HUSBAND. FATHER. DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST.
ENTREPRENEUR. MEDIOCRE GOLFER.
I’m John Jonas. I live in Utah and I founded OnlineJobs.ph. My life is better because of my Filipino OFS (Online Filipino Specialist). My team.
I had a normal “job” for 8 months after college and my biggest goal at that time was to be able to quit that job. I managed to quit back in 2004 and worked from home for myself ever since then.
When I first hired someone from the Philippines in January of 2006, I knew I was onto something special. Since then I’ve learned that for most people, life is definitely better with Filipino workers on your team.
Yes, because of my Filipino workers I get to play a lot of golf, spend a lot of time with my wife and kids, and get out backpacking in the middle of the week. I work for about 17 hours a week because of the amazing work they do. However it’s not just better for us; it’s better for them too.
Learn why & how to hire
talented OFS from the Philippines
Start finding
an OFS using Onlinejobs.ph
Join the 7 Day
One VA Away Challenge
P.S.
I DON’T DO SOCIAL MEDIA…
MY OFS DO IT FOR ME.
Getting to the 4 hour work week isn’t easy
The thing most people won’t tell you (even the 4-Hour Work Week books don’t really talk about this) is that getting to that lifestyle, where you can take off any time you want, is not easy.
The reason why so many people might never get to the 4-Hour Work Week is that in order to get there, you, as with every business owner, will have to give up something important: control.
Some people might find it easier than others, but many struggle with it. You might even be one of them.
—
Control is one reason most of us became business owners in the first place.
We want to control:
Our time.
Our product.
Our service.
Our processes.
Giving up control is so hard for so many people.
I see that in the emails I receive from business owners.
“I want to set up a process first.”
“I need to know if I can trust them.”
Controlling every aspect of our business is how we built our business. Ironically, to grow our business, we have to let some things go.
The scary thing about letting go of some control is that there are no guarantees. Because there are no guarantees, we automatically equate loss of control with catastrophic failure.
We assume that if there’s no SOP in place, our VAs will do nothing.
We assume that VAs who don’t undergo rigorous background checks are not trustworthy.
Are these reasonable fears? Sort-of.
That’s why we’ve developed solutions for it and are continuing to find new ones as things change.
You don’t have an SOP for your VA? You don’t know what to start? Start with just one task, a task you know how to do yourself. The reason I keep repeating this is that starting your VA with one task you know how to do works. Every. Single. Time.
Not sure you can trust the VA you’re considering hiring? I laid out my entire hiring process from the very beginning. We set a manual verification to stop the creation of fake accounts. We developed the Apply Points system to stop spam applicants. We even have an AI-matching system now to help you shortlist and interview candidates.
—
I understand that letting go of control is hard. Because if something bad happens, we blame ourselves because we weren’t there on the wheel.
But I’m here to tell you that most of the time, you don’t actually fail.
Your first VA doesn’t do the job perfectly the first time. But at least it got done, and with a bit of feedback, they will get better at it.
Your first hire isn’t the perfect fit. There’s a good chance they’ll improve over time. Or your next hire will be better because you learned a lot from the first one.
—
Letting go of some control isn’t easy.
Accepting that you might not get exactly what you want isn’t easy.
Accepting the fact that you might fail isn’t easy.
But things will get better. You’ll fail a lot less.
When you don’t feel the need to control everything, it comes with freedom.
John
Like what you read here?
Subscribe to my newsletter!
I won’t spam you!
My Newsletters
Like what you read here?
Subscribe to my newsletter!
I won’t spam you!