Before The Red 5 Group, before any of this had a name, I was a stay-at-home mom volunteering for every committee that needed someone to make sense of the chaos.
I rebuilt how families signed up and got information for which I was Team Manger. I wrote the email newsletter to keep our MOPS group informed and connected. I documented processes for the PTA, covered for the school secretary, and quietly fixed the backend of every organization I touched - before I had any idea that “building SOPs” was a real job description.
how it all
started
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More recently I volunteered to track stats for our bunco group. There is now a spreadsheet. There is now an awards ceremony. My friends have accepted this about me.
When I look back, the pattern was always there. I walk into a room - or a business - and I immediately see what’s missing. What’s held together with duct tape and good intentions. What would break the moment one person left or one launch got bigger than expected.
And then I fix it.
Not because anyone asked me to. Because I genuinely cannot leave a broken system alone. (Ask my husband. He’ll confirm this. Possibly with a sigh.)
I was writing standard operating procedures for the PTA. I just called it "making things work."
20 years of operations.
Just Not Always Called That.
I started my career in Corporate HR, building systems for hundreds of employees inside a large manufacturing operation. Onboarding processes.Policy documentation. The infrastructure that keeps a business from falling apart when people leave, roles shift, or something breaks unexpectedly.
The work was invisible when it was running well. You only noticed it when it wasn’t.
Then I stepped away to be home with my kids - and kept doing the same thing, just without the title. (See above)
From there I moved into blogging, digital strategy, and social media work with national consumer brands, learning how growing online businesses operate, where they break, and what they actually need to grow without burning out the person running them.
At every stop, the same thing kept showing up: the business had outgrown the system holding it together, and the founder had quietly become the system by default.
The Red 5 Group was built to change that.
A few things worth
knowing about me
My brain connects dots other people don’t notice. Give me a business problem and I’m already mapping the process, thinking about what the client experiences, looking at how the communication flows. It’s not something I turn on. It’s just how I’m wired.
I build the thing nobody asked for but everyone needed. The system that didn’t exist yet. The process that was living in someone’s head. The documentation that means your team can actually function when you’re not in the room.
And yes - I have a system for everything. Including the systems. My family finds this both impressive and mildly exhausting. I’ve made peace with that.
When I'm Not Helping a Business Run More Smoothly Behind the Scenes, You'll probably Find Me:
• Painting watercolors — badly, but with great enthusiasm
• In my raised garden beds, trying to coax vegetables to grow in Wisconsin’s climate
• Hosting supper club or discovering a new distillery tasting room with my husband
• Binge-watching a series set in historical England (the more elaborate the costumes, the better)
• Running my household like the well-oiled operation it absolutely is
• Spending time with my Core Moms - friends for over a decade, and forever family
let me help you
I mention this because I think it matters. The person you’re trusting with your business backend is a whole person — not just a set of skills. I bring the same care and attention to your workflows that I bring to everything else I do. Which is to say: a lot of it.
The Way I Think About Your
business
When I look at a business, I don’t see what you’ve built. I see what’s missing.
Not because anything is wrong - but because I’m wired to find the gap between how things run and how they could run. The undocumented step. The process that lives in one person’s head. The handoff that works perfectly until it doesn’t.
Once I can see clearly, we build. Map. Document. Fix. Build. Protect. In that order, at your pace, with your business as the guide - not a template.
I've been doing this my whole life. Now it has a name.
What You Actually Get
When We Work Together
You can relax and do the real work.
That’s the thing I do for people that they feel before they can name it. The moment they realize they don’t have to hold all of this in their head anymore. That someone else is watching the backend, tracking what’s coming, handling what needs handling — and doing it well. Not just getting it done. Getting it done right.
I see what's missing before it becomes a problem.
Most operational gaps aren’t dramatic. They’re quiet. A step nobody documented. A handoff that relies on one person knowing something. A process that works perfectly — until it doesn’t. I find those things before they cost you a launch, a client, or a week of your life cleaning up the mess.
I build it so it lives beyond me.
The goal was never to make you dependent on me. It’s to build infrastructure that holds even when I’m not in the room - documented processes, clear workflows, systems that run reliably whether it's just you or a growing team. Structure that creates freedom.
What I know inside out.
PLATFORMS
📌 Community & Course - Circle, Kajabi, Skool
📌 Website & CMS - Squarespace, Wix, Wordpress
📌 Email & Communication - Kit (ConvertKit), Mailchimp, Substack
📌 CRM & Client Management - Honeybook, Dubsado
📌 Project & Task Management - Asana, Monday.com, Trello, Notion
📌 Social Media & Scheduling - Hootsuite, Later, Buffer, Meta Business Suite
📌 Design & Content - Canva, Adobe Express, CapCut
📌 Automation - Zapier, IFTTTT
📌 File & Workspace - Google Workspace, Dropbox, Evernote
Beyond specific tools and platforms, I'm highly tech-friendly - I adapt quickly to new software, enjoy troubleshooting systems, and can learn, implement, and document whatever tech stack your business already uses. No slowing down to train me.
OPERATIONS WORK
📌 Backend audits - identifying broken systems and operational gaps
📌 SOP development and documentation
📌 Automation setup and troubleshooting
📌 Launch and program support
📌 Weekly operational rhythm and workflow management
📌 Team coordination and contractor management
📌 Platform setup, cleanup, and backend organization
📌 Inbox, calendar, and day-to-day task management
📌 CRM setup, maintenance, and client communications
📌 Social media content planning, scheduling, and reporting
📌 Branded graphics and content publishing support
📌 Client onboarding and communication systems
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a VA and an OBM?
A VA executes tasks you assign. An OBM owns the operational layer of your business - identifying what needs to happen, building the systems that make it repeatable, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks. The difference isn't just scope - it's who's thinking ahead so you don't have to.
Do I need an OBM or a VA?
If you're spending significant time managing tasks, re-explaining context, and holding your business together from memory - you need OBM-level support. If your systems are solid and you just need a reliable set of hands to execute, a VA package might be the right fit. Not sure? The Running on Empty Audit will show you where your gaps actually are. And if the answer is somewhere in between, there's an option for that too.
What does an online business manager actually do?
Depends on the business - but in general: builds and documents systems, manages workflows and projects, coordinates moving parts across launches and programs, handles platform operations, manages social media, provides day-to-day task support, and acts as a proactive partner who sees what's coming before it becomes a problem. The short version: they make sure the backend runs so the founder doesn't have to.
How is The Red 5 Group different from other OBMs?
Most support relationships are reactive - you bring the task list, they execute. My approach starts with understanding how your business actually works, building infrastructure that holds without constant oversight, and staying invested in your results. It’s partnership, not task delegation.
What platforms do you work with?
Circle, Kajabi, Notion, Kit, Asana, ClickUp, Monday.com, Trello, Google Workspace, Squarespace, Wix, HoneyBook, Dubsado, Canva, Buffer, and more. Beyond that - I'm highly tech-adaptable. If your business runs on something else, I learn it fast, implement it properly, and document it so it works without me in the middle of it.
How do I know if we’re a good fit?
The best way is a discovery call - it’s a real conversation, not a pitch. If you want to start before that, The Running on Empty Audit gives you a clear picture of where your backend gaps are. Either way, you’ll leave with more clarity than you started with.
Do you offer social media management as a standalone service?
Yes - social media management is available on its own, separate from OBM or VA support. Packages start at $700/month and include content planning, caption writing, branded graphics, scheduling, and reporting. See the Services page for full details.
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