Wow does it feel good to be here again

I know it’s been too long since I last posted (January 11th to be exact) but it’s not because I have been playing and not paying attention.

Nothing could be further from the truth…    

I have been working harder than ever on a project that I was recently invited into.

This project requires video tutorials and that’s what I have been very, very busy doing.

Every morning and every night…most times way, way past my bedtime.

If you’ve never written a script…let me tell you the whole experience is quite different than writing an ebook. And, that’s where I had to start…

writing the scripts for the videos that I am producing…on the subject of Outsourcing of course

When opportunity knocks…you have to answer and this is opportunity knocking loud and clear and although the time frame was very tight for me…I wasn’t about to pass up this exciting venture.

Which brings me to the message of this post….

Are you ready for success?

Seems like a simple enough question with a simple enough answer…BUT I ask again…

Are you ready for success?

You just never know when success is going to come knocking at your door…will you be ready when your doorbell rings?

This is the valuable lesson I learned the last couple of weeks.

Success has come knocking on my door…

I never saw this coming…nor did I go looking for it.

No one was more surprised than I was when I opened the email to find opportunity knocking loud and clear.

It came in a way I never thought possible.

It was like a shooting star that suddenly appeared in the heavens…

Was I ready? For success yes…

Would I have liked to have a few other things in place that I have talked about for months now? Yes.

So, I want to tell you right now…you never know when success will come knocking…

Get prepared. Quit procrastinating…
Been putting off writing that ebook or e-course that you know you would be great at teaching?

How about all of you who are determined to learn video but you have procrastinated and it is still a vision in your head?

Don’t wait…success could come knocking at any time…

It is the ~~~~action steps~~~~ that fill the image with energy needed to create in the physical realm.

(Remember, the word act…is hidden within the word attrACT….we must act in order to attract

The Universe will answer. But, this answer may not come the way you think it will.

The Universe loves surprises…

It truly is the most exciting thing that has happened to me online.

I am proof positive that if you put enough faith and belief into your dreams and passions and

and you take ~~~~action~~~on those dreams and passions…

they will manifest in this realm.

Remember…in order to attract we must act

Take a hard look at yourself and your online presence.

Are you doing everything you should be so when success comes knocking…

you never have to say…”why didn’t I?”

Are you ready for success?

Before I go…I want to publicly thank the grand Universe for this exciting opportunity and to Chuck who listened to his heart. I resonate very strongly with his voice.

His message is for the 21st Century and I am honored to be part of it…

Thanks to everyone who has helped me pull this off with short notice…

I couldn’t do it without the guidance and help of my friends…so thank you

Curious? I hope so Click the banner on top

With a grateful heart… and excited spirit!

Hive Desk…your new automated outsourcing tool. Anyone who has started outsourcing or wants to begin outsourcing will most likely have the same question come up in their minds…”how can I track my outsourced worker as they are working?” In other words…how do I know my outsourced worker is actually working during the times they submit?

For those that have used oDesk for their outsourced projects,  they provide a solution/service that will track your outsourced worker as they are working on their computer. But for those who were not using oDesk there was no way to track workers on how effectively and efficiently they are using their time.

Good news for those interested in this type program….

I recently was invited as a Beta tester for this new program called “Hive Desk.” Here’s how Hive Desk describes their service:

“HiveDesk makes outsourcing an easier process for both hirers and workers. It is a web and software solution used to help employers keep track of their workers by automatically tracking time and by sending periodic screenshot updates. This helps automate the flow of information from worker to boss, who are usually separated geographically.”

Basically this is how the system works:

Workers install  the desktop application software. The app runs quickly and quietly in the background. When ready to work, they use it to check in to your project.

Once an employee checks in, the timer starts. Their data is logged on their servers so you know how much time they’ve spent on your project. This mean accurate billing, and no time inflation.

It even has a option to allow a certain amount of  “idle” time (it is set at 5 minutes…but you can change it to your own needs or wants)

After 5 minutes of idle activity, the user is recognized as idle until they return. Idle minutes are subtracted so you’re not billed.

To keep you in the loop, screen shots of the desktop are uploaded and shared in ten minute intervals. Employees can delete screen shots at any time, but must provide reason with it.

So, why would people use HiveDesk?

• Save money! No more wasting money on your dollar…or inflating the hours worked. You can also save fees on other outsourcing portals by migrating your team here.
• Increasing information flow: With screenshots uploaded every 10 minutes, you will never be in the dark as to where you projects progress is. It also allows you to know immediately if something has been done wrong and it can be fixed without wasting anymore time.
• Building trust and relationships: The point of HiveDesk is not to control or micro-manage your workers, but to help you to build trust and loyalty. Additionally, many times you must hand over personal information suech as private codes, and passwords etc. to strangers which is never a comfortable feeling. HiveDesk makes the process safer and easier.

Sounds pretty efficient doesn’t it? Honestly I have been poking around inside…looking at the options but I have not actually implemented it. I sort of have mixed emotions about it.

Although I think it is an excellent product and something that was definitely needed you must take care to evaluate your own situation. If you already have your outsourced worker in place and you don’t doubt any of the times they are submitting you may not want to upset the apple cart by asking them to download a new program that will track their time.

Some outsourced workers…if they are already in place and doing a great job will be offended by this move and see it as a “trust issue.” So, you must use judgment in each situation.

On the other hand, if you have not yet started your outsourcing journey, you may want to implement this from the start of your projects  and only hire someone who agrees to download and use this platform. Using it from the start will not offend anyone whereas I feel that if you try and implement it after the fact…you may run into some very disallusioned workers….thinking that you no longer trust them.

HiveDesk continues to grow and add new options. You will soon have the ability to pay your outsourced workers through their site too.

Is HiveDesk for you? Only you can make the decision about whether this program can add value to your business. Many use a similar thing in oDesk with great success…and, no problems.

My job is to bring you the information about new products and services…and, its up to you to evaluate your own situation and see if this works for you

Remember, they are beta testing now so you can join free and see if this is something you will want to move forward with. It’s certainly worth your time to check out as it will cost you nothing and may be exactly what you need.

If anyone does decide to use it…I would love it if you would come back here and leave a comment and let us know how you like it

Taking my 86 year old mom gambling today She just loves those slot machines…and, she wins a lot too

enJOY…don’t forget to take time to play today!

Kathy *

Honey Young from EasyOutsource is here once again…this time to answer the many questions that arose from her previous post on a “Filipino’s Freelance Thoughts on Outsourcing.” Learning what it feels like from the other side of the outsourcing equation can only help you to be successful in your own outsourcing endeavor.

A Filipino freelancer Thoughts on Outsourcing….Your Questions Answered

In my previous guest article about A Filipino freelancer’s thoughts on Outsourcing, I read through all the comments and I am very thankful that you appreciated my thoughts on the topic. My main purpose for this post is to try my best to answer some of the questions posed on the comments on my previous article.

Ok, the following are my thoughts/opinions on issues that were raised:

Should there be a contract written about a trial period, is an email sufficient?

If you are hiring a freelancer for the first time, it is best to give them a paid trial task – something that would test their skills but won’t take too long to complete. This way, you will be able to test for their competency without too much commitment on your part. This also applies to hiring programmers.
While a contract serves as a deterrent, it is not completely necessary. Usually, instructions given via an email will do.

Is a month sufficient time to recognize that there is a definite win/win relationship?

A month working with a contractor, sometimes even less, will usually tell you whether you are satisfied with the output of your hired freelancer. You can tell a lot about a person’s work ethics within a month.

Should a freelancer write a daily record of their work and hours completed?

Definitely. Even if you are using a time tracking software, it is still wise to ask your freelancer to write a daily activity log. It only takes a few minutes of their time to do this, but it will help you picture the amount of work accomplished that day.
I write daily activity logs for my work for EasyOutsource.

How often should a review occur and what is the standard for raises and bonuses?

For a long-term working relationship, a quarterly review would be a good idea. Periodic raises will depend on your agreement with the freelancer, but milestone bonuses would be greatly appreciated. If your freelancer did extraordinarily well at a given task, a performance bonus will motivate us to work harder and to keep up the good work. It also serves to boost our morale that our work has been appreciated.

I have written a blog post on Employer tips for successful online outsourcing over at EasyOustource and you may want to read it.

Does a worker mind working for several clients if they need full time work and there is not enough work available with just one client? If the client found other work for them?

I cannot speak for other freelancers, but my personal opinion on this is that I will not mind working for multiple clients if:

• a. The work to be done falls within our agreed job description and I am not asked to do anything illegal or against the law or that will result in a conflict of interest with my original client.
• I would also appreciate it if the assignment of task will course through one client. Meaning, no matter how many people are assigning tasks to me, only one person will assign them and I will submit them to one person.The reason for this is different clients have different personalities and dealing with several personalities at the same time can be difficult. What works for one may not work for the other and it will only serve to confuse and frustrate a freelancer is he/she needs to adjust to different types of clients every so often.

How often does a freelancer/independent contractor expect to get paid?

Since most Filipinos freelancers work for a living, getting compensation every two weeks is the most ideal payment arrangement. This is the easiest way to budget our finances as most 9-5 jobs also pay bi-monthly and most freelancers will be coming from regular jobs and are already used to this payment schedule.

Paying once a month might be too long a wait for most freelancers as there may be financial needs that will come up that cannot be addressed if one will have to wait until the end of the month to get paid.

Paying weekly will also be too often as most freelancers will wait to withdraw funds every two weeks to save on fees that banks charge per withdrawal.

What is the best way to find a project manager?

Our very own Kathy addressed this issue in her guest post on EasyOutsource. She wrote up about the importance of hiring a project manager and she offered sage advice on this issue.

What are the most important prerequisites that a freelancer needs from their client?

The most important prerequisite that we, as freelancers, need from our clients is the assurance that after we deliver work, we will be paid. There are so many people out there who hire freelancers, ask them to do some work, only to disappear after the task has been accomplished/work has been submitted. I feel the pain of so many freelancers that have fallen victim to these non-paying employers.

It is not easy to invest your time and effort without any return of your investment. You spend hours of your time trying to complete a project only to end up not being paid for your effort and the employer earns money from the output that you delivered. Now, that is exploitation.

What is the ideal scenario for a Filipino freelancer?

Almost every Filipino freelancer would want to land a high-paying, long-term, online job. One of the drawbacks of having an online job is the lack of work security and tenure. If we can have that, and be well-compensated, and able to work in the comforts of our home, then that would be our ideal scenario.
Is there any cultural or custom differential that should be brought up?

I wrote a post explaining the case of the disappearing freelancer. This post gives you insight on the average Filipino’s personality and will hopefully shed some light on these custom differentials.

How to best deal with the time difference of the US and the Philippines?

There is a time difference of an average of 8-12 hrs between the US and the Philippines. While it would be good to work within the normal hours in our time zone, there are a lot of freelancers who are willing to adjust their work schedules to accommodate their employer’s time zone.
A good compromise would be that the freelancer will work early or late enough to have some overlap time with their employer to discuss important stuff in real time.

How much should be paid for a trial piece, like writing an article, putting up a blog, SEO and how long is the average time to do different jobs?

A trial job should be paid as much as a regular job. Say, you agree to pay $1/100 words for an article, that shouldn’t change if the task being assigned is a trial one. For trial projects, paying by the hour or per project depends on the kind of work that is required. Like for article writing, this is best paid per output rather than per hour as different freelancers spend different amounts of time writing a 500-word article.

Same goes for SEO, programming, and web design where the output is more important than time spent in doing it. Of course, there should still be a time frame given to complete the task, but payment shouldn’t be based on the time frame given.

For other tasks like data entry, transcription, link building, social bookmarking, these tasks are best paid by the hour if done on a trial basis. That way you can measure the amount of work done in the amount of time specified.

I hope that I am able to answer most of your questions in this post. I would be very glad to give you more insight on our culture and the things that make us uniquely Filipino in my next post. Till then! jullo

Author’s Bio:

Honey Young is the manager of EasyOutsource, a job site where the workers are all Filipino.  She is a Filipino online worker that was hired by the site owners, Matt O’Brien and Michael Eisenwasser.  Both Matt and Mike are American web developers who created EasyOutsource because they found that Filipinos are the best people to outsource work to.

Thanks Honey for answering some valuable questions for us. I am sure they have helped to clarify many issues and will continue to educate those interested in outsourcing to the Philippines…or elsewhere.

If you have any other questions please feel free to leave them in the comments and we’ll post the answers from Honey in another blog post coming soon.

enJOY your week-end…

Kathy *

Ok, so now its time to take a deep breath! After two huge Outsourcing course launches in a row, I can get back to providing  good quality content posting.  That’s what I really love doing

In previous posts I covered Onlinejobs.ph, which was created by John Jonas and Bestjobs.ph a Filipino based service.  These are both well established job services.

But, there’s a fairly new guy on the block that’s making waves and is another very viable option for finding that perfect full time or part time outsourced worker or VA…

This one called EasyOutsource.com was founded in 2009 and is the brain child of  Michael Eisenwasser and Matt O’Brien, two web developers from Chicago. Here’s what they had to say on their site:

“Our mission at EasyOutsource is to make it incredibly easy for employers and Filipino workers to unite in business relationships that will improve the lives and careers of both parties.

EasyOutsource is a site that business owners and freelancers can browse, interview and hire Filipino online workers. But not only is this great for the employer but Filipino’s who want to work from home online. They can create an account and connect with employers from places like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Like me, the creators of EasyOutsource have found that the Philippines is the most fruitful place to find high quality labor at very reasonable prices.

I’ve been poking around in EasyOutsource for the last few days. As with any hiring site, you have the option of placing an ad as you would on places like Odesk…stating in the ad your exact needs and what you are willing to pay…or, you can surf the selection of candidates yourself and pick and choose whom you would like to contact.

I started out by just browsing. I have a natural curiosity, so browsing first fulfilled my need to see what was available. I contacted quite a few. As is expected, I’ve heard back from some, heard nothing from others, and one even had the courtesy to write me and tell me that she was already hired and had no more time but she wished me well with my search. I will be keeping her name and profile handy. That showed a lot of class

There are a few things that I love about EasyOutsource and a couple of things I can see need improvement.

What I love:

First…I love that there are pictures attached to most profiles/resumes. Once again, this adds to the homey feel of the site. The avatar option is available to both employers and prospects, so keep in mind that they also connect with you and your picture. Adds another dimension to the relationship.

Tips for Employers:

• Great places to hire Filipino online freelancers
• A List of Things You Can Outsource
• The 6 secrets to hiring someone online!
• Why outsource to the Philippines?

and many more…

Tips for Workers:

• What to do if you get invited for an interview
• Tips on how to write an effective article
• Get hired quicker by creating an attractive profile -Part 2
• Get hired quicker by creating an attractive profile -Part 1

and many more…

They even have a Topics catagory:

• Employer Tips (15)
• How It Works (4)
• News (5)
• Philippines (8)
• SEO (1)
• Tips & Tutorials (9)
• Virtual Assistant (1)
• Worker Tips (13)
• Writing & Transcription (1)

You are definitely not left to fend on your own. They provide the resources to help you through your outsourcing journey.

What I didn’t like:

Not enough candidates. I think I’ve seen every candidate there. But, its not the fault of the site…just the “new” factor. As it gains in popularity, there will be many more choices. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty to get you started…but I know there are going to be many more.

The biggest flaw I noticed and the thing I dislike most is this: You cannot “Save” any candidates. That makes it tough for people like me because I like to browse first, save the ones I like and then go back and sift through them, pick the best and then write to them.

I could not find a “save” function on the site which means I had to write to my choices right away or copy and paste their resume into one of my own folders and save for later. This of course is easily fixed and I hope they fix it soon

You can actually save people as friends, but then they end up in your “friends” column…when all you really wanted to do was save their profile to review.

Another thing I like about them is that you can write to prospects directly from the site, so that allows you to keep an easy record of whom you have contacted and how they have replied.  It’s almost set up like a social site where you make and bookmark friends.

Once you have signed up with an account you receive a very nice welcome from Honey Amabelle who takes care of the Admin business for them. Kind of a nice cozy feel…she becomes your friend, so you never feel alone.

My next step on this journey will be to create my own ad on EasyOutsource. I am curious to see what kind of response I get as opposed to hunting on my own If you’re on the hunt for that perfect Filipino worker, don’t pass up a chance to review the quality candidates at EasyOutsource.  It’s the only one of the three that I mentioned that is free to use…for now anyway…so, take advantage of that!

Next up:

An update on how I am doing in Tyrone’s course.

Till then….enjoy the journey

Kathy *

Things are really heating up as John Reese releases his second video leading up to the launch  of “Outsource Force.” If these videos are any indication of what’s inside this course, I remain very interested.

Here’s some of what he shares in this free video:

• Web sites you can use today to find people to hire for $300/month full-time.
• The magical “not-an-iPad” device that turns ideas into auto-pilot cash flow.
• A special task you can give anyone to find out if they’re a ‘good’ worker.
• Why you should avoid outsourcing firms at all costs. (How John lost over $100,000.)
• The inexpensive software John calls his “money-making delegation machine.”

And much, much more!

Watch The Video Right Now:
“Outsource Force”

Remember, these videos are free to watch…you don’t even need to sign up to a list. Just follow the link and start the video.

Everyone loves a free education and it doesn’t get any better than this. I can already tell that I like the way he teaches. He’s easy to follow and seems to be a natural born teacher.  And, because of his enormous budget, his videos are second to none…a real pleasure to watch and learn from.

No matter what your intentions are concerning his actual course that is upcoming, you’d be crazy not to take advantage of these free outsourcing videos that are shock full of valuable information you can implement immediately.

Let me know what you think….;)

Kathy *

Great video testimonial interview with Tyrone Shum and former student “ScissorBoy”

Remember, less than 24 hours are left to sign up for Tyrone Shum’s “Mass Outsource MasterMind”…

his course on outsourcing to the Philippines.

Don’t sit on the fence any longer. Give yourself the “gift” of growth, expansion, wealth and freedom!

Grab a spot before the doors close…don’t be left behind.

See you on the inside!

Kathy *

Remember, this is a NO RISK course. Tyrone offers an unconditional guarantee for life…no questions asked. So, what’s your excuse now?

Now that I’ve had some time to search and study a bit in Jeff Mill’s Outsourcing Secrets and John Jonas’ ReplaceMyself.com let’s distinguish what the differences are between the two.

Jeff Mill’s Outsourcing Secrets is geared toward educating you, not the outsourcer…as opposed to John Jonas’ ReplaceMyself.com which is a resource site dedicated to teaching your outsourcer. Each site does have tools to use for your outsourcer such as Jeff Mill’s 81 Word Press Video Tutorials that either you or your outsourcer/member of your team can log in and view. These 81 videos are broken down into 7 modules for easy navigation and viewing.

Jeff also puts out a newsletter filled with tips and suggestions for your outsourcing project as well as continually motivating you to take action. His is an ongoing coaching program in outsourcing. He also hosts a few seminars each year. His next seminar is called “The Boost Seminar” and will be held in St. Paul, Minnesota (Jeff’s home state) March 19, 20th, 21st of this year.  Remember, Jeff said there are two things that successful Internet marketers do:

• they all network by going to these Seminars (the absolutely best place to meet new JV partners as well as bringing people into your existing network.) Your network is your lifeblood and without it you will struggle to succeed.
• they all outsource some or all of their work

A few more things you’ll find in Jeff’s site include:

• A page full of videos from interviews he did on outsourcing and related subjects with other successful marketers. Some titles include: “Affiliate Management using Outsourced Talent” and “Jeff Mills presents the Train My Money Maker System and Blueprints.”
• A page of hiring documents such as a Work for Hire Agreement and Affiliate Manager Agreement.
• A full page of MP3′s to listen to and PDF’s to download and learn from.
• A forum to exchange ideas, ask questions, network with others who are interested in outsourcing. It’s not a heavily active forum…at least not yet, but Jeff does seem to monitor it daily and responds quickly.
• A complete resource page, showing you the tools and systems he uses with his virtual assistants.

Jeff also offers the option of purchasing his “Train My Money Maker System and Blueprints.” Included with this system are 8 Money Making Systems that are essentially a “business in a box” type thing that you give your outsourcer, tell them to watch the videos, read the manuals and implement what they learned. I can’t list them all but here is an example of one: “Affiliate Auto Blogs.” Your outsourcer would learn this system and implement it.

These 8 ready made systems will cost you $249….which I actually think is a very fair price to have something ready to go and start your outsourcing immediately. The perfect shortcut to those who want to outsource but don’t have their own manual or package/system they can hand to their outsourcer.

Replacemyself. com was created by John Jonas a year or two ago to address outsourcing….specifically to the Philippines. This site will be primarily used to train your outsourcer in all the Internet marketing tasks that will be required of him. Included in John’s site:

• MyProjectPlans …this is the area you  use to post your projects/assignments and your outsourcer checks in to complete them. This is the only place you should be sending your outsourcers to. Replacemyself.com is not for their eyes, only “My Project Plans” which is an area you  will have access to once you join Replacemyself.  Your outsourcer can see at a glance what needs to be accomplished. Of course you only have continued access to this as long as you are a paid member.
• Training Modules: You will automatically get the “Welcome” module and one other bonus module of your choice after joining. A new training module is released to you each month and you are allowed to juggle them into the order that you want to receive them. Additionally, you can puchase each module for $97…with each module you purchase you will also receive one month of membership in ReplaceMyself.com. Memberships cost $97 a month. These modules become available for your outsourcer to access in the My Project Plans area. To be honest, I’ve only watched a few of these videos but I’ve read in a few places that they are not the best quality training videos out there. That will have to be your decision
• A complete “Business in a Box” for those who can’t wait to get started but do not own any systems to give an outsourcer.
• Pre-found employees…if you neither want to or don’t have the time to sort out an outsourcer for yourself, there is a section of Pre-found employees that you can hire. Be aware that you will be tagged with quite a substantial “finders fee.” I find this area lacking in choices.
• Access to BestJobs.ph and Onlinejobs.ph…in my opinion this is probably the best benefit of joining Replacemyself.com. Remember I told you in my last post that Bestjobs.ph is no longer allowing anyone to sign up  for an account if they do not own a physical Philippine address. No one knows the reasoning for this, but inside John’s site he gives you access to Bestjobs.ph. You also get free access to Onlinejobs.ph which is his own Philippino hiring site that he set up. If you joined each one of these separately, you would have to pay for a membership…with Replacemyself.com it comes free….and, remember you cannot sign up for a new account at BestJobs.ph…this may be your only entrance into that resource.

As you can see, each one of these two membership sites has their place. One to educate, motivate and coach you to outsourcing success, and the other to educate, motivate, focus and coach your outsourcers.

The cost of Jeff Mill’s Outsourcing Secrets is $47 with a free month long trial. The cost of John Jonas’ ReplaceMyself.com is $97 a month. Most likely after the first month or two you will not have to continue as a member unless you want to send your outsourcer to these resources (such as “MyProjectPlans”)…obviously you would have to have a password and log in info to get them in.

In my own dealings and research into Jeff Mills and John Jonas they have come up with high marks in integrity and always over deliver content to their members. But, as always, you must do your own research and make up your own mind if these memberships are what your business needs at this point.

I am interested in what you have to say…so, please take the time to comment and let me know if there is anything else you would like me to cover on these two outsourcing sites.

As for me, I will continue my own study and implementation of these tasks. I am presently searching for my own outsourcers from the Philippines and I will continue to post my progress.

By the way…both of these membership sites have affiliate programs. Yes, I am an affiliate for both, but remember, I am also a paying member of both sites.  Everything I said would have been said the exact same way even if I were not an affiliate

enJOY your day and dream about the 4 hour work week

Kathy

Here are the links to Jeff’s and John’s blogs:

John Jonas: http://www.jonasblog.com/

Jeff Mills: http://www.jeffmills.com/

There are three main players/components to  Outsourcing to the Philippines (or anywhere overseas)

• The owner…the entrepreneur, the one with the vision (that would be you )
• Project Manager…your most important asset with any business is an excellent Project Manager. This is the person who will delegate the tasks that need to be done within the business  model that you have given them. It is also their responsibility to follow up to make sure it gets done right. When you first start out outsourcing, you may have to assume this position at first but it won’t be long (once the successes start coming) before you will need to put someone else in the most important position so that you can concentrate on starting new business’.
• The technicians…these are the players that the Project manager has designated your tasks to…these are the ones that actually do the physical work for you. This is your team.

Although I promised you two web sites to work from to hire from the Philippines, it seems that one site bestjobs.ph is no longer allowing anyone who is outside of the Philippines to sign up. This site is still active but it is only for people who have physical addresses with business’ located within the Philippines.  So, until they change their mind again…this one will have to go by the wayside..although there are creative ways of getting in.

When they closed bestjob.ph to outsiders, John Jonus (who was successful at using these Outsourcers) decided he would set up his own site to connect online jobs and Filipino workers  with American, Uk, Australian etc. countries.

www.Onlinejobs.ph was born in early 2008 and became the “Outsourcing to the Philippines” go to source. Onlinejobs.ph is geared specifically at Filipinos who want to work online for foreign companies.

For the most part, they are all college graduates…or senior students looking for work. The ones you should concentrate on are the ones with the Science of Technology degree. They each have different strengths and skills listed…its a rare one that would come trained in all aspects (I would wonder about those qualifications anyway)….but they all can and want to be trained to execute new tasks and procedures.

To get the best results, you need to email at least 20 people at a time with your desired job. Not everyone will return your email even if it seems they are available. Sometimes these people are listed in such places as Craigslist in the Philippines as well as onlinejobs.ph and they may have secured a job there.

Once you get email results, filter through and eliminate any that don’t seem a good fit. Narrow your list down to 5-6 applicants. Once you do this you want to test them on a fairly difficult task…to see what degree of proficiency they have, but more importantly, you  want to see their ambition and resolve to accomplish new tasks they aren’t familiar with. The ones creative enough to find and execute the answer to something they previously had little knowledge on is the person you are looking for. You want a self starter.

Personally, I think paying them for doing this task is important. It sets up good vibes between you and your prospects  and allows them to see your generosity from the start. Even if you paid each one around $25.00 you could do 5 of them for $125 which is not a lot to spend on hiring an assistant…but it is a lot to them in terms of reward. You’ll attract better prospects this way too.

Another thought is to filter through the applicants and if you feel you have found one that you would like to try out, hire them on a “trial” basis for the first month. Make sure they understand that the first month will be a trial to see if the job is a good fit for them and they are a good fit for you.

Once you’ve made your decision and hired someone, you must be sure to and stress the fact that you are “there for them.” If they can’t figure something out and they are too scared to turn to you then they will just quit showing up and walk (just like a brick and mortar employee would do.) Treat them like you would any respected brick and mortar employee. When you find a good one…one with integrity, education, creativity, passion, desire, tenacity, persistence and honesty…they are worth spending the time to nurture and train. In the end, its you that will reap the reward.

Remember, you are not Outsourcing one task to a temporary employee as you would on a site like Elance. You are training your assistants for full or part-time employment. And although you can higher part time, according to John Jonus it is better to eventually have full time employees only…as soon as you can afford to do so.

Two more things to be aware of  are bonuses for those that have earned them  and “the thirteenth month.”

• Bonuses…Because of the money exchange, it won’t cost you much to give bonuses…when they are earned, and will only endear you to your employees more….creating deep trust and loyalty which can only be a good thing.
• “the thirteenth month”...this is a tradition in the Philippines but your Filipino worker will most likely not mention it…maybe assuming or hoping that you are aware of it. Here’s the tradition: When the 12 month year is over, they are automatically rewarded a “thirteenth month’s pay” equal to one month’s salary. Can you imagine how excited and surprised your employee will be when you automatically give them this gift at the end of the year?

John Jonus has a membership site…www.ReplaceMyself.com that has training manuals that you can give to your newly acquired employee/employees, videos they can watch and learn from and he even offers his members access to a “business in a box”…for those who want to get started but don’t have a package they can give their employee to learn from and get going.

Next post we’ll explore www.ReplaceMyself.com in more detail and I’ll reveal more of what’s available to members behind closed doors. There’s an interesting side note to joining Replace Myself that you’ll learn about too.

In the meantime, you can check out John’s blog at: John Jonus Blog

Celebrating freedom…yours and mine 

Kathy

Christmas was wonderful as I shared it with my daughter, son-in-law, children and grandchildren. I do hope you were able to share Christmas with loved ones too. With a little bit of a reprieve between Christmas and New Year I thought it a good time to continue our series on Giveaway Events.

Moving on with JV Giveaway Events, let’s finish talking about what needs to be in place before you enter a Giveaway Event.  So far our list includes:

• your gift to be given away in the form of an ebook, report, membership site pass or coupon
• your own mailing list to promote to and/or ways of advertising the Giveaway promo
• a reliable autoresponder…the one I use and highly recommend because of it’s reliability is aWeber. Your autoresponder is what you will use to send out the link to your gift once they have opted in

Today we’re going to cover the last few things that will be required of you when you enter a Giveaway Event….your Landing/sign-up page and your Thank you page.

Landing/sign-up page:

Once someone enters the Giveaway, they will browse through the listed items (with graphics) and click on any item that may interest them. Once they click on your listed item, they will be taken to your Landing/sign-up page.  The Landing Page is of utmost importance, because it is this page that must continue to entice them to sign-up. You don’t want to loose them if you’ve gotten them this far! Here’s a short list of things you will want to include on your Landing/sign-up page:

• As the name implies, your Landing/sign-up page will include your opt-in form. This is where they actually sign up as a subscriber to your list. Once they have signed-up, your pre-loaded autoresponder will then ask them to confirm that they were the ones that did indeed sign up. Once they have confirmed, they will be sent an email and in that email you will include the link to your download/gift page. Once they click on this link, they will land on your download page where the link to their gift is located. You can also include directions on your download page such as how to open and “save” the gift.
• A list of benefits that target the “what’s in it for me” phrase  The better they understand how this product will benefit them, the easier it will be to get them to sign up.  Additionally, you can add any information that you feel is pertinent to your gift that will entice them to sign-up.
• A short reminder that they must sign-up in your opt-in box in order to receive the gift (most will know this, but never assume they realize these things!)
• Let them know that their subscription can be canceled at any time…eliminate any fears they may have
• Assure them that you will never rent, share, sell or give away their address to anyone!
• A contact/email address that they can reach you at. If you use a help desk, then be sure and add the URL info. This will reassure your visitors and subscribers that should they have any questions, you are available for them. This contact information should be included on your Landing page and your Thank your page.

Thank You Page:

Your Thank You page is the last required element that you must have in place before the Giveaway launches. This page does exactly what the name imples…it will thank your subscriber for opting in to your list (your opt-in form should redirect them to this page.)

Use this page to remind your subscribers that they will receive the download via email once they have clicked the confirmation link they will receive. Some Thank you pages go into great detail about how to confirm their subscription…to make it easy for any newbies that may not be familiar with the routine.

The remainder of the page can be used to offer a back end offer for an item that would compliment the choice they have made. You can go to Clickbank or PayDot.com and choose a product to use for your back end offer or possibly you know someone who will allow you to offer a product of theirs for a discount. Be sure that the product compliments and doesn’t compete with your product!

Final tips:

“The eye buys.” The first thing that your prospective subscriber will see on the gifts page is an image of your product. It doesn’t cost a lot to have professional images created that will help to grab their attention. Remember too, that the host of the Giveaway Event will need an image to post on the images page, so be sure and get graphics in different sizes.

Of course if you are proficient, you can use Photoshop or any similiar program to create these images for yourself. With the popularity of ebooks gaining ground everyday, there are many new software programs…targeted to the creation of ebook covers…entering the market to choose from.

Now you know all the elements that are required of you before a Giveaway launches. Next installment we’ll discuss a bit about where to find these hot Giveaway Events. Now that we’ve covered how to build a list with your Giveaway event, we’ll cover how you can make money from joining a Giveaway Event.

I would love to hear your feedback on Giveaway Events, so don’t be shy. Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Celebrating success…yours and mine!

Kathy

p.s.
A friend of mine, Ron Barrett at “Internet Marketing Insights with Ron Barrett” has put together a very reasonable offer for anyone (like myself) who does like doing the techie part of Giveaways, or maybe its your first one and you’d like some help getting it set up to make sure it is done right….check out his offer to help at:

http://www.ron-barrett.com/YourGiveawayHelp/

For other events:

JV Giveaways

(This post does not contain any affiliate links, so I have no personal interest in any link…but it does contain some excellent links that will help educate you in your list building business!)