sam, for sharing.
(19:12):
so explicitly the day in yourlife because I think it really
helps others to imagine, oh,okay, so I'm doing some client
work.
I have some discovery calls.
I'm doing some networking.
I'm creating SOPs.
I'm getting on strategy calls.
It's a beautiful thing, really,when you have solid OBM
clients.
Now, I would love, because Ithink it's so, so I love this
(19:37):
about your business.
And it was, I always say Iwanted to interview you because
I love talking to our students.
But I think it's reallyimportant to remind our
community that you can dowhatever you want.
You can really...
evolve and grow as an OBM, asan entrepreneur.
I know that my journeycontinued after I became an OBM
(20:03):
and started to create coursesand started to grow a community.
And I love, Sam, that you aredoing the same thing because...
It's so important to havesomething for ourselves.
So can you please share theamazing impact that you are
making in this world?
Sam Roblett (20:23):
Yeah.
When you say about community,so about three months after I
started up as a VA, it was veryclear to me that I needed to
kind of network with the rightkind of people, the kind of
people that I wanted to beworking with.
And I was very clear that Iwanted to be working with people
that were making an impact,people that were kind of having
a change and creating change inthe world.
(20:45):
So kind of social enterprisesand businesses that felt like
they needed to give back aswell.
And so I set up a Facebookgroup and a LinkedIn group
called Vegan BusinessNetworking, basically just
started inviting people.
And within two weeks, I had 50businesses within my groups.
(21:09):
And then A few months later, Ihad 100 businesses in my group.
And now we're four years on andwe have, between the two
groups, there is some kind ofoverlap between them, but
between the two groups, roughly8,500 businesses.
Yeah, 8,500 people
Sarah Noked (21:25):
in your community.
What is the community called?
It's called Vegan BusinessNetworking.
It's Vegan Business Networking,guys.
Sam Roblett (21:32):
Yeah, come along, join.
And it's just been...
been great because part of mypersonal life i've been doing a
bit of kind of talking to peopleabout veganism and things in
the background um and i was verykey that people actually in
order to make change we have tohave businesses that want to
make change as well so not kindof not just in the vegan world
(21:53):
but in the sustainable world youknow in an environmental impact
and everything as well in orderfor us as consumers to make
change we have to have thosebusinesses that provide those
things for us so i was reallykey that i wanted to support
support and help thosebusinesses.
And so that network I've runcompletely free with VA support
over the last four years andbeen very lucky in that I've
(22:16):
been able to network a lot inthat group and meet lots of
people and go to lots of eventsand been very lucky in that I've
been able to kind of fill myclient through those groups.
So, and as I say, being able tofind those people that I align,
that kind of align, align with.
Sarah Noked (22:36):
I mean, that's where it's like, hey, like, wake
up, guys, you can create yourown community and attract.
I think you've done it sowonderfully, Sam, you've taken
on the veganism, which is nearand dear to your why, near and
dear to your heart.
You have fostered a communityof like minded clients.
And You know, I know I getreally cheesy when it comes to
(22:58):
your why.
And I often, I mean, I'm goingto get on my soapbox.
Sorry, guys.
But I think it's just soimportant that we align our why
with the clients that we chooseand that they have similar whys.
And then when my why is alignedwith your why, like if it's a
veganism thing, if it's asustainability thing, if it's a
You know, for me, for manyyears, it was like, you know,
(23:20):
I'm, you know, it still is.
I'm a mom and my kids comefirst.
But when the kids were reallylittle, it was even more so.
I was like, you know, I've gotall these little kids under this
age and they're all sick allthe time.
And so I think it's soimportant to really have a clear
why.
And that will help us to findthe places not only where we
look for clients, but possiblylike in your case, the community
(23:42):
that you've been able to build.
And, you know, I think it's somagical to, And you're such a
smart marketer for maybe evendoing this, I would imagine,
maybe unconsciously.
But you've created thislittle...
nice, not even little, quite alarge group of individuals who
are all potential clients.
(24:02):
So you can just kind of dip inwhen you need things.
And like you mentioned, youknow, having those calls with
new members that join your groupand seeing where they're at and
if they're a good fit for thekinds of services that you
offer.
I just think it's like areally, it's a beautiful funnel.
Well done on that, Sam.
I think it's just aninspiration to our listeners on,
(24:24):
you know, where you can reallygo and all the things that that
you can really achieve.
And I think the imaginationthat comes with being an
entrepreneur and being able todream big.
Sam Roblett (24:33):
It's really interesting as well because it's
led me to be known as acommunity creator.
And so...
clients that I've had have cometo me because they've seen that
the community's built up andthen they want to build their
membership communities and sothey've come to us because
obviously we have thatexperience of building that
community in a particular nicheand so that's also kind of been
(24:56):
part of what we've been drivenand known for is to be able to
help people with kind ofbuilding those communities and
the kinds of things to post inthere and to share and kind of
how to get people engaged sothat's been really nice as well
so to be able to kind of pass onthat knowledge as well.
Yeah
Sarah Noked (25:12):
that's huge and you know I think it's so important
because it Always makes me thinkagain of this, especially I
always talk about the transitionfrom VA to OBM, but it can
really be any kind of onlinesupport professional.
When you are an online businessmanager, your business becomes
your portfolio and the way youdo business becomes your
(25:33):
portfolio.
So the automations, the wayyour storefront, aka your
website looks, who you'respeaking to, in your case, the
community growth and likelyfeaturing a lot of, you know,
testimonials around the, um,instructional design stuff.
I would say that it reallyhighlights this evolution of
entrepreneurship that you havebeen on in such a beautiful way
(25:55):
and that I will continue towatch from the sideline as you
grow and evolve in yourentrepreneurial shoes.
You know, I think it's soamazing to see your journey, how
you have evolved and, you know,the kinds of things that you
would have said to your youngerself and transitioning from VA
to OBM and I guess onwards.
(26:15):
What would you say to somebodynow who is like considering
online business management andthey're like, I've got these
transferable skills.
I know I've got the leadership.
I am a researcher to the core.
I know I can learn these newskills.
What would you say?
And honestly, like I feel likeit's almost like what would you
say to that person that hadmaybe just like just had found
(26:36):
out that they're teachingposition was not happening and
they're like oh my god now whatwhat would you say to that
person I
Sam Roblett (26:44):
think for me I would tell that person that
firstly you can do it and havingpeople around who either have
done it before or are doing thatalong with you um is a really
great way to move forward Ithink when you're on your own
sat there trying to work out howyou do all of the things that
(27:06):
you need to do.
You just need someone to helpyou and give you that first
step.
And I think definitely take itstep by step.
And as you've said, evolve, youdon't have to be at the last
position, you know, right now.
You have to just take thatfirst step and gradually just
move forward.
And the problem is, if youdon't take that first step,
(27:27):
firstly, you don't know whereyou could end up, you could end
up know in a great positionwhere you you know are now
building out your own businessand trying to scale up or you
could not take that step andjust end up nowhere so i think
that first step you can build onthat just do it just move
forward just do it yeah just doit just do it
Sarah Noked (27:48):
the first
Sam Roblett (27:48):
step take the first step um but definitely having
community and people around youand the accountability buddies
that I met in the OBMaccreditation.
You know, they were a greatsource of back patting and
support and you know, you can doit even to the point where when
(28:10):
we did our accreditation, wewere moving through each of the
parts and we got to the pointwhere we were all so close, but
we all had these bits that weremissing and we were like, okay,
we're going to get this done byThursday at two o'clock.
And we were just all theretogether submitting at the same
time because we just drove eachother together.
So again, don't underestimatethe power of having other people
(28:31):
around you that have eitherdone it before or that are going
through it to be able tosupport you.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Keep at
Sarah Noked (28:41):
it.
Now, I know, Sam, that there'sdefinitely people who want to
learn more about you and yourservices.
Tell us more about yourbusiness and what initiatives
you have on the horizon, whatyou're working on.
As
Sam Roblett (28:55):
I say, my business is Chaos Intercom and we provide
the OBM services andprofessional digital learning
design services.
And Also, because we've beenworking with so many businesses
that are that bit smaller aswell and perhaps don't yet have
the finances or the requirementsthat they might need for an
(29:17):
OBM, we've been putting togethera lot of the resources and
support items that you mightneed.
to get you to a point whereyou're ready to scale your
business.
Nice.
And we're putting them into aplatform called Changemaker HQ,
which you can find via our Chaosinto Calm website.
And yeah, on there, you'll beable to find lots of resources
(29:38):
around kind of building yoursocial media platforms, building
communities, resources, emailtemplates, just, yeah, just a
wealth of kind of our last...
however many years ofknowledge, we're kind of putting
all of that together forpeople.
So do go and have a look.
And if you do happen to have avegan business or sustainable
business, please do come andhave a look at Vegan Business
(29:59):
Networking on Facebook orLinkedIn.
And I'm sure we can kind ofshare those links.
Sarah Noked (30:03):
Yeah, absolutely.
Definitely.
I love that.
Thank you, Sam, for sharing aglimpse into your day in the
life of an OBM.
It has been a pleasure chattingwith you.
And onwards and upwards we go.
Welcome to the OBM show, thepodcast that pulls back the
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
(30:26):
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
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 runlike clockwork.
(30:49):
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
that drive sustainability.
If you're ready to stopspinning your wheels, step into
(31:10):
your leadership role, and seewhat actually happens behind the
scenes of thriving businesses,you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
I am so excited.
Welcome back, guys, to our Dayin the Life series.
I have the lovely Sam Robletton today.
And it's nice because we're inthis almost in the same time
zone.
So it made scheduling this callvery easy.
Sam is based in the UK.
We're abouts in the UK.
Sam Roblett (00:18):
Right at the bottom, in the middle, in
Southampton in the UK.
So
Sarah Noked (00:22):
yeah.
Nice.
I've had the privilege oftraining Sam inside of our
accreditation program.
And since then, she has gone onto create some incredible
things in her business, which iscalled Chaos Into Calm.
So Sam, I would love for you totake a couple minutes here and
just talk about your experience.
(00:44):
And I think specifically aboutwhere you started off as an OBM.
How long ago was that, really?
Sam Roblett (00:53):
Yeah, that's a tricky one, like you say,
because actually I feel like atOBM, you kind of build those
skills over so much time.
So my career actually startedway, way long ago in contracts
management.
So I was doing contractsmanagement.
And then when I had my son, Ichanged and retrained into
(01:13):
education.
So I was working for a longtime, over 15 years as a
teacher.
As a teacher, wow.
and then moved into seniorleadership and then had kind of
a quite a life a big life changeum and moved halfway across the
uk to a different location umand at that time i was due to
(01:34):
start another education positionbut something in the back of my
head was always you know i iwanted to do something different
i wanted to do something more iwanted to yeah although i felt
was having an impact ineducation i didn't feel like i
was having um of a fast enoughimpact on the things that needed
to happen now um for thosechildren so i moved and then we
(01:58):
ended up with you know thehorrid pandemic and um the role
i was supposed to startdisappeared and so there i was
sat with her nothing, no income,no anything in a new location.
No,
Sarah Noked (02:14):
I didn't actually know that about you.
I mean, I know we've spokenabout your story, but I was
like, that's scary stuff.
Sam Roblett (02:21):
Yeah, it was scary stuff, but also for me, exciting
as well, becauseprocrastination can be one of
those things that you just dropinto this sense of, well, I know
that and I do that on a regularbasis.
So you just continue to dothat.
So sometimes you need thosethings just to shake you up a
bit.
So I took stock and kind ofthought about the types of
(02:43):
things that I might like to do.
And I was keen that I wanted towork with people that were
making change, having an impacton the world.
And I knew that I needed to dosomething online.
So I took stock of all myskills and decided that actually
I had quite a lot of knowledgeof different software and bits
and pieces just from personaluse.
And decided I was going to setup as a VA and did that and
(03:07):
started my own business, madelots of horrible mistakes, as
you do when you get those firstclients, you know, taking people
on for far too few amount ofmoney and, you know, going
through all those trials andtribulations.
And then kind of about, that'sprobably about a year into my
journey, I decided decided thati was working with clients and
probably doing a lot more thankind of va tasks so i started to
(03:30):
do some searches online andlook for kind of project
management skills with vas andand all these different kinds of
things and actually came upacross obm and yourself sarah um
and just That was it then.
I just decided that that waskind of the way I wanted to go.
I felt like I was doing a fewof those things already.
And I'm the sort of person thatlikes to fill my skills in to
(03:51):
make sure that I'm actuallydoing what I'm supposed to be
doing.
Sarah Noked (03:55):
And not to mention your leadership background.
Sam Roblett (03:58):
Yes, yeah.
Sarah Noked (04:00):
Oh, wow.
That must have felt very...
I mean, I know when Idiscovered the OBM role, I was
like, oh my God, that's me.
Did you have that like ahamoment of like...
Yeah,
Sam Roblett (04:15):
I totally did.
And obviously, looking at someof the other people that were
doing OBM and doing a bit of asearch and seeing kind of the
success you'd made of things aswell was really inspiring to me
because I felt like I'd come along way with the VA route.
And I felt like my only nextjourney would be VA agency, but
I didn't really quite want to gothat route down things.
(04:35):
So for me, this was aligningwith what I felt like I was
doing with my clients alreadyanyway, but just meant that I
could up-level myself.
those skills.
And yeah, it just kind of feltlike, actually the OBM role is
so varied and I really enjoy thevariedness of things.
Whereas I think if I'd haveniched down into, say for
(04:56):
example, specifically tech VAaround, I don't know, webinar
kit or as a specific piece ofsoftware, I would have got very
bored of that very quick.
Sarah Noked (05:04):
Thank you for saying that.
I'm like, I've told people thata lot.
I'm like, well, you know, Imean, if you're, you know,
techie person and you want to goin, that's one thing.
But I want to sort of,piggyback on what you're talking
about with regard to the VA-OBMtransition.
And you mentioned just feelingvery, I don't know, I mean,
(05:25):
bored is the word that comes tomy mind, but I'm sure you
certainly weren't bored with allyour clients.
But I'd love for you to telland to describe to our listeners
what that transition lookedlike.
And I'm always curious to knowif you were able to retain any
of those VA clients, if any ofthem were suitable for OBM
services?
Sam Roblett (05:46):
It was really, it was an interesting transition.
So I got to the point where Igot more than enough work really
as a VA and did have another VAwho was working with me as
well.
So the transition was quite,was quite nice in that I was
able to take those clientsmajority of those clients so at
the time i took two of thoseclients with me over to obm with
(06:07):
the explanation of actually ican help you a lot more i can
provide you a lot moreassistance and actually I'm
doing a lot of this for you, butI can get a bit more deep in
the nitty gritty of everythingfor you and in a bit more depth
of things.
And then we can have my VA dokind of all the tasks and stuff
that come out of that.
So I was lucky enough to taketwo with me at a slightly
(06:27):
reduced rate.
And then I was lucky enoughthat the majority of my VA
clients were able to stay withme, but with a VA rate, with the
VA I was working with.
So that meant that I didn'tactually lose any clients at the
time, but that those ones thatthen...
didn't feel aligned with me Iwas able to transition out of
them myself with my choicereally which is never an easy
(06:51):
thing to transition out of aclient there comes a point where
you have to make that decisionas to whether or not they're
aligned with you still and whereyou you are as well and that's
I think The majority of dealingwith that is making sure that
you have someone good coming inplace to be able to take over
from you.
So that kind of makes thateasier.
Sarah Noked (07:10):
Yeah, like in an ideal scenario.
So you talk about reducing yourrate as an OBM.
What does that mean?
Sam Roblett (07:17):
For those clients that I'd already been working
with, obviously, the rate that Iwas working with them as a VA
was way less than half of whatI...
considered to be worth as OBM.
Because I felt that thedifferent level that you're
working at, you're not workingat kind of a task-based level.
You're working at a level whereyou're going in and you're
(07:39):
building strategy with theclient.
You're basically kind of theright-hand man Yes.
Sarah Noked (08:03):
Right.
Because you basically doubledyour rate.
So if your rate was $25, now itwas $50.
Or if it was 30, now it's 60.
Yeah.
So yeah, that is a big jump.
So you didn't go right up tothe double, you gave them just a
little bit of a reduced to kindof ease that transition.
I mean, that makes sense.
Yeah.
Sam Roblett (08:21):
But then new OBM clients that I brought on, then
they came in straight at Andactually, you know, the first
time I did that discovery calland...
I
Sarah Noked (08:31):
think, were we working together at that time?
Yeah, yeah.
I do remember that.
Sam Roblett (08:36):
I did that discovery call and actually said
the numbers.
And because I hadn't beenworking at that number before, I
said the numbers, which is suchthe brave part to go in and say
those numbers.
And they were just like, yeah,okay.
Yeah.
Just go ahead.
Where do I sign up?
I've been freaking out aboutthis.
(08:56):
So I think we definitelydownplay our own worth of
things.
And actually, if we're able toshow clients kind of our full
value, then we becomeinvaluable, really.
Sarah Noked (09:09):
Yeah, that's I mean, that's incredible.
So you went from doubling yourrates.
So let's continue the storybecause, you know, I think OBM
school is and our programs andthe accreditation specifically
that you were in is wonderful.
But for a lot of us, it'sanother starting point.
Right.
So.
(09:29):
going from VA, transitioning toonline business manager, and
offering online businessmanagement services.
But for a lot of us OBMs thatcome from experience like
yourself, Sam, where you havetons of leadership, tons of
transferable skills, you havequite a bit of client
experience, not only because youhave been just, I would say,
(09:50):
confident in offering services,but also because building your
own team.
And for those of us herelistening who maybe are
considering team growth as anoption, like it is definitely
not for the faint of heart, butI think it definitely expedites
your experience and how manyclients you can work with.
So it scales that experiencedial.
(10:12):
And so as you continue yourjourney, tell us what that next
step looks like.
Sam Roblett (10:18):
So I think bringing on an additional VA, I think
the real step there is buildingis being able to take that time
to train them in what you needthem to be able to do.
And I think often we justexpect that people will just be
able to do it.
And so knowing that someoneelse can take on the things that
I've been doing, it's justmaking sure that they've got all
the knowledge and informationthey need, because otherwise
(10:39):
they just keep coming back andsaying, well, what about this
and what about this?
So actually having our ownprocess inside our own
businesses and walking the walkof what we talk our clients
about doing is really, reallyimportant kind of before you
make that step.
And for me, it meant that I wasalso able to open myself up a
little bit.
So but now I take time everyday in my daily life, my working
(11:02):
life to take some time to buildon my business.
Sarah Noked (11:06):
So what does that look like?
Sam Roblett (11:08):
So it's really, really interesting because it's
interesting.
Kind of a mirror of what I dowith my clients anyway.
So it's kind of weird becauseyou have to sit and take stock
and think, OK, well, I do allthese things with my clients.
So I just need to do these formyself as well, because I found
at first, and particularly withthe VA side of things, doing
lots of things and moving otherpeople on, but not moving myself
(11:30):
on.
I kind of felt like I'd builtmyself a job rather than a
business, you know, how thatkind of ends up being.
So just taking that time.
So sometimes it's, you know,half an hour a day if I can find
half an hour a day and othertimes.
So I like to try and take outWednesday afternoons, hit a
coffee shop.
I've got a lovely independentcoffee shop and they keep me a
little corner, you know, where Ican go and just take some time,
(11:54):
take some time to think aboutthose things and process my own.
business and how that's goingso kind of I've evolved in terms
of the fact that I've beenworking a lot over the time that
I've been working as an OBM anda VA actually I just kind of
naturally dropped intobusinesses that were had courses
or had digital products and Ithink a lot of that was kind of
(12:15):
people hearing my educationbackground and and
Sarah Noked (12:18):
yeah naturally
Sam Roblett (12:19):
kind of using that so I've I tended to drop into
those kind of businessesnaturally.
And I felt like there was thiskind of difference between kind
of digital and online trainingand learning to kind of the
training that I'd been through.
So I actually progressed and Idid a professional diploma in
digital learning design.
Sarah Noked (12:36):
Nice.
Sam Roblett (12:38):
And so that's an additional service that I offer
now.
So I do offer that for clientseither on an ad hoc basis or
that just naturally becomes partof what I do as an OBM.
Sarah Noked (12:46):
You know, I think that is so amazing because a lot
of the times...
Right.
Sam Roblett (13:10):
And
Sarah Noked (13:11):
like really kind of digging in and being able to,
you know, have that OBM retainerand all of the benefits that
come with that, but also havingthis leg up and this sort of
angle of, I would say, attack.
where you're appealing to thosespecific clients that have
courses and memberships, butwith regard to instructional
(13:31):
design.
And I think that's a lovely,amazing, important point to make
that we are all constantlyevolving as entrepreneurs.
Now, that's, I think, a reallynice segue.
I would love to hear what yourday in the life looks like.
I mean, that Wednesdayafternoon in the coffee shop
with your own little corner.
(13:51):
I'm like, I need that.
So I love that you've dedicatedtime to like working on your
business and not always in yourbusiness because it is very easy
to kind of waffle between, isthis the job?
Am I in charge?
Who's in charge here?
So why don't you tell us whatit looks like, even what your
roster looks like, like how manyclients you have now, what a
(14:12):
day in the life of Sam lookslike, and also like where maybe
the VA folds into things.
I think that would be really,really wonderful for us to kind
of get a glimpse into yourbehind-the-scenes job.
day in the life?
Sam Roblett (14:24):
Kind of talking about clients first so I have
two main retainer clients at themoment.
One that I do slightly morehours with and they have like a
VA add-on as well so they'rewith me for the OBM but then we
use my VA also to do kind oftask-based work around what
we've kind of discussed duringstrategy and then I have another
(14:46):
retainer client for OBMservices that I also do pure
OBM.
And then she has a team that Imanage.
So we've built that team.
And that team is global, whichis lovely as well.
So all over the place.
My day kind of tends to lookkind of a bit ad hoc.
(15:08):
So on top of the two OBMclients, I also have kind of ad
hoc digital learning clientsthat I work with as well and
there's I have one larger clientthat I've a charity that I've
been working with kind of overthe last 12 months or so
building out a lot of theirtheir program so their program
is kind of in their heads andwe've been building that out
(15:29):
into course material so thatthey can provide the service
kind of on an evergreen basis sothat you know, it's getting all
that knowledge out from aservice based business,
consultancy business to kind ofbeing able to offer that so that
they can scale.
So over the last year or so,we've built out nearly 20
different courses and serviceguides across that.
(15:50):
So, yeah, it's been a bigundertaking that one as well.
So and there's more still tocome, which is exciting as well.
So my day kind of looks likethis.
Not an early one.
I'm definitely not an earlyriser.
And actually working withclients in other time zones is
really nice for that because itmeans that kind of, I mean, some
people perhaps might not likekind of the ad hocness of it,
but I quite like being able tokind of book those meetings in
(16:13):
and then do things around thosemeetings.
So for me, I might get up andhave, I have breakfast and check
over my emails, check theproject management systems that
I have in place with all theclients to just ensure that
everyone's updated all the tasksthey were supposed to be doing.
Because obviously some teammembers would be working
overnight on those and kind oftroubleshoot anything that's
(16:34):
come in, chase anything that'smissing.
And then I might dip in to dosomething.
for kind of one of my digitallearning courses or something
like that for a couple of hours.
I tend to block my time.
So that works well.
And I still time trackeverything.
I don't give all my clientsthose details, but it just helps
me just to keep a track ofwhere I'm spending my time and
(16:56):
also kind of to flag up ifthere's anything that's kind of
unusual happening.
where there's kind of like ifyou're having regular meetings
with a particular team member orsomething then obviously
there's something you need toflag up so that time tracking is
for my benefit and then as Isay I'll perhaps do a few more
emails I'll perhaps set up somemarketing funnels in the
(17:19):
afternoon I might be doing sometraining with a new freelancer
that's come on board i try toencourage all the sap's to also
have a video element to them umbecause some people struggle
with pure written sap so we wetry and i try and get my clients
to take on written sap's butput the video side of things
(17:39):
with them so smart yeah so imight kind of spend some time
running through something thati'm doing at the moment that i'm
gonna kind of pass off tosomeone else and put the
documentation together for thatthen I might jump on a call and
we might do a bit of strategy inthe afternoon and then to
finish the session I might havea discovery call with a either a
(18:00):
new client or a potential newclient or someone who's part of
my community that I've built Ioffer everyone in that joins the
community kind of a video calljust to chat about what they do
just to learn about people andkind of build a bit of
connection and because onlinebusiness you can feel
disconnected at times so Forbetter or for worse.
Yeah, definitely.
(18:20):
Definitely for better or worse.
So yeah, I might try and finishmy day with a bit of
networking.
Nice.
Drop in some coffee in betweenif I get the chance.
Sarah Noked (18:31):
Honestly, Sam, I'm like, that sounds like the best
day.
I'm like, I love that day.
That day sounds really similarto my day.
The important thing that ourlisteners should know is that no
two days are the same in OBMland.
You can block your time.
You can try as hard as youwant.
But, you know, that's thelevel, right?
(18:52):
We're leaders.
We are accountable andresponsible for things and
projects change.
Things happen to team.
And so we always have to besort of light on our toes and,
dare I say, be able to pivot.
I don't really like the wordpivot because I feel like it's
gaining a negative connotationthese days.
But, you know, just being ableto be light on our feet.
So thank you, Sam, for sharing.
(19:12):
so explicitly the day in yourlife because I think it really
helps others to imagine, oh,okay, so I'm doing some client
work.
I have some discovery calls.
I'm doing some networking.
I'm creating SOPs.
I'm getting on strategy calls.
It's a beautiful thing, really,when you have solid OBM
clients.
Now, I would love, because Ithink it's so, so I love this
(19:37):
about your business.
And it was, I always say Iwanted to interview you because
I love talking to our students.
But I think it's reallyimportant to remind our
community that you can dowhatever you want.
You can really...
evolve and grow as an OBM, asan entrepreneur.
I know that my journeycontinued after I became an OBM
(20:03):
and started to create coursesand started to grow a community.
And I love, Sam, that you aredoing the same thing because...
It's so important to havesomething for ourselves.
So can you please share theamazing impact that you are
making in this world?
Sam Roblett (20:23):
Yeah.
When you say about community,so about three months after I
started up as a VA, it was veryclear to me that I needed to
kind of network with the rightkind of people, the kind of
people that I wanted to beworking with.
And I was very clear that Iwanted to be working with people
that were making an impact,people that were kind of having
a change and creating change inthe world.
(20:45):
So kind of social enterprisesand businesses that felt like
they needed to give back aswell.
And so I set up a Facebookgroup and a LinkedIn group
called Vegan BusinessNetworking, basically just
started inviting people.
And within two weeks, I had 50businesses within my groups.
(21:09):
And then A few months later, Ihad 100 businesses in my group.
And now we're four years on andwe have, between the two
groups, there is some kind ofoverlap between them, but
between the two groups, roughly8,500 businesses.
Yeah, 8,500 people
Sarah Noked (21:25):
in your community.
What is the community called?
It's called Vegan BusinessNetworking.
It's Vegan Business Networking,guys.
Sam Roblett (21:32):
Yeah, come along, join.
And it's just been...
been great because part of mypersonal life i've been doing a
bit of kind of talking to peopleabout veganism and things in
the background um and i was verykey that people actually in
order to make change we have tohave businesses that want to
make change as well so not kindof not just in the vegan world
(21:53):
but in the sustainable world youknow in an environmental impact
and everything as well in orderfor us as consumers to make
change we have to have thosebusinesses that provide those
things for us so i was reallykey that i wanted to support
support and help thosebusinesses.
And so that network I've runcompletely free with VA support
over the last four years andbeen very lucky in that I've
(22:16):
been able to network a lot inthat group and meet lots of
people and go to lots of eventsand been very lucky in that I've
been able to kind of fill myclient through those groups.
So, and as I say, being able tofind those people that I align,
that kind of align, align with.
Sarah Noked (22:36):
I mean, that's where it's like, hey, like, wake
up, guys, you can create yourown community and attract.
I think you've done it sowonderfully, Sam, you've taken
on the veganism, which is nearand dear to your why, near and
dear to your heart.
You have fostered a communityof like minded clients.
And You know, I know I getreally cheesy when it comes to
(22:58):
your why.
And I often, I mean, I'm goingto get on my soapbox.
Sorry, guys.
But I think it's just soimportant that we align our why
with the clients that we chooseand that they have similar whys.
And then when my why is alignedwith your why, like if it's a
veganism thing, if it's asustainability thing, if it's a
You know, for me, for manyyears, it was like, you know,
(23:20):
I'm, you know, it still is.
I'm a mom and my kids comefirst.
But when the kids were reallylittle, it was even more so.
I was like, you know, I've gotall these little kids under this
age and they're all sick allthe time.
And so I think it's soimportant to really have a clear
why.
And that will help us to findthe places not only where we
look for clients, but possiblylike in your case, the community
(23:42):
that you've been able to build.
And, you know, I think it's somagical to, And you're such a
smart marketer for maybe evendoing this, I would imagine,
maybe unconsciously.
But you've created thislittle...
nice, not even little, quite alarge group of individuals who
are all potential clients.
(24:02):
So you can just kind of dip inwhen you need things.
And like you mentioned, youknow, having those calls with
new members that join your groupand seeing where they're at and
if they're a good fit for thekinds of services that you
offer.
I just think it's like areally, it's a beautiful funnel.
Well done on that, Sam.
I think it's just aninspiration to our listeners on,
(24:24):
you know, where you can reallygo and all the things that that
you can really achieve.
And I think the imaginationthat comes with being an
entrepreneur and being able todream big.
Sam Roblett (24:33):
It's really interesting as well because it's
led me to be known as acommunity creator.
And so...
clients that I've had have cometo me because they've seen that
the community's built up andthen they want to build their
membership communities and sothey've come to us because
obviously we have thatexperience of building that
community in a particular nicheand so that's also kind of been
(24:56):
part of what we've been drivenand known for is to be able to
help people with kind ofbuilding those communities and
the kinds of things to post inthere and to share and kind of
how to get people engaged sothat's been really nice as well
so to be able to kind of pass onthat knowledge as well.
Yeah
Sarah Noked (25:12):
that's huge and you know I think it's so important
because it Always makes me thinkagain of this, especially I
always talk about the transitionfrom VA to OBM, but it can
really be any kind of onlinesupport professional.
When you are an online businessmanager, your business becomes
your portfolio and the way youdo business becomes your
(25:33):
portfolio.
So the automations, the wayyour storefront, aka your
website looks, who you'respeaking to, in your case, the
community growth and likelyfeaturing a lot of, you know,
testimonials around the, um,instructional design stuff.
I would say that it reallyhighlights this evolution of
entrepreneurship that you havebeen on in such a beautiful way
(25:55):
and that I will continue towatch from the sideline as you
grow and evolve in yourentrepreneurial shoes.
You know, I think it's soamazing to see your journey, how
you have evolved and, you know,the kinds of things that you
would have said to your youngerself and transitioning from VA
to OBM and I guess onwards.
(26:15):
What would you say to somebodynow who is like considering
online business management andthey're like, I've got these
transferable skills.
I know I've got the leadership.
I am a researcher to the core.
I know I can learn these newskills.
What would you say?
And honestly, like I feel likeit's almost like what would you
say to that person that hadmaybe just like just had found
(26:36):
out that they're teachingposition was not happening and
they're like oh my god now whatwhat would you say to that
person I
Sam Roblett (26:44):
think for me I would tell that person that
firstly you can do it and havingpeople around who either have
done it before or are doing thatalong with you um is a really
great way to move forward Ithink when you're on your own
sat there trying to work out howyou do all of the things that
(27:06):
you need to do.
You just need someone to helpyou and give you that first
step.
And I think definitely take itstep by step.
And as you've said, evolve, youdon't have to be at the last
position, you know, right now.
You have to just take thatfirst step and gradually just
move forward.
And the problem is, if youdon't take that first step,
(27:27):
firstly, you don't know whereyou could end up, you could end
up know in a great positionwhere you you know are now
building out your own businessand trying to scale up or you
could not take that step andjust end up nowhere so i think
that first step you can build onthat just do it just move
forward just do it yeah just doit just do it
Sarah Noked (27:48):
the first
Sam Roblett (27:48):
step take the first step um but definitely having
community and people around youand the accountability buddies
that I met in the OBMaccreditation.
You know, they were a greatsource of back patting and
support and you know, you can doit even to the point where when
(28:10):
we did our accreditation, wewere moving through each of the
parts and we got to the pointwhere we were all so close, but
we all had these bits that weremissing and we were like, okay,
we're going to get this done byThursday at two o'clock.
And we were just all theretogether submitting at the same
time because we just drove eachother together.
So again, don't underestimatethe power of having other people
(28:31):
around you that have eitherdone it before or that are going
through it to be able tosupport you.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Keep at
Sarah Noked (28:41):
it.
Now, I know, Sam, that there'sdefinitely people who want to
learn more about you and yourservices.
Tell us more about yourbusiness and what initiatives
you have on the horizon, whatyou're working on.
As
Sam Roblett (28:55):
I say, my business is Chaos Intercom and we provide
the OBM services andprofessional digital learning
design services.
And Also, because we've beenworking with so many businesses
that are that bit smaller aswell and perhaps don't yet have
the finances or the requirementsthat they might need for an
(29:17):
OBM, we've been putting togethera lot of the resources and
support items that you mightneed.
to get you to a point whereyou're ready to scale your
business.
Nice.
And we're putting them into aplatform called Changemaker HQ,
which you can find via our Chaosinto Calm website.
And yeah, on there, you'll beable to find lots of resources
(29:38):
around kind of building yoursocial media platforms, building
communities, resources, emailtemplates, just, yeah, just a
wealth of kind of our last...
however many years ofknowledge, we're kind of putting
all of that together forpeople.
So do go and have a look.
And if you do happen to have avegan business or sustainable
business, please do come andhave a look at Vegan Business
(29:59):
Networking on Facebook orLinkedIn.
And I'm sure we can kind ofshare those links.
Sarah Noked (30:03):
Yeah, absolutely.
Definitely.
I love that.
Thank you, Sam, for sharing aglimpse into your day in the
life of an OBM.
It has been a pleasure chattingwith you.
And onwards and upwards we go.
Welcome to the OBM show, thepodcast that pulls back the
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
(30:26):
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
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 runlike clockwork.
(30:49):
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
that drive sustainability.
If you're ready to stopspinning your wheels, step into
(31:10):
your leadership role, and seewhat actually happens behind the
scenes of thriving businesses,you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
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