In this episode of The OBM Show, I’m joined by Jessica Bonilla for a conversation that completely challenges what people think qualifies someone to become an Online Business Manager.
Before Jessica ever called herself an OBM, she was an executive assistant inside a corporate IT department managing moving parts across teams and executives. At one point, she was the breadwinner in her family.
Then life shifted.
After losing childcare, she stayed home with her children, eventually homeschooling them while continuing to volunteer, go back to college, support her husband’s construction business, take on different jobs, and constantly learn new systems along the way.
And somewhere in that process, she slowly started believing she needed to “start over.”
But what became very clear in this conversation is this:
Jessica was never starting from zero.
She already knew how to think operationally.
She already knew how to manage complexity, identify breakdowns, communicate with different personalities, and keep moving parts running behind the scenes.
She just had not connected those skills to the OBM role yet.
This episode is such an important reminder that many of the skills that make someone an incredible OBM are often built long before they ever enter the online business world.
We also dive into the difference between emotional intelligence and operational intelligence, why confidence matters more than knowing every tool, and how consistency and visibility helped Jessica land her first clients.
In this episode, we talk about:
• The transferable skills people massively underestimate
• How executive assistant and homeschooling experience translate into OBM work
• Why operational leadership is about more than just systems
• The difference between emotional intelligence and operational intelligence
• Why confidence matters more than knowing every tool perfectly
• How Jessica landed her first clients through consistency and visibility
• Why “pivoting does not equal failure” when building a business or career
If you’ve ever questioned whether your background or experience is “enough” to become an OBM, this episode will completely shift the way you think about operational leadership and the value of the skills you already have.
Connect with Jessica: https://virtuallyjessicabonilla.com/
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.
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Until next time, keep building the business behind the business.
