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

One reason hundreds of thousands of business owners like you have found success with Online Filipino Specialists is that these Filipinos are hard-working and industrious. I’m not saying all Filipinos are hard-working. I'm not saying that other people are lazy. It’s...

Do you run an e-commerce business and are thinking about hiring an OFS but aren't quite sure? "Can I trust someone?" "Can they do good work for me?" "What would I have them do?" I think this video will answer these questions for you. Nina helps run a UK E-commerce...

Death is a sad and undeniable part of life. It’s a universal experience that’s treated differently in different cultures. For most Filipinos, the whole family has to chip in to help organize and pay for everything. And "everything" is a LOT! That’s why, when there’s a...

I’ve been outsourcing and hiring OFS for almost two decades now. I try to make things as easy as possible... But I put out SO MUCH INFORMATION! So, I’m responding to Yvette’s email in the shortest way possible and sending it here because some of you are feeling the...

Should you hire full-time or part-time? Usually, I recommend hiring full-time because it reduces turnover and is better for the business overall. It's also better for the OFS you hire. But... More important than hiring full-time is to just hire someone for whatever...

I've talked multiple times about going to Europe with my family for three weeks. Here are some photos. I didn’t bring a laptop, and I didn’t really think about work. Partly because it's vacation, partly because there was no time to think about work. To get back into...

Emergencies are scary. If you’re not ready, it can hurt you for the rest of your life. Emergencies can kill businesses. PK built his business around helping in emergencies. To make sure that his own business is ready for any emergency, he hired an OFS. I’m the founder...

I have 3 vetted people in the Philippines available for hire. These 3 come from my son, Austin, living in the Philippines as a missionary. If you're looking for someone trustworthy, honest, and hard working, this is it. None of these people are very skilled. I repeat....

Remember back then I told you how Islamic holidays are often announced late in the Philippines? Well, they finally announced Jun 17, 2024, next Monday, is a regular holiday to observe  Eid’l Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice....

Heads-up that June 12, 2024, this Wednesday, is a regular holiday in the Philippines. It’s their 126th Independence Day, commemorating their independence from over 300 years of Spanish rule. Like any regular holiday, it’s a bank holiday. There’s no school on this day,...

Here’s a simple task that will save you 2-5 minutes per day that your OFS can do. But…it’s not just about the 2-5 minutes (well, it is…but there’s so much more). It’s about the mental energy saved by not dealing with small things like this. Have them unsubscribe from...

I’m in Croatia and have been riding bicycles with my family for almost 3 weeks so I’m late with this. A big typhoon hit Southern Luzon in the Philippines. The name of the typhoon is Ewinniar (local name Aghon). The local government in Quezon Province declared a state...

I put "VAs" in quotes because his people aren't "VAs". They're OFS. Not everybody gets to pursue their passion and turn it into a business. It takes a lot of work, dedication, and luck. Samori Cole, or Sammy to his friends, is one of the lucky ones. He knew he wanted...

I got this email from Lynda where she shares a problem I think most of you have once you’ve hired an Online Filipino Specialist. John, What if you can't train the VA, do you have a program to do that? I feel overwhelmed. Thank you. Lynda The short answer is to just go...

It's maddening to get applications to your job post from people who are unqualified. I hate it. It has always been a problem. Until about a year ago. Enter: Apply Points (AP) This took us years to come up with but it works SO WELL! Here's what happens.  - A worker is...

When you hire your 2nd OFS, everything becomes easier. You have more time (from the first OFS). You understand the hiring process. You know what to write in your job post and how to message jobseekers in the OnlineJobs.ph database. You know that if you don’t get...

It's shocking to me the number of times someone emails me and says "I need to find someone with experience with X, Y, and Z and I can't find that person so I'm not hiring." Look…I know you don’t want to train someone. I know you’re too busy.  I get it. And…I know you...

Once you hire an Online Filipino Specialist, you start to notice things. Most people think that outsourcing is the same anywhere, regardless of which country you get your workers from. But when you hire an OFS, you notice they’re great people who just want to...

I’m in Italy right now. At least…if all has gone well, I’m in Italy right now, riding bikes across northern Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia with my family. I schedule my newsletters ahead of time because I don’t like being beholden to schedules. And…that’s what this is...

I talk about Julia all the time. She's one of my right-hand people. She writes this newsletter (mostly...I always edit them...and sometimes I write them). She doesn't like to take vacations. I was really surprised when, a few weeks ago, she (and Jae, her husband)...

"VA"...I hate that abbreviation. But it's so ubiquitous that I feel like I need to use it sometimes... Jae, one my my OFS, wrote a computer buying guide for other online Filipino workers, which he updates from time to time. He’s one of the more technical people in our...

It's mothers day (in the US) this weekend. Moms are amazing. Here are 2 stories: One of my OFS gave birth recently. When she emailed us to file her maternity leave she went out of her way to reassure us that she’d try to get back to work as soon as possible. She said...

"A VA can't do that..." True. But an OFS probably can. This is the second time I've seen something like this: https://nypost.com/2024/04/09/us-news/nyc-restaurants-use-zoom-cashiers-from-philippines/ Yeah, the cashier is in the Philippines. The last time I saw this,...

Jamie is an attorney. He started his law firm for the same reason most of us started our businesses: Time, money, and control over our lives. Add to that Jamie's 2-year-old. He wants to be in his child’s life. So, he started his practice, thinking it would give him...

Sometimes, it’s hard to see what’s most important when you feel like everything is important. You feel compelled to do everything. Business books tell you to do everything. Gurus are telling you their thing is the most important. When you’re finally ready to hire an...

How do you let someone go who's not working out? Oliver asks: —-------- Hi John Thanks for your e-mails. It would be interesting to get your experience of how to resolve a bad hire (how to best finish the work relationship, start the new hire, reduce time without...

A lot of people want to hire highly-skilled, super-experienced workers. So do I...usually. But not always. Here's the thing. Hiring a super skilled designer is super easy. You see their work ahead of time. Hiring a super skilled programmer is easy. You look at their...

Here in the US, Labor Day is always the first Monday in September. In Australia Labor Day falls on different days in different states. In the Philippines, Labor Day is May 1 (next week). So, no matter what, May 1 will be a regular holiday. This year, it falls on a...

Most people prioritize skills and work experience when hiring. You think it makes sense because you are looking for people who know how to do the job. But it's just as important, and maybe MORE important, to find someone whose personality and attitude are the right...

I’m the type of person who asks for forgiveness rather than for permission. I tend to jump in, before I know exactly how to make it work. I rarely read instructions. These were all good things helping me figure out how to outsource correctly. There was no manual when...

One of the things I tell anyone who just hired an OFS is that they should pay their OFS weekly, at least for the first couple of months. Paying Filipino workers is easy. EasyPay. I understand that paying weekly can be a bit of work. You have to remember. But paying...

There’s a heatwave going on right now in the Philippines due to El Nino. April is usually a hot and dry season in the country, but now, it’s getting hotter and drier. How hot is it? It’s so hot that some places in the Philippines have reached temperatures of 110...

What I love about training your OFS is it doesn't just help you and your business, it also helps them. You educate your OFS to empower them. Yes, providing them with education and training helps grow your business. Yes, it makes your life easier. Yes, it makes things...

I’ve often talked about the importance of giving good feedback, but what does good feedback look like? What kind of feedback would your OFS best respond to? 1. Timely and immediate. Don’t wait for days or weeks before giving feedback on your OFS’ work. Give feedback...

I'd probably make more money if I was more active on social media. I might also make more money if I did coaching or mastermind groups. I'd probably make more money if I worked more. I don’t do any of these things. We still do well. We made over 8 figures last year....

So you’ve had a bad hire. It’s frustrating. You had the best intentions. You wasted time and money on this person. You had high hopes that this hire could make your business better. This bad hire has made you never want to hire an Online Filipino Specialist again. I...

“I need to get organized before I hire someone.” This is a common response I get when I ask people why they haven’t hired an OFS yet. I get it. You want things to be in order before bringing another person to your business. Because adding on another person could add...

I’m the type of person who asks a LOT of questions. I do it with my hiring steps (check out OneVAAway.com). I do it when I give instructions to my OFS team. Asking questions solves problems. When someone tells me they're having problems with their OFS, my solution is...

I don't know if you're one of those people who is procrastinating hiring an Online Filipino Specialist (OFS). There are a lot of you who are. You want to do it. You know you need to do it. But for whatever reason, it’s just so hard to take that first step (posting a...

There are multiple images that conjure up when people think of the Philippines: - crowded cities (Manila) - islands - Jeepneys and trikes - people - beaches I’ve only been to the Philippines one time. 2010. We spent 5 weeks on vacation on the island of Boracay, which...

I'll be honest and tell you I haven't heard this in a long time now... But...one of the meaner criticisms I have heard about hiring from the Philippines is that I take advantage of people desperate for money. Yeah, I am saving a lot of money on labor costs. But my...

In the Philippines, there’s a regular holiday, the Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan), which commemorates the fall of Bataan to Japanese troops in World War 2. This holiday is always celebrated on April 9. This year, it falls on a Tuesday. Normally, a one-off holiday...

One of the reasons I think Filipinos are so resilient and happy, despite everything, is that they often have very modest dreams. They just want a good life. A good life means making enough money to support their family and have some left over for things they enjoy....

I've only had 1 "real" job in my life. I worked for 8 months after I graduated from BYU in 2004. The day I decided to quit I went home and told my wife (we had 1 kid and one on the way): I have this opportunity. We have X income. We have these expenses. I have this...

Growing up I was conditioned that more is better. More studying = better grades. Better grades = better college. Better college = higher income. So untrue. Work more = make more Work more = get promoted Work more = be happier Just as untrue. Yet we still wear 60 hour...

I’ve mentioned before that for many Filipinos, the opportunity to work from home is a dream. Because for the longest time, working abroad was the dream. That was the goal. It’s so hard to find a good job that leaving your family is worth it, just to provide for them....

The Philippines is mostly Catholic so most celebrate Holy Week. This year, Holy Week falls on March 28 (Maundy Thursday) to March 31 (Easter Sunday). Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are regular holidays in the Philippines, meaning most people will be off work (regular...

You have an OFS, and they’re doing great, but you want them to do more without overwhelming them. What’s the easiest way to get them to take on more tasks? Ask. I ask: “Can you do this task?” When you ask this question, they’re likely to give one of the following...

I don't do video interviews when hiring. I don't like doing them. Filipinos don't like doing them. Most Filipinos are shy, it makes them self-conscious, and it makes them uncomfortable. Not that all these things are bad... My team recently did a poll on a Facebook...