Yay! It's already mid-week and it's been productive so far.

Okay, so as some of you may know, I currently am a part-time VA while working a FT job. However, I have this client who has all these ideas and basically just wants me to stop servicing all of my "other" clients and work for him.

His idea is he will post projects such as bookmarking, blog manager/website maintenance, do-follow forums, etc and he wants ME to sub-contract the work while I am his "Project Manager" or "Executive Virtual Assistant."

Although, I am ecstatic about completing this in the future...I feel as though I am being forced to take on the multi-VA role of business versus the sole VA business.

Has anyone had this experience before or maybe not being "forced" into taking that transition, but made the transition yourself due to workload and what not? I guess I am not sure what to expect..should I change my business to another business entity? Any insight or feedback would greatly be appreciated. Thanks everyone!

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Aspiring VA - Jean
http://network.govirtualwithjean.com

Jean,

Several thoughts come to mind.

First, you use the word "forced" which leads me to believe you are really uncomfortable with switching roles from single to multi. This may be a good indicator that you need to give this more thought.

I assume you would have to give up all your current clients to do his work. If you decide to do this, please refer these clients to other VAs so they don't feel like you walked out on them. Also, you'll need to be honest with them as to why you can no longer do work for them.

Can you do his work on a part time basis?

Lastly, has he given you an outline of what he expects, how much time each project will take, etc. And, is we willing to sign a contract in advance?

I'm sure other VAs will pipe in also. Please keep us all posted.

Carol
CJ's Virtual Business Solutions

I noticed the "forced" part too. The beauty of the VA business is that you make the decisions, not your boss or supervisor. Unless this is really what you want to do, maybe you should think about keeping your other clients and refer this demanding client to someone else.

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Kathy
www.theofficevirtuoso.com

Sounds like it could be an employer/employee relationship. If that is okay with you, go for it, but I'd be careful about changing your business model for anyone. What happens if he goes out of business and you've let all of your clients go? YIKES! Perhaps you could gather your own team of VAs & sub some of the work to them, but you would be the project manager in charge. Just my $.02.

Best Wishes!

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Marlene Eldemire
Mars Virtual Assistant & Travel

Originally Posted by CJ's Virtual Business Solution

Jean, I assume you would have to give up all your current clients to do his work. If you decide to do this, please refer these clients to other VAs so they don't feel like you walked out on them. Also, you'll need to be honest with them as to why you can no longer do work for them. I don't know if he was saying this as a joke or what, but I definitely will refer these clients over. I only have six clients in the PT status and most are one-time projects once a month (data entry, calendar management, etc.) I really only have him and another client that I keep up with on a daily basis. Can you do his work on a part time basis? Most of his work will be managing or as @marlene stated "project managing." I think the majority of my work will be finding sub-contractors underneath me, inform them of work, and then making sure the job is completed. The remaining is managing his invoices, email, etc. Lastly, has he given you an outline of what he expects, how much time each project will take, etc. And, is we willing to sign a contract in advance? His outline are emails on a daily basis and then we have a call in which we discuss his emails. He has no idea how much time his project will take, but knows how much he is willing to pay a sub-contractor and what their skillsets should be. He has already signed a contract with me and doesn't mind signing another one in the future, if needed. I'm sure other VAs will pipe in also. Please keep us all posted. Carol CJ's Virtual Business Solutions

Hi Ladies!

Thanks for the insight, although I do welcome additional feedback on this. The reason I stated "forced" is I guess I started my VA business in August 2008 of last year and didn't expect the clientale to increase at this rate. I was thinking at least a year before anything EXCITING happens LOL

Although, this is good news - I probably just need to do my research and keep as a sole VA business and maybe be the "project manager" as @marlene stated. I never thought of it that way versus being multi-VA. I'll see what other research I can come up with. You guys are the best!

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Aspiring VA - Jean
http://network.govirtualwithjean.com