163: Should You Hire Someone to Help OPERATE Your Online Course Biz? (Featuring Natalie Gingrich)

I can vouch firsthand for the awesome course that today’s guest created: not because I took her course myself, but because of the impact her resources have had on my team! Natalie Gingrich has an inspiring story to share about her online course journey and why she is so passionate about all things operations. We’re talking legacy, certification, and so much more. Enjoy! “Knowing the transformation I was able to make… all came back to a skill set. And I knew I could apply that.” - Natalie Gingrich In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:39) David and I discuss our duo name and podcast roles (3:00) The theme of today’s episode (6:35) David’s business operations (7:47) An example of recent changes to my business workflow (10:15) Introducing Natalie and her take on operations (13:08) Thinking about systems and operations versus lead generation and funnels (15:26) Where Natalie focuses her business offerings and how she delivers her training (18:43) Trusting and hiring other people to teach (21:21) Thinking about how to bring in qualified trainers (24:51) How Natalie and her team have created growth while maintaining a personal feel (29:16) Why she offers certification (35:19) “How do I find somebody who does this?” (39:39) What I’m appreciating about having my own OBM (40:16) Why certification isn’t an issue for my courses (40:40) How Natalie facilitates her program (42:57) OBM vs. DOO (45:57) Natalie’s recommendations on structure (51:25) What if you don’t want to hire a long-term OBM? (53:44) Visionaries vs. implementers (55:55) My history with project management software (57:19) Full-time vs. part-time OBM’s (1:00:42) Natalie’s “why” story (1:09:18) Talking legacy (1:10:42) The difference between operations roles in business (1:13:30) Where to find Natalie’s resources online (1:14:33) Why David and I appreciate operations-minded people (1:16:00) Getting into the weeds on how Natalie runs her program (1:19:13) Bringing on more instructors and offering live training (1:22:02) High vs. low touch-point choices (1:23:58) The hiring process for virtual employees or contractors (1:29:31) Gauging people’s long-term compatibility with your business (1:30:59) The likeability factor (1:36:10) David’s story about personality types (1:39:52) The Wonderlic test and other types of verification (1:47:45) “Wounded boyfriend expectations” (1:50:44) The importance of documenting standard operating procedures (1:53:07) Wrapping up and teasing next week’s interview That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show.   Links Offers and Tools: Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Active Campaign Free Trial Win of the Week Guest Links: Natalie’s website Resources and Recommendations: By the Book podcast Happier podcast Voxer Fix This First Loom Life as Paper “Favorite Things” printable Jacques’ Courses: The Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses Piano in 21 Days David’s Courses: Wellness Program Expert