Enterprise Nation

Kate Bacon, a seasoned and professional VA, asks this question of herself and others. She suggests we put a value on years of experience, as opposed to considering ourselves as ‘new’ business start-ups.

Because you’re worth it

When you value yourself, your skills and what you offer to clients in terms of support you start to really think about how much you are worth. VAs tend to have many years experience prior to setting up their business so their administrative skills are top notch.

It's all too easy to think that as you are just starting out in business you should cut your prices as you are a "newbie".  Well you may be new at running a business but you are certainly NOT new at being a top level PA!

The danger in offering services too cheap is that when you've been set up a while and are confident about charging new clients a higher rate, you can become irritated with clients that are paying you less for the same services.  It is always useful to review your pricing each year, however it's not a good idea to hike up prices in too big increments!

Be confident about charging your worth right from the beginning.

In summary, charge what you are worth and when clients approach you, stress that cost is not the only factor to take into consideration when choosing to work with a VA.  You are a highly skilled professional who will be adding value to their business, enabling them to do more of what they do best charging their own professional fees.

• Kate Bacon, Pier to Peer Coaching
• Note from Ed - Reading Kate’s words, reminded me of a lovely story of Picasso, as told by John Williams here.