The Difference Between a Virtual Business Manager and Other Virtual Support

Before I get into the differences between a Virtual Business Manager (VBM) and other virtual support, I feel like you should know that “Virtual Business Manager” is a made up title. Meaning, when I started my business I created my own job title because I didn’t feel like I fit into any of the pre-existing virtual support categories.

While I’m sure you’re SUPER interested in my made up job title, the real reason I’m writing this is because I want you to be able to find the right type of virtual support for your business.

In order to accomplish that, I’m going to walk you through each of the common virtual support roles and explain how what I do compares to what they typically do. And in the process you’ll probably come to understand why I felt the need to invent a new role for myself.

Let’s start with COACHES.

Coaches are meant to help guide you down the right path based on your individual business goals. They’re there to provide perspective, direction, clarity, and advice. Coaches will help you come up with a solid plan of action, but that’s usually where their help ends. Contrarily, that’s where my work starts. As a VBM, I help you execute on those plans. I take the ACTION necessary to reach your goals. Because it’s great to know what to do but it’s more important to actually do it.

Moving onto SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS.

Social media managers are there to handle all aspects of your social media presence - from engagement, to content creation, to implementing strategies and analyzing metrics. They keep up with the trends, and know how to help you reach your goals (like getting new clients). This role exists because social media is its own beast and honestly quite a challenging one to tame. And as a VBM, I have no interest in taking on that monster in it’s full capacity. I understand that many beauty business owners need support in this area because social media is a useful tool when it comes to marketing. But my service offerings in this arena are limited primarily to content creation and scheduling. If you’re looking for anything more than that, you’re better off hiring a dedicated social media manager.

Next we have CUSTOMER SUPPORT REPRESENTATIVES.

A customer support representative for someone in the beauty industry would be a person that is primarily hired to handle client communications on your behalf. They might respond to your new guest requests, answer your phone, check DMs, respond to client emails or reviews, resolve issues, etc. Basically a virtual receptionist who would need to be fully available for you during set hours. While this type of support would be undoubtedly helpful for many in the industry (especially those who spend lots of time behind the chair) it’s not what I do as a VBM. My role is to support you more on the backend of your business with marketing, systems, and admin - not to be client facing.

Okay now we’re ready to talk about VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS.

Virtual assistants are a little tricky because the type of support they can provide largely depends on the individual person and their skillset. But generally, virtual assistants in the beauty industry do things like appointment scheduling, client communication, social media management, marketing support, and administrative tasks. As you can see there’s a little bit of crossover between what virtual assistants can do and some of the other roles I’ve already discussed. Virtual assistants can usually do a little bit of everything but don’t necessarily specialize in one particular area. Before you hire a virtual assistant, it’s important you get clear on the tasks you need help with (and what skills are required in order to complete them). That way you can make sure you find someone to best support you. When it comes to what I do as a VBM compared to what a virtual assistant does, there’s also some crossover. As I mentioned in one of the sections above, I do not handle direct client interactions. But I do help with social media content creation, marketing support, and other various administrative tasks. The main reason I don’t consider myself a virtual assistant is because, with my experience and skills as a hairstylist & business owner, I’m capable of doing MORE than what your typical virtual assistant would do.

Finally, let’s discuss ONLINE BUSINESS MANAGERS.

Online business managers typically take more of a strategic role and are entrusted with more decision making responsibilities than a virtual assistant. They help plan and implement systems and oversee project management. For a beauty industry professional, this might look like helping you revise your service menu, overhauling your website, implementing online booking, setting up automated forms/emails, or creating all the materials needed for a course. All these things require a certain level of experience and expertise. An online business manager has to be well-versed in successful business practices in order to help you see around the blind spots in your business and savvy enough to implement the necessary changes. As a virtual business manager, this is the role that I relate to the most. I leverage all the experience I’ve gained during my 12 years working in the beauty industry to help my clients get to the next level.

As you can see, there are plenty of options when it comes to finding virtual support for your beauty business. What it boils down to is matching your individual needs, goals, and budget with the right person.

If you’d like to learn more about the services I offer as a virtual business manager (I combined virtual assistant and online business manager to create my title btw) click HERE!

Whether we end up working together or not, I thank you for reading this and I hope you find the virtual support you deserve in your business.

-Lindsey