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

"What's the first thing I should outsource? I need a VA who can write, do graphic design, build a website, manage my social media, set up my Amazon store, etc, etc, etc. What should I outsource first?” STOP. First and foremost, you’re not going to find a VA who can do...

I don’t see this because I rarely check my social media, but my team tells me that I often get comments like: You should hire an American! You’re the reason why Americans are losing jobs! At first glance, it would look like outsourcing jobs to places like the...

We're constantly working to make hiring OFS (or VAs) easier. It's what I spend my time thinking about, how I spend my days (when I'm not skiing or riding my bike). I rarely talk about the changes we've made. But the new OnlineJobs.ph messaging is worth talking about....

I have been getting an increasing number of emails about applicants using ChatGPT. Yes, it's everywhere. Yes, it's almost everyone. Yes, it’s a problem, and it’s not limited to Onlinejobs.ph. Employers worldwide are experiencing this, becoming frustrated with...

My graphic designer/video editor, Elijah, just got married! I thought it would be nice to share with you some of the customs, traditions, and superstitions that Filipinos observe when it comes to weddings and marriage. Here’s Julia sharing some of them. --- Engagement...

You're worried that you don’t have the time or ability to train a Filipino VA? I had the same concern when I hired my first, second, and third Filipino virtual assistants. As I hired more people, I realized that I worried over nothing. Am I better at training my VAs...

When I hired Joven, in 2005 (yes, 20 years ago), I had no idea he'd eventually be running OnlineJobs.ph for me. I was just trying to get a little work done. I didn't know he'd be dedicated, hard working, intelligent, resourceful... I didn't know he'd still work for me...

Paying VAs....lots of answers. I’m warning you ahead of time: this is going to long. To start, I want to reference a previous newsletter I wrote, discussing the initial cost of hiring a Filipino virtual assistant. The TLDR of that one is: - You can cancel your...

Every few months, I receive an email from business owners sharing how different Gen Z Filipino workers are compared to their predecessors. For example, I got one where this business owner noticed that his younger workers tend to call him by his first name very...

If you’re looking to hire your first (or tenth) Filipino virtual assistant, June and July are great times to hire. Graduation season in the Philippines is from April to May. After graduation, these senior high school and college graduates might take a short break or...

Here's something we've done for our business that has been a game changer at bringing leads that didn't buy, back. 7 days after someone signs up for free, but doesn't buy, we send out an email asking  “Why haven’t you hired a Filipino virtual assistant yet?” I usually...

You might think outsourcing to the Philippines is complicated. - do I have to jump through hoops - do I have to navigate numerous regulations - do I have to complete a mountain of paperwork I had a neighbor say, "I thought hiring virtual assistants full-time from the...

Our willingness to trust AI is growing. Sure, the human touch is gone, but what you lose in warmth, you make up for in $$$, right? The CEO of Klarna had the same idea, but things didn’t really work out as expected. Instead of improving customer service, relying fully...

The Muslim holidays Eid’l Fitr and Eid’l Adha are regular holidays in the Philippines. However, due to tradition, the exact date of these holidays is usually confirmed a week before the actual holiday. In the Philippines, lunar sightings have to be confirmed before a...

Contrary to popular belief, most security leaks aren’t caused by problems with technology. Most security problems are caused by people. I have shared my credit card and financial information with my trusted VAs. I’ve never had a problem with them leaking or stealing...

Last Thursday I had a bad crash on my mountain bike. Yes, I had a helmet on.  Still, I have a bad concussion. There are about 25 minutes I can't account for. I don't remember crashing, I don't remember my friend finding me. I don't remember riding my bike down the...

One of the fears I have seen business owners have when it comes to hiring a virtual assistant is that they’re afraid their VA isn’t going to be working when they should. Your VA not working means wasted time and money. Want my advice on how to make sure your VA is...

I have written several newsletters now about dealing with virtual assistants having multiple jobs. I’ve done this because many of you asked me to write about this, and many of you have also shared your thoughts on how to deal with them. We have so much content on...

I know this is long. I also think it's worth your time if you're new to working with VAs. You need to communicate with your Filipino virtual assistant or OFS. It's critical to their well-being and success in working for you. They may not do good work if you don't...

I like taking care of the people around me. That’s how I show my love. It’s not hard to do, but it takes time and effort. It’s the same with my OFS. Most of my 17-hour work week involves getting in touch with my team. I ask how they’re doing. I read their daily...

If you’re just starting out with outsourcing, how much does it really cost to hire a Filipino VA? What are your initial costs? You need to budget for three things: 1. Your Onlinejobs.ph Pro ($69) or Premium ($99) account subscription for 1 month 2. The salary of your...

I use the "chicken claw method" for typing. Wait...what??? That was from one of my best content writers.  She's amazing. She uses the "chicken claw method" when she types these amazing, beautiful stories? And she was inspired by JULIA!?!? Yes, that Julia who writes a...

Onlinejobs.ph. That’s usually the answer I give when I’m asked where I found trustworthy virtual assistants. This is not just because I own Onlinejobs.ph, but because I still use it when I need to hire someone. But even with a straight answer, I still see a lot of...

I mentioned in a previous newsletter that the Philippine government might declare Monday, May 12, 2025, a holiday because of the midterm elections. We announced it earlier because their government has a bad habit of declaring holidays late. Turns out, we were right:...

"Do you know where I could hire someone from [name any of like 40 countries...seriously]?" No, I don't. Why not? Because your chances of finding someone great are just higher in the Philippines. So people who go to Ghana, Brazil, Thailand, Mexico, Nigeria, Romania,...

"How do we making hiring a VA easier?" It's the question I ask myself every day. Most of the work we do behind the scenes at OnlineJobs.ph goes unseen, so I thought I'd pull back the curtain today and let you in on a few things. Things we've been working on to improve...

A couple years ago we decided to start filming stories of Filipino "VAs". We just find normal people with normal lives and show you what they're like. There were 3 reasons for creating these videos: 1. to humanize the people. 2. to showcase the potential of what OFS...

So many people talk about how AI is going to take away people’s jobs and they’re going to make virtual assistants obsolete. Here are 2 examples of the opposite....

On Monday, May 12, 2025, the Philippines will be holding its midterm elections. That would be May 11 in most of the US. Why does this matter? Typically, voting in the Philippines is an all-day affair.  Long commutes and long lines.  It's never simple there.  Those who...

I hate the word "benefits". It used to mean "extra things an employer provides that's different and keeps you wanting to work for them." In the US, now it means "required insurance and days off you feel entitled to." But not in the Philippines. As an "employer,"...

My newsletters from the past 2 weeks have taken a lot of work. They’re all about why OFS sometimes work mindlessly (their thoughts) and how to prevent it (their ideas). Today, I will share some of my personal experiences. A couple of solutions I’ve tried that have...

My previous 5 newsletters have described cultural reasons why OFS sometimes work mindlessly. Today is about solutions. When I asked my team why this problem exists, I didn’t ask for solutions, I just sought to understand the problem. A bunch of my team members also...

When I asked my team what causes mindless work, surprisingly, I had quite a few different people talk about family concerning mindless work. If they don’t feel like they’re part of a family, they won’t care about the work. This translates to the company's culture and...

Laziness. Sometimes, people get lazy. It just happens. Some say the rising generation is lazy. Sometimes, the work lends itself to laziness. Sometimes, it happens as an OFS gets more comfortable with the work. Quotes from my team: – “For some Filipinos,...

Quantity is often more visible than quality. An OFS knows you’ll see how many support tickets they responded to, but you’re unlikely to see how well they responded. You’ll see how many images they edited but not how well each was done. You’ll see how many articles...

If you’ve never heard about Hofstede’s Power Distance Index, it’s worth researching. You’ll better understand mindlessness. The Philippines has a very high power-distance index. They have a power distance index score of 94. The US has a score of 40.  This means that...

In the Philippines, fear often has the opposite effect of what you might expect.  If you fear failure, you’re likely to make more effort, do more, and try harder.  In the Philippines, it’s often the opposite. For Filipinos, fear tells them to do as little as possible...

I just caught Julia making a mistake with one of my newsletters. It's not a big mistake, but it was a mindless one. She should have caught and corrected it before we sent it out. This doesn't happen often, but when it does, it can be frustrating. I talked about this...

If you write really long, super specific job descriptions, it’s more likely you won’t find the “perfect” Online Filipino Specialist for your business. Not only that, you’ll also have difficulty finding someone “good” or “great” if you’re so focused on making sure that...

I have 50 full-time OFS working for me. But I didn’t start this way. I started with one VA doing full-time work (it was a serious leap of faith for me to hire someone full-time at that stage of my business). That Filipino worker, Joven, showed so much initiative and...

Yes, at OnlineJobs.ph, you can hire "VAs" and OFS. But a doctor? Yes. At OnlineJobs.ph, you can find: lawyers, engineers, architects, teachers, accountants, doctors, etc. Sandy, is a medical doctor, a teacher, and an OFS. She’s also a mom and a freediver. Watch:...

I want to share this email because the way Luca handled this situation is just amazing. Like some of you, Luca found out that his OFS is working multiple jobs. Did he fire her? No. Did he scold and berate her? No. What he did instead was show that he cared. He showed...

If you need talented, loyal workers for your business, you will almost always have better luck in the Philippines. It's not that you can't find great people elsewhere... ...it's that your chances are just higher in the Philippines. Often, significantly higher. Over...

In the Philippines, they have 3 different types of holidays: - Regular holidays - this is what you think of when you hear the word holiday. Independence Day, Christmas, New Years day. - Special holidays - these are lesser holidays where parents usually work but...

(keep in mind that we have 50 OFS working for us. We're having a problem with just one of them) Marvs is one of our developers. He’s a good developer but lately we're not happy with him. He hasn't worked. He hasn't communicated. He hasn't performed. I sent him an...

If you have OFS working for you, here's a little inspiration. Have you had the light bulb moment yet? Laura just had it: It just occurred to me last month that really... I could offload almost everything to our OFS. I've had him take on more tasks, and he's doing...

Ugh, tax season. Dan (my business partner) and I were talking to our accountant recently because it’s close to tax season. We wanted everything in order before filing our taxes. Doing that reminded me that you can hire an OFS to help prepare for taxes. We have them at...

This entire email is written by one of my OFS. You'll notice their perceptions of US society. ---------- Here in the US, we're used to a high standard of living compared to the rest of the world. We take it for granted. We're so used to it that the thought of living...

Are you overwhelmed with admin work? Missing deadlines? Things falling through the cracks? Yep...I get it. So does Mike. His story was probably similar to yours...until cancer in 2021. Fortunately... OFS!! He couldn't work for a year... ...and his business grew?!? It...

I have so many great writers on my team. But sometimes, sometimes, I read what they’ve written, and it just doesn’t sound right. If you’ve hired a Filipino writer, you know what I mean. There are no spelling mistakes, and the grammar is correct. However, some of the...