An ongoing debate amongst freelancers is whether or not you should display your rates on your website. Although not everyone agrees and I have my own fixed opinion on the matter, I want to outline the pros and cons of both arguments as well as address common concerns so you can make an informed decision for yourself.
So now I’ve covered how to set your rates, how to track time spent on client tasks, how to avoid time-wasting clients and how and when to fire a client, it’s time to tell you how to invoice a client so they can pay you! This is how to set up easy standard ways of invoicing so you can just do the work and bill your client without any stress, worry or confusion.
One of my readers recently sent me an email suggesting I write a post on how to qualify a new client. Only two weeks into her new career, she’s already encountered a complete time-waster and wanted to share her experience in order to prevent others having the same experience. This is what she told me:
Being a Virtual Assistant is awesome. I have an incredible lifestyle and have worked from all over the world in some exotic places. But because the life of a freelancer is not all unicorns and fairies, I’m going to tell you everything you’ll need to know if you’re thinking of setting up your own VA business so you can avoid some of the mistakes I made!
This is a VA case study and interview with Becky Considine. After years of high level admin experience and work as a PA and EA within the NHS, Becky decided to re-evaluate her career after having her second daughter. She runs her business from Oxford, England and launched OXVAS (Oxford Virtual Assistant Service) at the end of 2013.
I’m lucky because I seem to have been born with loads of confidence. It never occurs to me that I won’t be able to do something – I might wonder how I’m going to do it, but I never think that I can’t. However, I know that most people aren’t freaks like me and need a bit of a push to get out of their comfort zones. So hold still while I give you a good hard shove!
This is a Virtual Assistant case study and interview with Lakisha Sarbah who is the founding Executive Director of Uniquely Coordinated, LLC. Spending the winter in Atlanta, Georgia and the summer at her home in Alabama, Lakisha set up her business in March 2009. This is her VA story.
Testimonials are important for Virtual Assistants because people are way more likely to hire you if they can see you come recommended – so a testimonial page or a WordPress quote rotator widget as I have on my own PA site is vital if you want to show how good you are. But how do you get testimonials when you’re just starting out and haven’t done any work yet?
This is a Virtual Assistant case study on MOI! You can read a bit about me here but this is the story of how I became a VA, what I did before I went freelance, how I manage clients and what I’d do differently if I had to start again. I set up Munro PA Services at the end of 2008 and I live by the sea in sunny Brighton.
Because I recommend you set up your VA business alongside your regular job, one of the questions I get asked a lot is “when should I leave my job to solely focus on being a Virtual Assistant?”. Although there’s as many answers to that question as people asking it, in all honesty it boils down to one simple thing:
