Differences Between A Virtual Assistant And An Online Business Manager

No matter what you may have been told, a virtual assistant and online business manager are not created equal.  Both roles are important to operating an effective internet business, but only someone who is in complete control of your business can truly free you – a role performed well by an online business manager.

If you are planning to contract someone to act as your virtual support person, you should understand the role an online business manager plays verses a virtual assistant.  This is the same for career aspirants who want to make a living by offering virtual administrative assistance.

• Objective – The main focus of an online business manager, as the name suggests, is management. He or she acts more as an operations manager or executive assistant rather than a support assistant. It’s appropriate to view an online business manager as an associate partner who tends to operations, managing team players, and aids in controlling costs. A virtual assistant on the other hand focuses on getting the task done.  He or she is the go to person to get the job done.  Services often include data entry, web research, customer service, and administrative assistance.
• Responsibility – Being an associate partner, an online business manager is responsible for the overall success of the organization along with individual success. The same business pains you feel in a day are felt by your online business manager.  Your business is their business or at least that is the mindset of a good manager. A virtual assistant on the other hand worries about the organization’s performance only in the areas that affect him or her directly.  As long as the VA is providing excellent virtual support, their role is taken care of.  
• Client Management – In a normal scenario, a business manager will focus on 2 to 5 clients at a time, giving each one-on-one attention, and tending to the client’s business as if it were the only one.  Just possessing a knack for multitasking at a high-level of expertise is a skill-set often only found in an experienced online business manager. A virtual assistant tends to pick and choose projects and can be juggling 5 to 10 clients all within a 30 day period.  By no means does this suggest that a VA is capable of handling a higher volume of work, rather it shows that the normal VA works shorter contract terms than a business manager. 
• How Do They Help A Business – Business owners need to find more time on focusing the core business and an online business manager can be a helping hand. A business manager will provide excellent administrative assistance in their role as a project manager.  Doing so helps the business manager to escalate several tasks in their direction. Similarly, you don’t have to waste time on attending customer calls and responding to emails, but your virtual assistant will take care of that.

Though the roles of a virtual assistant and online business manager are very identical, both require a different level of expertise.