Repeat posting
BTW just signed my 4th client, have a meeting wed. about my potential 5th!
I, too, still work a "9-5" job while getting my VA business going strong enough to support my household. I devote 6am-8am and 8pm-9pm M-F and 8am-noon on Saturdays to "The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC"; it's understood at home that I am "working" those hours and not to be disturbed. I also check emails/posts at lunch time and on breaks during the day. This makes for a long week but, that's what it takes to run your own business in the beginning!
I have been "officially virtual" for approx 7 months and am (hopefully) going to sign up my 4th client next week. Each of my clients is only 4-8 hours/month of billable work so I devote the rest of my "Goddess" time to marketing, networking, etc. while maintaining my 40-hour full-time job so that my hubby and I can continue to eat.
Once I am up to 20 hours/week on top of my 9-5, I will go full-time virtual and offer 25-30 hours/week to my current employer as a VA (that way, if they decline, I'm not TOTALLY dead in the water for finances
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I anticipate working 60+ hours/week for at least the next 3 years if I want to get my practice solid and develop "Goddess" into a good living. I hope to find a part-time assistant at that point to take over the "drudge work" and let me go back to working 40 hours/week and still be able to live comfortably.
Let me know if you have any questions about working full-time while building your practice; I'll answer what I can...