Online Business Manager, Ashlee Berghoff, is our guest for the 166th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Ashlee has helped a bunch of copywriters we know and like figure out how to make their businesses more profitable... and just as importantly, helped them focus on the work they are best at (while shifting other work to a VA or OBM). That sounded like something we needed to hear more about. So we asked Ashee about .....

•  how she became an independent business manager/COO for copywriters

•  the 10 months she spent working to prevent human trafficking at IJM

•  when you should get help in your copywriting business

•  the different kinds of VAs and other help you might consider hiring

•  some examples of how she works with copywriters to grow

•  the systems she helps her clients develop as they start working together

•  the importance of discipline as you set up processes in your biz

•  what it really costs to work with an integrator versus a VA (and what you get)

•  the easiest systems to build that almost everyone needs right now

•  the return on investment when you spend money on a VA or OBM

•  the true cost of doing the work that others could be doing for less

•  how to keep your VA relationship from falling apart

•  some of the problems you should anticipate to keep the relationship working

•  where to find the best VAs… the answer may surprise you

•  what you need to put into a contract versus email

•  how to deal with problems when thing inevitably go wrong

•  the tools Ashlee uses in her business

If you have a sneaky suspicion that your business could be doing better and that you need help to make that happen, you'll want to listen to this episode now. Click the play button below or subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Or scroll down to read a full transcript.

 

The people and stuff we mentioned on the show:

International Justice Mission

Global Fund to End Modern Slavery

Rocketfuel

Angie Colie

April Dykman

Asana

Jira

Asquaredonline.com

Kira’s website

Rob’s website

The Copywriter Club Facebook Group

The Copywriter Underground

 

Full Transcript:

Kira:   What if you're going to hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their successes and failures, their work processes and their habits, then steal an idea or  two  to inspire your own work? That's what Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast.

Rob:   You're invited to join the Club for Episode 166 as we chat with business integrator Ashlee Berghoff about how to know when you're ready to bring in help for your business, the systems and processes copywriters need to grow, practical ways copywriters can expand their capacity and exactly what a VA or OBM can help you do in your business.

Kira:   Welcome, Ashlee.

Rob:   Hey Ashlee.

Ashlee:          Thank you so much for inviting me. It's wonderful to be here.

Kira:   Yes, we're excited to have you here because you worked with, I don't know-

Rob:   Everybody.

Kira:   ...six to eight, maybe even more copywriters. You don't have to name drop all the copywriters, but you've worked with a lot of well-known, successful copywriters that we've hung out with and we know really well too. So, we'll get a behind the scenes look at the type of work that you're doing with them. But before we dig into that, let's start with your story. How did you end up as an integrator, OBM? I know there are multiple titles for it. Yes, how did this all happen?

Ashlee:          Yes, so I think as is the case for so many people, it was not a straight line at all. I actually graduated with an English degree and no idea what to do with my life. And in my first major job, I ended up in the Philippines actually working as kind of a de facto recruiter for an anti-trafficking field office there, did that for about 10 months, built out their recruiting program from scratch, which was really fun for me, but I didn't know why,