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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 you were a budding entrepreneur what would you do? But for the most part, we kept it on vacation mode. (my 10yr old learning to carve on a surf board) Except...this conversation about hiring.; My friend who was with us, Russell Brunson, has a unique take on hiring. The first thing he looks at for any applicant is their DISC profile! That's right. He doesn't look at their resume or their skills. ;In order for someone to submit an application to him, he requires them to take a DiSC test and submit it as the subject of their application. Then he'll look at their resume. Why? Because the people he used to hire always sucked. Why? Because he'd get a big stack of applications and would go through them with a Russell filter. ; We all do it. ;We look at other people through the filter of our personalities. He was doing it when hiring. He'd get all excited about the people who were just like him. They were driven, motivated, and good at selling. ;"YES! That's the guy I want on my team!" Except, when he hired them they most of them didn't work out. He didn't know why until he learned all about DiSC. Russell is a high D personality. He was hiring a bunch of high D personality people.; But high D personalities often don't make good employees. High S and high C make good employees. As soon as he figured out how to use DiSC his hiring success shot through the roof. Now, before hiring someone, he figures out the correct DiSC profile for the role and then filters from there. Genius. I interviewed the girl who taught him all about DiSC.;It's long, but it will change the way you look at hiring forever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4kFsQrJszo John |
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 what I'm talking about. Last week I had a friend borrow some of my canyoneering gear. ;We started talking about some techniques we use and he showed me a different way of rigging a rappel that gives you more options. ;I really liked his method. Just like how talking with Shepard H. gave me a new idea for how to keep a new OFS busy, while also gaining their trust. Shepard said right after he hired his OFS, they collaborated on a doc where they made a huge list of things she could do for him (he listed tasks that he wanted her to do, she listed all of her skills, some he didn't know about...) Then he had his OFS go through the ;list (he said it was pretty extensive) and categorize everything into three columns: things she would be excited to do for him, things she felt fine about doing/was willing to learn, and things she really didn't want to do or disliked.; He's conscientious to assign her things in the first two columns, focusing on the things she loves to do. If he needs something done that she hates doing, he tries to find other ways to get it done. I thought that was a great idea to establish trust/rapport at the beginning of a relationship. It would help you get to know your OFS better and understand what they can do for you. I also thought I should do it with a bunch of people on my team right now. People who have been with me for years.; John PS. Over 37,000 Filipino workers signed up at OnlineJobs.ph last month. They're looking for work. You can find almost any skill set! |
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, Pasig...most of the big cities are). It wasn't suppose to bring a lot of rain and it wasn't supposed to last long. ;It managed the worst case scenario and did both. Check with your OFS and make sure they're ok. ;If they've experienced flooding, maybe offer to help them. John |
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 work together. ;I decided against it because my team is all over the country and I couldn't ask them to move just to work in an office somewhere.; Today it's way easier to find talent because of OnlineJobs.ph. ;If you want to be picky about their location, you can.; But, just how big is the Philippines? Here's what Julia wrote:---------------While tropical storm Fabian was raining down on Metro Manila, here in Mindanao it's been scorching hot. (Flooding in Manila, dry and hot in Davao) Doesn't make sense right? We're a small country. If there's a typhoon in Manila, we should have felt that everywhere.; In terms of land area, the Philippines isn't that big. We're only 3% of the size of the US. To put things into perspective, we're around the same size as New Mexico or Arizona. But because our islands are spread out, we actually occupy the same amount of space as Texas. So even though we're a small country, we can have different climates. We have areas that are practically deserts (La Paz Sand Dunes) to cold temperate provinces with daily temperatures similar to a New England town (Baguio and Lake Sebu). At least in Texas you can drive all the way from one point to the next. In the Philippines, if you want to drive from the North to South or East to West, your car would have to ride a boat almost half the way. Great if you enjoy island hopping. Not so great if you hate plane travel and you often get seasick. And, the islands aren't as close as you might think. ;It's not uncommon for a boat ride between islands to take 6-18 hours (depending on which 2 islands).;------------------ I've only been to the Philippines once (in 2010). ;I was surprised at how far apart their 7000 islands are. ;From the island we stayed (Boracay) you couldn't see other islands that I thought weren't that far away.; It would be uncommon for a tropical storm or typhoon to affect every part of the Philippines at once. John [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section] |
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 work together. ;I decided against it because my team is all over the country and I couldn't ask them to move just to work in an office somewhere.; Today it's way easier to find talent because of OnlineJobs.ph. ;If you want to be picky about their location, you can.; But, just how big is the Philippines? Here's what Julia wrote:---------------While tropical storm Fabian was raining down on Metro Manila, here in Mindanao it's been scorching hot. (Flooding in Manila, dry and hot in Davao) Doesn't make sense right? We're a small country. If there's a typhoon in Manila, we should have felt that everywhere.; In terms of land area, the Philippines isn't that big. We're only 3% of the size of the US. To put things into perspective, we're around the same size as New Mexico or Arizona. But because our islands are spread out, we actually occupy the same amount of space as Texas. So even though we're a small country, we can have different climates. We have areas that are practically deserts (La Paz Sand Dunes) to cold temperate provinces with daily temperatures similar to a New England town (Baguio and Lake Sebu). At least in Texas you can drive all the way from one point to the next. In the Philippines, if you want to drive from the North to South or East to West, your car would have to ride a boat almost half the way. Great if you enjoy island hopping. Not so great if you hate plane travel and you often get seasick. And, the islands aren't as close as you might think. ;It's not uncommon for a boat ride between islands to take 6-18 hours (depending on which 2 islands).;------------------ I've only been to the Philippines once (in 2010). ;I was surprised at how far apart their 7000 islands are. ;From the island we stayed (Boracay) you couldn't see other islands that I thought weren't that far away.; It would be uncommon for a tropical storm or typhoon to affect every part of the Philippines at once. John |
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 work together. ;I decided against it because my team is all over the country and I couldn't ask them to move just to work in an office somewhere.; Today it's way easier to find talent because of OnlineJobs.ph. ;If you want to be picky about their location, you can.; But, just how big is the Philippines? Here's what Julia wrote:—————While tropical storm Fabian was raining down on Metro Manila, here in Mindanao it's been scorching hot. (Flooding in Manila, dry and hot in Davao) Doesn't make sense right? We're a small country. If there's a typhoon in Manila, we should have felt that everywhere.; In terms of land area, the Philippines isn't that big. We're only 3% of the size of the US. To put things into perspective, we're around the same size as New Mexico or Arizona. But because our islands are spread out, we actually occupy the same amount of space as Texas. So even though we're a small country, we can have different climates. We have areas that are practically deserts (La Paz Sand Dunes) to cold temperate provinces with daily temperatures similar to a New England town (Baguio and Lake Sebu). At least in Texas you can drive all the way from one point to the next. In the Philippines, if you want to drive from the North to South or East to West, your car would have to ride a boat almost half the way. Great if you enjoy island hopping. Not so great if you hate plane travel and you often get seasick. And, the islands aren't as close as you might think. ;It's not uncommon for a boat ride between islands to take 6-18 hours (depending on which 2 islands).;—————— I've only been to the Philippines once (in 2010). ;I was surprised at how far apart their 7000 islands are. ;From the island we stayed (Boracay) you couldn't see other islands that I thought weren't that far away.; It would be uncommon for a tropical storm or typhoon to affect every part of the Philippines at once. John |
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 businesses. ; So I finally watched the videos, posted a job and had 286 applications. ;I was completely overwhelmed. ;But I kept watching your videos and used your guidance to go through each one. ;Eliminating first based on budget, then just started asking questions to see which ones would write back in a timely manner. ; Then, there was one that just stood out. ;Not because of her experience, but because of how she communicated via email, how responsive she was and more importantly how she used bullet points and answered EVERY question! ;I hired her and we have been working together for only 3 business days so far, but she is absolutely a perfect fit! ;I am so thankful for you, your process and onlinejobs.ph to have given me the structure and platform to find the most amazing person to add to my team! So kudos to you for a job well done. ;Your experience shows and thank you for sharing it! Best,Sara ----------- In my experience, if you don't have time to hire it's likely 1 of 2 situations: 1. You're already managing a bunch of people2. You're working IN your business.; #1 is an acceptable reason to put off hiring.#2 isn't. ;Spend some time working ON your business. Few people ever regret this. Johnhttps://OneVAAway.com |
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 to make customers happy.;He spent time at our house doing tiny things we wanted done. He made sure things were perfect. ;He came back over and over again.; We made him smoothies while he worked. When he was done done done with the work, I gave him $100 as a tip. ;He started crying because it was the first "tip" he had ever gotten. Well...we've lived in the kitchen for 3 years now and the cabinets aren't perfect anymore so I texted this guy and asked if he's still around and if he could come over and adjust some things for me. And...he's still around. ;Working for the same company. Doing amazing things. Today he came over and made a plan with me to get our cabinets back to perfect.; I learned 2 lessons: 1. When you treat people well they stick around. Someone being at the same job, in the construction industry, 3 years later??? ;That's not normal. I know the owner of the company. He treats his people well and promises this guy he'll always have a job. 2. When you treat people well, they want to do work for you. ;The smoothies. The conversations. The $100 tip. I treated him like he was a person. When I texted him, he came back.; In the Philippines, this is especially true. If you treat your OFS well (starting when you recruit them) they'll want to do work for you. ;They'll stick around. They'll do great work. But you have to treat them well.;- give feedback- give training- pay them on time- have realistic expectations- ask them how they're doing I had an employer complain to me today saying that "the people" on OnlineJobs.ph are crappy because he had 3 different people ghost him. ;But "the people" on Upwork are "better" he said. ; (hint...they're the same people on both sites. Upwork just charges you more when you pay them) I told him it's because the Upwork system allows you to treat people like crap and they can't do anything because they're dependent on getting a review from you. ; So, if you're a crappy employer, go to Upwork and hire someone. ;Their system allows for it. ; But if you're a good person. Kind. Treats people like people. Understand that people make mistakes. Willing to help your OFS do a great job at their job...then go hire someone at OnlineJobs.ph. ;Your cost will be 20-50% less, and the Filipino will make more overall. ;It's a win-win. John |
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 too fast. If we were riding on dirt trails it might be slightly different just because I'm a better technical rider than they are. ;I practice my skills. ; But we weren't on dirt trails because it was raining! ;We rode up American Fork canyon instead. ;It's a beautiful ride...just not as beautiful if your heart rate is through the roof and your legs are screaming at you to stop and you're still falling behind. ; In business I sometimes feel like this too.; I just can't keep up with social media. ;Fortunately I have people on my team who do. I'm not very good at programming anymore. ;But I have programmers who are good. I'm terrible with design...but designers aren't that hard to find in the Philippines.; Doing customer support or data entry I feel like I'm drowning. Amazing OFS take care of these things for me.; At least in business I can manage other people doing the work...unlike on my bike. You can manage people doing the work in your business too. ;My book The Outsourcing Lever will help you be a better manager. John Aaaaand...they're gone |
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 ski...it's a bit easier behind a jet ski) pulls directly on the skis. ;It makes balancing easy. Except...they kid still has to keep the ski tips up. ;Often they start to roll sideways before the jet ski even starts going so I get in the water with them and hold them straight until they're ready to take off. When are you ready to hire your first OFS? Easy. When you have something in your business that- you know how to do- you know it's effective- you feel like you could teach it to someone else You're ready. It could be something you're doing and now you get it off your plate.It could be something you're not doing because you don't have time to do it or because you don't like doing it.; Hire your first OFS! When are you ready to hire your second OFS? Easier. When you get the taste from your first OFS being productive you'll know when.When your first OFS is too busy to take on more work, it's time.When your first OFS is productive and you need something done that is a completely different skill set, it's time. John |
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 weren't productive (slamming the ball) and others which were very productive (blocking the ball). There was also some good kid fun. It took a while to figure out the strategy behind what's productive and what's not. Then it was super fun. It took me a while to figure out what was productive with my OFS.Here are some thoughts.There isn't magic here. ;I'm not "the expert" about this...these are just things I've done and seen others do. 1. Keep them busy. ;If they have idle time, they'll fill it with something else. Another job. A hobby. Their family. Once someone is used to working less, it's hard to get them to drop the other responsibilities they picked up while they were idle. 2. Give them responsibilities. If someone is in charge of a project, they're more likely to take initiative. With this there's always the caveat: They have to trust you first. 3. Give recurring tasks. Things that can always be done. SEO. Data entry. Research... 4. Ask them how busy they are. 5. Ask them what they think they can do or what they would like to do for you. 6. Be available. Give feedback. Follow up on projects.; It's not rocket science. Johnhttps://OnlineJobs.ph |
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 nannies are super important...but that's a different story).;Normal earnings (without a college degree) are somewhere around $100-$200/month for full-time work. ; Now, with some context, you'll better understand why Julia wrote this:----------------As I was browsing through social media, I came across this story on my newsfeed because it involved my alma mater. UP Manila, Cavite State University dismiss claims of a fake alumna (msn.com) Apparently, a woman faked her college credentials when she was invited by her former high school to be a graduation guest speaker. She was outed by everyone on social media because:1. The schools she claimed to graduate from (College of Law in the University of the Philippines-Manila) doesn't exist.2. The grades she claimed;to have (equivalent to straight A in all her law school subjects) are unbelievable3. The graduates of these schools know each other. Nobody remembered her. And it's so easy to request for alumni records which proved she never went there. Why did she do this? In the Philippines, most businesses put a lot of value on what school you came from. What school you came from is so important, making fake diplomas is its own cottage industry. What does this mean when you're hiring an OFS? Does this mean you can't trust a Filipino worker who says they come from a good school? You still can. Most Filipinos are honest about what school they came from.; And if you look at our jobseeker profiles, we don't actually ask them what school they came from. ;A newbie jobseeker that came from a good school might have a slight advantage over other inexperienced workers. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what school you came from. What matters most is whether or not that jobseeker has the right skills, experience and attitude.;--------------- Personally...I've never looked at what school someone graduated from.;I care about your attitude, fit, skills, and personality. I teach how you identify these things at OneVAAway.com John |
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 over us. (smoke in Salt Lake City blown in from California) There are 200+ kids on the mountain bike team, so the decision is not taken lightly, especially since it concerns the kids health. "I think we should do the responsible thing and cancel" "I think we should hold practice and let parents and kids decide if they want to come" "I don't think we'll have enough adult ride leaders" It's a good discussion with good intelligent people. We have a similar discussion going right now about how we handle Facebook logins for ID Proof on OnlineJobs.ph. Years ago we started requiring new workers to authenticate their Facebook account so we could use the FB API to verify them on social media. ;We used this to add to their ID Proof score. ;It worked really really well. ; But recently FB changed their policies and we can't do it how we used to so we have to change. There's a lively discussion going on among 4 of my OFS about how we should handle the situation. Different OFS think different things. ;They're vocal about it.; "We can't automate checking accounts anymore, it just won't work" "We should do it manually" "Manually? ;With 1000+ new accounts created every day?!" ...... Here's how I handle this. I read the discussion.I input my questions or opinions.I let them talk through it.I think through the solutions they're coming up with.I try to provide extra info they may not have because they don't always understand they whole picture (I'm the business owner, they're not. I have 15 years experience with this, they don't.) I try to let them make a decision. ;If I see the decision has problems or isn't going to work like they think, I'll step in.;Otherwise I leave them alone. How could you let your OFS be more involved in growing your business? John |
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 reconciliation) “It’s kind of like filing form XYZ…” Some accountants can’t help themselves. Taxes are part of their every day. Worrying about taxes with your OFS shouldn’t be part of YOUR every day. Https://OnlineJobs.ph/taxes It’s pretty simple. And if your OFS wants to know how they handle their own taxes: https://blog.onlinejobs.ph/updated-filipino-online-workers-guide-to-paying-taxes-2020 John |
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 and with restrictions in a lot of places. If your OFS gets Covid, Julia did the research on how they pay if they end up in the hospital. ------------Philhealth (our socialized health system), despite its flaws, can be useful if your VA contributes to it regularly. And if your VA catches COVID -19, Philhealth actually has health packages that can help reduce their medical bill. I'm going to explain here the Philhealth benefits that your VA can get if they contract COVID-19. Please note though that their regulations have been changing every few months. If there are significant changes to the regulation, we'll let you know once we have more information on it. So, how can Filipinos avail of the COVID 19 benefit? They have to be:1. A Philhealth member. If they were diagnosed and confined for COVID-19 before becoming a member, they can still avail of the benefit as long as they become a member before they're discharged from the hospital.2. They have to be diagnosed for COVID-19 by an accredited facility using RT-PCR3. If they were initially diagnosed for COVID but had a negative RT-PCR test, they would still be covered by the intermediate package. Those who tested positive for COVID-19 and are confined in a Philhealth accredited hospital can avail of the following packages. Coverage of up to (Php)Php 43,997 - Mild pneumonia in the elderly or with co-morbiditiesPhp 143,267 - Moderate pneumoniaPhp 333,519 - Severe pneumoniaPhp 786,384 - Critical pneumonia If they were initially treated for COVID-19 and are confined in a Philhealth accredited hospital but tested negative, they can avail for the following packages: Coverage of up to (Php)Php 18,000 - Moderate pneumoniaPhp 38,000 - Severe/Critical pneumonia For more information, they can check the links below or go to the Philhealth website directly: philhealth.giv.phhttps://www.philhealth.gov.ph/circulars/2020/circ2020-0009.pdfhttps://www.philhealth.gov.ph/circulars/2021/circ2021-0008.pdfhttps://www.philhealth.gov.ph/advisories/2021/adv2021-013.pdf------------ John |
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. It needs to always be open on your computer so that capturing is one click (or...preferably just a keyboard shortcut)3. It needs to have the ability to annotate images (add arrows, lines, and text to the image)4. It needs to upload the images and videos automatically and give you the URL automatically.; For me, none of these are negotiable at this point.; Why?; Because in 2006 and 2005 (the two years I had OFS's working for me before finding the magic software) I was using Camtasia Studio to make video trainings for my OFS. ;It always entailed recording the video, rendering the video, using FTP to upload it to a server, and figuring out the URL of the video.; It took so much work I would only do it for really important things. ; Then, it all changed with Snagit. Snagit meets all the criteria listed above...but it's just easier to show you exactly how it works.http://www.quickvideolearning.com/daily/snagit-demo.mp4 You can't see the snagit controls in the video because the screen recording didn't record the screen recording controls. ;But...it just works. And it's amazing! I create training, feedback, SOPs, corrections, ...anything! ;This is how I manage my VAs. ;When I found the right software I went from being able to manage 5 VAs to being able to manage 20 VAs. ;It saves that much time. Snagit is the best. ;It's $49.Free alternatives include- Techsmith Capture- Tinytake- there are lots of others (a super popular one is Loom)...but I don't bother with them. ;Snagit is better. I'm thankful for amazing pieces of software which increase my abilities and make my life so much easier. ;Snagit is my #1. John |
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 opened and the whole restaurant turned their heads towards the windows. Pouring rain. ;Inside, where it was previously dry (after 1.5 days of rain), now water was streaming down. I was getting wet! No matter…the conversation was good. My companion and I have had similar health problems. ;We talked about it. I've worked through my early onset dementia and am doing really well.;He's still working through it. But the real reason we went to lunch was because of his Filipino workers. "They're amazing!" He said. But he's still struggling to get things done that he doesn't know how to do. Or so he thought. In the end, as we talked through it, it appears his struggle was actually due to not managing the process. ;He's so overworked (even with his team in the Philippines) that he's not managing certain people/processes…at all. ; If you're looking to hire someone to do something you don't know how to do, consider a couple things: It's definitely doable. ;I've done it. Lots of others have done it.Generally, more experienced people are more expensive.If you don't manage the process, you're unlikely to see results.Managing the process for something you don't know how to do takes either:; ;A. Accepting any outcome; ;B. A lot of time; ;C. Bringing in outsiders to help There are a couple exceptions to this. design - you don't have to know how to design to recognize good/bad designsales copy - you can hire someone to write sales copy. Pretty straight forwardI'm sure there are more… If you have other advice for getting things done which you have no idea about, I'd love to hear them! John |
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 asking me to write something from scratch… And, something I know little about? ;Forget it. This is why I hire Filipino writers.; But even they have their struggles sometimes. This was Julia trying to figure out what to write about for todays newsletter. One misconception I think most people have when outsourcing creative work (writers, graphic designers, etc) is that we're always inspired. Give us a task, the light bulb above our head turns on instantly, and we get to work. Most days, it does feel like that. The more you practice your trade, the better you get at it. The easier it becomes. But there are days when it doesn't really happen. Writer's block is a real thing. It's something that everyone who does creative work suffers from. There are days where I stare at my outline doing nothing. I know what I have to do. It's just that my brain is refusing to cooperate and I've forgotten to do something I've done a hundred times before. That was the case with this email. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to write but the idea refuses to take shape. I knew staring at it wasn't going to change things so I did something else. I had other tasks from John to give me something else to focus on. I did a few chores to give my brain a break. And when I got back to my computer, that's where I got the idea to write about how I was having a hard time finding something to write. My advice, if you're going to hire an OFS who does creative work, give them a small extra task that's slightly unrelated to what they're doing. Something that doesn't require creativity, like checking for spam email/comments. Just to give our brains a break every once in a while. How do you overcome a creative block? Any advice for me? John |
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 the perspective from your OFSs. :-) It’s taken several tries over the years but I finally have 2 awesome OFSs in place (plus a full-time employee here in the US). They take care of a wide range of things for my digital marketing agency. Once they were comfortable with their work, I asked the 3 of them to develop the onboarding process for our new clients. They had access to all of the process docs and resources we currently use, and they know what it looks like after a client has been onboarded. But beyond that, they had free rein to figure out how the overall process should look, how to document that, and how to communicate it to clients. As part of the process, they could interview me to get answers to any questions they had. They had many, many discussions about how to accomplish the project, what the outcome should look like, who would do what, what was missing, what needed to be created, etc. I made sure they had the resources they needed and then got out of their way. Guess what? They blew me away!! They gave me a formal presentation to show what they’d done, what they recommended and why, and the resources they’d developed to support the onboarding process. They came up with things I would never have thought of (and I’ve been doing this for a LONG time!). They now feel ownership for the process and are experts in how to bring a new client onboard. And they’re already working on developing the next part of our process! It just goes to show how valuable an OFS can be when you trust them to do great work. I’m now looking for my next OFS hire :-) Thanks for the great service you provide,Monica---------------- Speaking of inspiration, here's my daughters new bike, inspired by Trek's paint jobs on their olympic bikes. John |
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 two different types of work and how he accomplishes them with his OFS. I have found that Imust test a new set of instructions to ensure it gets the result before I can pass it on to others. A lot of the time I think the instructions should give the result but they do not - a step is out of place or missing etc. It takes a fair amount of work, but once the system is done, it is an asset for the business and I am not dependent on particular people that "know" how to do the work. Its all documented. In regards to work I don't want to know how to do and don't want my team to do - I think I still need to be clear on what the purpose of the work is and some kind of vision for what the final product is like. A description of the problem the work is meant to address would probably be helpful. For example, my optin rate is currently sucking on my funnel - I could give this as the problem, the purpose of the work is to create a working optin page with at least a 20% conversion from ad traffic and for it to look professional and like modern business webdesigns. With that data, I could then seek who could do this work and they would have a reasonable chance of completing the work. Thomas is doing both insourcing (the first type of task he describes) and outsourcing (the second type). I've also found that testing out instructions myself is really valuable.After my OFS worked for me for a few years I stopped testing things myself. ;I let them do the testing. ;They trust me enough to come to me with problems. John |
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 registered nurses P13,000/month. To give you an idea of how much P13,000 is, that's $260/month for a full-time registered nurse. It's no surprise why a lot of nurses and college graduates are opting to work online instead of working in a hospital. At $260/month, not only are you exposing yourself to illnesses, you also have to commute to work. We haven't taken into account the other expenses like food, clothing for work, etc.; Even we at Onlinejobs.ph don't endorse that starting salary anymore. It's just too low. That number may have worked around 10 years ago. But in our latest salary guide (https://blog.onlinejobs.ph/filipino-virtual-assistants-salary-guide) , we've started recommending a starting salary for new employees at $350/month. That's for new, inexperienced workers. They don't even have to be registered nurses. This news frustrates me because it just reminds me how underappreciated our doctors and nurses are during this pandemic. They're in the frontlines. They should be paid fairly for the work that they do and the risk they undertake.; As much as I am happy to have more nurses working online and from home, we still need nurses in the field. If our government continues to undervalue the people who risk their lives to save others, I worry about our future.---------------- We laid out a guide to salaries. ;How do you determine salaries? ;What about raises? John PS. I had 3 people ask me this past week if it's possible to hire someone with perfect English. ;The above from Julia is unedited. ;Yes, it's possible, and it's not that hard. |
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 activity. ;When he's free, he goes to the bike rather than to the TV. Sometimes I feel like Batman with the way my OFS make things easier for me. Lance W. asked if I could write about how my OFS help with my email campaigns. The process isn't as good as I want it to be...but that should change soon. ; Here's how it works for me. Any integration stuff with Mailchimp my OFS takes care of (programmer).This includes using the API to add people who sign up via OnlineJobs.ph to Mailchimp, as well as using Zapier with Clickfunnels and Mailchimp. It also includes any time we build an opt-in form. Anything technical, they hook it up. I figured out how to set up Mailchimp so things would work right for us.One of my OFS created a custom template for me so emails get sent as plain text the way I want them formatted. For sending out emails, here's how it works for me1. I write the email and post it in Mailchimp.This is the part I haven't figured out how to outsource well yet. Julia sometimes writes emails and I make comments on them.;I tried having someone else write emails based off what I dictated but it didn't work great. Maybe it was the wrong person. I need to try it again. 2. My OFS schedules them correctly 3. My OFS makes sure everything is done correctly within MailChimp. This includes images, grammar, spelling... 4. My OFS takes the email content and puts it onto my website JohnJonas.com. She schedules it to publish the night before the email is set to go out.;This allows me to double dip on content. It serves as an email newsletter and also as a permanent blog post.;I can't tell you how many times people ask me a question and I do a duckduckgo.com search for:site:johnjonas.com insurance(Try it, it will give you my best newsletters about insurance for your OFS) Unfortunately for me, this newsletter is the part of my business I have LEAST automated. I'm going to try again with getting someone else to write the content based off what I dictate. If it changes, I'll let you know how I did it.; What task have you struggled to outsource that maybe you just need to give it another try tweaking the process slightly? John PS. Maybe using my process at www.OneVAAway.com would help you hire the right person this next time? |
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 parents weren't super functional to be able to help. They were overwhelmed with life.Dentists told me to brush and floss. I didn't see the point. I wish I would have listened to people who knew more than me...people who could see farther down the road than I could. Here's a great case study we did with John Abbas. He's been down the road.He runs a podcast where his OFS help manage it and keep him on track.His OFS built the website for his podcast and does banners, forms, graphics for it.When she's not busy doing design for the podcast, she does SEO and manages the YouTube channel. It's a classic example of an OFS helping to grow a business. https://blog.onlinejobs.ph/case-study-vas-podcasting-mentor-nation-podcast-john-abbas John |
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 net that anyone can use as long as they contribute to the fund. To be an SSS member, all we need to do is to register through any of the SSS branches scattered all over the Philippines or apply online (https://member.sss.gov.ph/members/rcsmi/newApplication.html). Once the registration process is complete, that's when we can apply for an SSS UM(Unified Multipurpose) ID. Within the SSS ID is a unique SSS number, which is used to track contributions and benefits. Like in the US, once you become an SSS member, you're given a social security number that you use for the rest of your life. Your contributions, loans and benefits would be associated with that number. This is also the reason why SSS IDs are one of the most accepted government issued IDs in the Philippines. Each ID is unique and there's little incentive or benefit in faking an SSS ID. If your number isn't in the system or doesn't match their records, you won't receive any benefits. Anyone can contribute to the SSS. In fact, they take contributions as low as P10 ($0.20) per month. This was done so anyone can take advantage of SSS benefits, even the unemployed.; But most Filipinos wait until they are employed to become an SSS member so their employer would share in the payments. Under Philippine Law, legally registered businesses must share in the SSS contributions of their employees, which can range from 30% to 50% of the contribution. The more you pay into the fund, the more you get in terms of benefits. So even if you can get away with paying 20 cents a month, you'd want to contribute as much to the fund as you can.; Why is it important for workers AND businesses to contribute to SSS? Because the SSS provides benefits that employers and employees would otherwise have to shoulder on their own. The biggest benefit most people get from SSS is the maternity benefit. SSS covers the salary during maternity leave. SSS also covers sickness, disability and calamity benefits. And when a worker completes 120 contributions, they're eligible for pension when they turn 60 years old. The SSS also has loan instruments that contribute to the Philippine version of a credit score. Most Filipinos take out their first loan through the SSS so they can slowly build credit. When you establish a good credit record within the SSS, it's easier to get a credit card or apply for home or car loans in the future.---------------- Consider paying your OFS SSS contributions John |
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 or may not make you late (we're rarely late), but it's irritating...and it's just...TIME. It's time sitting around.It's time away from doing something I want to do.It's time I coulda... Speaking of time...let's talk about timezones and the Philippines. People always want to know about having VAs work on their timezone. ;Is it possible? ;How do you make it work? Here are Marcella's thoughts: "Our graphics/video guy pretty much has full schedule flexibility as long as he produces the videos and graphics timely.;Our other Virtual Assistant has to overlap our business hours for at least 4 hours of her shift. It works out for her because she can work around time with her family and pick up the other 4 hours earlier or later in the day depending on her schedule.;She also pushes some of her hours over to the weekend so she has more flexibility during the week, with her children and their school hours. So it works." Here are my thoughts on making this work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka2cImM59SA The gist is, yes, they can work on your timezone. But make sure that's the expectation when you hire. And, you'll probably find it easier if you hire someone who is already working the night shift. Of course, if you're in Australia, none of this matters. John |
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 needs to be settled. He can come back whenever he’s ready. I know you guys might think it’s too generous. But I’m not worried. I trust Kiel because: He has worked for me for YEARS. In fact, he’s one of the first people I hired.He has NEVER taken advantage of our generous leave policyWhen his mom was in the hospital, he sent me a photo to let me know what was happening. He’s going through a lot right now. The least I can do is to give him the support he needs. This is normal. Bad things happen. What’s not normal is when an OFS completely disappears after a family emergency. So, years ago I recruited someone and I emailed her her first task. She had her sister reply to me and say, “I’m sorry she can’t work. Our mom died. So she won’t be able to work for you.” And I was like, “No, I’ll just wait. You can go take care of your mom. That’s fine. I’ll just wait,” And the sister replied and said, “No, sorry sir. She’s not going to be able to work for you at all.” And I was like, that’s super duper weird.; I was frustrated because I spent the time recruiting and I thought I found a good person.; And I don’t know what happened. But I’ve seen this happen a number of times where someone has an emergency right after the job begins. I started to think that maybe they feel like they’re not qualified for the job after all. It wasn’t what they thought. So they made up an excuse for why they’re going to quit. In that case, in the beginning of a work relationship, if you feel that you recruited well, try and keep the person. But if the family emergency happens right at the beginning of the relationship, they might be using it as an excuse to get out of what they just agreed to. Maybe they found out that the job wasn’t what they thought it was. ; Consider this a blessing that you haven't gone months down the road with someone who then realizes and disappears. John |
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, which is a BIG change. It’s a change for everyone because he’s the first of the grandkids to move away and move to college. He’s the oldest grandkid.; Change is hard. Sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s just different.; Anna M. emailed me about change. ;She asks:; “Do you have any tips about transitioning an hourly VA to salary?” And then she continues: “I have never paid salary before. I’m not sure what the expectations are. What is included? What are the extras? For example, are holidays included? What about vacation time? What happens if she asks for a few extra days off. How do you manage productivity without knowing the hours as measurement?” Here’s my answer to this. The reality is nothing has to change except you’re going to pay her the same amount every month from now on regardless of what happens.; Are holidays included? Yes, holidays are now included. Vacation time? Well, you can give a specific number of vacation days per year. Or you can do what we do and just say, “You can take whatever days off you want, just let me know ahead of time.” I’ve never had someone take advantage of this.; What if she asks for a few extra days off? Then, fine. Good for you for making her life better. Measuring productivity without the number of hours as a measurement? Doesn’t seem to be an issue for me. You can usually tell just by the daily report. Like, what’s going on in the report. Has their productivity dropped? Has it increased? Has it changed? You should be able to tell just from what’s going on in your business without needing to say exactly how many hours were worked.; You don’t have to do any tax changes for this. You don’t have to include insurance or SSS or anything like that. They are options but you don’t have to add anything else.; Most (but not all) Filipino workers will prefer a fixed salary over an hourly wage. John |
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 most trusted OFS, Julia, to help me define the roles that we need. Actually, I turned to her because she’s involved in all these things. And she has helped me come up with some ideas. So here’s what happened. She said promoting from within would be a good idea, for the social media role . We already have someone working on social media. We can promote them and give them more responsibility. That takes some responsibility off of her (Julia).She (Julia) really prefers to write and edit. So she can not do social media. She can help write the newsletter and help edit the content. So, before I go changing people’s responsibilities, I thought it would be good to define some roles.; Content manager: Writing newslettersWriting blog postsUpdating old blog postsEditing social mediaPlans and creates a schedule for releasing the blog posts Social media manager: Planning social media posts in advancedPosting and scheduling postsCreates social media engagement guidelinesMonitors the analytics Content creators Writes the captions for social mediaWrites the updates for old blog postsMakes the videos and imagesResponds to comments and DMs on social media Content Editor Edits the newsletters and blog postsGives feedback to the content creators I don't think it's necessary for you to define roles for your OFS. ;I didn't for a long time and it has worked out just fine. Don't stress about this. Have you defined any roles for your OFS? What role titles do you have? John |
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 said, “Well, I don’t NEED any of this. I don’t need this particular thing in it. I don't NEED the garage at all. I don’t know. Life changes. “ And he said “NEED. Isn’t that a funny word? What do we need?" So I got an email the other day from Jared H. who gave me a bunch of questions that he asks when determining salary for a potential team member that involves their "need". -----What's the bare minimum you need to survive and pay the bills each month?;Most people don't want to be in survival mode and want to have some extra for doing fun things and going out to eat and such, what is that number for you each month?;Do you own a house or rent? Do you travel? What kind of hobbies do you have and do you feel like you are able to spend money on those hobbies?------ Might be interesting to look at asking your OFS what they need each month and what they want each month towards determining salary. This applies to current and future hires. Let me know what answers you come up with. John |
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 for us. ;Having the kids take care of them was painful because they were bad at it. When I realized how bad they were at it, I did some research on my own, figured some things out, then I taught them how to better care for them. Now it's super easy. Every day kids go out and eggs come in. When you have;effective training, the limits to what your OFS can do are pretty small.; Nina H. sent me this email where she talks about all the different things her OFS does for her business. She does research for my content and does almost all of my graphics now, she does proofreading and transcription for my contracts (policies and procedures and other documents). She is now doing social media content and posting. She helps me with my schedule, she develops articles and makes slide decks for all of my presentations and courses. She created my entire course workbook and did an absolutely stunning job that required minimal revisions. She has been helping me revamp my website and course cards. She can do anything by providing her with a short how-to/training video.; And there's the key to Nina's "magic" OFS. ; Training. When her OFS was just starting out, she could only do a couple of things. But with the training Nina provided, she's now a rockstar.; With video, it's easier to explain complicated tasks. There's no room for confusion because you're showing them exactly how you want things done. Sending a video is just as easy as sending an email. I use Snagit. John PS. Figuring out Snagit;is what changed my ability to manage 5 people into being able to manage 20 people.; |
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 course to take in college, for example. That should be a personal decision. But not in the Philippines. The entire family has a say on this. You’re lucky if what the family wants and what you want match. Or your family understands your decision.;But if they don’t and you insist on taking the course you want, they’re going to talk about it for YEARS.; Your parents aren’t happy with the fact that your boss can’t extend your time off? It’s easier to just quit your job and give in to familial pressure. At least when you quit, your boss stops contacting you. Your parents are never going to let you forget about that ONE TIME you put your job over your family. Online Filipino workers have it worse because the older generation still can’t wrap their heads around the idea that you can have a real job working from home.; Let me give you an example. I have a neighbor who’s a single parent (husband works abroad) juggling 2 full-time jobs. She’s the designated caregiver for her sick mother-in-law. She’s also responsible for running all the errands related to her in-law's medical needs. On top of running errands for her own parents who can't go out due to the pandemic. Doesn’t matter that she’s juggling 2 full-time jobs and she’s also taking care of her son. Doesn't matter that she has siblings and siblings-in-law who can share in the responsibilities. Working from home isn’t “real” work. Her siblings and in-laws work;in an office. They have 'real jobs'.; If she has time to stay at home, she can take on one more responsibility. And another one. And another.; That's why some of us just quit. At some it point, it's just too much work.; I agree, it is;frustrating to have an OFS quit because their grandmother/cousin/uncle got sick and they have to take care of them. It doesn’t make sense. Why should we shoulder that responsibility? We have jobs too and they're just as important. Because in the eyes of the family, we’re the ones who can. We work from home so we can afford to take one one more responsibility. It's easier to just give in. Be nice to your people.; Diego emailed me this week and said;"I have been too hard on my VAs for too many years and it has backfired on me." Cut them some slack. John |
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 recommendations for helping your team to improve their grammar or sound "more American"? My answer to that was: You're right, most are 90-95%. I have a couple thoughts. 1. I've seen multiple people who work for me improve their grammar over the years. They weren't perfect. Now they are. I'm not sure what happened. 2. I've hired a number of people over the years with perfect English. ;100%. ;If you recruit well and are careful with it, it's not that hard to find these people. I asked my OFS’ how they improved their grammar over the years. They all gave me the same answer: assimilation. I send them a lot of training videos and emails. They all got used to the way I write and the way I talk. That influenced their grammar. Another OFS added that having a comfortable salary also helped. She subscribes to Netflix and Amazon which gives her access to so many American TV shows and movies. She also reads a lot of books written by American authors. Last but not least, I think feedback also helps. I tell my writers when I notice their phrasing is a bit off. It doesn’t sound weird to them so I have to point it out so they know what to avoid. Things like - "Fill up the form" - we say "Fill OUT the form"- "You can avail of this..." - we say "You can take advantage of this..." or "you can get this..." I finally just said "don't use the word 'avail'. It's technically correct, but we just don't use it." Small corrections like these can go a long ways toward helping them sound more like you. Do you have tips or things you've done to help your OFS improve? ;Please reply. John |
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 Onlinejobs.ph. And he seconds, “Find them at Onlinejobs.ph”.; He sends it to me and I didn’t know what kind of trainer they were talking about.; “Is it a language trainer? A marketing trainer or what? “ “No. Like a personal fitness trainer.” So people are hiring on Onlinejobs.ph a personal fitness coach in the Philippines.; It’s amazing the variety of talent you can find, especially in this new, virtual, quarantine, socially distanced world. Is there something you need help with in your business but thought you couldn't find that before? Or, something in your personal life that you need help with? Just look at OnlineJobs.ph and see if you can find someone who can help. John |
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 with?”; “What funny thing happened at school today?” I just want a daily report from them of what’s going on. And mostly, I just want to interact with them.; With my people in the Philippines, it’s not that different. I want a daily report to know what they’re working on.I want to know what's going on in the business and what got done and what didn't. ; But also, I just want an excuse to interact with them. A reason for them to tell me what they’re doing so that I can give feedback and provide direction.; So, here’s what daily reports look like. I ask people to answer 3 questions:- What did you work on today- What problems did you run into?- What can I help you with? Some reports are super simple. Some are long. ;Depends on the person and the type of work they're doing. I rarely get answers to all 3 questions. ;Usually, I just get "What did you work on today." But, occasionally I do get problems they ran into. Often they'll also propose a solution. And then, because they know those are the questions, every once in a while people come to me with what I can help them with.; To me, the daily report keeps the working relationship working.; What questions do you ask your OFS in their daily reports?; John |
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 to a pumpkin patch right now which has a whole bunch of unique, specialty pumpkins. I laughed at it because she’s really just looking for pumpkins that have warts on them and are really, really ugly.; One of the things about the Philippines is it’s a different experience than elsewhere but without the ugly. Filipinos are super duper loyal which is different from anywhere else that I’ve ever seen right now. Especially in Western countries where loyalty towards an employer has completely gone out the window.; It used to be you would get a job and you work there for 40, 50 years and retire and they’d pay you a pension. Now, the average person stays in their job for like 2-3 years and they move on to something else. There’s no loyalty left.; Yet in the Philippines, that loyalty still exists and it’s really amazing. Like the first person I ever hired in 2005, Joven, still works for me today. And Julia who I hired in 2011 still works for me today. It’s super common that if you give people a job, as long as you’re willing to treat them well and employ them, they’ll work for you for a really long time. Which is really, really nice for a small business owner. It means you don’t have to get every single standard operating procedure right the first time because they’re still going to work for you. They’re going to work for you for a very long time and you can teach them. Fix mistakes and correct. And that loyalty will pay off over and over again.; And that’s one of the reasons we stick with the Philippines. ; ; ; ; John PS. Want to know more cultural reasons we hire in the Philippines rather than elsewhere? Check out my book at www.OutsourcingLever.com |
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 several months later, her 6 x 6 cube finally arrived over the weekend. This time, she solved the cube in less than 30 minutes. When I asked how she managed to do it so quickly, she responded, “it’s just like the 3 x 3, with a bit more.” That’s the same explanation she gave me when she learned how to solve her 4 x 4 and 5 x 5.; And when I got her the 2 x 2 and the pyramid, her explanation was “it’s like the 3 x 3, only a little different”. My daughter didn’t automatically learn how to solve these puzzles as soon as she learned how to solve the 3 x 3. It took a lot of work and a lot of practice. She learned to solve all of them because she focused on the puzzle she had first before she asked for something more challenging. This is why teaching and training your OFS one task at a time works. When they’ve mastered a task, it’s easier to see how one task relates to another. You’re building on something you already know. It’s easier to learn something when you’re confident about the skills that you already have. And yeah, I already ordered the gear cube. It’s like a Rubik's cube but you also have to line up the gears and not just the colors. Let’s see how long it’s going to take her to solve that one! John PS. This email was written by my OFS (all except this PS part...which I'm adding after). She came up with the concept, wrote it, added the photos, and the teaching part.;If you're questioning whether you can hire good talent or not, go look again on OnlineJobs.ph.; |
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 technical problems. But the further along I got in my business the more I valued my time.; Technical research takes time. And mental energy.;I want to spend that time and energy with my family. So now, I ask;2 of my OFS, Jam and Dhec, for their opinions. They’re the guys who solve technical issues for me. Julia gathered their answers below It can easily be resolved using 2 things.; VPNWith a good VPN, your OFS can mask their IP to show that they are accessing online tools from your country, or sometimes, even your state! This is also the same way some people are able to watch Netflix shows not meant to be shown in their own country.;While many tools can work with VPNs, there are some who are able to detect VPNs and will block any attempts by your OFS to use them. For this, another way employers were able to resolve this is using a Remote Desktop connection.;Remote Connection Tool/Remote Desktop.;The simplest setup for this is to have a second computer in your location set to receive a remote desktop request. The OFS will then connect to that computer and use that computer as if it is their own. Since that computer is already in your location using your own internet connection, this allows the OFS to navigate and use the tools without issues.;;Another advantage of this is even if your OFS loses connection, the remote desktop will still have most of the tools available once they reconnect.;Remote desktop also has the advantage for employers with Static IP connections to have their OFS use the remote desktop with the static IP address. This is useful for tools that require IP address registration for access.;A remote desktop can also be done with an on-site server or using a cloud server (https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces/) if you have the infrastructure or budget for it. The good thing about this set up is the security. It can also be cost effective if you have a lot of processes that you need to run online. However, if your or your OFS internet connection is bad, you will experience lag or have repeated disconnections.;;;If you have other solutions (or questions about this), I'd love to hear them. John;; |
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 during the day, I'm always grumpy, and I'm not productive. ;Would it be possible for me to work during the day my time?" I was like, "Of course!" When I asked for the night shift I didn't even think about how it might affect him. The company just offered it to me so I said yes. Now, I know better. ;People on my team can work whenever they want, except for the few for which we have a schedule (so that we can cover 24/7 customer service). Can you get people to work on your time zone? Yes, it is possible to get an OFS to work the night shift. In your time zone. In fact, some people prefer it! Take Harold, he's part of our customer service team. He prefers to work at night because he's used to it and he can stay awake for his newborn through the night. Ben from our social media team also prefers to work nights so he can take care of his son early in the morning. His mother-in-law takes over the rest of the day. Drew, also from our social team, is a call center veteran. She works nights because it's cooler and her internet's faster at night . The key to finding an OFS who can work the night shift starts in the recruitment process. In the job post, you can specify that the person must have call center experience or have worked in the call center. They're used to shift work so asking them to work in your time zone would be easier. Another way to figure out if an OFS can work nights is to ask whether they're early birds or night owls in the email interview. There are a lot of Filipino workers who prefer to work nights because it's cooler, there are fewer distractions, and the internet is faster here at night. John |
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 of qualified OFS from going for customer service positions.; But now that a lot of Filipinos are working from home, noise cancelling headphones and applications have become cheaper and more accessible.; A good pair of noise cancelling headphones used to cost more than P3,000 (around $60) which is a lot for them. Now you can get a good one for half that price. And now there’s also Krisp.ai, an active noise cancelling app that works with most online meeting and VOIP software. So if you’re looking for someone to do customer service, you now have more options for clear audio in the Philippines! John |
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 high school mountain bike race. Which again, was amazing.; (my 14yr old on top of the podium. Her first race win!) We got back Sunday and my wife left early this morning on a trip for herself. And after she left I was overwhelmed.; Like, she did so much work while I was gone in the house. The house looked great. But then we came home and it was like a tornado hit our house.; From unpacking from my bike trip, from the second bike trip, from the race, from taking care of all the food. It was like a tornado hit our house. The place is a disaster.; And then my wife’s gone all week. And I haven’t worked in a week.; And I’m overwhelmed. And I’m frustrated. And I yelled at my kids this morning when I shouldn’t have. *sigh* And then I sat down to work. I got through my primary email in 20 minutes after having not really been at a computer in a week and a half. I'm not sure how... And then... I realize how grateful I am for the team, the people I have in the Philippines who work for me. I read through multiple conversations where just really good things are happening. They’re communicating with each other. My email is reasonable. Things are just going really well.; I was thankful that I had built this team as I had built it. I am thankful for the talent that I have on my team, the talented people in the Philippines.; It’s not an overnight thing. It doesn’t happen quickly. It takes time. But you just have to start with one person.; And starting with one person will open the door to bringing in another person. And another person. And eventually building a team of people that will take care of things for you. So that when you’re overwhelmed, work is still going really well. ; If you're overwhelmed, try this.;Go to www.OneVAAway.com. ;Buy it. It's $49. Take 1 hour and follow the steps to learn what to do and get your job posted. Seriously, it's not a long process.; This is the first step towards not being overwhelmed is posting your job. John |
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 letters. I was also reminded that my 9th grader drew in block letters when she was in 1st grade. And I felt really dumb that she figured it out in 1st grade and it took me until 9th grade.; But it was also amazing to me that she was so much better than me at something like this. Then, I thought about the first time I realized that one of my OFS was better than me at something. It was a programmer and it was very early on. I thought I was a really good programmer.I hired this guy and he was much better than me. ; And it was super cool to realize, 'I thought they were just going to be okay. And it turns out, they were actually better than me at it.' Over the years I've realized, quite a few times, that my team members are better than me at things. It may not always be the thing I hired them to do, but they’re better than me at something. Whatever that thing is, oftentimes it’s useful in my business. Sometimes it’s not.; Right now in my business I know they're better than me at- writing- social media- programming- design- all paid advertising- video/audio editing The interesting thing is, I used to be good at all of these except for design and social media.; What are your OFS better than you at? John |
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 money. He hires there because the pool of talent is vast and gifted. He said: “We always look for the most expensive people on OnlineJobs.ph because it usually means they’re the most experienced.”; So far, that strategy hasn’t let him down. He’s happy with every OFS he’s hired. He adds, “I can say that it’s not only given me some of the best team members that I’ve ever had, but dear friends and I would go so far as to say practically family.” What do you think about Matt’s strategy?What's your salary strategy? John PS. I'm somewhere in between. ;Sometimes I go high, sometimes low. Depends on the position and the feeling I have for the people I'm interviewing. |
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? This is weird. Or...that's what I thought. The weird reason behind this is because the Philippine government and most Philippine businesses can’t wrap their head around the idea that a Filipino worker can have a stable job working online. That's just me ranting. The short answer is having a COE allows them to take out loans. Here's what my OFS says about it: Remember a few emails ago I talked about SSS and how taking an SSS loan helps Filipinos establish credit (/what-sss-is-and-why-its-important-to-your-ofs/). Let’s say I now have enough credit to take out an even bigger loan, say a car loan. I can only take out a car loan through a bank. And in order to take out a bank loan, I need to offer proof of income. That means I have to show the bank I'm: 1. employed or 2. a business owner. Showing employment is easier. All we need to do is show payslips and a COE. But most OFS don't have that. Even if we show the banks that we have a salary that comes in regularly, it’s not considered proof of income. BUT the banks will recognize it as proof of income IF we can also present a COE. Their rationale for this is they want to make sure that the money that’s going into our account is coming from an employer and not from illegal activities. But what if we just register as a sole proprietor/independent contractor business? Won’t that make it easier to take a loan? Ironically, in order for us to register as an independent contractor, we would still need a COE. The first step of the business registration process requires us to go to our barangay (town) hall and declare ourselves as independent contractors. We have to make this declaration so we can be exempted from most business requirements like renting out an office and getting the paperwork to use that office (fire clearance, health clearance, utilities permit, garbage permit, etc). If we can show that we’re working from home, they’ll issue a certificate that we can take to the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and our local government. This would waive most of these requirements. And to prove that we work from home, most barangays require that we show a COE. Why do we need a COE? The explanation they gave us is that a COE is proof that our online work is our primary source of income. However, in recent years, some banks and government offices have started changing their policies. Instead of asking for a COE, they’ve started accepting certificates of engagement instead. A certificate of engagement is essentially a COE, the only difference is that you’re simply acknowledging that your OFS is an independent contractor and that you’re currently using their services. This offers proof of income for the OFS without tying down the business with a legally binding document. What does a COE look like? Super simple, download my template. John |
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 of disappeared.” He didn’t hear from her for two months, and when he reviewed her most recent work, it was not up to standard. When she emailed Drew after two months, she told him she had “been out of town.” Maybe she “got stuck,” because she ;felt overwhelmed or confused about a project and she was too embarrassed to ask for help. <<<a VERY common cause of the disappearing VAMaybe she was dealing with a difficult family situation or death of a loved one.;Maybe she was hit hard by natural disaster and didn’t want to disclose the details. I’ve seen examples of all of the above situations that resulted in the disappearing VA. I’ve even had to work through some of them with my own VAs. The disappearing VA is the number one problem business owners face with Online Filipino Specialists. And almost 100% of the time, the root of the problem is bad communication and embarrassment on the part of your VA. With good, consistent communication, it can usually be avoided or resolved. But you have to navigate situations with patience and, as Drew puts it, a lot of “over-communication.” Drew discovered and shared a great tip that he uses to stay on top of communication with his VAs now: “I keep everything in WhatsApp because I feel like that’s an easy way to communicate internationally. And you can have that feature where you can see if they read [your messages] or not so you know [if they’re getting your] messages. Where email...can be ‘iffy.’” This kind of regular “checking-in” can keep you in-the-know with your VAs and help you spot issues before they develop into a disappearing VA disaster. Here's another piece of advice Drew shares about good communication with your OFS: “My suggestion is really vet people. How much do you want them to communicate with you? If you want it to be daily or within a reasonable amount of time, then communicate that like with someone a bunch at the beginning and see if they’re going to reciprocate that level of communication. And if they’re not, it’s not a good fit. Once they get going, [their communication] is not going to get better in my experience.” https://blog.onlinejobs.ph/case-study-ofs-network-marketing-coaching-case-study-drew-grimm John |
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 you upgrade your internet. Your monthly bill will go down.” Yep! Do it. So, they put me at 200 Mbps and there was an instant difference. I didn't think there would be. I was surprised. After a couple of months, I decided to upgrade it again and see if I notice another difference, I called back and it was just a little more to go 400 Mbps. Like, an additional $10 from $80 a month. Yep, another noticeable speed bump. So, after another couple of months, I called them back and they said, ”Actually if you upgrade to gigabit internet and add a phone line, it gets cheaper. It goes from, $90 to $80 a month.” Do it! Internet in the Philippines is not the same as it is in the US.; Just how different is it? My OFS wrote about it a couple of months ago: /what-internet-options-exist-in-the-philippines/ When reading through these internet prices, figure out how much their internet costs as a percentage of their salary.;Then think about how much your internet costs as a percentage of YOUR income.; It's quite different. John |
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 guys use Grammarly for everything.; So I had my writers download it and start using it. I’m going to let you guys know how it goes and if I see any improvement. Another thing you guys suggested is italki.com. Ziv R. paid for his OFS to have one on one lessons. They cost him $13/lesson and he saw significant improvement after 3 lessons. And it turns out that my OFS has an Office 360 account. So, she installed Microsoft Editor. It works like Grammarly and comes free with her Office 360 account. She also mentioned that she also uses https://hemingwayapp.com/. She found this useful for blog writing and it’s completely free! I really appreciate the feedback. And if you guys have more tips to share, I’d love to hear them. John PS. it's fall here, and the riding is fantastic!; (my wife on the coyote hollow trail in Heber, UT) |
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 social media twice a week- responds to messages- created a TikTok account for her business- strategizing how they can market her affiliated links on social media. That's just 2 weeks. Imagine how much more Juvy and Karina can achieve in 2 months or 2 years. Gain your OFS trust. ;Then trust your OFS. John PS. In my book (available free at www.OutsourcingLever.com) I talk about ways to gain your OFS trust. |
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 own LLCs for businesses they run. Not so in the Philippines. I got an interesting email recently asking whether you need to set up a company in the Philippines. Like, you apply for a business permit and set up shop there. The reason they're asking is that they want to grow their team. A Filipino entity would show that the business is stable and serious. It might help with recruiting new OFS. Setting up shop in the country shows you’re committed to hiring in the Philippines. I’ve seen other people do it but we don’t. Here's my experience: 1. In order to own a business in the Philippines you have to be a Philippines citizen. It's not like in the US where you just set up an LLC and have to have a registered agent. ;You actually have to have a Filipino citizen be part owner. 2. We tried for a year and a half to set up a business there. It was really hard. So much red tape. So many hoops to jump through. ;Really difficult. 3. About 10 years ago I had a friend who successfully did it. Here's how.- he traveled to the Philippines- he got $15,000 (USD) cash- he had a team member he trusted to be the citizen owner- he had a connection with someone in the local government- he paid $15,000 to get his business set up in 1 week. Basically, it was bribe money for multiple people to get them to look the other way and put him at the front of the list.- he got an office and outfitted it (like $10k USD)- he got pictures of his whole team set up in this nice office space- 2 years later his business completely changed and he shut it all down. Kudos to those who managed to do it. We never pushed through with it. The process was just so long and problematic and opened up our business to a lot of new/different liabilities. In the end, we gave up.; But that doesn’t mean you can’t show stability and commitment in other ways.; Offering them a full-time, salaried job with paid leave is a good start. You can also offer your OFS benefits like healthcare or share in their SSS and Philhealth payments. Giving them a yearly raise and bonuses also shows that your business is stable, and you’re committed to your employees.; Don't over-complicate things. John PS. Want a simple way to find a great OFS? www.OneVAAway.com. ;My system attempts to make the fastest, simplest, and most sure way to find and hire a great OFS. |
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 an entity is, so that's not really a good option. What we do instead is that I send my employees the money to have them pay for their own insurance.; “John, how do you know they’re actually paying their SSS and their health insurance? How do you know they’re not using that money elsewhere?” That's simple. I only send them the money AFTER they’ve shown me receipts. I’m willing to pay for a lot of things that make my OFS’ lives better.I want to help them. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to trust them blindly.I'm not just going to give them the money, no questions asked.; And this is where some of the problems come in when working with an OFS. Filipinos are trustworthy people. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn't exercise some common sense.; We also have a computer upgrade program. ;We set aside $250/year for them to buy a new computer. We don't send them the money until they show us the receipt for the new computer (and the new computer). Ask for receipts! John PS. I have a full discussion about benefits you can pay for on my blog/5-benefits-you-might-pay-for-your-ofs/ |
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 $0.50 - $1 lower than their asking price. After 3 months, after they've proven themselves, he gives them $1-$2 more than their asking price. Guiseppe doesn't automatically hire the most expensive OFS either. How much he offers depends on two things: "1) How well defined are the roles and responsibilities. If I need someone to jump in and figure it out or if I need them to tell me how we're going to do it, I set the rate higher because I need someone who can bring experience and independent thought to the table. If there's an exact process doc and instructions that they can follow to the letter, the rate is lower. ;2) Sensitivity of continuity. If this person were to leave, how much would it affect our operation? As a result, I pay VERY well for salespeople (about 2-3X what BPOs offer) because losing a sales rep would cost me over $10,000 in lost revenue during the time it would take to replace them.;Also, FWIW, I've learned that I can get way more mileage out of benefits than I can get out of salary. Health insurance, 2 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks off for Christmas, 14 bank holidays, reimbursements for going to a hotel during typhoons, and a family leave policy in case if they need to prioritize their family over work. My main sales guy just took two weeks of paternity leave and his wife said to him "you can't quit this job".; Do you do the same thing as Tola and Guiseppe? Or do you do things differently? I'd love to hear about it. John |
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 kids to disguise themselves as something evil and dark, then go from house to house begging, and if the people don't give you sugar for your begging you're allowed to do something mean to them ("Trick or treat!"). Then afterwards my kids and I have a battle about how much of the candy they "worked so hard for" that they get to keep. I say none. They say all.; And one more thing...It's not a "holiday" (schools don't have it off...banks don't have it off...)! Ok...my rant over...on to the Philippines... Halloween is on October 31.All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are on November 1st and 2nd. Here's what Julia wrote:--------------------Quick trivia. Did you know that the Philippines celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day around the same time Mexicans celebrate Dia de Los Muertos? And there are a lot of similarities to how we celebrate it. We both go to cemeteries. And we both offer food and drink to our loved ones. We also have altars. We don’t do the parades and costumes like Halloween. But in some places around the country, there would be parties in the cemeteries. ; The reason is because the tradition came from Mexico. Back when Spain colonized the Philippines, Mexico and the Philippines had strong trade relations through the Galleon Trade (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_galleon). Our celebrations aren’t as elaborate as the Mexican Day of the Dead, but it’s still a beloved tradition nevertheless. Typically, your OFS might ask to take November 1 and 2 off to celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day (we call it “Undas”) with their families at the cemetery. But since 2020, cemeteries have been closed during the week of Undas to discourage people from celebrating at the same time and avoid crowding the cemeteries.; Even though a lot of places are slowly opening up for vaccinated people, most local governments have deemed it necessary to continue with the closure of cemeteries during that week.; What does this mean for you and your OFS? Even though most can’t go to the cemeteries, there’s a chance that your worker might still ask to take holiday leave. So if they open up the conversation, you’ll have to talk to them about it. Because of the ongoing restrictions, some of your workers might opt to ask for leave before or after the first week of November. If they’re already vaccinated, and their city allows cemetery visits, they might want to go and continue with their traditions even if it’s not on the exact day. Some might still ask to take a holiday leave on November 1 or 2. They might opt instead to celebrate at home and participate in online Mass or remembrance events. Some might opt not to take their holiday leave at all. Even though local travel is now allowed, the quarantine requirements might discourage them from going.---------------- Now that's the kind of holiday I can get behind. ;Gather with family. Celebrate your ancestors and those who have gone before to make you who you are. It's no wonder why Disney's Coco is one of my favorite movies. John PS. there are a lot more cultural things I talk about in my book The Outsourcing Lever. ;It's free. |
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 anything I say on this subject. I’m just going to tell you what we’ve done. In my opinion, you can’t do this. You can’t write a contract and enforce it.; Actually...you could...It’s just not worth it. THIS IS JUST MY OPINION! I mean, you can write a contract. I’m sure it will be binding in the Philippines. The Philippines is a very law abiding country, generally. Their laws are strict. But if someone were to do something to you, what would you do? Would you fly there and take them to court?; There are so few things that would be worth this amount of trouble that it's just not worth it. ; You can have a contract. Most Filipinos want to sign a contract. So that part about it is completely reasonable. They expect it because they want the formality.; But typically, we don’t do it because I know I can’t enforce it. ;It’s not something I would ever go there to enforce.; I've never seen someone else enforce it either. This doesn't mean you shouldn't do a contract. ;I think contracts are a good idea. ;They put expectations in place. ;They give you an agreement to look back on. They provide some security to the person that you hired that you're serious about hiring them and providing work for them.;Filipinos like contracts. If it does ever come to having to enforce something in court, I would probably hire a Filipino lawyer...which would not be hard on Onlinejobs.ph. You could also hire someone to help you with a contract.; John |
I bought some bamboo toilet paper the other day to try and do something good for the Earth. Just testing.When they showed up, I assigned my 8-year-old son to go and distribute them throughout the house and then to put the extras in the closet. He actually did a pretty good job of distributing them throughout the house. Although he put them on top of the toilets rather than underneath the sinks where they belong.; But then in my closet, he didn’t know what to do with them. So, he just filled in every empty space in a cupboard which is where towels go. And it’s completely non-functional... ...But he did what I asked him to do. Which is kind of like an OFS in the Philippines if you don’t give good instructions. I thought my instructions were pretty good. But clearly, they were not what I wanted. So, he didn’t do it how I wanted it done. He did what he thought was right given the circumstances and given what he knew. When something doesn’t go right with your OFS, consider that maybe they did what they thought was right given the circumstances and what you have given them. I can't tell you how many times I've done this over the years. ;I create some instructions. ;I think they're complete and good. ;I send it to one of my OFS.; What they do is completely different than what I imagine. I go back through my instructions and find "Oh...yeah...my instructions were super crappy!" And I've seen this tons of times from other employers. ; They're not purposefully doing it wrong. ;There's a reason they're doing it wrong. John |
Just a reminder that today is a holiday in the Philippines. All Saints' Day Tomorrow is too. All Souls' Day Not everyone will take it off, but many will.; If your OFS doesn't show up today, that's why. Want to know about holidays ahead of time? ;We created (and maintain) a calendar of holidays for you.https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/[email protected]&ctz=Asia/Manila Add this URL to your calendar, or click it and then click the "+Google Calendar" link in the bottom right corner. We also have a full explanation of holidays and PTO. John |
I remember the first time I hired someone from the Philippines. ; "Jake". ;(I changed his name to protect myself from you trying to hire him...although he's super loyal to me). I wanted him to do some website work for me but I didn't want to give him access to my hosting account. I was scared he would steal something or mess something up. After a week of him not being able to do his job because I wouldn't give him access, I finally gave in and gave it to him. Guess what happened? NOTHING! Or...well...EVERYTHING! He didn't steal anything or mess anything up. He didn't take my domain or my website or my idea. He just did his job. Everything I had hoped he would/could do was now happening. It just took me giving him access to what he needed. It made my life so much easier. So when other people send me the same question, like the one Jim B. emailed me: Hi John I’m considering hiring someone overseas to manage my quickbooks accounting work.; Any tips on how to secure myself?; Obviously I don’t think I would give them my bank feed information (I would scan/email those) but access to credit card accounts, etc I think is safe.;What is your experience with this? Here's my answer. Start small and then grow from there. Give them access to whatever is necessary for them to do their job. ;Then as you gain trust in them, give them more.; If this were me, at this point I'd give them my bank feed info. I want them to do everything. My opinion is that having an OFS is no different than a local employee. ;Theft risk is about the same. John |
This morning, before school, Brigg (my 8yr old) comes to my wife with her phone in his hand and says "You need to buy me this." Ummmmm...I'm pretty sure that's not how it works! In the end, he was on Amazon and wanted us to buy him a book.Ok, yes. I'll buy it. ;I always buy books.; I’m not sure how this is in the UK, Canada or Australia. But in the US, if I want to buy something, it’s never a question of whether or not I can get it or it’s cheaper somewhere else. Like, I want a new iPhone. I just buy a new iPhone. And I’m pretty dang confident I'm not going to find it cheaper somewhere else. It’s super easy.; But in the Philippines, this is not the case.; People often want to know how to buy their OFS a laptop. Or how to buy them some other equipment. Maybe an air conditioner or headphones. It hasn’t always been very easy. IN THE PAST...So, in the past, I have bought things in the US and shipped them. Which is super sketchy. You can't send it postal (which is by far the cheapest), you have to ship DHL. Shipping a laptop was like $250.I’ve bought things in the US and sent it home with a relative, who was in the US, who was going back soon.; TODAY...One of the reasons I did this was because in the past, it wasn’t always easy for someone to buy a laptop or a MacBook Air in the Philippines. It’s still, today, more expensive in the Philippines than in is in the US. A lot of consumer electronics are more expensive in the Philippines even though wages are lower. This is due to import taxes. For example, a MacBook Air in the USA costs $999.;In the Philippines it's 54,990php which is about $1082. So how do you send stuff to your people in the Philippines? Well, it turns out, with shipping, with how difficult it is, it’s still just easier and cheaper to have them buy it on their own.; Most places where they can buy electronics now are offering installment plans. It used to be really difficult. If you didn’t have cash to go into the store, you had to have a credit card. Most people don’t have credit cards. Without a credit card you couldn’t buy stuff online, so they were forced to go into a store and deal with whatever inventory there was.; That is changing now. Most people can buy things online. They have installment plans. They have ways to make payments. So, your OFS can go buy things on their own. And if you want to pay for it, that’s great. Have them show you the receipts and send them the money as a reimbursement. At least, that’s what we do. John |
We're a big cycling family...My kids are competitive with racing their bikes. We were at the Utah Mountain Bike State Championships a couple weekends ago where my two teenage daughters raced. Because it's the State Championships not everyone gets to race. Only the top 100 kids in each category qualify. There were about 25 categories; so there's 2,500 kids. Here’s a picture of the tent city that gets set up just for people to come congregate. It's about a 5 minute brisk walk from one end of the tents to the other. ;Nobody’s sleeping in any of this. This is just to hang out during the day because it’s a 2-day event with races going on all day long.; On Friday, my daughter Bailey finished 4th in the freshmen girls category which is pretty amazing. She’s super thrilled about it. She put in a lot of hard work this year. She’s gone through a lot of adversity. In the end, she came out on top. Fourth place out of a hundred who qualified for this race. She’s super happy. I feel like often with virtual assistants there can be some adversity and if you push through it there’s a lot of good to be had on the other side. Obviously, most of it is good but there definitely going to be some adversity with hiring a VA.; There’s gonna be a time where they disappear. It happens to almost everybody. ; There’s going to be a time where they’re not doing things right.; There’s going to be a time where they’re frustrating you. It’s all going to happen. If you push through those difficult times, which I’ve done a lot of times over the years, there’s so much good work that will come out of having VAs work for you. My daughter pushed through. ;She has and is battling depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, not sleeping well, friends betraying her... Push through. ;It's worth it. John PS. Tomorrow I'll tell you about my disappointment with something my OFS did and how I fixed it. |
So I talked about the State Mountain Bike Championship Race yesterday in my email. I told you about my younger daughter, who took 4th place in her race. My older daughter also took 4th place in the varsity girl’s race, which is a different accomplishment in itself.; The varsity girl’s race is so unbelievably competitive. Yet even taking 4th place out of the top 100 girls in the state who qualified (the winner of her race is the current national champion), she’s disappointed because she thought she could win the race. She had hoped to win the race. All the girls who beat her she has beaten them before. She just didn’t have a great race, and she’s disappointed.; Today I got something back from my team that I was pretty disappointed in. Here's what happened. I let them take the lead on adding some clarity to IDProof on Onlinejobs.ph. They pushed it live, and I checked it, and I was pretty disappointed.Don't get me wrong...most of what they did was great...but the piece that explains IDProof links to a page intended for workers yet it's on a page clearly intended for employers. It just needed more thought put into it. The more I thought about it, the more I kind of realized that they did what they thought was right here from their perspective. Because their perspective is different from mine. Your OFS perspective is different than yours.; They actually did a really great job with the rest of this project. It was that one link that wasn’t right, and it was super easy for me to correct. I just hoped they had the whole thing correct without me being involved at all. It didn’t happen. I sent an email saying, “Hey guys. No, this is an employer-focused page. It needs to link to an employer-focused page. “, and they’ll fix it.; Just be aware that you will have times where your team, they’re trying their best, and they still have a mistake. You’re going to need to correct that mistake. Just recognize they’re trying their best, and their perspective is different than yours. That’s my point in this whole thing. John |
A couple weeks ago at the bike race, I got a text from the race director. Keep in mind there are thousands of people at the race. The text that I got says: “If you cause any more grief in the feed zone, you’ll be permanently banned from the feed zone.” ;(The feed zone is the area where we’re allowed to hand a bottle to the racers.) I was furious.Out of my mind. There are thousands of people at the race.There were hundreds of different people in the feed zone.I didn’t do anything different than any other person and I got singled out for causing grief, which I didn’t do.; My initial reaction was to lash out. I just wanted to tell her the whole story. I wanted to tell her what did and didn’t happen in the feed zone. I had this whole conversation in my mind about what I was going to say to her the next day if I saw her.; When I saw her the next day, I didn’t say anything. I was just nice and I let it go. The race ended and we’re fine. This will never happen again. ; At the same time this was going on, Julia (who manages a team for our social media presence), is dealing with one of the people on my OFS team who is lashing out at her and lashing out at other team members. It’s making the team just not work well. It’s causing problems.; So Julia came to me for advice.My advice was the lashing out just doesn’t work for our team.You have to treat people well. We’ve tried really hard to treat this person well. This person is not treating others correctly. So it’s time to let her go.; We’re in the process of letting her go. She's actually a really great worker. Skilled, reliable, shows up, talented. Her personality is just clashing. I think part of the reason Julia came to me was because I’ve managed a lot of people. I’ve learned that people need to feel good about themselves. If someone is causing people not to feel good, work suffers. Having work suffer...well.... In managing your OFS, think about how they feel about themselves based off the way you're treating them.;Thinking about this will help you prevent the disappearing Filipino problem. John |
I get lots of questions about how to narrow the field of candidates who respond to a job post on OnlineJobs.ph. I've heard from several of you that the number of responses can feel overwhelming. We recently did an interview with Paul Staten, who runs the successful internet marketing company SEOWerkz.com; he offered some great advice on the issue. Paul employs over 90 online Filipino specialists, which is pretty remarkable. While some of his Filipino workers are managed by a partner SEO company based in the Philippines, Paul does much of the specialized OFS hiring himself. He's got a hiring/training/managing system set up that runs like a well-oiled machine. Paul's initial interview tactic is brilliant. After he posts a job, he invites the most qualified candidates to do a TYPED chat interview with him on Skype. The typed interview gives him a good sense of their English skills and doesn't risk scaring potential talent away (face-to-face interviews can be very intimidating for OFSs). Here's the kicker- Paul conducts all of his chat interviews at the same time, so he can weigh and consider the responses against one another (and save himself time). Before the interview, Paul prepares his questions. They are pre-typed, ready to cut-and-paste into the chat boxes. Then he opens all of the chat windows at the same time and asks the candidates identical sequential questions. His preparation allows him to focus his time on each candidate's responses. Paul dedicates about an hour to the interview process and notes that the best response time is around 6 am MST (about 7:00 pm in the Philippines). You can learn more about Paul's favorite questions to ask in these mass-chat interviews, SEO Werkz, and view the entire case study. What kinds of questions do you ask to narrow the field when you receive enthusiastic responses to a job post? Respond to this email and educate me! John |
Oh good...now that all that mushy gratitude is out of the way, we can focus on more important things like... ...PRESENTS! Actually...wait...no. Gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude. From Julia, my content OFS----------------------------------Bonifacio Day in the Philippines (November 30) is close to Thanksgiving and is a regular holiday to commemorate the life and work of Andres Bonifacio. Bonifacio is one of the heroes in the struggle for Philippine independence from the Spaniards. He is also considered by some as the first President of the Philippines. I thought it was a nice coincidence that Bonifacio Day is so close to Thanksgiving. One of Bonifacio’s best-known written works is a poem about his love and gratitude for being a Filipino. English translation here: https://pinas.activeboard.com/t18879167/pag-ibig-sa-tinubuang-lupa-andres-bonifacio/ The past 2 years have been difficult. It’s hard to imagine being thankful, given what’s still happening around the world. But I found Bonifacio’s words inspiring because he found many things to love and be grateful for despite the circumstances. He talks about the beauty of the Philippines and how loving your country even when all hope seems lost can help us rise above anything. I’m really thankful we have this day to celebrate Andres Bonifacio. If you want to greet your OFS a happy Bonifacio Day, you can include this quote from the man himself: "Serenity, constancy, reason, and faith in whatever act or endeavor, crown with success every desire." Happy Bonifacio Day!-------------------------- FYI, you're receiving this on the 29th your time. As you read it, recognize that the 30th (Bonaficio day) is probably starting in the Philippines right about now. Your OFS isn't going to work today. John |
It’s that time of the year when I get a LOT of questions about the 13th month. I’ll try to answer as many as I can fit into this email. But if you want more information, we have a detailed blog post explaining the 13 month at Onlinejobs.ph “Very basic question. Is there any specific time when the 13th month should be paid? I was thinking of paying it at the end of January but perhaps it can be more useful for them before the Christmas Celebration? When is the best time to pay the 13th month? Dec 1? Dec 31? Right before Christmas?” The 13th month is to be paid in December. The earlier in the month the better. Also, it's not considered a Christmas bonus. It's just part of their annual salary (they budget for it). If you want to give a Christmas bonus that's separate and always very much appreciated. “How do you compute for 13th month?” The 13th month is 1 month’s salary divided by 12 multiplied by the number of months they have worked for you that year. If your OFS has been working for you for at least a year, their 13th month is 1 month’s salary. If your OFS has been working for you for less than a year (let’s say 6 months), their 13th month would be half her salary. To make things easier, add up the total you paid them through the year and divide by 12. “I hired my VA a couple of months ago (September) and she just finished her training period. Do I start counting the months to compute her 13th month? When I hired her or when she finished her training?” It’s mostly up to you. You can start when you hired her or when the training period has ended. The important thing is both of you know when you started counting. Typically though, it starts when training is finished. “I had to let go of my VA this year. Should I still give her a 13th month bonus?” If they've worked for you for more than 6 months, yes. In the Philippines, that's the practice for most companies. Otherwise, you don’t need to. “I pay my VA by the hour or on a per project basis, do I need to give them a 13th month?” You don't have to but it's still a good idea. For us, we: 1. always pay the 13th month 2. also give a Christmas bonus. $25-$50. John |
I just got an email from Rosalee asking about holiday pay for her OFS “I've hired an OFS to edit one video a week. She works about 7-10 hours a week for me. I'm wondering about the holiday pay that is often expected/appreciated for this time of year. How does that apply to someone working part-time? When is that best sent?” My answer to that is, it depends. First, about general holidays (in the Philippines it's called "Regular Holidays" ie. Christmas, New Years, Independence Day...) If your part-time worker is paid hourly and they set their own hours, you don’t need to pay them extra if they work on holidays. If your part-time worker is required to follow a work schedule and one of the days coincides with a holiday, then you can give them holiday pay (typically 1.5x normal pay), or paid time off. https://blog.onlinejobs.ph/holidays-and-pto Either way, it's your choice if you want to give them holiday pay. Second, if you want to give them bonuses around the holidays (the 13th month especially), it’s best to send it a few days early. Bank holidays in the Philippines can sometimes delay cash transfers. So if you want to give your OFS something for the holidays, it’s best to send them out early. John |
My nieces got a hold of my phone during Sunday dinner. They thought it was so funny to take pictures: Not very private! VPN's are usually marketed towards giving you more privacy, but there's more use to a VPN than privacy. I recently wanted to watch an event being broadcast on the internet but it was blacklisted from the US. So I had to get a VPN in order to watch it. I subscribed to NordVPN for 1 month. I installed the VPN on my phone. I connected to their VPN location in Switzerland. Once I was connected to Switzerland I connected to the event. The filter thought I was in Switzerland. I was able to watch it and that was that. Super simple. If you run into a problem where a VA can’t access a service you want them to use, you can get a VPN for them. There are lots of different VPNs you can use: Mozilla VPN CyberGhost Nord VPN Mullvad VPN TunnelBear VPN Proton VPN IVPN Private Internet Access Hotspot Shield ExpressVPN Surfshark VPN Windscribe Strong VPN HMA VPN VyperVPN Having your OFS connect to a USA IP address will almost always solve the issue of them not being able to access the service you want them to use. Are you currently using a VPN? Have you done it in the past? What have you used? John |
My youngest child just had a birthday. Since we were traveling over his birthday he didn't get a party (we're not big on parties anyhow), but he did get some Legos, clothes, other toys and a new bike! He double dipped because the bike wasn't going to be delivered on time. (it did get delivered...) Please don't consider the 13th month as double dipping. Here's what Moazam asked: My VA will be turning 1 year old working with me next week. I wanted to ask you a few things. What is typically expected around this landmark from a VA perspective? Salary negotiations? Bonus? Evaluation? What are your experiences? Also my VA kind of suggested if I could get him a tablet or something. He will be getting 13th month bonus should that suffice and he can then purchase what he likes? Also I remember seeing a post from you a while back where you had mentioned some website where you could buy some electronics and send to the VA’s address or something? Here's my perspective. 1. Nothing is expected. 2. The 13th month bonus is a part of their lives. It's expected and needed by them to take care of their family needs at Christmas time. 3. If you want to do something nice for them, pay the 13th month AND do the nice thing. Don't count the 13th month as the nice thing. If you haven't done a raise yet, the year mark is a good time to do it. January is too. If it were me, I wouldn't buy a tablet unless it's going to help them with their work. I might contribute to a laptop (if that's going to help them with their work). Or, if you just want to do something nice, yes, do it. Two sites where you can buy things are lazada.com and shopee.ph John |
One of the things I really like about having an OFS work for me is getting rid of the small things off my plate. Today, I got this email from WordPress. WordPress is notifying me when someone follows my blog. And I’m like, “I don’t want this notification.” So I immediately went to WordPress.com and looked at it. I was like, “Oh, I have no idea how to get rid of this.” So I just came back to the email and forwarded it to one of my OFS and let them undo it for me. I didn't have to figure it out. Didn't have to look through menus. Didn't have to get frustrated by not finding what I wanted. Outsourcing a bunch of small things make a really big difference on your productivity throughout the day. The next time you have something annoying you, send it to your OFS and see what happens. John |
Julia, my OFCS (Online Filipina Content Specialist) wrote this today: ------------------ I’m proud that we have a culture here at Onlinejobs.ph where we find ways to help people. We help Filipinos find work. We help employers find team members. But some of us go beyond. We have co-workers who do charity work and volunteer regularly. John even gets involved sometimes and sends us money to help out the causes that matter to us. Like last year when he helped us give groceries to families who struggled in the early days of the pandemic. One of our social media team, Ben, is a volunteer firefighter. For the past few days, he’s been helping evacuate people affected by the Davao River’s flooding. He even got featured on the local news. (He's the one holding the baby) I wouldn’t have known he was doing this if someone hadn’t pointed it out to me on Facebook. He was still working while helping out in the rescue operations. He’d be evacuating people during the day and get his work done at night. ------------------- What do your OFS do to volunteer? What do they do outside work? Have you asked? John |
On this Thanksgiving day (at least...in the USA it's our "Thanksgiving" holiday) I'm thankful for a lot of things. My family. My country. My business. Jesus Christ. My home. Snow. My bike. My OFS team. ... ... Are you thankful for your OFS? Have you told them? Letting them know you appreciate their work goes a long way. John PS. These pumpkins will end up as decorations on our table today. They've been "stored" in my coat closet for the past few weeks so my wife has exactly what she wants to decorate the table for her favorite holiday. Happy wife, happy life! |
A while back I emailed about my son doing a pretty good job following instructions with the information he was given. He put the toilet paper in the closet. Here’s a picture of his recent failure to follow instructions, where the instructions were pretty clear. I asked him to pick up his stuff from the kitchen three different times. He didn’t do it any of the three times. Every time he just migrated back to the television. I took his stuff and put it where he wouldn't get it back until I was ready. This time it was NOT my poor instructions causing the problem. I really love what Giuseppe said here about how he handles teaching people to do something new. If I would have done this with my son, the problem would have been solved the first time. “Years ago, I developed a method with my interns (had over 40 interns work for me in my career) that has served me well. When having them do something new, I have them follow a 1-2-4-8 pattern. After training, I have them do the work for one hour and then review the work. Then, I have them work for two more hours and do a review of the work. Then, 4 hours and a review, then 8 hours of work and a review. The thing I learned along the way of my career is that details would always be missing from the training and it wouldn't be until they do the work that they see what's missing. Each time we sit down to review the work, I find that I give fewer and fewer corrections, so I can have them go longer between each review. When we start a new project, we first schedule the review sessions so that we don't allow too much time go by between work sessions.” 1-2-4-8. Review. Give it a try the next time you teach something to your OFS. John |
I got this great question from Jared: “Thanks again for your emails with all of the tips and tricks! I'm curious how you deal with things or services that need paid for like a service for your company or an item for your company online. Do you pay all of those yourself with a credit card? Do you get a prepaid card to your team member? Do they have a corporate card with a limit? Would love to know how you handle this.” No, we don’t have a corporate card. I remember years ago giving my credit card to people, and it wouldn't work...probably because they're in the Philippines so it gets declined. For years I would do the sign up process and give my team the username and password. This always bugged me because I don't like being involved in small things that they should be able to take care of. Recently I've been giving my credit card again, and it's working. I think because some of my team remember to use a VPN when purchasing. So when they buy something using my card, it doesn't raise any red flags. Sometimes when using my card, we coordinate schedules so we’re both online at the same time. If I need to send them a security code, they receive it right away. We do this with text (iMessage) or Voxer. I know some services are now used to having VAs subscribe for their clients. This happens often enough that they make their check-out process easier. For one time services where my OFS is having problems using my card (it happens sometimes), they sometimes use their credit card (not on subscriptions). They just send me the receipt, and I reimburse them. Even if they don’t have a credit card, some services take online payments through PayPal or Payoneer. PayPal and Payoneer now have solid relationships with local banks and cash apps, so some Filipinos use this if they don’t have a credit card. There are lots of options. Ask your OFS how they'd like to handle it. John |
A while back I sent a newsletter about what you can do when there’s a death in your OFS’ family. I got a great response to it from Dylan: “Today, my graphic designer Danice's aunt died. Here's what I told her: "Dan, I'm so sorry. I'll keep you and your family in my prayers. I'm here for you and you can share as much or as little as you want. Take a paid week off. We'll be here for you when you're ready. I'm gonna send $100. I hope it helps with the funeral costs." One of her first replies was "Please don't fire me." I was surprised because I have no intention of firing her but you did warn me that it happens. Danice then told me her sister was fired last week because she couldn't work as much. She was running errand, driving people around and doing other tasks when lots of relatives come in town when someone is close to dying. I couldn't believe they'd fire her! I told Dan to take her time and her job is safe. I know Dan will stick with me for a long time and it's just the human thing to do!” A death in the family is hard enough. Firing your OFS because they’re helping their family grieve is just horrible. I showed this email to my OFS Julia and she just explained to me how long and complicated a Filipino funeral actually is. I’ll show you what she wrote in the next email. John |
What Julia (my OFS) writes below is super interesting and explains a lot. -------------------- Funerals in the Philippines are a family affair. The process from start to finish is so long, complicated, and time-consuming. When this happens, everybody pitches in as much as they can. For most, it starts with dealing with the hospital to have the body released to a funeral home. Someone in the family handles the payment and paperwork. This usually takes a couple of days. The paperwork takes even longer. Unless it’s a covid-related death. Then the body would be released to an accredited funeral home and cremated within 24 hours. At the same time, those at home would start arranging the religious traditions, like calling for a priest or spiritual leader and buying things for the ceremonies. Another group would be responsible for picking up the clothes and personal items buried with the dead. They would also help get clothes for other family members to wear for the wake/funeral according to tradition. Some families opt to be at the funeral home when the body is being processed. This is to ensure that the deceased is prepared according to religious practice. Once the loved one has been released to the family, that’s when the wake begins. This can happen either at home or at a chapel, so another group within the family would be responsible for preparing the place to make it presentable for guests. Different family members then sign up for shifts to cover the 24-hour vigils. In the Philippines, it’s a tradition that there always should be someone awake at a wake. The length of the wake can range between a few days to a few weeks, depending on tradition and family requests (like family coming home for the funeral). So someone has to be there all the time. It’s also expected that you should be able to receive visitors anytime until the funeral. The ones on vigil would also act as hosts and are expected to serve the guest with food and drink. This is why, if you attend a Filipino wake, you’ll sometimes see karaoke machines or card tables. It’s mainly to keep the ones on vigil duty awake. While this is happening, you have a logistics team that ensures there’s always food and drink at the wake. It’s bad luck to run out. This continues until the funeral actually happens and the body is buried or ashes are taken home. If the loved one is going to be buried in a cemetery, another team has to handle that. They talk to the cemetery and the local government to make arrangements for the funeral procession. That means talking to the police to provide an escort, renting vehicles to transport the family, getting the tent and the chairs, preparing the food at the cemetery and after the funeral. I have helped out with several funerals over the years. Not kidding about how complicated it is. We started using a free task management system to keep track of what needed to be done. That is why the entire extended family asks for leave when there’s a death in the family. ------------------ So when your OFS seems like they're making an excuse saying "My aunt died so I couldn't work for a week" it's legit. One time I had a brand new VA quit even before they started working for me. Their relative died and asking for a few weeks time off was too daunting to them. They quit instead. Have you dealt with this? John |
Todays a good day to send the 13th month payment to your OFS. They always appreciate it the earlier in the month they get it. The later it gets the more and more worried they get that you're not going to send it. They count on it. They budget for it. They need it for the holidays. Send the money the same way you normally send payments. If you need more info: https://www.OnlineJobs.ph/13thmonth John PS. If you're planning on also sending a Christmas bonus, now is good. So is in a few weeks. Typically we send the 13th month and the Christmas bonus at the same time. $25-$50 for Christmas...depending on how good our year was. |
I got an interesting email from a woman who is having some issues with her 2nd OFS. "I have concerns that she is working for someone else and it is interfering with her performance. She gets her basic work done but when I try to add more she is resistant and reluctant. Things that should take 2 hours to do take all day long. She was able to make calls but not answer with our Ooma call system. Do you have any advice on that?" My advice? Ask her. That's a critical piece of communication with the Philippines. You think there's a problem? Ask. Ask "what other jobs do you have" Ask "You seem hesitant to do phone calls. Is it something you're uncomfortable with? Is there something else wrong?" Asking solves a lot of problems. Let me give you an example. A few years back, I hired an OFS, "Manny," to help with customer support via social media. He was doing great but couldn't seem to do more. Like he only did the bare minimum. Even with training, it looked like he couldn't do more than what I initially asked him to do. So I asked him, "Hey, is there a problem? Do you have another job?" It turned out he didn't have another job. He's just not that into social media. What he's good at is customer support (he worked in a call center for years before I hired him). He helped start our social media customer support. But beyond that, he doesn't know what to do. He's afraid to do anything else. So I gave him a shot at doing more customer support. He's what he's done since: - Helped us set up a team schedule, so we have 24/7 email support. - Improved the knowledge database for our customer support team, making it easier to use. - Helped our U/X team by giving feedback taken from customer emails. - Assisted in improving backend processes (e.g., jobseeker account verification). - Helped strengthen our data privacy protocols. It turns out; this is the job he loves. I don't need to ask him to do more. He's the one who comes up with ideas of what he can do to improve our customer experience. I wouldn't have gotten all that if I didn't bother to ask and just gave up on him 5 years ago. Ask. John My nieces didn't ask when they found my phone at Sunday dinner...again. They just took pictures. |
As I lay here on the ground, completely exhausted from the workout I just did, I’m thinking about the SEO crisis we had yesterday. I searched on DuckDuckGo to see how search results were looking only to find that Onlinejobs.ph wasn’t showing up. That freaked me out so I went to Google. I haven’t used Google in years. DuckDuckGo is my search engine but I know most people still use Google so I need to check what the results are like on Google. I went to Google and searched: hire Filipino VA. I found Onlinejobs.ph it the 10th spot but only as the URL: Onlinejobs.ph. No title. No description. There was nothing there. Yet still, Onlinejobs.ph is on the first page on Google. So I sent an email to 3 of my guys in the Philippines and said, “Hey guys, what’s going on?” Within the day they had figured out the problem, fixed webmaster tools. Google had completely un-indexed our site, I don’t know why. They have re-indexed the site within the day and Onlinejobs.ph was back on top of the search engines with the title, description, and everything back to normal. I don’t know what happened to cause it. I don’t know what happened to fix it. But an SEO crisis was averted by having my specialists, guys who have been with me for 10,12, and 15 years, fix it instantly. Loyalty in the Philippines is a big deal. These guys know our business. They know what's going on. Their job isn't SEO, but they instantly knew what to do to fix it and they fixed it. Hire good people. Treat them well. Make your life easier. John |
It’s not that Filipinos don’t want to have their own business. It’s because setting up (and closing) a legitimate business in the Philippines is complicated. It has been made easier in the past few years. In World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Report, the Philippines ranked 124th out of 190 countries. In 2020, we jumped to 95th place. But compared to our ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors, we’re still lagging (7th out of 10 nations). Starting a business in the Philippines means you have to contend with: the local government, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (our version of the IRS), and the Department of Trade and Industry. The problem with these agencies is that their policies can be inconsistent. An example of this is the BIR. When we interviewed 2 employees from the BIR to help us write a blog post (for Filipino workers who want to pay taxes), they couldn’t agree on how to implement the same policies. Same with the local government. They have different business requirements depending on where you live. To make things worse, sometimes these three agencies don’t coordinate with each other. This makes it hard for business owners to start and register their businesses quickly. Depending on the type of business, you may also have to deal with other government agencies. If you have a food business, you would need sanitary licenses with the Department of Health. If you have employees, you work with the Department of Labor. This adds to the red tape and cost of starting a business. Let's say you're done with all that and you’re lucky enough to have a profitable business. Yearly, you'll have to pay up to 40 different types of taxes per year depending on the type of business (local taxes, national taxes, employment taxes, license renewals, etc). The cost is manageable for the most part. It’s the paperwork that complicates the process and takes so much time. If you’re unlucky, the process of closing a business is even more convoluted. You can muddle through if you’re organized, and you managed to keep all your original paperwork. But if you lost your original paperwork, there’s the additional step of filing an affidavit of loss for all of them. Let’s say you started a business but didn’t register with the government to avoid all the paperwork. It’s okay if you have a really small business. But as your business grows, you’ll have no choice but to register your business because you can’t do business with big companies without registration. Here's another complication. Years ago we tried to get some office space for some of our OFS to come and work together. No way. We were told that in order to get an office you have to have a full, legitimate business set up. If you don't, you can't rent space. If you do manage to rent space, the local government is going to come check on the space and if you're not legit you get in trouble. We asked our OFS "what about just renting a house and putting computers and offices in bedrooms?" No way. Local government will find out and will shut you down. With all these obstacles, it’s no wonder why Filipinos prefer employment. John |
One of the things everyone looks forward to during the Christmas season is the food. Not me. As my wife says...I don't have an emotional relationship with food. For me, food is to fuel my body. Oh sure, I want it to taste good. I don't like eating brussel sprouts. They're gross. But I still eat them. I don't eat sugar...and I don't ever have a "cheat" day. If something isn't good for me, why cheat? Anyway...I'm not normal...I know. For the rest of you, here are some Filipino foods that get served around the holidays. Yes, you can get most of these foods year round; they just taste better during the holidays (at least, that's what my OFS says). Queso de Bola: This literally translates to “cheese ball.” Usually made of Edam, cheddar, or processed cheese, and covered with red wax. They open it just before the midnight feasts and serve with ham, bread, and fruits. Ham: The most popular one served during the holidays is pork ham with pineapple glaze. The glaze is what makes it extra special when you use the leftovers to make ham and cheese (from the Queso de Bola) sandwiches. Castañas: Wok-roasted chestnuts that are sold everywhere during Christmas. Best eaten while it’s still warm and sweet. Puto bumbong: These are cylindrical purple rice cakes steamed in bamboo tubes. It’s usually served on a banana leaf and topped with margarine, shaved coconut, and brown sugar. They get it fresh and hot after midnight mass. It pairs really well with Kapeng Barako(a strong coffee varietal that grows only in the Philippines) if you’re having it for breakfast. If you’re having it for midnight snack, you can pair it with tsokolate, hot chocolate made from roasted chocolate bean paste and brown sugar or sugarcane molasses. Bibingka: Another type of rice cake. This one is flat and usually has a salted egg topping. Unlike the puto bumbong, this one is baked/broiled over charcoal while wrapped in banana leaves. Traditionally served with margarine and shaved coconut on top. Also pairs perfectly with coffee or chocolate. Julia my OFS says "I got a Queso de Bola early hoping to avoid the Christmas rush. But sadly, my daughter found it and I think there's only half of it left. I'll need to get another one. Hopefully, this one will last us until the New Year." John PS. If you're thinking about hiring someone, now's not a great time. Wait until the new year. I'll explain in my next email. |
A couple months back as I rode with Lila the wind was howling from the north. It was a cross wind (which is better than a head wind) that makes riding no handed really hard. As soon as you take your hands off the bars the wind grabs the front tire and turns it sideways.I kept trying anyway. Lila (10) keeps wanting to try it too."No!" She hasn't yet ridden no handed on other rides.Then we had a stretch of the trail which turned south and the wind blew at our backs. Free speed. Free stability."Now's a good time to try riding no handed."She's scared, but takes her hands off the bars.Look ma, no hands!This is kind-of what it's like when you hand a process off to an OFS the first time.The wind blows sideways.It's scary.Things don't go as you want them to."What if I crash?!?"All these things happen.Then you have the personal fears.What if it's not done how I would do it?What if it's done totally wrong?What if they mess something up?There are all kinds of things that could go wrong.And sometimes things do go wrong. Projects don't get done right. Work isn't perfect and it gets published.But when you get it right with your new OFS, it's like riding no handed. "Look ma! No hands!"It's one of the most liberating feelings. Work getting done without you having to do it.And the next time it's easier. And easier.If you start by outsourcing a task that you know how to do, the whole thing is easier.- You know what skills to look for when hiring- You know how to fix mistakes- You know how to train- You know how to give feedback- You know what to expect- You can help them get it right = You get time back and are then more effective at everything else.It just works really well.It's a new year. The wind is blowing at your back right now. What task are you scared of letting go of? Now's a good time to try.OneVAAway.com will help you find the right person if you want my help.John/letting-go-of-a-difficult-task-give-it-another-shot-2/ |
This picture is from last August from the first bike race of the season.(this is relevant...I promise)Addie won the Varsity Girls race. No surprise. She's won every high school race she's been in except for State Championships. She works her butt off.(At the finish line. Top 3 finishers)This week she starts her training so she can win races for next August. Hard work.Cold rides.Long days.In 2005 I hired my first Filipino VA.(They weren't an OFS, they were just a VA. They didn't know anything!)It was hard. It was scary."I don't know if they can actually do good work.""I don't know if I can keep them busy full-time.""I don't know if I can afford it."When I took the leap it was the most liberating experience of my life. Today I have 35+ full-time people in the Philippines. It's not always easy. Hiring someone isn't easy. It's not fun.But it's the hard work that makes the difference between working 50 hours/week and working 17 hours/week. If you're putting off hiring someone because it's hard, todays the day. Do the hard work. It won't cut your work load down today, but in 8 months from now it will. That's hard work. If you want to know the system I figured out to make hiring quick and easy:www.OneVAAway.comJohn/do-the-hard-work-today-stop-putting-it-off/ |
What Julia wrote will make you smile. ------------------ We Filipinos are more excited about Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve rather than Christmas and New Year’s Day. Christmas and New Year’s Day are when we sleep in. The real celebration happens the day before. Both celebrations start the same way. Early in the morning, families start cooking for the midnight feasts (Noche Buena for Christmas, Media Noche for New Year). This is when the big family gathering happens so we all come together in one house. It’s usually a massive feast with enough food to last to the New Year. I’m not exaggerating. A lot of the things we make (if it’s not easily perishable) get served again for New Year’s Day. Everybody brings food. Everybody eats while cooking. Throughout the day, people will party harder and make a lot of noise. Videoke machines at every corner. People playing with noisemakers and firecrackers. The party (and noise) builds as the sun goes down. Then, at midnight, that’s when everything happens. Everybody starts feasting. Fireworks, firecrackers, and noisemakers are in full blast. When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was my favorite holiday. We don’t wait for Christmas morning. As soon as the clock strikes 12, it’s morning. That’s when we open our presents. It’s the same for New Year’s Eve. We stay up until midnight to do different traditions like: Switching on all the lights and making a lot of noise (to ward off the evil spirits) Jump as high as we can (to grow taller) Put on polka dot clothes (to be richer) Serve 13 round fruits (to be richer, again) But there’s a bad side to all this partying. Christmas and New Year’s Eve are also some of the busiest times for hospitals. So many people are rushed into the ER for fireworks injuries, fights, and heart attacks. Another thing I don’t like about the parties is the noise. Working while the entire country is making enough noise to trigger an earthquake is hard. Trust me, I’ve tried. There’s also the clean-up to contend with. When everybody cooks, nobody wants to do the dishes. Happy Holidays everybody! -------------------- Almost makes me want to be in the Philippines for this week... ...but then I'd miss the snow and skiing. I'll stick with Utah. John |
In preparation for next year, we just updated our online Philippine Holiday calendar to include the holidays for 2022. In addition to updating the calendar, we also changed the way we labeled the holidays. Now they start with the letters: RH - for Regular holidays SNW - for Special Non-working Holidays SW - for Special Working Holidays Regular holidays (RH) are the ones most Filipino observe. These are the holidays where you offer paid time off. These are days where banks are closed. If you need to make them work over the holidays, you’ll want/need to pay them more. Special working (SW) holidays are regular workdays; Filipinos just mark it in their calendar to commemorate an event. This is not a day off work. Special non-working (SNW) holidays follow the “no work, no pay” principle. They are entitled to time off but you don't need to pay them for that day. Most of my team don't take these days off, but some do. We don't deduct from their salary if they don't work...we still pay them. These holiday benefits don’t apply to all. If you want to know more about Philippine holidays, paid time off, and benefits, we have a blog post about it here: https://www.onlinejobs.ph/holidays John |
Julia (my content OFS) offered me this: ------------- When people find out that I work for Onlinejobs.ph, they immediately ask me whether we have job openings. They ask because it’s known throughout the Philippine outsourcing industry that Onlinejobs.ph employees get 13th month pay. Not to brag, but we’re the envy of freelancers all over the country. It’s such a big deal that some workers are willing to lower their asking salary if the job also offers 13th month. To be completely honest, it’s one of the reasons why most of us continue working for Onlinejobs.ph all these years. Why is 13th month such a big deal in the Philippines? 1. 13th month equals job stability. We know you have it made when the job offers 13th month. It tells us that the business we're working for is profitable. It means we have a job all year round. If there’s no 13th month, it implies that we could lose our job anytime. 2. No need to hustle harder over the holidays. Freelancers can flex about how much they make because they’re handling multiple clients at the same time. But you know what they don’t have? Rest over the holidays. To afford the added holiday expenses, they have to work harder and find more clients. That kind of defeats the purpose of enjoying the holidays with your family. With the 13th month pay, we keep working as we normally would and still make more money. 3. 13th month allows us to budget for big expenses. Christmas and New Year’s are when many Filipinos make big purchases, like appliances and furniture. This is when businesses clear out their inventory and sell at a huge discount. If you’re a freelancer, you can work harder over the holidays, but there’s no guarantee you’ll meet your earning target. There’s usually a hiring slump over the holidays (even pre-pandemic) so looking for work around this time is more challenging. It’s easier to just find a job that offers 13th month and budget your expenses around that. This is why we’d always choose a job that offers this benefit. Even freelancers who work by the hour would prioritize clients who provide this benefit. So if you want your OFS to stay for a long time, offer the 13th month. ----------------- I know I've talked about this a number of times now. Now you see why it's important. If you haven't sent it, it's not too late. John |
My daughter usually plugs her AirPods in the kitchen so she doesn't forget them in the morning when she leaves for school. This morning: "Where are my AirPods?" I didn't take them, but I was glad they weren't where she expected them. I hate those things. Hate that they're in her ears all the time. And...she's not even bad with them. She's pretty respectful and good about taking them out when she's around people. We live in a different world... Speaking of different worlds, it's amazing how Christmas gifts have changed. When people ask me what they can send their OFS as a Christmas or birthday gift, I always say cash. It’s easy. It’s convenient. I know it’s something your OFS will appreciate. I also know that giving cash feels impersonal. Personal gifts have more meaning. If shipping things to the Philippines were easy, this wouldn’t be a problem. You can also use Lazada.com.ph or Shopee.ph to buy them things...but at this point it may be too late for Christmas. So, what can you do? Is there another way? If you know your OFS enough (you know their likes and interests), you can give them digital gifts instead. Is your OFS a gamer? You can give them gift cards from Epic or Steam. If your OFS is a booklover, ask what book they have on their Amazon wishlist and get them a digital copy. Or if they have a favorite artist, why not give them a copy of the album through iTunes? If you don’t know their taste in music, but you know they love music, a 1-year Spotify subscription might make more sense. So if you want to give your OFS something for the holidays, take the time to know what they like. This makes your gift personal and memorable. By the way...NONE of this is required or expected. I just keep getting questions about it... John PS. Now's not a great time to hire someone. Wait until the first of January to post your job. |
In the US, there’s this long-standing friendly debate among family about when Christmas is allowed to start. In my family, we start the day after Halloween. That’s when it’s acceptable to play Christmas music. Often my wife puts up her Christmas decorations in early November. This year has been a steady stream of decorating from November 3 up until about 2 weeks ago. Other family members insist that you cannot start Christmas anything until December first. Christmas lights don’t go up. Christmas music doesn’t play. Nothing until December first. I have a sister-in-law though who feels like she can listen to Christmas music any time of the year, and she does, sometimes. In the Philippines, Christmas started in September. Here are some cultural things around Christmas in the Philippines. I like that the Christmas season in the Philippines starts early. As early as September. This is where the term 'Ber months' comes in. As soon as September 1 hits, you can expect Christmas songs playing on the radio and Christmas decorations being prepared for display. I’m a Halloween Grinch, so I don’t mind celebrating Christmas early. I also like the solemnity of 'Simbang Gabi,’ the night masses that Filipinos go to from December 16 to 24. Filipinos put family first, so they ALWAYS spend Christmas and New Year with the family. It's considered rude to spend it with friends. You can often tell there’s a family reunion nearby when you see a bunch of people wearing the same t-shirt. This is especially common on New Years Day. Christmas is also when Filipinos visit their godparents (or their godchildren). There’s no guarantee you can get a gift from Santa, but you can always expect something from your godparents. /filipino-godparents/ Employees from the Philippines are looking forward to receiving their extra salaries in the form of '13th Month' (as per the law in the Philippines) and 'Christmas Bonus' (this, in particular, would depend on the company's prerogative). They would usually use these earnings to purchase or buy gifts or food for the upcoming Christmas Season. With all the lead up, a number of things happen. - Filipinos are super hesitant to start a new job from mid December through January 2. they're worried their new boss won't let them spend Christmas/New Years with their family. - They want to take time off. Not that different than you, but for them there's probably more family pressure. - They're a bit hesitant to tell you all of this because they don't know your holiday traditions. John |
Hopefully you're reading this on Christmas Eve, December 24. If so, recognize that it's Christmas Day in the Philippines because they're ahead of you (Except if you live in Australia...then you don't do any conversion...). Today is a good day to send them an email wishing them Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or whatever you want to say to them. Tell them you're thankful for them and for the work they do. Remind them they have the day off. Depending on your business needs, remind them of your work policy for the next week. For us, we let them have the whole week off but I ask that they check their email in case something goes wrong. Merry Christmas. John |
Where I live in the US (I live in Utah), the week between Christmas and New Years is relaxed. People are off work. People get together with family. People stay home. I go skiing. Generally, traffic is less because offices are closed. Unless of course, you're going to a Mall (who does that anymore???) or to Walmart (who doesn't do that?!?!). In the Philippines, it's different. Something weird happens in the Philippines between Christmas and New Year. Julia says: We experience something that we call ‘Carmageddon Christmas’. Traffic is not unique to Manila or the Philippines. It seems to get worse though around the week between Christmas and New Year. I think it’s because almost everybody is out and about. That week is when we catch up on everything we couldn’t do for Christmas and weren’t able to schedule in by the New Year. Things like: Visiting extended family (go or risk the wrath of family) Last-minute Christmas parties Last-minute Christmas shopping Visiting Christmas displays for photos Grocery shopping for what you need to cook for Media Noche (New Year’s Eve feast) Going to the malls to take advantage of the ‘Buy Now, Pay Next Year’ shopping deals. The deals you can get during this time are really good. We actually mentioned it in our laptop buying guide for Filipino virtual assistants. Cleaning up the Christmas mess and prepping up the house for the New Year. These are just some of the things I know most of us do. I haven’t even taken into account the local traditions that would cause traffic during this time. Like in Bulacan, the traffic would be caused by people going to Bocaue to buy fireworks. Here in Davao, the traffic would be caused by people going to the beach. There are cities in the Philippines that have festivals around this time too. I’m sure the festival parades would be back now that many of us have been vaccinated. The week between Christmas and New Year is when you visit extended family. Either you have one big reunion where everybody comes together or visit/meet up with aunt/uncles/cousins individually. I had to mention this twice because visiting extended family is probably the main reason I had to endure Carmageddon almost every year (except the past 2 years). Oh well, everything for family. John |
Have you ever noticed how we name things after landmarks? Where I live there are mountains all around. Mt. Timpanogos Lone Peak Mount Olympus Twin Peaks There are tons of businesses, parks, traditions, cemeteries...named after these mountains. Does that happen where you live also? In the Philippines, it's Rizal. Julia (my OFS) writes: ----------------- Every December 30th, we celebrate our national hero, Dr. Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda. We celebrate it on December 30th to commemorate his death when he was executed by firing squad in 1896. The holiday is just before New Year’s Eve, so many Filipinos start their holiday celebrations on this day. Because Rizal was such an important figure in Philippine history, there are activities around the country that we participate in as part of our holiday celebrations. One tradition is laying down flowers and wreaths to shrines set for Rizal. Going on a picnic in Rizal Park (almost every town has a Rizal Park) is also a popular pastime. For those of us who prefer to spend our holidays at home, we’d watch movies, documentaries, and government programs about Rizal. We’re all required to study his life in school. But even if you find history boring, studying Rizal’s life is fun because it was fascinating. He was a polymath. He lived the bohemian lifestyle, so he had a lot of lovers and enemies. He traveled to so many countries and wrote a lot of books, essays, and poetry. How amazing was Rizal? On the night before his execution, he wrote Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell). The poetry moved former US Congressman Henery A. Cooper so much he read it in Congress in 1902 to lobby for Philippine independence. Indonesian soldiers would recite it before going to battle when they struggled for freedom in the 1940s. I tried to memorize it in college because the original text (in Spanish) was so beautiful. I never made it past the 1st stanza. There are 14 stanzas. At least I didn’t attempt to memorize the Filipino translation. That one is 28 stanzas long. -------------------- The point is...December 30 is a regular holiday in the Philippines. Everyone is going to take the day off. December 31 is also a regular holiday, as is January 1. Don't expect anything to get |
When I was in high school, I made a new group of friends. The first time we hung out we were going out to dinner. This is right after school and I didn’t have any money. So, they decide they were going out to dinner and I told them, “I can’t go with you guys, I’m sorry. I don’t have any money.” One of them said, “That’s okay. I’ll pay for you.” I grew up pretty poor. We didn’t have much. My parents didn’t have a way to give me money. Between my workload in school (which was really heavy) and sports, there was no way I could work. There wasn’t time. The next time I went out with them, I said I didn’t have money for dinner tonight. They were like, “It’s okay, we’ll pay for you.” That became a thing. At some point, I asked that friend, “why do you pay for me?” He said, “Well, my parents spoil me so I want to spoil my friends.” Recently I had a conversation with my daughter because keeps billing this friend in Venmo for small things. Like, “Pay me $4 on Venmo.” So I told my daughter my story about my friends in high school and I said, “Stop doing this to your friends. Stop billing your friends.” Here’s a question about billing and OFS from Anjali: Does your OFS handle billing? I have a consulting business, and charge high ticket prices for large packages. I’m very hesitant to have my OFS get involved with the billing or even know how much I am charging because I feel that if they do, the discrepancy between their salary and these fees will be shocking for them and awkward for me. We don't have billing in our business. However, yes, I would definitely have them handle it. They have no idea what other expenses go into the business. They don't know what's involved. Even if they do, it doesn't really matter. They know they're an employee. It won't be awkward for them and it shouldn't be awkward for you. In fact, it may give them some security. If they know your business is profitable they'll feel like their job is secure. If you trust them, let them do it. Also, with very little going on right now (in most businesses), now's a good time to get your OFS started working on a.new project for you. Start creating training (a video with Snagit is a great start), think through what they'll need and what they'll need to do. Get an early jump on your New Years resolutions. John |
The first time I hired someone in the Philippines it was "easy". I told the agency who I wanted and they came back a few days later with my VA. He lasted a couple days before he said "Sorry Sir, I don't know anything and can't do this job." He quit. The agency apologized profusely and then provided me someone else. He lasted about a week and quit saying "Sorry Sir, I can't handle the office politics at this agency." The agency repeated the process. They found me someone who knew nothing. "Here's your webmaster! He's all trained and everything!" Nothing. He knew nothing. But...at least he was willing to try. That was 2005. He still works for me today, only today, he's amazing. I can ask him to do anything and he'll get it done. My hiring process (through the agency) was not smooth or efficient. If one of your New Years Resolutions is to get some time back in your life, I want to help. My One VA Away Challenge was created to make hiring an OFS easy, smooth, and efficient. - It shouldn't take you hours and hours - You should never have to schedule an interview (unless you really want to) - You won't make mistake after mistake like I did - I guarantee you'll find someone great or I give your $49 back. If you're worried about hiring, worried you'll make mistakes, worried you won't find a good person, or worried you just won't get it right, try my OneVAAway.com program today. John |
Short email just to update you. Typhoon Rai is pounding the Philippines right now. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=typhoon+rai Ask your OFS if they're ok. If they don't respond, assume they don't have power or internet. Give them a break. If your OFS is affected, you might offer to help them. John |
If you didn't know, the Philippines just had a super typhoon come through. Here's what I know. In the US we call it Typhoon Rai. In the Philippines it's called Typhoon Odette. They call it a typhoon. We call it a hurricane. This was like a category 5 hurricane. The death toll is 200+. There are cities where there's not a roof left on a single building. A couple quotes from my workers: "Most of the areas here do not have electricity and water and as per the local government, it will take two to three months to get it back. We are one of the affected families but lucky enough, my family is safe.” "We are badly hit with the recent typhoon. No internet, no data, no electricty, drinking water is getting scarce. Currently, i am looking for atms/banks for us to withdraw cash. Most banks are also down. It has been the 4th day already in this situation. I am able to get data since we borrowed motorcycle to go to the cebu city (im from mactan island). Only 2 wheels are able to pass in out area since posts and trees are on the road. If i get a hold of cash then me and my family will go to our province since we heard its in a better situation than here. We will go there asap since we also have a baby and its super hard with no electricty and scarce drinking water. Please bear with me sir this coming days. I will cover up for the time whenever im already in a stable situation, hopefully within the week." "Our area here in Cebu is badly hit by typhoon. If this email reaches you it is still impossible to work right now. There is no water, electricity, cell signal is spotty and no internet as of now. And my family is safe." "...we're expecting it to take months for electricity to come back on..." I've gotten numerous photos like this: Here's what you can do: - Show compassion - Expect they won't be able to work for a while - Send money to help them relocate or rebuild (or both) I've been working with the Philippines since 2005. This is the worst typhoon I've seen. John |
It depends on where your OFS lives. To be more specific, it depends on who runs the power distribution center. Here’s some context. Back in the 1990’s, the Philippines experienced a power crisis. To address it, their government started privatizing the power industry to introduce investments and upgrade the country’s infrastructure. So businesses began popping up to help generate more power and improve power distribution. This allowed the government to focus on building infrastructure in hard-to-reach places like rural areas, mountains, and island towns. For metropolitan areas like Manila, Cebu, and Davao, this system worked. Private businesses took over distribution. They upgraded the power grid and made it more resilient to natural disasters. They have an organized system that manages problems, so those cities have been experienced fewer blackouts. But in smaller towns and cities, the system didn’t work as well. These places continue to suffer regular blackouts because the private businesses who took over the power distribution failed to: Invest in updating the distribution infrastructure Build more grids to serve their growing number of customers Anticipate the rising demand for power, so they didn’t buy enough from power generators These are the places most affected by blackouts when there’s a natural disaster. There is greater demand for power during the hot and dry months in the Philippines. When this happens, the industrial and commercial zones are prioritized. This is why rural areas would experience rotational blackouts from March to June. If their power distribution company is well managed, these blackouts are kept at a minimum, like 1-2 hours every few days. If not, they can experience 4-6 hour rotational blackouts every day. If the summer is really dry (El Niño), the whole country does experience power shortage due to: Increased demand for power Low water levels in the 12 hydroelectric power plants and Reduced efficiency of the 20 geothermal power plants That’s when most of the Philippines would have to go through rotational blackouts to manage supply. But thankfully, more renewable power plants are being built. So hopefully, there would be no more rotational blackouts in the future. Progress is being made. Just in the time since I've had OFS working for me the situation has greatly improved. You might never be affected because of this depending on where your OFS lives. My advice is don't try to hire in a specific location to try to avoid power outages. Just hire the right talent wherever they are. You'll be better off. John |
When I was just starting my business, I didn’t have time to hire someone to help me. I just bought a house. I had a brand new baby. I had a fledgling business. I needed the business to grow because I didn’t want to go back to working for someone else. I also knew that I could do more if I just had someone to help me with this one task. If I can get this task off my plate, it would make things easier. I’d be more productive. I could grow my business, and I’d have more time for my family. So I made time for finding someone. It wasn’t a lot of time. I was still working 40 hours a week at that point. But taking that first couple of hours away to just find my first VA, Joven, was so worth it. Sure, I lost a couple of hours’ worth of work finding him. But I gained thousands (hundreds of thousands?) since. Every minute I spent training him gave me hundreds of work hours and productivity I couldn’t do alone. That was 2005, he still works for me today. Then when my business started growing and I needed more help, I just repeated the process. The more people I hired, the more time I got. That’s what led me to my 17 hour work weeks. If you’re worried that you don’t have time to hire an OFS, think about what happens if you don't. NOTHING! Unless you take action to make a change, everything stays the same. It’ll only take you 2-3 hours (total) to go through the recruiting process I outlined in OneVAAway.com and find that one OFS that can change your life. Isn’t that time well spent? It's likely the best ROI you'll ever get. John |
My "New Years Resolution" started last August. I needed to be more understanding of my teenage daughters. I started working on it. Started praying for help. Started reading a book about it. It's working! We all start the year with the best intentions. We want to be better versions of ourselves. But studies show that 80% of Americans fail to keep their New Year’s Resolutions. Only 8% manage to keep them the entire year. I think this is because people have unrealistic expectations about themselves and the results they want to achieve. Like losing weight or quitting a bad habit. They’re good resolutions, but they’re tough to accomplish when you: Don’t start early Don’t keep things simple Don’t do things consistently. It’s the same with outsourcing. Most people hesitate to outsource because they think they have to hire a team of 20 people to take over entire business processes right away. I’d be intimidated if you told me this was what I had to do when I was just starting. I’d never get anything done in my business if I was always hiring to build a team. Outsourcing doesn’t have to be like that. It shouldn’t be like that. That’s why I always tell people that they should always start by: Hiring just one person, To do just 1 task, and Train them to do one job you already know how to do. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Hiring just one person takes less time than hiring a team. Looking for a person who has 1-2 skills that they’re good at is easier than finding a person who’s an expert at everything. Training your worker on a job you already know how to do makes it easier. You already know what to teach them. You can answer their questions and give them feedback right away. You’re not just guessing on whether they’re working or not; you can see it in their work. This is what I teach at OneVAAway.com. This is how I get Filipino rockstar workers. That’s why my recruiting process won’t take you 100+ hours. I start with people who do one thing really well and build them from there. That’s how I started. That’s how I got things done. I’m reaping the benefits now because I started outsourcing in 2005. For you, 2005 is NOW! When are you going to start? John |
"I'd just feel more comfortable hiring someone you or your team recommends" Yes...yes you would... But...I can’t recommend someone for you. Nothing personal. I don’t give recommendations to anybody. If you ask other business owners, they’re not giving referrals either. Why? Because once we find a great OFS, we hire them. We’re not going to spend our time finding a great worker and then recommending that person to someone else. Smart business owners don't. Even though it only takes me 2-3 hours to find a worker, that’s still 2-3 hours of my life that I’m not going to get back. Think about it this way. If you take my course at OneVAAway.com, you’ll find a great worker in 2-3 hours. That’s faster than waiting for a referral, and it’s basically a sure thing. Even better, it’s a Filipino worker you know who’s going to be good for your business because: You know them You know how to communicate with them You know you’re going to work well together, and You know they have the skills for the job because you interviewed them yourself. Want to know if there are actually talented people? Or how timezones work? Or tax implications? I answer all these questions at OFSGuide.com John Family ski day! |
In December, Typhoon Odette decimated the central Philippines. I've seen dozens of typhoons affect my workers since 2005. I've never seen anything like Odette. Destruction like this doesn't happen that often...but it does happen. The Philippines is visited by an average of around 20 typhoons per year. They also get at least one alert from any of the 27 active volcanoes spread all over the country. What is it about the Philippines that makes it a magnet for natural disasters? It's the location. The Philippines lies along the Pacific Typhoon belt. Every time a typhoon forms around that area, it's almost guaranteed that they'll be affected by it. In the past, most typhoons don't affect them that much or happen as often. But with climate change, like here in the US, they've had more destructive storms in recent years. They're also located in what's known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. That's why they have a lot of active volcanoes on land and underwater. Because they're in the Typhoon Belt and the Ring of Fire, they're also more susceptible to other disasters brought about by typhoons and volcanoes like tsunamis, landslides, storm surges, and flooding. But they are working to make themselves more resilient. In 2012, the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act institutionalized disaster reduction and management in all government and the private sector. This requires every institution, no matter how big or small, to plan what to do during a disaster. They also have a more robust disaster reporting system. Like here in the US, they get weather or flooding alerts on their phones. It tells them whether they need to evacuate or prepare for a storm. The Philippines is also part of the Asian Disaster Reduction Center, which has helped improve its disaster planning and management. It's a group where different Asian countries share best practices and technology to help them with disaster management and response. The US serves as an advisor country in this group. At some point one of your OFS will be affected by a typhoon, volcano, flood. You know what's surprising? How quickly they recover! Quite a few of my OFS lost their houses in Odette. Obliterated. They're all back to work. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten emails from OFS saying "Sir, we're having flooding here in my town. My house has 1.2m of water in it, I had to climb on the roof to escape. But don't worry sir, I brought my laptop with me so I saved all my files and can get back to work soon." They're resilient. They're smart. They work hard. They recover. It's what they do. John |
We’re finally at that point where things are somewhat going back to normal. Yes, Omicron is raging, but we’re close to getting back to the lives we had before we ever heard of Covid. Kids are in school. Travel is opening up (depending on the day...) We've all realized remote work is good. Now’s the best time to hire an OFS (online Filipino specialist). Yes, you're busy. Hopefully your business is growing or recovering. As you build your momentum, there’s going to be more work ahead. Want to build your business differently? Build it based around having other people do the work. Here's how to start. Pick one task you think you can get someone else to do. Hire an OFS to do that one task. Since it's something you know how to do hiring that person is easy! Go to OnlineJobs.ph and search for the skill you need. Look at some profiles. Then post a job. You'll find the process super simple. It won't work out perfectly the first time (well...it might, but often it doesn't). Work with them to get it right. It won't take long. Then...when they're getting that one task done, ask if they can take another task. Without needing to hire someone else, go through the process again. What happens next is AMAZING! The next time you sit to do something you don't want to do, you'll think "hmmm...I wonder if I could get someone else to do this for me?" From that point on, your business is different. You'll work less, be more effective, and be better at creating growth. ------------ Want my help through the hiring process? www.OneVAAway.com Ready to jump in? www.OnlineJobs.ph If your business is drowning you, grab the lifeline! John |
I love to ski. My wife...not so much. Part of it for her is just fear. What if I'm cold? What if I get hurt? What if it's not fun? At some point she has made mistakes (we all do) and each of those things have happened to her. On occasion, it has stopped her from going with me. Like this day: Which was a day with no mistakes, and everything was beautiful. In hiring OFS, I see the same story from you. Fear. Fear of making mistakes. Fear of everything not going perfectly. Fear of spending time and having it go down the drain. When I started I had that fear too. The first thing I did was a mistake. I went to India. I know they have a lot of fantastic workers there, but the culture just didn’t fit with how I ran my business. Now I know to go to the Philippines. The whole experience is better. My second mistake was hiring freelancers. The freelancer I hired was great. He did an excellent job writing. But it was the only thing he could do, write. I couldn’t ask him to do more because that’s not part of the deal we had. I still had to do everything else with what he wrote and I hated it. The more work I gave him, the more work I had to do myself. Now I know to hire long-term people. The business starts to automate itself when you have stable people working for you. Next I tried the agency route. It was fine until both me and the VA realized I was paying $750 and he was getting $250 (today this is more like you pay $2000 and he gets $500). He quit. That stinks. Today I know that going direct is a lot more efficient both in terms of money and time. The OFS gets the full amount I pay him. Finding someone myself is faster and easier and more reliable than going through an agency (I went through 3 workers at the agency because they just kept pulling people off the streets and telling me "they're super qualified"). I've made mistakes since, but they're a lot less consequential. Most of my mistakes since don't flush my time down the toilet like these first 3 did. Here are the 9 biggest questions people ask me about hiring OFS (and their answers). OFSGuide.com John PS. If you never take the leap and get over the fear, you never get the reward! Today I have ~40 OFS working for me building my business every day. |
When Filipinos talk about their neighborhood, they often refer to the barangay, the Philippines' smallest political and administrative unit. Barangay comes from the Malay word balangay, a boat used by the Austronesian people when they migrated to the Philippines. They travel in groups like the boats at the end of the movie 'Moana' because like in that movie, those who traveled in the same group settled in the same place. That community formed the first barangay. There are 42,046 barangays all over the country. The barangays are governed by their respective cities and municipalities. In order to be a barangay, there has to be at least 2,000 inhabitants. Each barangay would have its executive, legislature, and judiciary branch. The chief executive is called the Barangay Kapitan (barangay captain). Councilors or 'kagawad' form the legislative branch. The judiciary comprises a group of people called Lupon Tagapamayapa(Justice of the peace). The barangay even has its police system called tanod (neighborhood watch). The local government empowers all barangays to provide essential services to their residents. Within a barangay hall, you would often see a health center or small clinic where people can come in for free healthcare and essential vaccines. Voting is also done in the barangays. Small claims and disputes are mediated with the Lupon Tagapamayapa. Most barangays would also have a daycare and an elementary school. This is why every Filipino is required to register with the barangay. It's a big part of their day-to-day life. The Philippines doesn't have "background checks" like we do in the USA. But a Barangay Clearance is pretty close. It's a government-issued document used to certify a person with good moral character and a law-abiding citizen of a certain barangay. You can ask potential OFS for their Barangay Clearance when hiring from OnlineJobs.ph John |
I HATE when I solve a problem and the problem keeps coming up over and over again. Like passwords with my kids. "Dad, what's my password?" ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! We've saved this password to LastPass. I've told you to get LastPass on your phone. Why? Just why!?!? This is what they look like when this happens: Passwords with my kids is one thing. With OFS it's another. Although...is it really that different? For me it's not. When I was first starting this was totally an issue for me. I did not want to give them passwords because I didn’t know what would happen. I didn’t know if I gave them the password to my hosting account, they would take over my hosting account, destroy everything and leave. I didn’t know if they would not leave, make a mistake, and ruin something. I just didn’t know so I didn’t give them passwords. Then I realized a little bit in that it was making my life harder. They couldn’t do the job because they couldn’t access the site they needed. I quickly realized I had to give them access to my stuff. Well back then, there wasn’t a great solution. Today, there’s a really good solution to this. You’re still going to give them access to your accounts but if you use LastPass for this, you don’t have to give your passwords. They never see your passwords. Anjali had the same problem so she wrote to me about it. I also am having difficulty handing over my passwords for things like email and contract software. Although I feel comfortable having my OFS onboard clients and follow up with clients, I don’t feel comfortable yet about the OFS having my passwords as they started about 2 months ago. For Google, it turns out that as an admin I can always lock the person out if there’s ever a problem. But for some other things, like Adobe DocuSign, I don’t think that’s possible. Use Lastpass. It lets you share a password with their LastPass account. Then it lets them login to the website, but doesn't give them the password. You can revoke the sharing anytime you want. For things where LastPass won't work, give them the password if you trust them. If something goes wrong, you can change the password. Keep a list of passwords you give them. For some reason, my OFS don't seem to have problems keeping track of passwords like my kids do! John |
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