VA services rates and money

Is Your Virtual Assistant Business Profitable?

Is your VA business profitable? Sure, you may be making money because your clients are paying you, but are you keeping as much money as you should be? Profitability isn’t usually something that comes to mind when you are operating a service-based business. We always say we trade our time for dollars. And we do, as Virtual Assistants. Whether you are charging by the hour, by the task, by retainer or by the project, you are still doing work in return for money. Our rates are all based on how long it takes us to get something done. So we don’t think of our business in terms of profit. But we should! Your business should be profitable, like any other… Read More »Is Your Virtual Assistant Business Profitable?

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How to Set (or Fix!) Your Virtual Assistant Rates

Setting your rates can be one of the most challenging things to do in your VA business. There is often a confidence issue that rears its ugly head when you are starting out – you think you have no experience, you aren’t sure your rates are even competitive, and you don’t want any clients to say no when you tell them what you charge. And if you have been in business for a while, you may still struggle to raise your rates when you need to (especially if you started out much too low). But in order to run a successful VA business – and stay in business – you need to set your rates properly. Either way, it’s not… Read More »How to Set (or Fix!) Your Virtual Assistant Rates

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Help! How Do I Fix Scope Creep in My VA Business?

Quick question: do you love everything you do every day for all of your Virtual Assistant clients? Many VAs I talk to can’t say they love everything they do. Some of them don’t even LIKE what they are doing. It is so important for the longevity of your VA business (and you as a business owner) that you make it a priority to enjoy what you are doing every day. Ask yourself why you are doing things that aren’t really your specialty, or that you don’t really like to do. Is it because you are their ‘assistant’ and so you think you have to do whatever your client asks you to do? Is it because you are afraid that the… Read More »Help! How Do I Fix Scope Creep in My VA Business?

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The Best Way to Charge Your Clients for Virtual Assistant Services

Setting your rates as you get your VA business started is always a challenge. You don’t want to overcharge, but you also need to be very cautious not to undercharge. You also need to be sure to provide the right amount of value for your client, while making sure that your business is profitable. Easy, right? It actually is easier than you think, once you have a strategy for charging your clients. Calculating your billable rate is important no matter how you charge your clients, but it’s also essential to figure out the best way for your clients to pay you. When you start out, hourly rates are a great way to charge clients. Often you will be doing tasks… Read More »The Best Way to Charge Your Clients for Virtual Assistant Services

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How to Make Sure Your Virtual Assistant Rates Are Set Properly

How can you be sure that your Virtual Assistant rates are set correctly? What you will charge your clients depends largely on the type of tasks you do for them. Your level of expertise or experience can also affect the rate you charge (though not always!) It is very important to determine a starting rate that makes sense for your service offerings – one that values your ability and expertise, and that your clients will be able to pay you. Here are some rate estimates for a variety of different levels of Virtual Assistants. Beginner Like any job, when you start out, you might earn less as you try to gain experience. Then as you get better at what you… Read More »How to Make Sure Your Virtual Assistant Rates Are Set Properly

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Setting Your Rates So Your VA Business is Profitable

How did you arrive at your rates for your VA business? If you didn’t do any calculations, you need to read this. Setting your rates is one of the most important things you need to do properly in your Virtual Assistant business. Rates that are too low will cut into your profitability, and might even put you out of business. Rates that are too high can also keep you from getting clients, if you aren’t looking in the right place, or if you can’t articulate the value you are bringing to clients. If you have not done the ‘math’ to set your rates, it’s time to look at that. Here’s how you need to do this: What Do You Need… Read More »Setting Your Rates So Your VA Business is Profitable

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3 Easy Steps to Creating Packages for Your Virtual Assistant Services

Do you want to create packages for your virtual assistant services, but don’t know how? If you don’t know how to do it, it’s time to learn! It’s vital to create packages of virtual assistant services for your clients. It helps you to manage their workload, it allows you to set appropriate pricing instead of working by the hour, and it helps you avoid a laundry list of service offerings, to name a few benefits! It’s a tricky thing, to estimate how much you will charge for a certain amount of work. No one wants to lose money by undercharging. And no one wants to have a conversation with a client about increasing rates, especially if you have just moved… Read More »3 Easy Steps to Creating Packages for Your Virtual Assistant Services

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What is Billable and What Isn’t?

One of the things I find comes up often in VA conversations is what you should be billing your clients for and what you should absorb as your own expenses. For me it’s a simple answer (everything you do for a client is billable), but I’ll get into some detail to help you navigate through this issue for your own business. First of all, it’s important to remember that when you start working with any client, you are an independent contractor. You are not an employee and you should not act like an employee. Although this gets said very often, it can be difficult to do in everyday practice. It is simply our nature in a support profession to …… Read More »What is Billable and What Isn’t?

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