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

I’ve been very vocal about my dislike for Halloween and how much I appreciate how Filipinos celebrate All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. I was intrigued when one of my writers, Princess, told me about Ghost Month, which starts between August and September in the...

We're constantly working to make hiring VAs easier. Our AI Matching is evolving and improving rapidly. The latest addition: 3 questions you should/could ask the VA in an interview. Here’s an example below. It's very insightful. Every applicant will have different...

"I need to create SOPs before I hire someone" That's fine. You can. But you're wasting your time. Why? Because you don't know what the VA doesn't know until you hire them and try it. Hire first. Create simple training second. Skip the SOP.  Use Snagit. Or Loom. Or...

I got this email from Louise a few days ago: I wanted to get your advice. I recently made a new hire through your site. I employed a lady and I’m happy with her work. The only problem I am having is that she is constantly asking for loans and early payments. This is...

The short answer is: No. It’s not because there aren’t any legal requirements. It’s just that most of the legal requirements aren’t really your responsibility. They're your Filipino VAs. The more detailed explanation is that your Filipino virtual assistant is an...

I've been hiring OFS (or "VAs") since 2005, and despite the prevalence of information, some outsourcing myths persist. Here are the top 3 worst ones and why you need to stop believing in them. 1. You need to be super prepared and ready before you start outsourcing. ...

We have made numerous improvements over the years to Onlinejobs.ph to make hiring easier and faster. We’ve released ebooks. We have a YouTube channel dedicated to hiring. We want to provide education if you want it to make hiring easier. We created IDProof, Apply...

Many of us are fortunate to have never experienced a terrifying natural disaster. But for Filipinos who go through it 20 times a year, even though they’re used to it, it can still be scary. Henny (a small business owner with VAs working for them) wanted to know what...

There’s a long weekend coming up on August 23, 24, and 25. August 25 is a Monday and the Philippines’ National Heroes Day. It’s a regular holiday, so if you’re giving your Filipino VAs paid time off during Philippine holidays, expect them to be off on that day. But…...

Finding an Online Filipino Specialist to do marketing work is easy. There are so many people with so many skills. This is really easy. Finding a Filipino VA for sales is not as common. Don’t get me wrong, there are many Filipinos who can do sales, but even I can...

I encourage Julia to write about Filipino culture. It's interesting to see a culture that is so influenced by Western culture, yet still deeply rooted in Asian traditions. However, lately, Julia has been having a hard time with this because Filipino culture isn’t a...

Do you have to train your VA? "Can't i buy a training program and pass it on to the VA to implement on my behalf without me having to go through the training myself?" The best way would be to create training specific for your Filipino Virtual Assistant. You can do...

It’s been a few days since Typhoon Crising left the Philippines. I wrote about this last week to talk about how bad it was. I wish I could say everything’s better now, but there are still parts of the Philippines, particularly in Metro Manila and other urbanized...

I just read this excellent blog post from my friend Dennis Yu: https://dennisyu.com/the-mindless-video-editor-and-seo-expert-are-irreversibly-doomed/ Reading this reminded me of why I would rather hire someone young and hungry rather than someone who is super skilled...

Julia, my OFS who I turn to for a lot of content support, was sick with the stomach flu for a week. I’m glad she’s finally back. It was bad, but thankfully, she didn’t need to be hospitalized. She just had to take meds and rest at home. I was worried for her health,...

The Philippines recently experienced a strong typhoon. Tropical Storm Wipha (Typhoon Crising) was a big one. It displaced around 300,000 people and caused flooding in numerous heavily populated areas....

One of the life-changing things I hear about from my OFS (Online Filipino Specialist) and other people’s OFS is how having a full-time job lets them move up in life. Often, that means moving out of poverty into a middle-class home or neighborhood. In the Philippines,...

The Philippines is a very Westernized country. This is one of the reasons why they’re such a great outsourcing destination. But as you talk to Filipinos and work with them for a long time, you will start to see that there are still some things that they don’t...

"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...