There is lots written about the benefits of being a Virtual Assistant and particularly of working at home. You read articles, see photos of healthy looking people running on the beach, playing ball with their kids, driving a flashy car, or sitting under a tree with their laptop.

The reality is very different – not unenjoyable, otherwise I wouldn’t still be in a home office over 12 years down the track. But, I don’t get the time to run on the beach, my kids grew up with mum at home, usually in the office, I don’t drive a flashy car and I don’t usually sit under a tree with my laptop – nice thought though!

I love what I do with a passion, and I love that technology has allowed me to combine home and family life with having a very worthwhile career, and one that has been very rewarding. But the reality is that I spend a lot of time in my office – not outdoors. It takes a certain type of person to commit to doing this. You need to be comfortable with your own company and not having lots of people around you. You need to be comfortable with the quiet of the household (I always have a radio on but love that I’m totally alone). You need to be comfortable with your ability to troubleshoot when the computer and printer don’t want to talk to one another and you have to get that job finished before the post office closes. But there is something else… you need to watch your shadow – because it grows!

I’m sure my shadow used to be a lot thinner than it is, in fact I know it was 10 years ago. But it gradually grew wider and one day I looked in the mirror and found that I had too. It’s that constant sitting down in front of the computer, just a few more minutes, just one more email, just one more job. A lack of going out for a walk – even though it’s nice outside. A quick trip to the fridge or cupboard to grab something that just needs a wrapper pulled off it as I don’t want to spend the time preparing something.

When I first began my business I had good intentions. I even walked down to the train station sometimes to meet my husband and walk back with him. But somewhere along the line it just got easier to hop in the car to meet him – think it may have been when he injured his achilles tendon a few years ago and we just never got back to doing the other. He works in the city in the office and although he moves from meeting room to meeting room, and building to building, he also has discovered how his shadow has grown. So, together, we are now encouraging one another with exercise, watching what each other eats and generally ‘buddy’ one another into a healthier lifestyle. But there is more that can be done and I’ve told you previously about a group that has been developed for that reason. So, if you struggle to look after yourself and need some encouragement, why not check out DiVAs, join in the virtual walks and swims and plan to get healthy again! KMT

exercise, fatter, healthier, lifestyle, shadow, work at home, technology, virtual assistants

When first starting out, one of the things a new VA needs to know is how much to charge for the services they will provide? And it’s not always easy trying to work this out. Will they charge too much, will they charge not enough? What are others charging?

And so, it’s not uncommon to see this question being asked via VA forums. But it’s not an easy one to answer either, because there are some things to consider, for example:

1. What typing speed do they have, if the bulk of their work will involve typing?
2. How much experience in their service provision have they had?
3. How efficient are they at carrying out their job?
4. What is the cost of living like in their geographic location?

And there will be other considerations too, but let’s start with these. In planning to adopt the rates that someone else has established, it means you could be under- or over-charging, depending on your own capabilities, and your geographic location. There are areas considered to be ‘low class’ and would therefore not attract high rates for services provided and then there are the ‘high class’ areas that would command much higher rates due to the cost of living.  Not to mention all the places in between – which is probably where most of us are. Someone who works slowly would take much longer to complete a job than another who is much faster. It would be unfair to charge the client the same rate – the client would be penalised by paying a larger sum for a slower job.

And so how do VAs choose rates that are right for them? You could look around at similar services to your’s in localities close by to get a general idea – some of these you may find online, or you may need to ring up and ask for a copy of their rates. Not all will willingly give it – especially if they know you are competition. But there are formulas that can be used to help establish the rates and these can be found in books about the industry or perhaps a sheet that can be purchased.

I work with a formula that was adopted from an engineering consultant’s magazine many years ago and it basically begins with the going corporate annual income for your level of expertise in your area, and dividing the number of your work hours into that. There is a lot more that needs to be considered, for example, how many working hours are there (total year minus public holidays, leave break, etc) and then you need to consider sick leave, superannuation and so on – the formula works through these items in detail.

So, as you can see, there is some thought that needs to be put in, to ensure that you are charging rates that are right for you, based on your experience, skill and location. Not only that, you need to be sure you are covering your expenses: computer, software, printing costs, internet connection, insurances, taxation – all of these are tax deductible expenses. KMT

rates, taxes, VA rates, rates formula, skill, experience