Don’t let the title mislead you, this post is for both those of you that are interested in using a virtual assistant as well as virtual assistants themselves ( and those that want to be one).

I love hanging around the virtual assistant forums. It’s become just one of the ways that I try to give back to the virtual assistant community. The forums were an important place for me when I was first starting my business and I got tons of great advice and information there. But the one thing you don’t generally get is advice on what to charge. That’s because a conversation about rates always seems to end up in some sort of pissing match, and that’s just not good for building a community. I agree and understand completely why this subject is off limits on most forums.

But… (hey, with the title of this post you had to know there was a but.)

This lack of information can and does end up hurting both new virtual assistants and potential clients.

Without the type of guidance that new VA’s get in other areas, they are left to their own devices when setting their rates. 9 times out... Click here to read the rest of this post at the Clerical Advantage Blog.

The Clerical Advantage Blog is authored by VAF member Tina of Clerical Advantage.


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This post is so true - you can't bill 40 hours a week and still have time to do your invoicing, marketing, etc. And what you make working for someone else includes benefits, taxes taken out, vacation pay, etc.

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Sherri Beck CPS/CAP
www.topkoalat.com

I'm glad you enjoyed the post Sherri. I was afraid that many new and inexperienced virtual assistants might see it as being harsh, but I feel it's an important topic to address. I'm really appreciative of the supportive comments I've gotten here and on the post itself.

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~Tina Marie Hilton of Clerical Advantage
& founder of VA Survival School

Thank you for this timely reminder as I am starting ramping up my own business. I had a real awakening using the calculator at this site - http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/ - it is a powerful tool.

Part of the issue is throwing out what we made as employees. By the time employers add in all the associated state/federal taxes they have to pay, as well as the benefits, liability insurances, and overhead (such as facilities, etc.), the employer probably sees our actual employee rate as double what we were receiving. I believe businesses will respect us more if we act like a business. If we sell ourselves short, they will definitely take advantage of us - for after all, they are looking to make a profit too.

Excellent post, Tina! Not harsh, but realistic. I've recently seen several VAs listing rates at $12-$15. There's no way, once the business costs and taxes are deducted, that any profit can be realized with rates set that low. You have to keep in mind that, as a self-employed person, your taxes will be calculated differently than when you were an employee.

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Cathey Kuhn, Warrior Business Services
Give your business a fighting chance

I agree, people have to realize how much they are saving by going the VA route, then it all starts to make sense! We can't sell ourselves out with unrealistic prices. Reality is hard but we have to keep pressing on!

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Shellea Montgomery:daisy:

Thanks so much everyone for being supportive of the post. I just want to say that I know first hand how hard it is to ask for those higher rates when you're not getting clients, or potential clients are telling you your rates are too high. I can't count the number of times in my early days that I considered lowering my rates in order to get clients. I'm thankful that I was stubborn and that I happened to read "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port during one of those points. His explanation of 'the velvet rope' policy really hit home, making me realize that not everyone was suitable or met the requirements to get past my velvet rope and be my client. Realizing my value is certainly one of those requirements.

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~Tina Marie Hilton of Clerical Advantage
& founder of VA Survival School

This is such an awesome post. Thank you!!

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Jána :daisy:
www.virtually-supporting-you.com

I believe this is something we all struggle with, but when I realized that someone cleaning my house or mowing my lawn (not very technical jobs) can charge $25 or more an hour in my area, and my IT person charges $65, it helped me to justify my rate (somewhere in between).

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Carol Aldridge
www.ProgressiveBusinessSolutions.net

When I first started thinking of becoming a VA, I was going to charge £10 an hour as it is a lot more than our minimum wage here in the UK and even then thought it was quite expensive! That was until I did research on other VAs websites and saw their rates and did more research into starting up your own business that I realised why VAs charge what they do. Thank god I did my research!

Sam