Crucial Tips On How To Actually Choose What To Charge
May 23, 2011 by admin
Filed under Blogging 101, Blogging Platforms, Monetization, Traffic
When I was just starting up, I had a decision to make on what I was going to charge. This was quite a hard decision to make, because while I certainly knew how to do the work, I had never charged for it in the past. I was new to the virtual scene, I was used to the office environment and also a fixed salary, I also had the rather outdated employee mindset, so the idea I had in my head, was that I would price myself as cheap as I could possibly go, without really considering the profit I would be making and how this would affect me long-term. All I could think of was new customers, right now… One side of me said that I had to be “competitive,” with prices fixed at a lower rate and this would mean that clients would just flock in. This turned out to be far from true.
Crikey – Was I An Idiot!
Okay, so when I was ready to pounce with my business, I came in at a really, really low rate for a UK VA – this was back in 2007, and my hourly rate for administration was £10.50 per hour. This was much lower than any other VA around; in fact I think I had an old neighbour who was an ironing lady who got paid more than that.This must’ve been the lowest rate of any VA and I’m fairly sure that the old lady who lived next door who did ironing was getting more money than I was.
So my first potential client contacted me – and he really saved my bacon.
When he contacted me he was looking for a capital of Virtual Assistants, to help him with his business on an ongoing basis; he was a great guy and I have a lot of respect for him as one of my ongoing clients. I chatted with him on the phone and he told me that he was good to talk with some other VA’s and once he made up his mind who we was good to take on, he would get back to me. He asked me about my rate, which I told them and left it there.
Well, he did call me back, and when he did he very kindly told me that I was one of the best potential VA’s he had spoken to, and asked why my rate was so low… He probably thought that there was a catch involved, or might even have thought that there was something wrong with me! I told him I just wanted to be competitive. Happily and to cut a long story short, he told me that he had chosen another VA, who was charging £4.50 more than I was and actually told me that if I was going to work on his business, I would have to elevate my rates to £15 per hour!
That was quite an amazing feeling as I not only felt as if Christmas had arrived early, but I also felt that I had been, honestly, a Pratt. So, keep in mind that whether you’re considering virtual assistant certification now, or you’re thinking about virtual assistant certification in future, or even if you’ve already had some sort of virtual assistant certification somewhere along the way, drop by for a visit and see for yourself what other like-minded people have to say within the extraordinary field of Virtual Assistance!
The moral of this story is that when you are considering what rate you should charge, consider all your skills, ethics and commitment and then come up with a figure that determines what you are WORTH, and don’t focus on trying to be cheap and competitive.
