The Secret Sauce of Outsourcing

I talked about balikbayan boxes a while back. If you missed that episode, you can read about it or listen to it here: https://johnjonas.com/shipping-to-the-philippines-through-balikbayan-boxes/ https://anchor.fm/secretsauceofoutsourcing/episodes/Ep--107-Shipping-To-the-Philippines-Through-Balikbayan-Boxes-e1grlro After I published them, I received an interesting response with more information abou...

I'm often asked how someone can empower their Online Filipino Specialists to work more or do better. I've talked about this a bunch of times, but Billy came up with a fantastic process that I think everyone should know.  Let's talk about it in this episode. You’ve thought about hiring an OFS but you have questions. Here are the answers. ===> https://www.ofsguide.com/

Filipinos are generally trustworthy. You don't have to worry about them stealing your information. But if you're still worried about this, let's talk about what you can do to minimize your security risk when working with an Online Filipino Specialist. ----------- You’ve thought about hiring an OFS but you have questions. Here are the answers. ===> https://www.ofsguide.com/

How you train your Online Filipino Specialist matters.  You want training that teaches them what to do and empowers them to do better. How do you do it? That's what I'll be talking about in this episode. Also, if you need resources to help train your OFS, check out VAsMadeEasy.com .

***This episode was recorded days before the event but as part of learning about the Philippines, we decided to still publish this. On May 9, a big election is coming up in the Philippines. They'll be voting for a new president and other government officials. It's not normally a holiday but your OFS may ask for a day off because voting is really inefficient there.  That's what we'll be talkin...

One of the perks my team gets is we pay for private health insurance. We also pay for Philhealth. Most people think it's the same thing but they're actually different. I'll explain the difference in this episode. If you got other questions about hiring an OFS, check out OFSGuide.com . I've answered the most common questions there.

I don't like daylight savings time. I don't think it makes sense. The Philippines doesn't do daylight savings time too. It can be a problem when your OFS (Online Filipino Specialist) doesn't know about it. Let's talk about that. This isn't the only cultural thing you need to know when hiring an OFS. Get my book, The Outsourcing Lever , to learn more about Filipino culture and how it works with out...

Filipino workers respond well to good feedback. What does good feedback look like? That's what we'll be talking about in this episode. To help you guys out, here are the links that I mentioned in the podcast: OutsourcingLever.com - To help you understand Philippine work culture better VAsMadeEasy.com - Training you can give to your online Filipino specialists https://johnjonas.com/how-to-easily-tr...

Most people are familiar with buses, trains, and cars when they commute. In the Philippines, they also have that, but they also have jeepneys, tricycles, kalesas, and so much more! Let's talk about that. If you want to see what these vehicles look like, check out my newsletter: https://johnjonas.com/what-its-like-to-commute-in-the-philippines/

You're not legally required to provide health insurance for your OFS, but it's a good thing, especially if you can afford it and really love your team. It inspires loyalty and gives them peace of mind. Here's how we do it with our OFS team. ---------- Don't forget to check out the links I mentioned in this episode: https://blog.onlinejobs.ph/benefits-give-ofs-online-filipino-specialist-practical-a...

Everybody knows about the 80/20 or the Pareto principle. In my business, I try to focus on the 20% that drives 80% of our sales, which is content creation. Everything else, I delegate. It's the same for Steve Raiken of RaikenProfit.com. He focuses on his 20% and outsources everything else to his team in the Philippines. If you want to know how he does it, watch his video: https://youtu.be/j7_A2MIg...

In 2012, the Philippine government made changes to improve their school system. One of these changes is the introduction of senior high school. It's two years of additional schooling to better prepare students for college and give them essential skills to start working right away if they want. How would this affect you if you want to hire an online Filipino specialist? Let's talk about that in thi...

A couple of typhoons entered the Philipines two weeks ago. It hit Visayas and Mindanao and brought more rain than expected. If you have Filipino workers in those places, you may want to check on them to see if they were affected.

I grew up in Southern California, so I wore flip-flops a lot. I'm used to it because it's super comfortable to use when you're on the beach. In the Philippines, flip-flops are a cultural thing. They really love their flip-flops, aka 'tsinelas'. That's what we'll be talking about in this episode. To learn more about Filipino work culture, check out my book, The Outsourcing Lever .

David Baker is a busy non-profit minister who needed a lot of help. Hiring a local employee was too expensive, so he turned to the Philippines. At first, David didn't know what he was doing. But with OneVAAway.com, he finally found the best OFS for his business, and now he's doing even better than ever. Let's see how David did it in this episode. You can also check out the training library we just...

Electronics like laptops and smartphones are more expensive in the Philippines than here in the US. That's why it's sometimes tempting to ship items to them. Want to know why computers and phones are more expensive there? That's what I'll be talking about in this episode. --------- You’ve thought about hiring an OFS but you have questions. Here are the answers. ===> https://www.ofsguide.com/

Shipping to the Philippines can be costly. However, you can send gifts cheaper if you send them using a Balikbayan box. What is a Balikbayan box? How do you use it? That's what we'll be talking about in this episode.

I often get a lot of good, insightful responses when I send out a newsletter. But when I talked about my daughter taking the ACT and how school doesn't prepare you for a real job , I got a nasty reply. But it was still good because it gave me a better idea of what schools do for us. It also reminded me why we created VAsMadeEasy.com . We created this product to help your OFS improve and progress i...

The Philippines has 4 holidays this April. Talking about it early so you guys know about it. It's likely they're going to ask for days off during these holidays so you're ready if it does come up. Want to know more about Filipino work culture? Want to understand how to make it work for your business? Get my book, The Outsourcing Lever .

In my last podcast episode , I talked about why training is important for your OFS. But what if you don't have any training ready or you don't know where to start. Today, I'm going to talk about our done-for-you training library, VAsMadeEasy.com .

Training is an integral part of Filipino work culture. It's so important Filipinos have a name for this, OJT or on-the-job training. It's so prevalent that most Filipino companies provide this, and the Philippine government encourages this. Why does OJT exist? Do you need to provide this when you hire an OFS? How do you provide on-the-job training? For that last question, I have an answer for that...

A month ago I made Joven the manager of Onlinejobs.ph . He's the first person I hired and he's amazing. Was he always this capable of managing these things? No way! When I hired him he knew nothing about the job. But now he's super capable. Not only that, I have 10 other people in my team who are just as capable as Joven. How did this happen? That's what I'll be talking about in this episode.

This question is pretty polarizing. I know some of you believe that Filipino VAs shouldn't meet with clients AT ALL. I also know some who are okay with it and have even integrated it into their processes. Ruben Kanya actually lets his VAs meet with clients and he sent me a video talking about it. Why does he do it? How did he make it work? Let's talk about it in this episode. ---------- You’ve tho...

Most high schools and colleges here in the US and in the Philippines don't really prepare you for work. They teach you how to think and take tests, but they don't arm you with valuable skills that you can apply right away. That's why most of us prefer workers with experience and stay away from fresh graduates. It's the same thing with most VA training programs out there. Just because a Filipino VA...

Preparing to get a job in the Philippines takes so much work. Filipinos have to go through a lot of red tape, and it takes a lot of time to get everything done. No wonder a lot of them are looking for work online. How much time and effort does it take to prepare yourself to look for work in the Philippines? That's what I'll be talking about in this episode. This is the video Bob was stalking about...