Hi All,

I have a question and hopefully I can get your thoughts and advise on this one. How much of an issue is it that your clients know that you're not working exclusively for them? With a website it's obvious that you're marketing and looking for new clients, do you find this to be a problem where certain clients expect you to be doing work only for them?
Do you tend to get high demand clients, with tight deadlines..if so, how do you effectively manage your work/time especially if you're working a full time job as well?

Thank you in advance for all of your feedback!

__________________
Malaika Nallawangsa
Quick Works | Virtual Office Assistant

Hi Malaika, Unless someone is paying for 100% your time, exclusively, they should understand that you are a service provider with more than one client. Still, I do try to make each feel like they are the main/only one. When I'm on deadline and something has to give, priority goes to long time clients, and those that pay me the quickest! With a full-time job it will be a challenge to manage time, my suggestion is setting specific hours and sticking to them, even if you are tired, stressed, wishing you could play instead.

__________________
Virtual Bankruptcy Paralegal
www.bkprep4u.com

I'm sure it's obvious to most clients that they will not be your only client, but I do specify in my Agreement that I work with other clients and they may be a competitor (I work with a lot of insurance companies). This is in the section on confidentiality.

As far as balancing many different clients at the same time, it can be tricky. Since all I do is transcription, I know how long it's going to take me to do each one (approximately) and plan it out that way, looking ahead as to when each one is due. But there are always times when all (or most) of my clients have things due at the same time and I'm pulling my hair out and then other times where the pace is slow. (Most of my clients are regulars, providing work every week or almost every week.)

I tried this once about 20 years ago when I was still working full-time (and had a toddler) and couldn't do it with even one or two clients. So instead I started a home day care and then when my son was almost out of elementary school I started my current VA business. If I hadn't had a small child at the time I probably could have, but didn't want to take all that time away from him!

__________________
Pam Deyerle - Transcriptionist in the Richmond, Virginia area
The Perfect Word Transcription Services

Thank you for your feedback...it's really helpful.

__________________
Malaika Nallawangsa
Quick Works | Virtual Office Assistant

Ms. Nallawangsa,

If one says they are a solo entrepreneur but works exclusively for one client, would that mean they were the employee of that client and would that affect their tax situation and possibly the client?

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand what difference it would make how many clients I might have as long as I am fulfilling my obligations to all my clients. I think being able to set my schedule as I need it to be is one of the big advantages of working as a VA. Of course, I wonder how I will handle projects that belong to different clients but have the same or close to the same due date.

So, Ms. Deyerle's suggestion: "When I'm on deadline and something has to give, priority goes to long time clients, and those that pay me the quickest! With a full-time job it will be a challenge to manage time, my suggestion is setting specific hours and sticking to them, even if you are tired, stressed, wishing you could play instead" is a great suggestion.

__________________
A L Camien
Manager Member

Most clients realize that this is your business and that you have other clients. Personally, I have not found those who I have done work for to have any problem with my doing work with someone else. In fact, my first client was a referral. Hope this helps a bit.

__________________
Janet
JG Assistance

Thanks all for your feedback. The reason for posing the question is because I was speaking to a friend who owns his own business. He's not a VA but he designs websites and does graphic work etc., and he mentioned that some clients who have tight deadlines and maybe high demand may be concerned that you may not be able to fulfill their requests and meet their deadlines if you're working for others. Therefore such potential clients may not approach you for that reason.
So I just wanted to see how things work in the VA world and with all of you well established VA's.

Again thank you to all who posted, it's really helpful!

__________________
Malaika Nallawangsa
Quick Works | Virtual Office Assistant

I would wonder why this friend is being such a discouraging naysayer... Just sayin! Of course there is the potential for deadline conflicts, in any business. Juggling is part of running a business. Lots of people tried to discourage me when I was starting out, too. Many years later, I'm still in business.

__________________
Virtual Bankruptcy Paralegal
www.bkprep4u.com

In general, most clients are only contracting a certain amount of hours. Unless they are contracting you exclusively for the amount of hours you want to work, it would seem unrealistic for them to assume you don't support other clients.

As Kate says, we all juggle deadlines. Even as full-time employees working for a company, it's all about juggling tasks and prioritizing accordingly.

As far as dealing with high-demand clients, my answer TODAY is yes -- I have dealt with high-demand clients. I actually ended my agreement today with a client after a very short association. Not that a high-demand client is always a bad thing. It all depends on your own schedule and if the client can respect your schedule and how YOU conduct your business.

I better not get more carried away with my own dilemma! Bottom line is that by no means should you feel that you are only committed to one high-demand client!

__________________
Patty

Thank you Kate and Patty, good info!

__________________
Malaika Nallawangsa
Quick Works | Virtual Office Assistant