One VA Away: Building Your Virtual Team (Founder of OnlineJobs.ph) with John Jonas Episode #175

GUEST SUMMARY We are back in our respective lab with the man that helped us build it. John Jonas is the reason why this episode is even possible and has been produced in a collective effort by our team sourced from onlinejobs.ph. John Jonas is the founder of onlinejobs.ph – the job board for virtual workers in the Philippines. He discusses his journey into growing his businesses by outsourcing tasks and leveraging other people's time to build his business. What it’s like to outsource business processes and the process to finding the help that you need to grow your business by leveraging the right platform and setting the right expectations when onboarding a virtual assistant who John prefers to call an Online Filipino Specialist (OFS). After having built rapport with a few VAs, John was forced to step away from his business for a family emergency for several weeks forced to give the keys (figuratively) to his VAs to run his business remotely. Upon his return, the business had operated as usual without him running, it is then that John truly realized the power that this could have for entrepreneurs globally. He then built a platform to do just that. Fast forward to today, John has contributed to helping over 100,000 Filipino workers and entrepreneurs like himself nationwide hire expertise to help support their businesses and lifestyle while providing many opportunities for a workforce overseas. If you’re looking to build your business and get your time back in a scalable and affordable way onlinejobs.ph is what you need to implement in your experiments, John has created a platform that can give you the support and freedom you’ve always wanted in your & business. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE: 03:07 - Guest intro and background 05:22 - The problem John was trying to solve 07:13 - VA vs OFS KEEPING IT REAL: 14:44 - John on whether he feels like he’s steering the ship or getting help with directions 16:56 - John’s thoughts on going for qualities that show someone is willing to learn or skillset 20:36 - The first tactical thing to do when working with OFSs 26:20 - Does John tell OFSs why they’re doing what they’re doing? 31:02 - Initiative: hire it or teach it 32:54 - What it looks like to outsource everything 42:51 - Big no no for  business owners who’s looking to scale 47:38 - Advice for building teams 49:18 - An interesting illustration of how things work with people in the Philippines 52:06 - How impactful it  was to outsource from the Philippines NOTABLE QUOTES (KEY LESSONS): “Hire the best available person and best doesn’t necessarily mean highest skills” “I try and explain the why behind stuff every single time and that's why definitely helps them solve problems” CONNECTING WITH THE GUEST Website: johnjonas.com onevaaway.com Onlinejobs.ph replacemyself.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/replacemyself Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinejobs.ph Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OnlinejobsPh01 Podcast: johnjonas.com/podcast/ “The secret sauce of outsourcing” Book: The Outsourcing Lever: Secrets of How Successful Entrepreneurs Grow Their Businesses with Virtual Assistants Kindle Edition