Free Skills Check
The world needs Filipino skills. Find out which of yours.
In about 5 minutes, see your strongest skills, the roles clients abroad hire for, and how ready you are.
- Free, no credit card
- Full result by email
- Made by John Smulo, 2026 Pusong Pinoy Awardee
The Skills Check
Which of your skills do foreign clients pay for?
Many Filipinos already have skills that clients in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe pay for. Most people just do not know which ones.
Answer 16 short questions
About your work, what you have actually done and what you enjoy.
See where you fit
Your top skills, 2-3 roles that fit you, and how ready you are for foreign clients.
Get your plan
A growth path and a 30 day plan, sent to your email.
Who it is for
Kaya is for you if you are
Starting out
You want your first foreign client and you are not sure where to begin. We help you find your starting point.
Find my starting point →Already earning
You have clients. You want a higher rate, steadier work and new skills. We help you get there.
See my next level →What Kaya covers
6 parts of a better working life
Skills and earning
Find what you are good at, get foreign clients and charge what your work is worth.
Confidence
Speak up with clients, name your price and present your work without fear.
Health
Sleep, energy and stress, for people who work night shifts or foreign hours.
Family
Time with the people you work for, and limits on your work hours.
Money
Save, build an emergency fund and avoid scams, when your income comes in dollars.
Learning
New skills, including AI, explained in plain language.
How Kaya works
A community that helps you grow
You are not alone in this. Hindi ka nag-iisa. (That is Tagalog for "You are not alone.") Members help each other, answer questions and cheer each other's wins.
- Join free and take the Skills Check.
- Join our private Facebook group and meet members who do the same work as you.
- Come to free monthly online classes for your skill group.
- Active members hear first about real opportunities when they come up, like job openings, client leads and speaking slots at Kaya events.
The people behind Kaya
Kaya's 2 co-founders
Kaya has 2 co-founders: John Smulo and Mariane "Yanyan" Labonete. Here is who each of them is.
Meet John
John Smulo · Co-founder of Kaya · 2026 Pusong Pinoy Awardee
John Smulo is an American who chose the Philippines. He has lived here since January 2020, first in Cebu and now in Manila.
In 2008 he started Purple Cow Agency, a digital marketing company that serves clients abroad. Today it runs with a skilled Filipino team from its office in Cebu IT Park. He has started other businesses too, including a health care outsourcing company.
That matters for you. For years, John has been the foreign client. He hires, pays and keeps Filipino talent. He knows what clients abroad look for, and what makes them say yes.
Pusong Pinoy Award, May 2026
The Benita and Catalino Yap Foundation gave John the 5th Pusong Pinoy Award. Pusong Pinoy means "a Filipino heart." Filipino leaders chose him after a personal interview, for his work helping Filipinos grow.
His YouTube channel about life in the Philippines has more than 34,000 subscribers and more than 4.8 million views. He has been interviewed on Philippine radio and writes for Diskurso, a Philippine publication.
"I keep meeting Filipinos who are better at their work than the clients paying them know. Kaya is where I help them get paid what that work is worth, without losing their health or their family time along the way." John Smulo
Meet Yanyan
Mariane "Yanyan" Labonete · Co-founder of Kaya
Yanyan is an accountant from Batangas who did what many Kaya members want to do. She left corporate work and started freelancing online. Her first client was in Texas, for part time bookkeeping. She started at US$3 an hour and raised her rate step by step to US$10.
Her road there was not straight. She studied accountancy and worked abroad as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Saudi Arabia, for Japanese and German companies. Back home, she tried online selling in 2018 and insurance in 2019. During the pandemic she taught herself Facebook ads. Then she found her place: bookkeeping for clients abroad, through Upwork and OnlineJobs.ph.
Once she was earning, other accountants started asking her how she did it. So in 2021 she started Accounting PIFOLZ, a free Facebook community for accountants and bookkeepers. It now has more than 25,000 members. Members share how they find clients abroad, what to charge and how to keep the work.
What Yanyan runs
- Task-Wise VA Consultancy, founded in 2021. It helps companies in the United States and Australia hire Filipino accounting and admin staff.
- WorkSync Opum Solutions, cofounded in 2025 with accountants and Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). It does outsourced accounting and recruitment.
- World MasterClass Philippines, which she has led since July 2026. It runs business events and speaker training in Manila.
- Accounting PIFOLZ, her free community for accountants and bookkeepers, since 2021.
In Kaya, Yanyan runs the Facebook group. She welcomes new members, connects people who do the same work and helps choose the free classes.
Our promises
What you can count on
- Free to join. No credit card, ever, to be a member.
- No get rich quick talk and no income promises.
- No selling, recruiting or investment schemes in the group.
- Your data is protected under the Data Privacy Act of 2012. We never sell your information.
- Real people, real numbers. If we share a member's result, it is with their permission.
- We will never ask you to pay a fee to get a job or a client, and we will never ask for your passwords or bank details.
Questions
Questions people ask
Is Kaya legit?
Yes. Kaya is free to join and never asks for a fee to get a job or a client. You can check who is behind it: John Smulo, founder of Purple Cow Agency and a 2026 Pusong Pinoy Awardee, and Yanyan Labonete, an accountant who started Accounting PIFOLZ, a Facebook community of more than 25,000 accountants and bookkeepers. If anyone asks you for money or passwords in the name of Kaya, it is not us. Report it in the group.
Is Kaya really free?
Yes. Joining, the Skills Check, the tools, the Facebook group and the monthly online classes are free. Later we will offer some paid events and courses for members who want to go deeper. You never have to buy anything to stay a member.
Is this a networking or investment scheme?
No. Kaya does not allow recruiting, network marketing or investment offers. Posts like that are removed from the group.
I live outside Metro Manila. Can I join?
Yes. Kaya is for Filipinos all over the country. Our classes are online and our pages are built to work on mobile data.
Do I need experience with foreign clients?
No. Many members are starting out. The Skills Check shows you where to begin.
What do you do with my email?
We send your results, class invitations and free resources. You can unsubscribe from any email with 1 click. Read our Privacy Notice for the details.
Why does an American care about Filipino workers?
John has lived in the Philippines since January 2020 and has built his businesses with Filipino teams. He has seen many times that skilled Filipinos are underpaid for excellent work. Kaya is his way to help close that difference, together with Filipino experts who teach in each skill group.
Start with what you already know.
The Skills Check is free and takes about 5 minutes.
Start my free Skills Check