Question 1

Are you an insured business and do you guarantee your work?

Accepted Answer

The first is to show as much as we can about how to GlobalSource, highlighting the right and wrong, and knowing how to find, engage and manage services/people with the least bias possible. The second is to open this window of opportunity to the entrepreneur that exists in every one of us. I don’t believe I have ever had a Tour that has not had several new businesses emerge. - See more at: http://www.mikesmanilatours.com/agenda/#sthash.FrAWMwVV.dpuf

Question 2

How did you decide to get into your line of work?

Accepted Answer

Mike O’Hagan was a Native New Zealander before immigrating to Australia at the age of 17. Beginning his working life, he travelled Australia in order to gain both experience and employment opportunities. Before settling in sunny Brisbane and beginning the path of Business ownership. Since this time, from a start of $200 bootstrapped business which grew into an Annual turnover of $30million, Mike has now become a serial Entrepreneur. The wisdom and opportunities for the new Australian Business model for the future is the focus of many keynote addresses. This highly sort after Keynote speaker presents real life sagas and overcoming each one with proven business strategies. Laugh and record the experience with Mike O’Hagan. Visit www.Ohagan.com.au to book Mike for your next speaking function.

Question 3

Do you have a favourite customer story you would like to share?

Accepted Answer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SgC6j5a0-o

Question 4

What do you like most about your job?

Accepted Answer

Hi Emma and Mike,  Well my head still hasn’t stopped spinning and I’m so enthusiastic and confident in the whole scene.  Mike delivered exactly what he said he would. He also prepared a number of “Wow” experiences that really enhanced our trip. I find that unfortunately rare in business these days. There really is NO way that I would have come up with the answer on how we were going to outsource without Mike’s patient and experienced knowledge. I would and will strongly recommend anyone who was even remotely serious about outsourcing to attend the Manila experience.  Thank you too Emma for your help and guidance. The river boating certainly fit my bill of adventurous travel and even the way back was a chance to get a glimpse and taste of the culture.  I signed up my first Odesk “task” today which was great. I am very much looking forward to signing up my first three team members with Lota as quickly as we can.  Onwards and upwards now.  Scott Trevethan  - Managing Director Scott Partners – Chartered Accountants  Thank you for all your support, knowledge and experience that you shared with us. I was truly blown away by, not only the possibilities that are available to us but the skill level and attitude the most of the teams we met have towards work over there.  Being a small operator (with big goals) I definitely see myself utilising some staff leasing within the next few months. Paula and I have been hatching some ideas on the side which we are pretty excited about too, which is cool.  Mike, on a personal note, thanks for all your energy and enthusiasm, not sure where you get it from but it certainly makes for a very impressive and fun tour Thank you. (you can quote me on that too!!)  Thanks guys. Iain  PS- I could do with a massage around about now but the prices here are too high!!!  Iain Duncan  - StopGaps Construction Services Pty Ltd.  St. Michael of Entrepreneurship,  I’ve been very slack in not putting fingers to the keyboard and writing to thank you for the wonderful education that was my week in Manila. Entrepreneurship is all about being able to make sense of chaos and to hold tight while the world reorders itself around you.  Manila and the emergence of global low cost educated labor is the perfect example of entrepreneurship embodied. It’s insane. The traffic is diabolical. The people are delightful, motivated and hungry both to learn and succeed. Their smart. The infrastructure has arrived. The floods keep it interesting. It is entrepreneurship at work.  And as you’ve always done you looked forward, saw the opportunity and embraced it. And better still your generously sharing it with anyone willing to put in the hard yards to turn up and explore it. Your an inspiration Mike. Keep up the great work. I’ll see you again in Manila soon.  Warmly,  Rod Douglas  Rod Douglas  This has been one of the better business experiences I’ve had and made that much better by the people we toured with and the free flow of information between us all, it’s something I’ve never experienced before and its success is all in the way you guys put it together, great job on your part.  The diversity of the businesses that you took us too, whilst the theme was similar, they all had something different to offer and each of us will take something away from this trip that will in some way, not only change our business life, but hopefully will add to the wellbeing of the Philippines.  I have a philosophy of “giving a hand up, not a handout”   and what you are doing here fits that nicely.  I’m very impressed with the two people we are employing here and will now work towards creating more opportunities for others here, which clearly will have benefits for our business as well, so it’s a win – win.  Again, thanks for the Tour, your companionship and the experience you created.  Warren G Robinson  - Walk on Wheels Australia Pty ltd  I have just returned from a “game changing” tour with Mikes Manila Tours. Any Australian business owner that is not aware of what is going on in the Philippines is in danger of being swept away by a Tsunami of inevitable change that will impact the Australian business landscape forever. This tour is a “must do” for any business owner, entrepreneur or anybody contemplating using outsourced “offshore” labour. The tour exceeded my expectations by 1000%. Just do it!  Chris Sam  I fully appreciate we hardly scratched the service in terms of the range of services offered and the type of business engagement possible. However, it was clear from the places we visited the challenges faced in setting up and running a successful outsourcing operation, therefore, the need to do due diligence on your preferred supplier.  Factors such as experience in BPO/KPO, the influence of local regulatory and administrative structures, cultural differences, communication challenges etc etc. require a good understanding of the local business environment as well as the specialist and global markets.  The tour has not only clarified some aspects of outsourcing and broken down some myths it has also opened my eyes to new and different issues.  In summary, the tour exceeded my expectations and offers exceptional value given the level of access to people across a range of businesses and services, topped off by some well organised unique personal experiences, thank you for a memorable tour.  David Fotheringham  - Consultant  The tour was everything you said it would be and more.  We had preconceived ideas that drew us to the Philippines and your tour … it became evident very quickly that we had only applied our minds to the first level.  Thanks for your time and effort putting this idea together, it is truly a worthwhile service to the SME in our marketplace … all the best expanding the idea.  Colin Mallory  - XL Express Pty Ltd  I wanted to thank you personally for the insights and openness you displayed on the tour.  You have really opened my eyes to the real possibilities of accessing a global workforce.  I truly feel your tour helped me to make a mental shift in my head from being a business operator to a business owner.  The connections you brought to the table were invaluable and over the next year I have no doubt I am going to get a return of more than 20 times the investment in your tour.  I look forward to sharing my success stories with you as I develop my business.  I want to thank you in advance for being an integral part of my success in the future.  Warren Seeto  - Clarity Professional Group  Thanks for the great tour. There were a couple of stops I was initially thinking would have no benefit but all stops had meaning to the overall learning. This experience will certainly benefit my business interests as well as those of my clients.  Your team and the group of outsourcing professionals you have compiled are a testimony to your foresight as an Entrepreneur.  Troy Wink  - VBD Chartered Accountantants  Thank you for an absolutely wonderful tour. It is one of my best experiences and am grateful for all the knowledge shared and connections made.  Thank you too for the five star hospitality! Every aspect of the journey is much appreciated!  My head is buzzing with ideas and look forward to start putting into action!  I want my husband and two or three friends to go on the tour ASAP. Can you please let me know the next dates available?  Larisha Engelbrecht

Question 5

What questions should a customer ask to hire the right service professional?

Accepted Answer

If you have an interest in improving your bottom line, developing much more effective processes for all your departments, or just learning so you can find the next Business Opportunity – then contact us via the form on this page.  Be aware: Only 8 people fit on the bus – so that is strictly the number per tour. Tours fill up fast – usually within a week of being announced. Tours are run only when Mike is free – so the notice is usually short.

Question 6

What questions do customers commonly ask and how would you answer them?

Accepted Answer

Note: Actual visitations are often adjusted to suit attendees on each tour and often also change on the day depending on traffic conditions. For this reason, an exact Agenda is not possible. If you have been on Tour before (repeats are common), we change about 20% of the places we visit on each tour. This ensures we always stay on the leading edge.  You should arrive a couple of days before so you are settled; and YES, you will need TWO days afterwards to revisit and extend your contacts.  Tours start at 8 or 9AM SHARP each day. There is absolutely NO SPARE time until you get back to the hotel, which is around 10PM on most nights. It is a full-on learning tour. And for your convenience, our vehicle is provided with Wi-Fi for your e-mail needs.

Question 7

What makes you the most reliable and trustworthy person for the job?

Accepted Answer

The first is to show as much as we can about how to GlobalSource, highlighting the right and wrong, and knowing how to find, engage and manage services/people with the least bias possible. The second is to open this window of opportunity to the entrepreneur that exists in every one of us. I don’t believe I have ever had a Tour that has not had several new businesses emerge.  Note: Please advise us of you dietary requirements prior to arrival. The tour provides all meals and drinks. No money is usually required during the tour. Never, never try and prejudge the worth of a visit by the type of business. The good-looking ones tend to be the least engaging, while the less attractive ones nearly always surprise. From all of these, you learn something.

Question 8

Why should a customer hire you over another service provider?

Accepted Answer

Mike has been employing in Manila for over 6 years. Over this time he’s made many mistakes and witnessed both successes and failures.  To help both large and small Australian Businesses overcome the issues he has developed, and regularly runs a structured 3 day Business Outsourcing Tour of Manila. This is about experiencing firsthand the DIFFERENT ways you can engage people and services. It also covers how to deal with your processes when outsourcing as well as the culture differences involved.  You will visit and analyse Big and Small BPO’s (Business Process Outsourcing), you will understand Seat Leasing, Staff Leasing, Call Centres, and Specialised Services – Administration and Manufacturing. There is no bias in what you are shown – you will see the good and the bad. This is 3 days of continuous visits to actual business that work with Australian Businesses.

Question 9

What are the typical things that you need to know before you can provide a quote to a customer?

Accepted Answer

The dress code is STRICTLY business attire (NO jeans nor runners). The private club where we will be having dinner enforces a strict dress standard.  We start in the boardroom of a medium-sized BPO company with a good background in the offshoring industry. We then discuss about the opportunities, issues, and examples of successful business ventures. Along with these is an in-depth understanding of the culture challenges. There are a variety of presenters including Mike, a history presenter, and a representative from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP).  Using our own van, we also get to visit a specialised service (Accounting). Lunch is in a private club, hence, the dress standard. The afternoon sees us visiting a government-owned BPO, as well as other services such as gaming/animation, drafting, and video editing. Often, we include more places in the Makati area, if time permits.  Dinner is in a private dining room, where various roundtable discussions take place. We finish with drinks in Mike’s apartment at Rockwell.

Question 10

How can a customer save money before you start the work? Please give 3 tips

Accepted Answer

Most businesses seeking to reduce costs and improve processes - correctly look at their “back office”. The initial decision has to be: 1. To source individuals on the likes of ODesk 2. Hand whole processes to the third party 3. Build a team (this one gets by far the best results) 4. Mixed around this could be using specialized services for higher ongoing expertise - like Accounting or Marketing etc etc. Then they need to decide on the type and most suitable services to support the process. Staff Leasing is the current boom for most Aussie businesses but there are other alternatives.

Question 11

Are there any special offers you would like to offer to Oneflare customers?

Accepted Answer

Arrive a couple of days before the scheduled tour; this lets you settle in.  We can assist you with a pre-tour transport and/or guides.  For partners not attending the tour, we can coordinate them with a local guide to take them shopping and sightseeing.  At a minimum, you need to spend the night before the tour starts (typically a Sunday night) at the New World Makati Hotel.  We start early the next day and proceed immediately with our itinerary.

Question 12

What makes your pricing competitive?

Accepted Answer

You will learn:      The appropriate prices to pay     How to avoid the common traps     What Filipino employees are really good at, and not so good at     The most common mistakes – which are usually at the Australian end     The effect of the accent, the limitations or considerations needed with Filipino English     What others are doing with GlobalSourcing to improve their businesses

Question 13

How do you normally charge for your service?

Accepted Answer

Visit out site and form for booking our Tours. You will visit and analyse Big and Small BPO’s (Business Process Outsourcing), you will understand Seat Leasing, Staff Leasing, Call Centres, and Specialised Services – Administration and Manufacturing. There is no bias in what you are shown – you will see the good and the bad. This is 3 days of continuous visits to actual business that work with Australian Businesses. - See more at: http://www.mikesmanilatours.com/#sthash.9mBFKAHF.dpuf

Question 14

Is there a particular aspect of your trade or industry that you specialise in?

Accepted Answer

As a rule – an outsourced Manila Administration worker, with a University degree, great English and a desire to work – costs about $1000 A WEEK less than an Australian Administration worker.  1000’s of Australian Businesses, big and small, now use this to drive higher profit, productivity, improved services, and more effective marketing programs.

Question 15

What experience, skills, qualifications or training do you have to make you the right person for the job?

Accepted Answer

Mike O’Hagan is a serial entrepreneur, who enjoys the innovations of business in this ever changing modern world of the information Age. As a Keynote speaker throughout Australia, Mike has had the opportunity to share with like-minded business owners facing all the challenges, all the experience he has gained throughout his 40+ years of working career. Working with a variety of industries and employers has exposed Mike to a robust background of business systems both good and bad. This has resulted in Mike O’Hagan creating an “adapt or perish” philosophy which is the cornerstone of his Innovative Business practices moving into the 21st Century embracing the Information age.

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