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

Wondering if VAs apply to your specific business? Even the most unlikely businesses are using Filipino VAs to help them be more efficient or bring in more customers. Dentists. Ryan mainly works as a copywriter for a group of dentists, but he’s capable of doing so much...

I'm late with this news.  Very late. Julia was sick. I just had ACL reconstruction surgery. We're not very timely right now. This is still relevant so you understand what goes on in the Philippines. The Philippines recently experienced back-to-back-to-back...

One of our biggest and hardest-working teams at Onlinejobs.ph is our customer service. That’s because they do a lot. I recently asked them to list everything they’re doing. Here’s what they sent me. ​​Email and chat support for Onlinejobs.ph website and sister...

I know, you're worried about getting scammed. But...what about the people on the other end? Are they worried about it? Scamming workers to get free work is a common problem on every platform. Filipinos are especially scared of it. This is why they see test tasks as...

I’ve talked about Jam, one of my VAs, before. He doesn’t work from home. He carpools his daughter and several other kids to an exclusive school 25km away from his house. Driving that far every day is expensive and exhausting. So instead of going home, he stays at...

My business partner, Dan, and I let our team take paid time off over the holidays and unlimited leave because our business doesn’t have many time-sensitive tasks. This system works for us, but I know many businesses where this arrangement won’t work at all. Holidays...

What do you do when you get “bitten” by too many applicants on your job post? There are 2 ways I sift: my old way and my new way. (hint, the new way is MUCH better) 1. Pause your job post…now! Once you get past 30 or so job applications, it’s hard to sift through...

Maybe you think: "I need to get organized before hiring someone." Or that: You cannot, in good conscience, hire a Filipino VA and bring that person into your chaos. This is wrong. Good business owners hire to buy back their time. You hire someone to organize for you....

I’ve never answered this question publicly before, so I wanted to share it with you. Hi John! I came across your content today, and am glad to have found it. I’m currently trying to figure out if it makes sense to get an EOR for my Filipino worker, as she is working...

Filipinos use familial titles or honorifics when referring to their family members. This isn’t unique to the Philippines. Here in the US, we use honorifics. We call our mothers “mom” and our fathers “dad”. We hear it in Spanish-speaking countries when they call their...

It's going to happen to you: "Sir, I'm really embarrassed but I need to ask for a loan" I've talked about using your judgment when it comes to deciding whether or not you should give your VA a loan.  This isn't easy. Especially when you know that your VA is already in...

Even though most of the Philippines is prepared to deal with natural disasters, knowing that your VA might be affected by the latest typhoon can be stressful. First and foremost, you’re worried about their safety. Secondly, you’re also worried about their work; when...

I've been teaching hiring VAs and OFS for 20 years now. I thought that I had covered everything there is to cover. Then I got this email: My VA's are SOOOOO good, and I admit that I feel sheepish about paying them less than someone in the US, when they are better in...

A month ago I sent a newsletter about  how frustrating it is when Filipinos have multiple jobs. I got a lot of responses. This one from Austin was particularly insightful: ... I’d counter argue that it is an issue of not having clear goals for your employees. If an...

A while back, I wrote about the three outsourcing myths that needed to die. Immediately after I sent it out, Sheila replied with this gem. Hey, John! We've hired several part-time people from OnlineJobs.ph and here's a myth that I think needs to be dispelled: You have...

You’re scared of hiring a Filipino VA or an Online Filipino Specialist (OFS) because of the unknown of what it actually looks like. Let me tell you what it actually looks like in my business most of the time. First, I’ve gone through the process I teach at...

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...