Once you've decided what your charges are, stick to them, unless there's a very good marketing reason for negotiating a discount. Perhaps the client is a potential source of introduction to other clients. Perhaps the work is for such a large amount of money or for a long period of time that it would be prudent to offer a discount. However, make sure you set firm boundaries for whatever discount or offer you make. Otherwise it could come back to haunt you. If that client does recommend you to others, you could find yourself having to justify why they can't have the same price as the first client. You could end up working for a pittance. It is easy to reduce the price, almost impossible to raise it.

One of the most difficult aspects of running your own Virtual Assistant business is learning how to market yourself. Not everyone is a born sales person. In our previous "ordinary" jobs (if there is such a thing) we will all have developed specialist knowledge and experience. But when you start working for yourself, suddenly you have to be a Jill (or Jack) of all trades. Knowing how to produce proposals, respond to enquiries and nurture that enquiry into a fully fledged client, all this has to be learnt.

For perhaps the first time you are without the comfort blanket of an office environment. An environment where everything from health insurance, tax, pension arrangements to ordering the stationery is taken care of by someone else. Suddenly it's all down to you and it can be overwhelming. No one else will look after you. No one will pay a contribution towards medical insurance, a pension scheme or sick pay. All those things which you have come to expect from an employer are suddenly your responsibility.

Having touched on the down-side, it must be remembered that there are many wonderful bonuses in working from home as your own boss. You have the final say on the clients you accept, what hours you work and the projects you do. At last no one else can dictate what you do and when you do it - as long as you meet your deadlines!

Above all, remember you're no longer an employee......and while that alone is cause for celebration, it also means you're going to be burning the midnight oil with a vengeance!

Irene Boston
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Once again, many thanks Irene for a fantastic set of articles. I hope that you found them useful. If you have any articles that you think other Virtual Assistants will find useful, please send them to us. You can find our contact details on every page or you can send a message via the Contact Us page.