HUSBAND. FATHER. DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST.
ENTREPRENEUR. MEDIOCRE GOLFER.

I like to keep things simple. Simple = efficiency. I try to do this in all aspects of my life. If you've watched any of my videos you'll notice I only wear single color t-shirts.  No logos. Nothing fancy (except for my one green/gray striped shirt...that's my "fun"...

My kids are pretty entrepreneurial (at least some of them are). They run a pretty successful local business. They make more than their teachers make. They've also invented all kinds of contracts. Contracts buyers sign. Contracts anyone working for the business sign....

At this time of Thanksgiving (in the US) I'm thankful for the flexibility my OFS provide me. In our house it's a time of puzzles and Legos and being together. I hope your OFS provide you this flexibility too. I got an email about being flexible recently from a long...

Check this out.  It made me cry. EJ replied to my All Saints and All Soul’s newsletter because, like me, he appreciated how Filipinos celebrate these holidays. As we talked, it turns out he also gives his OFS team holidays off and benefits like SSS. In his words,...

I want to share this email from Danielle because I know many of you might be having this issue too. I’ve had my OFS for 10 months and it’s great 🙂 However, I need a little advice. Sometimes grammar or wording can be an issue. Some of her tasks include writing social...

At Onlinejobs.ph, we strongly advocate for Filipinos only to have one full-time job. But I know that there are a lot of jobseekers who have multiple jobs on the site. It’s usually one of these scenarios. 1. They’re not making enough money from their part-time job....

I sometimes get comments from people about how much turnover there is in the Philippines. The TLDR of my response is, “turnover is a management issue.” I know that answer is hard for a lot of people to hear. Nobody likes to be told they’re horrible managers. I know...

I’m proud that when there’s a disaster, my team will come together and offer to help right away. When the pandemic started, my team donated and distributed groceries to people who couldn’t leave their homes, mainly seniors and families with babies. They started this...

I got this really good question from Debbie about pay raises Hi John, I’m about to do a review with my assistant who has been working for me for 4 months, and would like to reward her work with a pay rise. She still has quite a bit to learn in her role so I want to do...

Last time I asked about how I don't like Halloween. What I do like is Thanksgiving -> New Years. Everyone is nicer. People are giving. The world is a more enjoyable place when people are looking to help each other. I know it's still October, but let's talk about...

Next Monday (Oct 31) is my second most dreaded day of the year: Halloween. The worst day of the year of course is April 15. Tax day. But this isn't about Halloween, it's about All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, two Philippines holidays coming up next week. November 1...

Here's a fun piece of Philippines culture. What comes to mind when most people talk about convenience stores are places like 7-11. They have 7-11s in the Philippines too, but the purest version of a convenience store looks nothing like a 7-11. In the Philippines, a...

I found this comment on my benefits newsletter from Jacqui Hi there, I went back and re-discovered this blog post because I want to offer my OFS healthcare. My OFS is expecting twins in March next year and I would like to provide her with the best (but most...

One of the benefits you COULD give to your OFS which I mention in my emails, videos, and blog posts is the Pag-IBIG fund. The Pag-IBIG fund, also known as the Home Development Mutual Fund, is a government-owned and controlled corporation mandated to help Filipinos get...

I got this really interesting email from Jared after I sent out the disaster-proofing email. Can you provide more details on your emergency fund? How is it set up? how they 'apply' for it? I also heard of some employers providing generators or other means of backup....

I’m sorry that this email is really late. I was out for an entire week and didn’t have internet. So I just found out about Typhoon Karding and how devastating it was when I got back. With it happening around the same time as Hurricane Ian, last week was a pretty bad...

After last week's email about banking in the Philippines, I got comments on social media about how others handle payments. The great thing about these comments is they came from guys who have been outsourcing for years, so they know what they’re talking about. Reading...

First, let me start with what NOT to tell your friends. Don't tell them the name of your OFS...unless you want your OFS to get another job. People are lazy. Nobody wants to do the work of finding an OFS. If you go raving about your OFS to your friends and then you...

What's preventing you from hiring your first OFS?  Why haven't you taken the leap yet? I get an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from employers around the world working with OFS.  Every day someone says to me: I love my OFS... My OFS has worked for me for 3...

I've talked about SSS quite a few times recently because people keep asking. I want to reiterate that this benefit is OPTIONAL. It would be nice if you can give this to your Online Filipino Specialist, but you don’t have to. In this email, I’m going to list what your...

The 13th month payment is coming up in December. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions. Is the 13th month required? For you, it is optional. You don’t have to give this. BUT it’s best if you do because it’s a really effective motivator for Filipino...

I get asked this question a lot. Recently, I got an email from Karen and I wanted to share my response for people who have the same question. My business partner is concerned about hiring an OFS directly instead of using an agency out of concerns that this is going to...

Every time I mention SSS I get tons of questions. Here we go. First,  this is completely optional. You don’t have to pay for it. But if you can afford to, it’s a nice thing you can do for your OFS. - SSS stands for Social Security System. It's a state-run social...

Let me preface this by saying I am not an accountant or a tax attorney. I’m simply sharing how we’ve been dealing with taxes and our OFS for years. This is how 5 different accountants have dealt with it for us. Also, my OFS Jamie is not an accountant. What she shared...

When I first started outsourcing to the Philippines, their internet wasn’t really good. Like, 256Kbps wasn't uncommon. That's "K" - Kilobits.  Not "M" - Megabits. 5Mbps was really fast! For years, the Philippines had the dubious reputation of having the slowest...

In my newsletter, I post regular updates on typhoons and earthquakes in the Philippines. Some of you might be worried if outsourcing to the Philippines is worth it, given that they go through 30-something typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes every year. Yes!...

When hiring an Online Filipino Specialist, there’s a big chance you’ve had applicants from Manila. If you know any Filipinos, it’s also likely that they’re from Manila as well. Is Manila that big? Why do so many Filipinos live there? First, let me correct some...

School’s back. For some, it's the first time in 2 years. For others, it's back after summer vacation again. It’s the same in the Philippines. Their kids are going back to school. They haven't been in person for 2 years and they're in the back-to-school shopping rush....

The Philippine government just released the official list of holidays for 2023, so we just updated the Philippine Holiday Calendar to include them. If you haven’t subscribed to that calendar yet, you’ll see them below: For PC:...

We all have little things in our house to make it homey and comfortable. It can be pictures on the wall or a nice comfy rug. In the Philippines, one of those things is the banig. The banig is a traditional handwoven mat. It’s usually made from dried palm leaves or...

You found an Online Filipino Specialist who’s really good. You like their work. You’re getting along great. You’re just about to hire them when they tell you, “By the way, I have another job. Is that okay?” It's not ideal, but sometimes hiring someone already working...

When I hired my first full-time Filipino worker, it scared me a little, not going to lie. Can I afford this? Can they actually do good work for me? Can I keep them busy full-time? How will I create tasks for them to do? How will I have the time to train them? I'm...

"My Filipino worker just disappeared!" I've heard this quite a few times from other business owners, especially those just starting out. This usually happens in these 3 situations: 1. You just hired a new person, gave them their first task, and then they tell you they...

Here’s a quick lesson on Philippine Geography to make it easier for you to identify what part of the country your OFS is located in. The Philippines is subdivided into 17 political regions, Regions 1 to 13, plus four regions that don’t have numbers in their name....

I mentioned briefly about paying attention to the exchange rate when I talked about inflation a few weeks back. When I first started outsourcing to the Philippines in 2005, I had no idea what the exchange rate was.  I just paid this agency $750/month and I had a...

One of the things I regularly outsource to my OFS is writing. It’s not that I can’t write. It's that I hate it. And it's super time consuming. When I started my online business, one of the things I did was regularly write articles and submit them to article...

I started using Basecamp to manage projects in like 2005. It was just me. I didn't have anyone working for me.  It was my organization and task list. Things to get done soon and ideas for later. Since then I've gotten super comfortable with how project management...

I'm not a big movie guy. I'm also not a big superhero guy or superhero movie guy.  I haven't seen the latest [insert any superhero movie name here] movie. But Julia (and most of the world it seems) is.  So here are some Filipino superheros according to Julia my OFS:...

Just giving you guys a head’s up that Aug 29, 2022 (Monday) is a regular holiday in the Philippines. A "regular" holiday is like a bank holiday in the US. The holiday is National Heroes Day in the Philippines. It’s celebrated every last Monday of August and was...

Tropical storm Florita is the 6th typhoon that entered the Philippines this year. I'm letting you know about this storm because it’s really strong. It’s causing a lot of rainfall in most of Luzon, increasing the risk for landslides and flooding. In case you don't know...

I hate FB...but you already know that.  I've said it multiple times. I don't have it on my phone. I don't login to the website. I didn't see the news that blah blah blah... So how do we run so many FB ads? To be completely honest, I don’t know. I mean, I know in...

Many of you have been asking how much I pay in benefits per year per person to my team. I did some back-of-the-napkin math, and here’s what it looks like. Your OFS can pay more to their SSS (since they are paying as voluntary members, not under a company). The bigger...

The best (and fastest) way to succeed with outsourcing is to get stuff off your plate and outsource the things you know how to do. That way, you know what to look for. You know what looks good and what looks terrible. If your OFS needs help, you know how to help them....

Jonathan emailed me an interesting question that I think is relevant to everyone hiring OFS. It will give us some good insight into what banking is like in the Philippines. Hey - do you have a post on banking? One my OFS doesn’t have a bank account and says there...

I’ve mentioned how Filipino homes are small, how they clean their homes, and how they use tsinelas. All these topics revolve around Filipino homes, and I just realized I haven’t talked about the actual houses yet. I will fix that today. The most iconic architectural...

When it comes to outsourcing your business (or yourself!) to the Philippines, there’s definitely a learning curve. Here are 6 ways you can guarantee failure for yourself : (Hint: Don’t do these things!) 1. Try To Hire Someone To Do Everything Here’s an example of an...

We have superstitions here in the US. - Don't walk past a black cat - The number 13 is bad luck (Friday the 13th, most high rise buildings don't have a 13th floor...) - Don't walk under a ladder There's more of this in the Philippines. Julia (my content OFS) writes:...

You’re ready to hire another OFS for your team. Should you delegate that process to your OFS? That’s the question Corey asked in his email. John, Gotta confess - most of the time I can't stand people's weekly emails and usually unsubscribe. Your emails haven't met...

What I'm about to say is totally optional for you. But it's also really good. I give my workers at Onlinejobs.ph additional pay for insurance premiums. I pay for their PhilHealth, health insurance, and SSS. Because I don’t have a business entity in the Philippines, I...

I have a friend who lives in Chile. The other day he sent me a photo of his kids: Everywhere else in the world it's HOT! (at least...it seems that way) Here are a few typical Filipino cold desserts according to Julia: Halo-halo. This beloved dessert is now known...