Included in the many benefits of hiring a VA are no overhead costs...i.e., office space, insurance, equipment and repair, 401K..etc., etc. You indicated that an office Admin. Assistant's wages range between $15-18/hr. in your area. It is reasonable then to add your overhead expenses - i.e., your home office, equipment, repair, insurance, etc., etc..
Generally, I feel most va's calculate this way and arrive at an hourly rate between $30-85/hr depending on the services they provide.
My view is that if you set your rates much lower than the average va, a prospective client may view this as either someone who is incapable or inexperienced.
I'm sure there is much written on this topic here on the Forums.
Just my 2 cents worth.
You're doing great!

__________________
Jean
www.virtualassistantwiz.com

Great work on your site. I noticed one correction that needs to be made. In the following sentence on the home page the I assume you wanted to use the word devote instead of denote.

You need a reliable Virtual Assistant handling your administrative needs, so that you can denote the rest of your precious time to growing your business, soaring to new sales heights, and reaching the upper echelon your business is destined to achieve!

Kemi

Thanks Jean;

You helped me to understand the advantages and reasoning for making sure I am being compensated for what I bring to my clients and overall the cost I save them in the long run..

I am going to be making changes to my rates.. THANK YOU SO MUCH great insightful info.

Kemi, Thanks dear that extra eye helped me see an error I would have kept overlooking... Thanks so much.


Ladies you are the best, me & iF.A.V.U.R THANKS YOU!

I love the layout and color of your website. Very nice.

Rates are tricky (and can be a touchy subject) and everyone has their views and beliefs about it; but, I did want to say that with 18 years of professional experience (as it mentions on your website) you could easily charge $30 or more an hour and get fabulous clients. (just my .02 cents) :-)

__________________
Blessings,
Carol

Wonderful site, love the colors. The only thing I saw was on your service pages last picture your wording is overlapping into the picture.

You may also want to change the BOA URL to either a hyperlink or an image such as direct payment button.

Great job!

__________________
Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

Thanks so much Carol.. You make some valid points for me to consider..I have increased my amount from the original quote I listed on my site and will see how it goes.. Maybe I will have to reconsider if I have a difficult client that is going to make me pour all of my 18 years in this profession into one project (lol).

I think once I get my feet wet and see how the flow goes, I agree the rates will have to be reconsidered..I truly thank you for taking the time to help me with my site, your insight is very appreciated!

Thanks Lee dear.. I will look into how I can change the picture..

When I am in the preview stages of viewing my website before launching it shows the picture looking fine, its not until I hit the actual launching of the site to the internet that the picture becomes a bit distorted with the text..Thanks for the keen eye on this!

Absolutely awesome site! Love the softness and ease of reading. One thing I noticed that I didn't see anyone else noticed...on your "about" page..the following sentence:
One day with FAVUR is worth a 1000 days of labor. Something not right there. Maybe remove (a) or change 1,000 to spell out thousand??
Beautiful page!

Purple is my daughters favorite color. But when I asked her to make my site she made it green lol I was like uh? Anyway I love the look and feel of your site. Very inviting.

Andrea

__________________
Action Jackson Virtual Assistant|

I love the colors! I love the name! Of course old foggies like me won't get it on at first glance, haha. Seriously, you have the eye and catch! It will draw in the readers. I think it's clear (once you got past the name explaination) I think it's chic.

I did not read every word, but I felt I could find what I was looking for. One thing for us "old folk"...The home page bulleted items at the end are a wee bit small. Have pity on us, LOL.

All in all, I it will do the trick and your eye for design is wonderful!

Hugz, Judy