How This Music Teacher Landed Her COO Role in an International Remote Company While Enrolled in Digital Business Manager Bootcamp

Do you want to meet someone that is out here doing it all? 

👋 Meet Emily, a music-teacher-slash-COO-slash-debt-free-momma. 

When Emily is not running her dual career as a music teacher and COO, she enjoys the simple things in life- like being a mom, using cash to take her family to Europe, and paying off all her debt (including her house). 

I mean, is there anything she can’t do? 

Before Emily was an international online rockstar managing 15 part-time employees around the globe, she ran her own brick-and-mortar music shop and hosted music lessons. 

Emily is very passionate about music and loves teaching others, but she struggled with two significant aspects of her career: 💸 income and ⏰ time. 

She struggled financially, was unable to scale her music lessons, and spent the afternoons and evenings away from her family. 

During this time, she realized that she loved the entrepreneurial side of the business. She also had those detail-oriented, developmental, and leadership skills that go hand-in-hand with running a business. 

“That was a huge pain point for me, so my wheels started turning, and I thought, What is it about this helping, teaching, organizing, administrating, entrepreneur job – where can I put all those elements together? Where can I shift and pivot?”

🎵 How Emily Started Her Dual Career as A Digital Business Manager + Music Teacher

With her passion for music and her business skills in hand, she landed a job as a Virtual Assistant for an international music business education company that assists music teachers in scaling their small businesses. 

And her hard work paid off. After working for the company for about a year, she was promoted to the chief operating officer (COO) to hire, onboard, and manage the international team. 

Right around the same time as the promotion, Deya released the Digital Business Manager Bootcamp, and Emily immediately signed up for the top tier. 

She has been doing the course while jumping into her new role, using the lessons to support her as needed. 

One of her first responsibilities was taking over the hiring process from the CEO. 

DBM Bootcamp teaches you how to set up a complete and thorough hiring process, so that was one of the first modules Emily completed (even though it’s one of the last in the Bootcamp!). 

She also loves the support of the DBM Slack community, where she can get feedback on any issues she is facing for the first time. 

“Having people that are all in stages of learning and growth in their businesses where you can bounce your ideas off in a safe, non-client kind of space is so important. I debated whether I wanted to pay the extra money to get access to the Slack community, but it was a must for me – I’ve gotten a lot of value just by being in the community.”

Emily loves having a dual career in an industry she is passionate about for two reasons:

1. Emily gets to teach people in the music field
2. Emily gets to help others grow their music businesses

“I’m teaching my own students and running my own business, and all the nitty-gritty of that. And I’m helping thousands of other teachers through the membership community solve all those problems. So for me, it keeps it fresh and real.”

📈 Benefits of Becoming a Digital Business Manager 

Emily started working online to boost her income and spend more time with her family, and she was able to achieve both!

When Emily started working online, she had credit card debt, a mortgage, and her dad needed specialized cancer treatments in Germany. 

On top of paying off her debt, one of her main goals was to take her family overseas for the treatments.

Once she became fully booked online (and more than doubled her income), she was able to do just that – and pay for the whole trip in cash. 

“I’m going to remember that trip forever. You know, you are glad to work hard, but then it’s little moments like that you’re so glad. You’re able to be that mom and run your household and pull a full job together. So, I love it, and it’s been really great.” 

And as a bonus, she also paid off all of her debt, including her mortgage.

Emily knows what it’s like to be kept up at night worrying about “how you’re going to pay off…” because that used to be her.

Those worries led her to find a solution in remote work, and step-by-step, she has been able to pay off everything.

Those wins didn’t happen overnight; they take time. And there is no ‘special secret’ to finances. If you can show up, learn, do the work, make the connections, and take the courses you need to improve, then you can do it. 

💡 How to Know If Becoming a Digital Business Manager is Right For You

Are you curious if becoming a DBM is the right step for you?

Emily says that the DBM Bootcamp world is a perfect fit if:

• You are curious.
• You like people. 
• You are looking to help others improve and be their best.
• You love encouraging people. 
• You enjoy teaching.

“I think integrators and digital business managers are in their own little bubble. We are people that get it – we love entrepreneurial work, and we have that vision, but we also have the special skills that can take them from seeing the vision to mapping it out.” 

And if this is your second or third career, and you are coming from a career that you already love, you might wonder: 

“Will I love this as much as I love my other career?”

This was a major concern for Emily when she first started, but now she has no doubts.

One big clue that she used to guide her through the worries is noticing that all operations and leadership positions are all about people at the end of the day.

Whether you are managing a team or working directly with clients, you will still always be building up and helping people to make them successful. 

🧰 2 Tips For Finding Your Niche as a Digital Business Manager 

🔖 Tip 1: Stop and Look in Your Existing Niche

If you are already working in a niche industry that you love (like music), start networking there first. 

This helps cut down the competition because you’re looking outside where all the beginner remote workers are looking. 

Ask around in your personal contacts and find people that are creating businesses- and guess what? They’ll probably need some help!

🔖 Tip 2: Find Your Strengths

Before Emily even started working online, she took multiple personality and strengths finder tests to know where she excelled. 

Being familiar with yourself is essential when working with clients, leading a team, and knowing where you can improve.

Here are six tests you can take to learn more about yourself:

• Enneagram (free)
• Rocket Fuel Visionary or Integrator (free)
• 16 Personalities (free) 
• Emotional Intelligence (free)
• Strengths Finder (paid)
• Kolbe A Index (paid)

👍 Why Emily Recommends Digtial Business Manager Bootcamp

“Why would you go the slow way and try to learn everything on your own when you can get into a course and learn from a master level Digital Business Manager like Deya, who is so sweet. She is a great explainer, and she’s covered everything, just the right amount of material. I love it- I would purchase it and the top-tier again in a heartbeat.” 

Because Emily has landed a dream role, she plans to keep learning and growing professionally to be an excellent COO for the long-term. 

Emily also would love to help mentor other potential Digital Business Managers (cough, cough, surprise, Deya!) because her true passion is teaching and helping others become their best. 

If you’ve read Emily’s story and find yourself resonating with it – “yes, I can merge my passions too!” Then watch our free masterclass and find out more about becoming a Digital Business Manager yourself.