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

Someone asked me the other day about enforcing contracts with workers. Here’s my answer.  First, I am not an attorney so I can give you no legal advice on how to write a contract or what is legal. I don’t have any understanding at all. You should not listen to...

This is going to be controversial... I hate Halloween. There.  I said it. Of all days of the year it's my least favorite. In fact, the only costume I've had since I was 13 is my current costume.  The Halloween Grinch! In the US it's a day where we teach our...

I got a lot of great feedback from you guys about the 'I hire the most expensive OFS' email. Tola O. said that he doesn't hire the most expensive VA. He doesn't believe that the salary set on a jobseeker's profile proves anything. What he does instead is to offer...

Health insurance in the USA is so prevalent that often employers are scared to hire because they don't know how to do "benefits". In the Philippines, you can't pay for insurance directly unless you have an entity, and in my last email I explained how difficult having...

Setting up an LLC in the USA is so easy.  Anyone can pay a lawyer $500 and have an LLC up and running in a week (including a minor or a foreign citizen or...whoever).Or you can do it yourself and pay the local state fee of $20-$100.So simple my kids have their...

Karina messaged me on my Facebook page, telling me about the amazing things her OFS (Juvy) has been working on.  So in 2 weeks, Juvy has:- given Karina a bunch of ideas on how to manage her social media- create social media posts every day- makes videos for...

I got quite a bit of feedback about the email about how to improve OFS English. And they were really good. So good that I decided to implement one of them. One of the most popular tips you guys gave me is to use Grammarly. Some of you have mentioned that you have your...

We recently did a case study with Drew Grimm from “The Schoolhouse Life.” He shared his experience with the disappearing VA phenomenon. “Unfortunately, a little while ago, I had to let go of the lady who was doing the blog posts for us. All of the sudden she just kind...

When I hired my first VA it was through an agency. They asked: "Do you want him to work on your timezone?" I was like, "Sure!" I didn't know any better.  A few weeks in he emailed me and said: "Sir, working at night is really affecting my health. I'm not sleeping...

For a long time, I had a 100 Mbps connection through Comcast at my house.  It was good, but one day I was talking to them to try and sort out some billing issues and they suggested that I could upgrade my internet. The support person said, “It’s actually cheaper if...

This is just a different take on hiring overseas. A while back we did a case study with Matt Leitz. He said something interesting. Some people want to hire the lowest rate they can find. Matt doesn’t do that. In fact, Matt doesn't hire in the Philippines to save...

I remember the first time I learned to write with block letters. It was the beginning of my 9th grade year. I drew my name in big block letters on the front of my notebook. Today I was reminded of that as my 9th grader drew her sister’s name on her lunch bag in block...

The first time I had an OFS ask me for a Certificate of Employment (COE) I was hesitant.   I wasn't sure if I should give it.What liabilities would it pose for me?They're technically independent contractors, not employees.Would this put me on the hook for something?...

I spent most of last week bikepacking in Wisconsin with a couple of friends. It was amazing.  (my bike fully loaded) Then when I came home, I just had overnight. And we immediately left for Moab, which is an amazing biking destination here in Utah. My kids had a...

A lot of Filipino workers are great at customer service. But the problem with doing customer service at home is that you'll always hear something noisy in the background. I’m talking about the unholy trio of chickens, dogs, motorcycles. These noises used to stop a lot...

Charlie P sent me an email asking what an OFS can use if they can’t access certain sites or tools because of their IP addresses. Years ago I used to love solving problems like this. I'd research it, try things myself, then have my OFS try things.  I loved solving...

When my daughter first started learning to solve the 3 x 3 Rubik's cube, she asked a lot of questions and watched a lot of YouTube videos. It took her 2 weeks to figure things out. It frustrated her that it took so much time to understand how it worked. Fast forward...

Growing up in Southern California, we always bought our pumpkins in the grocery store because it was cheaper. But we always wanted to go to a pumpkin patch cuz it was super cool. At least, we thought it was super cool.  Well, my wife just told me she’s on her way...

So everyday, it's the same thing with my kids. They get home and I ask, “How was school today?”. And they say, “Good.” So instead of asking, “How was school today?” I started asking them, “What did you do at recess today?”.  Or, “Who did you eat lunch...

I got an email the other day from an expat in the Philippines who had a conversation on a forum about personal trainers. Someone is asking about how to find a personal trainer but she’s moving. And someone else suggests that she find a virtual personal trainer at...

Jon D. emailed me this question. I've noticed many Filipinos are at about 90-95% with their grammar, which is usually great.The customers of one of my businesses can be a bit ... jingoistic (they tend to be older and more conservative). I'm wondering if you have any...

From my OFS, Julia. Close family ties are a good thing. But it has caused us problems in some cases. In the Philippines, family takes precedence over everything. The family has influence over every important life decision. Even deeply personal decisions. Deciding what...

We have chickens at my house for 3 reasons:1. I like the eggs they produce. Definitely not cheaper than store bought, but much higher quality.2. I like the feeling of producing something at home.3. I like that it gives my kids a responsibility. At first it was hard...

We’re trying to build an exterior detached garage right now. We met with a designer today and he said, “Well, what do you want with this?” “Well, we want this much space. We want *this thing*. We want *this thing*.” And he said, “Well, what are your needs here?” I...

This week I needed to make some changes in my business for a number of reasons:  We need better content editing. The OFS doing my social media is getting burned out with social media. I need help writing this newsletter.  So I turned to one of my...

As we gathered for Sunday dinner the other night, everybody in the family was there. This is my wife's extended family. And there are like, 20 grandkids from 6 kids, all of whom are married. The dinner was partly to celebrate my son, Austin, going away to college,...

One of my OFS, Kiel (the one who visited me in 2019), emailed me this morning asking to take the week off. His mother died. Our answer to that is, "Of course! Take as much time off as you want." I gave him paid leave so he can focus on grieving and settle whatever...

Let's go! Come on, we're ready. Everyone's waiting in the car for you. It's not super common...but it definitely happens in my house.  Probably in yours too. We're getting ready to leave and someone (usually my daughter) is WAY behind everyone else.   It may...

You should at least understand what the Philippine SSS is. Julia explains:-----------------The Philippine SSS (Social Security System) is a social insurance program created by the government to cover every Filipino over the age of 15. It was intended to be a safety...

As I write this I'm in pain. My mouth is swollen. My sinuses are swollen. My tongue is swollen. I had a bone graft done in my mouth because I had 2 root canals next to each other both of which failed.  When I was a kid I didn't take care of my teeth.  My...

He's not Batman...but he thinks he is: He's wearing one piece Batman pajamas and flip flops riding this demo bike I got. The bike weighs just 16 pounds and rolls like a dream.It's like Batman trying out a new high tech device. The bike has made riding his default...

From Julia, my OFcS (Online Filipino Content Specialist): --------------------I was reading the news this morning and I came across this sad local news story:  Rizal town slammed for offering low pay to registered nurses (msn.com) This town is offering their...

Here's an interesting distinction on work you don't know how to do. Thomas R. separates work he wants to understand before having his team do it, from work he doesn't want to know anything about and doesn't want his team to do. Here are his two descriptions of these...

Sometimes you just need some inspiration. For those of you with clients, here's how Monica H. had her OFS design their client onboarding process.  It's inspiring. Monicas words in an email to me:-----------------Hey John, I always enjoy your emails - and getting...

I hate writing.  It's the worst thing I have to do.  I don't know why…but asking me to write an article about something I know a lot about…yuck! I'm happy to dictate it.  Happy to talk through it. Happy to make corrections to someone elses writing. But...

As we sat at lunch the other day I was getting wet. It was weird. After the driest winter/spring/summer in a long time in the western US, Utah is finally getting rain.   And by rain, I mean 2 days of non-stop rain…which is super weird. As we sat eating the skies...

In 2007 when I found the right screen recording software, it changed OFSs for me. See, with screen recording software, there are a couple small things which make all the difference on how much you'll use it. 1. It needs to do both video captures and image captures2....

Where I live in Utah, things are basically back to normal.  School is starting next week...back to normal.Businesses are open...back to normal.We're at Lake Powell this week...back to normal. The Philippines however, is not back to normal. They're still masked up...

I’m at Lake Powell with just adults this week.   Usually we come with our kids but it has been so fun to have just adults… …except this one guy keeps making accounting analogies.   “…eventually there’s going to be a true-up for that”(A true-up I like a...

There's all kinds of discussion among the coaches of my kids mountain bike team about whether or not to cancel practice because of poor air quality. When California (or Oregon) has fires it always seem to attract the right weather pattern to blow the smoke directly...

My brother-in-law set up Crossnet on the grass overlooking the lake last night. I hadn't played before and it was very nuanced.  It takes anticipation, reaction, touch, skill, height (boy this is easier if you're tall).  There were a lot of things which...

This story from Julia doesn't make sense until you understand that having a college degree in the Philippines is a BIG deal.  Like, people in the Philippines say that without a college degree you're only fit to work as a nanny or something equivalent (I think...

I'm writing this sitting on the beach at Pineview Reservoir in Huntsville, UT. I just taught 4 littles to water ski.   I mean...not that I taught them.  We have these learner skis where the rope is attached to the skis and to the handle so the boat (or jet...

On our ride yesterday my two teenage daughters kicked my butt. (as they start to pull away from me) 2 hours of amazing riding with 30 minutes of butt kicking mixed in as I tried to keep up with them during their 10 minute hard intervals.   I can't, they're just...

We remodeled our kitchen 3 years ago and it turned out amazing.  We love it! This story is specifically about the cabinets.  Installing the cabinets and finish work went super smoothly because the cabinet company had a guy who's job was to install, but also...

Sara was drowning with life.   An OFS changed that. Here's what Sara wrote to me a few days ago: ---------I purchased One VA Away back in March and didn’t watch it until about 2 weeks ago when I was just drowning balancing life and trying to grow a few...

When I started hiring people in the Philippines I didn't have the ability to specify a location. It was hard enough just finding talent, I had to take people wherever I could find them. Over the years I considered having an office where all my team would be able to...

One of my favorite adventures is canyoneering. The land becomes different when you're forced to touch it and roll around with it and push against it and use it to move your body.It's hard to explain until you've done it.  But those of you who have done it know...

There wasn't a ton of business talk while we were at Lake Powell a few weeks ago. Sure, my son, who is super obsessed wanted to talk about it non stop.  But how can you blame him?  If you had a super successful entrepreneur available to talk for 8 days and...

Last week I told you about tropical storm Fabian. It wasn't supposed to be a big storm...and it wasn't... ...except that it stuck around all week (which was totally unexpected) and caused flooding all over the main island of Luzon (which is where Manila, Quezon City,...