Dear Gritty VA:
One question I have found no answer to is pricing. For instance, in a job setting, I made $75,000/year as a legal assistant in Southern California; however, in Everett, Washington, I found that I couldn’t even land a job for $10/hr., so how does one price across the board for New York firms versus Kansas City firms? –GC
The simple answer is that you don’t price for different markets. For every Virtual Assistant, there is only one market–the one that you define as your ideal client and target market. As an ideal client, a key aspect of that profile is that your customers are necessarily only going to be those who have the ability to pay your fees. Same thing with your target market.
What you want to do is flip your thinking around. Right now, you’re looking at it from (what you think) are their needs. Don’t do that. Instead, you need to first meet your needs, as a professional and as a business. Figure out what YOU need to pay the bills, earn a salary and create profit for the business, and then price accordingly.
The rest will fall into place. Those who are attracted to your message–your right clients–will find you and will be willing to pay. You can’t work with everyone in the world so don’t worry about the ones who don’t fit (including those who don’t properly budget for skilled, expert professional support).
Remember, the cost of your support is but a fraction of the value your work and expertise instills in your clients’ businesses. Focus only on clients who "get it." Don’t make the poor business acumen of those who don’t your problem.
Thanks for commenting. Yeah, the virtual assistant term is really completely idiotic to...
