Originally Posted by elitevacs

Hello all...I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one in the part-time VA game. I did land a few one-time clients last year. However, I'm yet to identify anyone willing to take on a full-time or part-time VA on a steady basis. I'm still having trouble selling the VA concept in my area. I'm wondering if the problem is due to everyone having a computer these days, with so many easy-to-learn programs out there, that it's almost impossible to find anyone willing to pay for the help. Am I way out in left field thinking like this or am I missing something somewhere? I would love to go full time. However, I read all the posts from the successful VAs and wonder what I'm doing wrong. But, on the other hand their success gives me hope. Don't want to give up, but I don't want to be chasing fairytales either. Can anyone HELP! or shed some light?

It is definitely possible to make a good living at this! (She says while behind the desk of her 9-5 ). I haven't made the transition yet due to some serious changes in our living situation... long story... but I DO know quite a few F-T VAs that are doing very well!

I'd like to address a couple of things you said:

I'm still having trouble selling the VA concept in my area.
O.k., you are NOT thinking virtually here! One of the advantages of being a VA is being able to work FROM anywhere FOR anywhere! If there isn't anything local, maybe you should be targeting businesses outside of your area. For instance, I live in Boulder, CO but have clients in Boulder, Denver, Pennsylvania, Missouri, etc...

I'm wondering if the problem is due to everyone having a computer these days, with so many easy-to-learn programs out there, that it's almost impossible to find anyone willing to pay for the help.
Interesting idea but, Nope. Yes, you can learn just about anything. BUT! Do you have TIME to do everything? Does ANYONE have the time to do everything?

Don't want to give up, but I don't want to be chasing fairytales either.
Yeah, well, given how many successful VAs are out there, I don't see this as a fairy tale way of life. It does, however, take time, patience, skills, determination, etc., etc., etc. Mostly time and patience in the beginning!

Hang in there! Revisit your marketing strategies, look outside of your area, and lean on VAF for support as needed!

Hope this helped.

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

Very encouraging for ALL of us Office Goddess! Thanks.

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Kathy Martin
http://www.katsbusinessservices.com/

What a great thread and it addresses a topic I was wondering about.

So what happens about detailing times you are available, say if a client has an urgent request or task to be completed. Do you actually state on your website and or advertisements that you are available certain times?

When you work outside of office hours (because you have a 9-5 job already) surely this makes it more difficult to provide a service in a timely fashion, apart from serving international customers in different time zones of course.

So do you state your working hours or is this not necessary?

Originally Posted by kezcol

So what happens about detailing times you are available, say if a client has an urgent request or task to be completed. Do you actually state on your website and or advertisements that you are available certain times? When you work outside of office hours (because you have a 9-5 job already) surely this makes it more difficult to provide a service in a timely fashion, apart from serving international customers in different time zones of course. So do you state your working hours or is this not necessary?

My clients don't know I have a 9-5 and as far as I am concerned it's none of their business WHEN I do their work as long as I do it in a timely manner. I don't offer same-day turn-around, anyway, as that is not reasonable unless you are an employee. I generally work on Goddess 'stuff' from 7-8:30am and 7-9:30pm M-F and 9-noon Saturdays.

I also charge double for 'rush' jobs (24 hour turn-around) as that means I have to push back my other client work. My usual turn-around time is 48 hours (except for weekends, of course) and that allows me to schedule my client's needs around my 9-5 job and still provide quality services.

One of the advantages of being a VA, in my mind, is the option of scheduling your work on a flex-basis, rather than HAVING to do it during 9-5 as an employee...

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

I was working PT from home as a rural water district clerk and found an add for a VA company looking to hire a new VA. I decided to go for it since I was already working from home and only PT. It became a FT employee position for me after about a year and we actually opened up an office in the town I lived and I hired 3 other bookkeepers/VA's. After a year the economy got the better of us and I left the company and it went back to being strictly 1099. The owner of the company had a few clients that she chose not to keep and gave her blessing for me to take them over so that is how my VA business got started. My old boss and I actually stayed friends and after about a year I started doing 1099 work for again so now I currently have 1 PT client (though he likes to think I'm at his beck and call ), I have 1 PT/as needed client, a few very PT clients through the VA company and I write for about 6 different clients. I originally started out in bookkeeping but my love is actually administrative work and writing so I've learned to take only the jobs I like.

Wow, this turned out really long....sorry....LOL....Good luck with your business and if I can ever help with questions or anything please let me know because I wouldn't be here today without the help of others.

Dawn

Hi,

I started part time in 2007 working on projects mostly in the evenings. It actually worked out pretty good because if the project was small enough, like creating spreadsheets, or composing letters, I sent it back early the next morning. It appeared as though I was rather speedy!

I am now trying to go full time so I totally understand where you are coming from. Best of luck!

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Carol Mikel
Precision Secretarial

I launch my VA business last fall but recentl had to accept a contract position that is full time for monetary reasons. For those who are part time only, how did you find your clients while working 9-5?

Janet
eBusinessOnlineSupport

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Janet Falkenberg
ExecuStrive, Details Get Done

Originally Posted by Office Goddess

My clients don't know I have a 9-5 and as far as I am concerned it's none of their business WHEN I do their work as long as I do it in a timely manner. I don't offer same-day turn-around, anyway, as that is not reasonable unless you are an employee. I generally work on Goddess 'stuff' from 7-8:30am and 7-9:30pm M-F and 9-noon Saturdays. I also charge double for 'rush' jobs (24 hour turn-around) as that means I have to push back my other client work. My usual turn-around time is 48 hours (except for weekends, of course) and that allows me to schedule my client's needs around my 9-5 job and still provide quality services. One of the advantages of being a VA, in my mind, is the option of scheduling your work on a flex-basis, rather than HAVING to do it during 9-5 as an employee...

Thanks for that wonderful answer, it has shone a lot of light on what I wanted to know. I guess I am kind of stuck in the employee frame of mind rather than working for myself.

When you say you aim for 48 hours turn around except weekends. Does this mean you don't work weekends or is turn around quicker on weekends because you are not in your 'day job'?

Sorry for being so green but I am trying to get as much info about how others work compared to how I envisage how it should be worked at the moment (on the outside looking in).

Also can anyone tell me what it means when someone says they work 1099 - this something I have never heard before.

Thanks guys.

When you say you aim for 48 hours turn around except weekends. Does this mean you don't work weekends or is turn around quicker on weekends because you are not in your 'day job'?

I DO work weekends, but my clients don't know this. If I get a project on Friday, they will have it by Tuesday - if I finish the project over the weekend, I hold on to it until Tuesday and then deliver to the client. Make sense?

Also can anyone tell me what it means when someone says they work 1099 - this something I have never heard before.

'working 1099' means you are not an employee, but rather a sub-contractor - you should receive a 1099-MISC income tax form at the beginning of the year if you earned more than $600 during the prior year. (Similar to a w-2, but showing non-employee compensation)

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

This is a great topic. Im at the very early stages of this, but know that I would like to work only part time.