What's Your OBM Archetype?: How to Leverage Your Natural Strengths for a Thriving OBM Business

Do you ever feel pressure to be the “unicorn” OBM, equally brilliant at tech integration, launch strategy, client care, financial forecasting, and everything in between?

That impossible standard is the fastest road to burnout and imposter syndrome.

In this episode of The OBM Show, Sarah Noked introduces a brand-new framework designed to help you stop chasing perfection and start leaning into your natural strengths: the OBM Archetypes. Instead of trying to master every skill, you’ll discover how to identify your unique leadership style and build a business that feels aligned, sustainable, and wildly effective.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The 5 core OBM Archetypes: The Strategic Visionary, Systems Architect, The Conductor, The Purpose-Driven Partner, and Emerging Strategist
   
• The strengths and pitfalls of each archetype (and how to leverage them)
  
  
• Why owning your archetype attracts dream clients who value exactly what you do best
  
  
• How understanding your archetype helps you price, package, and position your services with confidence
  
  
• A free quiz to uncover your own OBM Archetype and get a personalized Starter Kit to grow your business with clarity

Whether you’re brand new to OBM work or leading multiple clients, this episode will help you see yourself in a whole new way. No more pressure to be everything to everyone… it’s time to own your superpower and thrive as the OBM you’re meant to be.

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

🧭 Not sure where to start?
Find out your OBM Archetype and get personalized next steps → obmschool.com/quiz

📺 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.

Episode Transcript

Sarah Noked (00:00):
I want you to think about how you see yourself as
an online business manager.
Do you ever scroll throughInstagram or listen to other
podcasts, check out other OBMwebsites and feel a nagging
pressure to be quote unquote acertain type of OBM?
So maybe you are a brilliantbig picture thinker who loves

(00:20):
brainstorming new revenuestreams with your client, the
CEO, but you feel guilty becauseyou don't get excited about
documenting everything I getyou.
Or maybe the opposite is true.
Maybe you're a master ofsystems and workflows.
You live for a beautifullyorganized ClickUp dashboard, but

(00:43):
you feel like you should bemore of a people person, a
charismatic team leader whothrives on constant
communication.
For years, there has been anunspoken myth in our industry
that to be an exceptional OBM,you have to be a unicorn.
or fit a certain type.
Like you have to be aworld-class expert in tech,

(01:06):
integration, things like evenfinancial forecasting, team
management, launch strategy,client care, and all of it at
once.
And this pressure that I seeall the time to be everything to
everyone is by far the fastestpath to burnout and a nagging
case of imposter syndromebecause you always feel like

(01:29):
like you're falling short in onearea or another.
But what if I told you that themost successful, sought-after,
and fulfilled OBMs aren't theones who master everything?
They are the ones who discovertheir unique, innate superpower,
what we've deemed their OBMarchetype.
And from that, they build theirentire business around that

(01:53):
natural zone of genius.
Now today, I want to pull backthe curtain on a brand new
framework that I I am sure, willchange the way that you see
yourself and your business as anonline business manager.
Now, I want to go through thefive core OBM archetypes so that
you can finally get clarity onyour unique leadership style and

(02:15):
turn it into your greatestasset.
Welcome to the OBM show, thepodcast that pulls back the
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
I'm your host, Sarah Noked,agency owner, OBM mentor, and
founder of OBM School.

(02:37):
I've been working in the backend of online businesses since
2009, building systems, managingremote teams, and mentoring
OBMs who make businesses runlike clockwork.
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories

(03:00):
that drive sustainability.
The most successful OBMs arethe ones who lean in to their

(03:24):
natural strengths and recognizetheir zone of genius.
Now, after coaching andcertifying hundreds of OBMs,
OBMs over the last 10 plusyears, I have seen that these
strengths really tend to fallinto five distinct patterns, or
what I call OBM archetypes.
Today, I want you to findyours.

(03:45):
So to make it real easy, we'vecreated a new quiz.
It's short, it's fun, and ittakes just minutes to complete.
And it's called What's Your OBMArchetype?
And you can find it over atobmschool.com forward slash quiz
or click the link in the shownotes I invite you to open it up
on your browser now because aswe walk through these five

(04:07):
archetypes, you can really takethe quiz right alongside this
episode and get that immediateclarity.
So let's dive in and help yousee your own unique genius.
So first up, maybe you are thestrategic visionary.
Your absolute superpower isyour clarity.

(04:27):
You are the one who doesn'tjust do the work, you lead it.
You can step into a projectwith a fuzzy plan or a stalled
out strategy and really bringfocus, powerful momentum to it.
Your gift is bringing structureto big ideas.
And people naturally look toyou for direction, not just in

(04:47):
business.
And you have a gift fordelivering it with confidence.
Now, the next archetype thatmaybe you see yourself in is the
systems archetype.
I know this one can be a littlesexy in my opinion, because you
are the builder, you are theoptimizer, you are the quiet
powerhouse.
I feel like I identify withthis and this one makes me

(05:09):
excited.
When you look at a client'sbusiness and see tangled
processes, tools that don't talkto each other, or workflows
held together with literalvirtual duct tape, you don't
just feel overwhelmed, you feela spark of excitement.
It literally makes me, it givesme chills, right?
Because your brain justautomatically starts It's

(05:31):
mapping things out better, moreefficient ways to get things
done.
And your magic isn't just inorganizing.
It's in creating that lastingstructure that helps businesses
truly scale.
Now, our next archetype mightsound a little bit more like
you.
That is the purpose-drivenpartner.

(05:53):
You are intuitive, values-led,and you're here for aligned
growth.
You do way more than justmanage the operations.
You bring a sense of meaning toit.
You have a special gift forhelping clients reconnect with
their why and making thoughtful,intentional decisions.

(06:13):
You are the steady hand thatensures that the company's
vision and its day-to-dayactions are always in alignment.
Then we have the conductor.
The conductor is the archetypethat is the one who is calm in
the chaos and the true reasoneverything runs.

(06:34):
You thrive on managing themoving parts of a real big
project, keeping timelinestight, tools working and every
single team member in sync.
You are the one who keepseverything from falling apart
often before anyone else evenrealizes there is a problem.
Yes, indeed.

(06:54):
For you, the And finally...
a crucial archetype for so manyin our community, maybe you
recognize yourself in thearchetype of the emerging

(07:16):
strategist.
Your journey is just beginning,and that, my friends, is your
superpower.
Now, you might not feel like areal OBM yet, and I totally get
that, but you're alreadythinking like one.
You're curious, you'regrowth-minded, and you are ready
to explore everything that'spossible for your career.
Your focus right now is onbuilding your confidence and

(07:39):
your skills and forging a paththat feels completely aligned
with the leader you want tobecome.
So as you're hearing thesedescription, you probably feel a
pull towards one of them.
And that's really the key.
This isn't just a funpersonality quiz, although I do
really love those.
It's more of a strategic tool.

(08:00):
Because when you get this levelof clarity, you really can
truly stop apologizing for yourweaknesses or stop focusing on
those weaknesses and startbuilding your entire business,
yes, around your strengths.
You can confidently designpackages, write marketing copy,
and attract clients who reallyneed exactly you operating in

(08:23):
your pure zone of genius.
That, my friends, is reallywhere the magic happens.
And really, Really, the bestpart about this is that you
don't have to guess.
I have created this free quizto help you get that real
clarity around your leadershipstyle.
It's called What's Your OBMArchetype?
And it's designed to give youwhat I believe is profound

(08:44):
insight into your naturalstrengths.
It takes just minutes tocomplete and the insight you'll
gain is a game changer.
When you're done, you won'tjust get results.
You're going to get a fulldetailed report on your
archetype and immediate accessto a personalized kit.
So if you are ready to stopcomparing and start building a

(09:05):
business around your uniquestrengths, I really invite you
to take that quiz right now.
You can discover your OBMsuperpower in the next few
minutes.
Just go to obmschool.comforward slash quiz.
Thank you for tuning in to theOBM show.
Remember, there is definitelyno one right way to be a
brilliant OBM.

(09:26):
The one thing that I have seenin our community over the years
is that really and truly no twoobms are alike we bring our own
spirit our own special sauce tothe equation