Finding Honey: How Serendipity Changed My Offshoring Journey

I've always been a big fan of honey. Ever since I was a kid, I thought honeycomb and all the different flavours of honey were something truly magical. Fast forward nearly 30 years, and it's now getting me in trouble.

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I have a six-month-old son with chronic reflux, a sleepless wife who's at her wit's end, and I'm on my 30th attempt at growing a business through offshoring. It's 10 PM, I'm staring at a screen, scrolling through endless freelancer profiles, while my wife is behind me trying to run a house and being confronted by a truly ridiculous amount of honey in our cupboards.

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She's yelling at me about the honey collection. I'm about to close the computer in defeat. Then something makes me click on tab seven – it was my lucky number. I look at the very top of that page, and there's a candidate with the highly unusual name of Honey.

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I am definitely somebody who is not afraid to act upon signals and serendipity. Feeling as if I've just been given a clear indicator that this might be the one, I opened the profile and proceeded to reach out. Sometimes something incredibly simple like that can see you meeting somebody across the world and starting a new chapter together.

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Years later, I've come to understand the heart of our success. We're regional people at our core, and we naturally connect with others who share that background.

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While we've built wonderful relationships with clients from major cities, there's often a common thread—they've either grown up regionally before moving to the city, or they're simply cut from a different cloth than typical city dwellers.

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Regional life shapes you differently. You tend to be more grounded in nature, maintain closer bonds with family and friends, and operate under a different set of pressures and values. This fundamental difference influences not just how we work, but the results we achieve for clients who share this mindset.

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The connection with Honey perfectly illustrates this. She hails from Balanga, I'm from Toowoomba—both university towns of similar size (they even rhyme!), both regional, both close to nature. From our first interaction, I recognised something familiar in her communication style, work ethic, and the respect she showed. It was like meeting someone who spoke the same unspoken language.

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My experience with city-based professionals often revealed a guardedness—an understandable response to their environment. It's not a character flaw; cities can be challenging places. Between the demanding environment and the constant stream of outsourcing inquiries, it's natural to develop protective barriers.

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In my early days, I was part of the problem. When I first employed around 30 people, I approached outsourcing without proper structure, cultural awareness, or supporting technology. I lacked understanding of what makes Philippine outsourcing truly work.

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Most outsourcing providers operate from Manila, Cebu, or Clark—places where, honestly, I'd hesitate to bring my family to see what their dad does. Clark, a former American military base, has become heavily commercialised with profit often prioritised over community. Manila holds the title of world's most densely populated city, with challenging air quality, intense heat, visible poverty, and little access to nature.

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Are there exceptional people running great businesses in these cities? Absolutely. Some of my own mentors operate there, and I know wonderful individuals doing excellent work. But finding them feels like a game of chance—a stark contrast to the reliability we've built through our regional approach.

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The Catholic heritage runs deep here. Regardless of personal beliefs, there's no denying how this shapes the community's character. I often describe Balanga as perhaps the most devoutly Catholic place outside Vatican City. When church bells ring, traffic genuinely stops. Churches overflow with congregations, community bonds run strong, and crime remains remarkably low.

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The connection to nature and family is profound, and you'll struggle to find warmer, more genuine people. Balanga has a noticeably youthful population, shaped by an American-influenced university system and three centuries of Spanish Catholic tradition.

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Many people misunderstand the Philippines—puzzled by accents or communication styles. Once you realise they've had foreign occupiers for 400 years, everything clicks into place. But Balanga stands apart as something truly special.

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Its strategic location has drawn attention throughout history. While some chapters are difficult—particularly from World War II—much of this attention has enriched the region through educational and cultural influences that continue to shape it today.

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What sets us apart is our deep understanding of regional business culture. We deliver results for family-oriented business owners who value genuine relationships, solid structure, stability, honesty—and who believe work should be enjoyable, not just profitable.

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Not all Philippine outsourcing is created equal. If you're a corporate giant chasing maximum profits and convenience at any cost, you'll find plenty of providers happy to serve you.

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But if you're a small business owner who cares deeply about how you operate, who treasures the people you work with, and who wants to do business differently—if you've ever heard "We're here to help" and actually believed it could be true—then we should talk.

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Because sometimes the best business partnerships begin with honey in your cupboard, a crying baby, and the courage to click on tab seven.

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