What do Filipinos, humble fun-loving folks from islands in the Pacific, have to offer Western businesses? Why should a startup owner, a go-getter entrepreneur, choose a Pinoy (the local term for a Filipino) to be a Virtual Assistant? Yes, they’re hardworking and loyal, with the perks of affordability due to outsourcing. But what really sets them apart from the rest, from VAs of other parts in the world?
The difference and deal-maker would be ingenuity and resourcefulness, the backbone of that makes Filipino resilience and success possible. It’s why Filipino migrants and expats are all over the world, seeking opportunity. And why, likewise, in the digital world Pinoys have carved a niche for themselves as Virtual Assistants.
The Virtual Assistant industry itself is a testament to Filipino resourcefulness. Pinoys comprise a significant percentage of VAs, as individuals and companies quickly jumped at the opportunity outsourcing offered. And they’ve proven themselves successful, offering quality services to their clients across the world while bettering their own lives. As businesses great and small profit from outsourcing to the Philippines, the country and its people have likewise benefited. Cities like Cebu are booming, and countless individuals secure their futures, provide for their families and move up in life (even getting seed capital to start their own local businesses!). It’s a real win-win, a symbiosis due to Filipinos’ bold, innovative and enterprising nature.
In a way, VAs and their clients are quite alike. Ingenuity and opportunity go hand in hand. Thus for business owners seeking to seize opportunities and develop their companies, ingenuity is a must-have trait for their workforce – virtual or otherwise!
With bookkeeping, you have consummate professionals – actual accountants – who are proficient with the tax systems of countries such as the United States, the U.K. and Australia. Your VAs are bilingual when it comes to conversations and income tax forms!
Pinoy web designers provide startups with much needed technical skills, elegantly weaving together strings of code to produce pristine sites when others would be stuck bashing their heads against their screens. In fact, the country has such capable designers that it’s become a hub for foreign app manufacturers.
The same goes with technical roles such as PHP Developers and SEO Specialists.
Filipino illustrators and graphics designers are also making a big splash when it comes to creating stunning visuals for global brands and startups. Aside from the VA market, quite a lot of the country’s visual artists have landed great jobs at companies like Marvel, DC, Pixar and more.
Content writers and social media specialists are more than proficient in English, having grown up on American and British media – everything from sitcoms to book series. The country’s social media addiction also means that your VA will be a savvy millennial capable of leveraging the medium in ways that will boost your business’ profile among audiences. Want to beat the big companies by wielding social media? Then you’ll want someone who has seen that first-hand.
These traits makes them perfect for customer service, telemarketer and executive assistant roles as well. These skills allow Pinoy VAs to converse well, seal deals, defuse complaints, or shoulder diverse roles and secretarial tasks their clients delegate to them.
With Filipino Virtual Assistants, your business will have a dependable hand familiar with the tricks of the trade, with the needed experiences and skills. But these VAs will also have fresh perspectives, the capacity to adapt and innovate. And that’s how they’ll make a difference.
