I have a question regarding focusing my VA Practice on Desktop Publishing. I have a website now where I sell stationery products that I have designed, but I'm not sure how I would incorporate that into a VA Practice. I know that quite a few VAs do Desktop Publishing in addition to other tasks, but I would like to focus completely on Desktop Publishing and market to other WAHMs and small businesses. Any suggestions on how I could price my work. Should I do it by the hour or by the project? I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks,
Debra

Hi Debra,
That's a really good question - I used to charge for graphic design services by the project until I started to work out just how much time I was spending on each item - a logo, a branding package, a website...and realized that I was really selling myself short.
What I *should* have done was when I spent the time creating my portfolio (lots of different samples of each) was time them to find an average - only then could I have really set an accurate per-project price.

I charge hourly now anyway for most things, simply because it's easier and ensures that I'm being compensated. Often times, clients will come back with futher requests, updates, edits or additions to creative projects and if I'm billing per project (and haven't accounted for any 'extra' work in the contract or agreement) then that time is essentially a total loss.

I think you can go either way (hourly or per-project) - just make sure you cover all the bases when deciding what to charge, how to charge, and if you'll need a deposit before you start on an order. Also, be sure to consider and note how many revisions you'll give the client in a per-project price, etc.

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Thanks for the advice. I think I will try that with my portfolio to see exactly how much time I invest in a project.