One of the lessons I learned (the hard way) over the course of getting set up as a VA was setting and maintaining boundaries.
As a friendly,helpful, and emotionally available person I tend to want to be a people pleaser, not knowing when to say 'No, thank you.' or letting people know when something just isn't working.

But as a VA, as a freelance contractor, providing services and setting your own business rules it's up to you to make sure that in all of this giving and pleasing you're still honoring your *self* and what works for you.
Setting boundaries early on for yourself and your clients regarding your hours of availability, what you will and will not do, and how and when you expect to be paid can save you a ton of frustration later on down the road.

A few things I added to my practice as I learned them through experience but would highly suggest putting in place before you even score that first client are:

*Invoice cycles:
Establish a regular routine for sending invoices and invoice reminders. I bill clients every other friday, on net 14 terms. Giving them two weeks to pay the previous invoice, with a friendly payment reminder on the interim Friday if the invoice is not paid early.

*Payment methods:
Make it easy for your clients to pay you on time and in full. Include a copy of the invoice with an email letting them know it's up for payment. Offer as many payment methods as you possibly can afford to - I offer payment via direct deposit to clients who have been with me for six months, Paypal is also a good option (and don't feel bad about passing on that 3.5% processing fee to the client - let them know up front that it is part of your invoicing and add it in as such, clearly marked, to each invoice.)
Send 'Pay me' reminders from Paypal - these are really easy to send, with the click of a button the client is reminded their invoice is coming due.
Accept checks if you feel comfortable doing so. I used to take paper checks sent directly to my bank by mail but didn't like having to check so often to see if it had arrived and was the correct amount.
There are many online payment options available now, making it easier than ever before for you to help your clients pay your invoices.

*Late payment penalties:
One of the hardest things for people pleasers to talk about is money. But let me tell you, you'd better get used to it and fast. Your job is all about making people happy and helping them succeed, but you *do* deserve to be paid (on time) for your services.
Set up a late payment penalty, on whatever terms you are comfortable with. I use net 14 (giving the client 14 days to make payment). If the payment isn't made on time, I institute the late payment penalty. I currently charge $25 - adding it to the next invoice - for every 14 days the payment is late. Even if you get a partial payment, the penalty applies, in full. Even if you adore your client, the penalty applies, in full.
You are a business, and some things, even the most unpleasant, absolutely must not have exceptions. This actually helps your client take you, your services, and your invoices more seriously. They'll appreciate knowing where your boundaries are and what you expect from them as a client.

*Working hours:
Now this is a personal issue you'll have to decide on for yourself.
I happen to live abroad, moving from country to country as the adventure calls. My own office hours are based on my local time and I do not work weekends (unless I want to). I let clients know where I am and what it means for their projects and requests. I do not let my location get in the way of getting things done; on the contrary, I work fairly regular office hours - usually between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. my local time. But as I'm an independent contractor I can not and do not guarantee to be in the office every minute during those hours.
Clients know this when they contract with me and my level of service and quick turnaround of their requests means it is a non issue. They really seem to enjoy the idea that while they're sleeping I'm working and growing their business.
In respect to my own business, I'm much more in control of when and how things get done because of the schedule I've set up and illustrated for clients.
Clients know that I am generally unavailable on weekeds, and so don't expect me to turn something around that they've sent on a Saturday.
Make your own office hours *crystal clear* from the start - if you don't work on the weekends, don't answer emails or the office phone line on the weekends.
If your home office closes after a certain time in the day, make that clear.
Set your own hours and stick with it - you don't have to feel like you've got to work weekends and holidays to keep your client. It's your business, your decision.

There are always those clients who try to sneak in a project at the last minute Friday night, telling you they need it on Monday. Be kind, but firm. If you feel you need to reply to their request to remind them that you are out of office then do so, but never make your client feel that they have done something wrong. A quick and simple, "I'll be happy to take a look at this first thing in the morning on Monday, but am out of the office for the weekend." should suffice.

*What you can/will do vs. the other stuff:
You never really know what a client will ask of you, and many of these things must be handled as they come. Just being aware of your own business ethics and skills is a good way to keep the balance in a working relationship. If you simply don't know how to do something that is requested of you but are willing to learn, let your client know that it will take a little extra time to get the project turned around, or that you need a bit of training in that direction.
Many clients are willing to help a VA learn something specific to an industry.
As much as you want to the 'can do everything' assistant, it just isn't always possible. Honesty and earnestness will pay off in the end, and you'll end up with a new valuable skill.

I can't list the number of things - programs, skills, ways of doing something, that I've learned over the past two years because a client needed something I wasn't already skilled at. In those cases I offered a discounted hourly rate while I was working on that specific task. The client got what they needed and I got a little education.

There are every once in a while things I am asked to do that I don't feel comfortable doing. Once, I was asked to create fake personas to participate in a forum on a topic I knew little about. I was also asked to initiate a spam email marketing campaign. In both cases I look at this abstract idea of karma - as all of my own work is on the net, I choose not to participate in 'negative' energy tasks that may affect my own good karma. I simply said "Thank you for asking me, but I'm not comfortable doing that."
In both cases the client was fine with my response and either found someone else to do the task or took my other, non-negative suggestions to heart and we moved forward in another direction.


There are hundreds of lessons regarding my own boundaries as a service provider that I've learned over the past two years. Some of them were stressful and difficult to move through, others were simply something to be dealt with. The situations that were most difficult, like not being paid on time for a long period of time, meant I had to step up to the plate as a professional and voice my concerns, boundaries, and expectations. In all cases, when I approached a client directly about something that wasn't working for me I got a positive response and the situation usually rectified itself quite quickly.
Had I kept the above issues in mind when setting up my practice I could have avoided a lot of that worry and stress...but it's all a learning experience and has made me a better service provider in the end.

When setting up your own practice, the above issues should be addressed as soon as possible, even before you begin work with that first client. Doing so will protect your working relationships and ensure your practice a long and healthy life!

__________________