If you are entrusted with building and property maintenance, as any home owner or building manager is, then the danger of dry rot is one of the most serious dangers you will ever face.

That’s partly because it is insidious. By the time you discover it the chances are that it has already established itself. Whilst initially it needs damp conditions to form, it can then spread silently even in timber, walls and masonry that isn’t particularly damp.

Often the first sign of it is when you discover its spores, which are a bright, rusty red colour and minute in size – about 0.01mm long. They are produced in abundance so as to form a fine, rust-coloured dust not far from the fungus itself.

By this time it can affect several square metres of surface. If this happens to you then you should consider yourself in an all-out war against the fungus. To maintain your property you have to deal with it immediately.

You may have to take up floorboards and pull off wall plaster in order to locate the full extent of the attack. If you are not averse to some DIY you can do this yourself without calling in a builder at this stage.

If there is insufficient ventilation below the floorboards then take the opportunity to improve it. It’s surprising how often the original problem is caused by some debris that is easily removed.

Cut out and remove all decayed wood that shows signs of infection, and go around 18 inches beyond the visible signs of attack to ensure you cover any rot that is hiding beneath the surface. If dry rot is found on the side of a wall, then most likely the other side is affected as well, so check the adjoining room and its woodwork for damage.

Remove wall plaster until there’s no sign left of the fungus. It grows in threads, so watch out for these carefully and bring in professional help if you need it. Collect and safely dispose of all the infected wood and plaster work that you’ve removed.

Thoroughly clean the remaining woodwork, plaster and brickwork. Brush down the surface and remove any loose mortar and pieces of old wood. Apply a high quality fungicide to the brickwork until the surface is saturated, using a large brush or a coarse spray from a low pressure sprayer. Don’t forget to wear a protective facemask and gloves.

Try to avoid bringing new timbers into direct contact with the old brickwork, e.g. by resting the ends of new joists on felt where they enter a wall. Cover the brickwork around window or door openings with a layer of zinc oxychloride plaster or paint where it has contact with new wood frames.

Thoroughly treat all new and existing timbers with a generous coat of wood preservative, and you should have eradicated the dry rot completely.

Because dry rot is such a dangerous and potentially expensive problem it’s vital that you do a most thorough job in getting rid of it. Your building and property maintenance obligations demand nothing less. And whilst a competent amateur can carry out these procedures it may be necessary in dealing with a severe attack to call in the professionals.

A Business Manager is a professional who is entrusted with the job of managing a business firm or a corporate enterprise or a private enterprise on behalf of a company or individual with the outcome of earning profits and revenues. There are several areas where a Business Manager can use his or her knowledge and expertise to serve – accounting, auditing, budgeting and taxes, data processing and analysis, finance, HR and personnel, marketing and public relations, operations analysis, purchasing and so on. Besides there are also specific technical areas in which a Business Manager can have specialized knowledge and skills like computer programming, e-commerce, law, science etc.

Even small businesses or home businesses sometimes typically have Managers doing multiple roles that focus on the company’s marketability and reach. In such a scenario, the Business Manager shares much of the owner’s duties and responsibilities in running the business successfully and in some cases, earning a share of the profits.

There is no doubt that the role of a Manager is very essential and crucial to a business. As we have seen in the modern era, even artists and private individuals like musicians, dancers, painters, writers, sportspersons etc. have Managers who manager their business affairs, professional commitments and financial matters. Hence, the role of a Manager cannot be taken lightly. In the context of a governmental agency or a military agency, the position of Business Manager would be equivalent to that of an Executive Officer or a Chief of Staff.

Functions or Role

Overseeing the operations in small, large or private enterprises involves many specific functions. Generally, the duties of a Business Manager extend to:

• Developing and implementing budgets
• Fixing business goals and targets
• Hiring, training and evaluating employees
• Supervising and overseeing duties of support staff
• Handling payments and contracts
• Managing business commitments, travel schedules etc.

Qualifications

Most Managers require a basic qualification of a bachelor’s degree in Business Management which has many in-built modules in tandem with the duties listed above. They also need to have excellent communication skills, great inter-personal relations, be adept in promotional and marketing abilities and have contacts with media agencies and networks. In many businesses, salespersons who have worked through the company for many years handling several responsibilities are promoted to Managers levels and entrusted with greater responsibility.

Public profile

In a private enterprise such as a Manager handling the portfolio of an artist or sportsperson, the role of a Business Manager is very much in the public eye. Several past business managers have been caught in financial and personal scandals ranging from negligence of professional commitments to fraudulent practices in financial matters, illegal and unethical management of assets, swindling of revenues etc. which can be a serious setback to professional enterprise.

Are you a successful woman entrepreneur whose multiple 6-figure business feels out of control?

Are you stuck? Overwhelmed? Frustrated?

Ever thought seriously about walking away because you’re so bogged down with business operations that you can’t follow your passion?

If this sounds like you, it’s time to find an online business manager.

What’s an Online Business Manager?

According to Tina Forsyth, the author of Becoming an Online Business Manager, the official definition of an Online Business Manager (OBM) is:

A virtually based support professional who manages online based businesses, including the day-to-day management of projects, operations, team members, and metrics.

An OBM isn’t a virtual assistant who performs tasks. He or she is a professional business manager who runs the company’s daily operations to give the owner energy and time to focus on strategic growth. The OBM gives the owner permission to be the Visionary and serve her clients, plan the company’s growth and future, and use her gifts to their fullest potential.

The OBM keeps all the balls in the air as the Integrator of the business. Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters first defined the Integrator role in their book, Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination that Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business. The Integrator harmoniously combines the major functions of the business (sales, marketing, operations, and finance), runs the organization, and manages day-to-day issues. This role is literally the glue that holds the people, processes, systems, and strategy of the company together.

The Integrator creates space so the business owner, the Visionary, can fully step into the CEO role and do what she’s called to do-change the world.

Finding an Integrator for your business would take a big load off your mind and off your plate, wouldn’t it?

I help women business owners who need that time and space. For the past eight years, as an Integrator in my clients’ businesses, I’ve had the great honor of making someone else’s vision happen.

You can’t do it all, and you don’t want to.

When you started your business, you had to wear all the hats. You had to be the visionary and the manager. You knew it wasn’t your best fit, but you could do it until the business grew a little and you could hire help.

Soon you hired someone to take care of the tedious work, but you couldn’t let go of much more. You still needed to lead and manage alone. You told your family (and yourself) that wearing both hats wouldn’t last much longer and you could handle it.

Now, your business keeps growing and you spend way too much time managing and not enough time leading and serving. You don’t have enough time to decide where the business is going because you’re trying to keep up with managerial tasks you never wanted.

You started your business to change the world and to have the freedom to enjoy life. At this point, you can’t do either because you can’t get out of that manager role long enough to catch your breath!

Hitting the ceiling is inevitable. Every successful woman entrepreneur I’ve seen comes to the point where she’s exhausted and can go no farther – she can’t continue to manage and grow the business by herself. She needs online business management services so she can move into the CEO position and Visionary role to grow her company.

Transform your business with an OBM

Your business needs a Visionary and an Integrator to be successful, and you can’t be both for long and sustainable growth. As the Visionary, you need an Integrator to implement and drive your vision, and your Integrator needs you to lead the company’s direction and strategize its future.

My specialty is working with multiple 6-figure clients who have hit that growth ceiling. They know they can’t continue being in charge of everything. I’m an Online Business Consultant, Certified Online Business Manager, and most importantly, a diehard Integrator in every sense of the term.

My clients are high-achieving women entrepreneurs who want to change the world, and their visions are huge. They have proven business models that generate multiple 6-figure+ revenues. Their desire to build an empire is inspirational, and they’re ready to turn over the reins of management to a trusted professional who will move the business forward.

Are you ready for your Integrator?

Have you hit the ceiling in creating new growth? Feeling overwhelmed or frustrated with all the “DOING” in your business?

About

Brenda Violette is Founder and CEO of Violette Business Services, a business management company that partners with entrepreneurial woman who have built a multiple six-figure online business and are stuck in their ability to create new revenue with them being the only one in charge of everything! They struggle and lose traction as they are buried in the “DOING” of the business.

Being a seasoned woman business owner herself, Brenda understands the struggles of other women trying to build a viable online business, balance work and a personal life, and contribute to the world through the business.