the 4 expensive mistakes i made with my first hires from the Philippines...

1. chasing price over value
2. having 0 standards (other than English)
3. ignoring their character
4. avoiding all leadership

thinking "cheap" means "good value"
want to know what $2/hr quality looks like? exactly what you'd expect..
instead, i look for the best value (crazy concept, i know)
for the Philippines, i have found the $3-5/hr range to work best for no direct experience
the kind of talent i want to work with, are not applying to $2/hr jobs
oh and if $900/month feels too expensive, you're not ready to hire

weak vetting process
why lower your standards because they're overseas?
i used to just ask a couple generic interview questions and make sure they could speak English..
now, we have a thorough 4-level vetting protocol that filters out 97% of applicants

blinded by experience
your virtual assistant's resume looks great -- but i would never hire them
for me, CHARACTER is KING
i can teach someone the hard skills.. but i can't teach someone to care
so now, i always focus on figuring out the kind of person they REALLY are

the leadership vacuum
most "VA problems" are actually leadership problems
if you treat them like your 'assistant', thats the same energy you get in return

stop saying VA's suck when you... hire the cheapest person, have zero standards, ignore red flags, and ghost them.