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Getting a VA in Phillippines - anyone in UK done it?

by frobisher
13 replies
Hello there
It looks as though some people have had success with using a VA in the Phillippines. Has anyone in the UK had success with this? I'm thinking that the time difference might make it a bit difficult.
#phillippines
  • Profile picture of the author michaelcorvin
    I am not in the UK but the majority of my staff are in the Philippines. Very cost effective. John Jonas is a pro at this and has an entire website that teaches you how to hire them AND you get a membership to his site with like 40,000 Filipino resumes to search. This is all I use. Link below is NOT my affiliate link :-)

    How to Outsource to the Philippines - John Jonas Replace Myself

    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author michaelcorvin
    Also, my average employee costs me $300 a month..FULL TIME...

    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author frobisher
      Thanks Michael - how many have you got, if you don't mind me asking?
      Do you find you need to talk to them in real time or can you do it all by email?
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      • Profile picture of the author michaelcorvin
        Originally Posted by frobisher View Post

        Thanks Michael - how many have you got, if you don't mind me asking?
        Do you find you need to talk to them in real time or can you do it all by email?
        About 40...And sloanjim is right...not easy to manage. So here is the key...just like in any organization there are many facets to your business. You start with 1 person, create training videos on Screencast or Camtasia to teach them how to do a task, get them started, check their work, adjust them until they get it down the way you want it. As your business grows you add a second in that department. Eventually you bring one of your "leaders" in that department to a management position to lead...let's say your article writing department.

        The key is leverage...business is build on it. You are only 1 person. You need to either leverage capital to grow your business (i.e..clicks or other advertising) or you leverage manpower.

        Hope this helps

        Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    Yes but it's not easy to manage them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Starfusion
    I currently have 8 outsourced help and manage them through skype mainly. I also have a document excel spreadsheet which all of my employees currently have and i make sure they tick off and input the data daily to record what they have done and where.

    This helps me speed things up when checking on there work and how fast they complete the daily jobs.
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  • Profile picture of the author jordyhill
    I am in the UK and I have used a VA based in the Philippines for about a year. I only use him on an as needed basis. I booked him for some work on Odesk and his quality of writing was superb. He does all sorts of tedious jobs for me when I need it done, never takes long, full reports etc.
    We can talk via Skype if need be but emails have always been sufficient.

    Michael is right - they are very cost effective, and easy to work with in my experience.

    Just do some research, check their C.V.'s (or resumes) and make an informed choice.

    Curious about John Jonas now, though. Gonna check it out!
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    • Profile picture of the author IMWinner
      I am also not from UK but based on a friend from UK, it is possible to hire VA from the Philippines. It is normal to have some differences in a organization like offices that there are those who are performing and there are those who we say are less productive. You have to keep your authority and always in full control of the situation since we cannot erase the fact that there are really those non productive ones.
      You may want to check Odesk or onlinejobs.ph; there are a lot of applicants there from all over the world that can provide you the services you are looking for. You just have to check their CV's carefully and their portfolios. Test them first before hiring them since you can try to screen applicants to which of the applicants that you can give some try.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gantstar
    I did it but there is a massive gap in terms of what you want and what the person will deliver. The main thing is that you need manage the expectation correctly in terms of what you want. If they don't deliver what you want them to do then you only have yourself to blame . Before you go with ay VA do the following
    1. Make a list of what it is you want them to do step by step
    2. Address how long you want them to take to do the task
    3. Set a checkpoint twice a day on the tasks updates
    4. Make sure you do the task yourself - no point in giving something that you can't do yourself or explain
    5. Interview them
    6. Try to avoid independents go with an agency
    7. Test them out give them one task and see how they perform
    8. Remember they will never deliver exactly what you want unless you tell them and show them
    9. Be prepared to spend all your time in the first 2 weeks be there for them as though you are doing the task .
    10. If your not happy don't drag it out - its your money fire them and move on!!
    11. Learn from your mistakes and make sure they repeat back to you exactly what they understand about the task.

    I hope this helps . I have had lots of experience with outsourcers only met a few that met my expectation. Sometimes its better to be closer to home to get the best results and save money .

    Although the low rates sound attractive the problem is that you will be spending your time which is money + paying them to do the job which you need to support which = more money .
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    • Profile picture of the author frobisher
      Thanks for all the information. Is it important to interview them via Skype or telephone? I mean their spoken English may not be all that good but it's the written English that counts, right?
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      • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
        Originally Posted by frobisher View Post

        Thanks for all the information. Is it important to interview them via Skype or telephone? I mean their spoken English may not be all that good but it's the written English that counts, right?
        Not really if you ask me.

        If a person can write good English then he/she can speak good English.

        They might speak with a heavy accent but they should still be able to speak out what they write
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  • Profile picture of the author thomaspaylor
    Can anybody recommend a good agency that offers a VA service in the Phillippines? Please only recommend agencies you have used yourself.

    Thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author michaelcorvin
      Originally Posted by thomaspaylor View Post

      Can anybody recommend a good agency that offers a VA service in the Phillippines? Please only recommend agencies you have used yourself.

      Thanks
      How to Outsource to the Philippines - John Jonas Replace Myself

      I would not venture into this without guidance on how to correctly do it. John Jonas charges $97 a month but the shopping cart will offer it to you for $67 after your first payment if you commit to 12 months. You do not have to pay and can "freeze" your account at any time. With this you get access to his other site Hire a Filipino Virtual Assistant - Outsourcing to the Philippines | Home which is where I hire all my staff. $50 a month for online jobs or $67 for online jobs, training AND he gives you the training videos to give to your staff to teach them how to do everything for you.

      Michael
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