Great post. I work full time and do my VA business at night. My hunny to be works the night shift, so after he leaves to work, I have to house to myself to work if i don't pass out from working 10+ hours at my FT job)! I advise my clients should they ask about my hours when I will be working. My last client was in Europe. So, by the time I started working on his stuff, he'd been sleeping for an hour or two already! It really all depends on your clients needs, and if you are able to meet those needs. Do what you can, and dont take on more than you can handle!

Good luck!

Sandy

Thank you for the words of wisdom from those who have successfully built their VA/Freelance careers while working FT jobs for other people. I am still working days as an HR Manager and then providing writing services in the evenings and weekends. Now it's at the point where I have enough projects and work to cover half of my FT salary so I am seeking a PT outside the home job to scale back my hours. With my husband's support and a little extra savings tucked away, by 2009 I should be working for myself! It's scary and exciting at the same time.

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http://www.TaylorResourcesWriting.com

I would suggest that you not give customers specific hours, just tell them the time frame to expect their work will be done in and as long as it is mutually agreeable, it shouldn't make a difference to the customer what time of day the work is being done (unless you are answering phones or telemarketing for them).

Just my own thoughts.

I'm brand new at this and working full time as well. I plan to set hours for my VA business (evenings) and let clients know up front.

Originally Posted by Office Goddess

My clients have NO IDEA that I work a 9-5!! I don't answer my phone during the day (my default ring is 30-seconds of silence, I have custom rings for the hubby and my 9-5) and I explain to my clients/potential clients that 1) answering the phone is really distracting, it can take up to 10 minutes to get 'back in the groove' of what I was working on when I answered the phone, and that it might have been THEIR project I was in the middle of... 2) I prefer email as it guarantees that discussions/instructions/questions are clearly understood by both parties. I return phone calls/emails during breaks (morning/lunch/afternoon) and before/after my 9-5; I often return calls from the parking lot of work at 4:30pm. I work on projects outside of JOB hours, but my clients don't need to know this! Feel free to pm me if you would like info on the 'silent' ring tone.

That's great! I work full-time in HR so I am doing this part-time. I think that you have a great system set up.

Thank you all for the great in site, as I set out to accomplish what appears to be attainable. You have all given me inspiration and hope to be as successful!

Erin

Ladies,

Thank you for the information in reference to working full time while building up your business.

While you are establishing yourselves, are you an LLC or just a sole proprietor in your business.

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Vicky Harinski

I set up my llc from the beginning - "begin as you intend to go on" is the best advice my grandmother ever gave me ('course she was talking about a relationship w/a boyfriend )

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Great thread! You are all so inspiring and every day I come on here I find tons and tons of info.

~Mariella

Many thanks to everyone for sharing your stories. It is reassuring to know that others work full time while building a successful VA business!!

While I know that I'll only be doing my VA business evenings and weekends, I think I'm only going to tell my clients that I'll have the project back to them by a certain time. If that doesn't work for them, then I 'm not the right VA for their business.

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Gladys Strickland
GS Business Resources

Originally Posted by NewYorkVA

That's great! I work full-time in HR so I am doing this part-time. I think that you have a great system set up.

To add to this.. I've started sharing with local prospects that I am not available to meet for lunch or other times during today because (and its true), I reserve normal business hours for tending to my clients needs. I hold all face to face meetings after 5:30p.

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Tamika R. Johnson, MBA, Principal
administrative partners, llc
www.administrativepartners.net | http://adminpartners.blogspot.com

Originally Posted by Administrative Partners

To add to this.. I've started sharing with local prospects that I am not available to meet for lunch or other times during today because (and its true), I reserve normal business hours for tending to my clients needs. I hold all face to face meetings after 5:30p.

Brilliant! I have a flex schedule so either meet potential clients between 7:30am - 9:00am or after 4:30pm. I'm going to use your 'I reserve normal business hours..." as my excuse, as well. Ah, plagiarism.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Thank you all so much for posting so much information on this topic. I am a new member (just signed up yesterday) and I plan to continue my full time job as long as I can. I'm not new to the VA industry, but I felt really new when I saw how far things have come since I initially started my VA practice back in 1999. I had a feeling that it was going to be a HUGE challenge to keep my fulltime job and still be able to put in the time to get my VA business back up and running the right way. But after reading your responses, I am confident that things will work out just fine! I'm ready for the challenge! thanks again!!

Thank you to everyone who has shared there experiences on this topic. I too was wondering how I was going to manage a full time job with a part time VA business. I can't leave my full-time job until I know my VA business can cover all my current bills.

Lily, as always, you are awesome and very helpful.

Best of luck to all the newbies!

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Sarah Mosure

I am on a full time job too. I intend to let go this job once my va picks.