will you hire me?

No, I don’t live in India.

Photo by PieroSierra

Therefore my Virtual Assistant services aren’t as cheap as people based in that region. But does that mean that my prices are too high, or that their skill sets are too low? I don’t think so.

One of the hardest facets of setting up as a Virtual Assistant is deciding on your pricing. Striking that balance between what is right for your business, without pricing yourself out of the market, is a hard thing to do. And what might work for one, may not work for another. Unfortunately there’s no cheat-sheet here.

I reckon I’ve managed to get it right for my business (with a little help from those around me), and have worked around complementing my years of experience, existing skill set and cost of living.

But the other big question about pricing is, do I keep my prices a secret or do I put them up on my website? Obviously I went for the latter, and not just for transparency. This helps cut down on time spent sending out price lists to all and sundry, and also assists clients to screen me. It’s a win-win for both my business and any potential client.*

But how does all of this help me compete with those lower-priced VA’s around the globe? I’m not sure yet. All I know is that I have faith in myself and in my skills to get the job done. And I’m guessing that once the ball gets rolling, and I find those initial clients willing to take me on, the job offers will start flowing in at a steady pace (fingers crossed!).

That’s the hard thing about being a VA – our industry is not locally, or even nationally based… it’s global. And that means higher competition on a whole other level. So, will you hire me?

*Author’s Note: Ok, so this changed a little. But it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, right?!