Figuring out the best virtual assistant services rates can be an uphill task for people providing remote administrative services and equally as exhaustive for those seeking a virtual helpmate. In one case we see remote assistants or company management racking their brains over virtual assistant hourly rate that reflects their value yet remains within the bounds of reason. In the other, we observe a potential client browsing the net, shuttling from one website to another totally unaware of the lowest rate at which work is still performed top-notch. Yes, they definitely know money to spare needs good care. And they know this: if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Sounds like dilemma!
In fact, surfing the net to get the idea of existent virtual assistant rates per hour may not be your first best option as well as pricing shouldn’t be the hardest part of getting your business going. All it takes is to consider pricing in terms of correlation between personal assistant rates and a few factors that enter into the equation.
Geography
Virtual assistant service rates in the industry vary wildly and are in the first place dependant upon the outsourcing destination of choice. Social welfare, level of economic prosperity, competition on job market, money value of different countries, mindset issues set the bar in some world regions very high, in some – lower. This stands to reason why in USA and Australia virtual assistant rates per hour skyrocket from $30 to $50-60 while in Asia and some European regions personal assistant hourly rates are within a humbler range of $6-20. Ironically but professional approach and quality of work fall out of the equation and are governed by other factors whereas geography is not among them. Lower rates merely reflect sluggish economy and high unemployment rates. The stats speak for themselves. Just check Upwork and see how many people work for low rates with 100% work success.
Newbie vs. oldbie
By all means virtual assistant service rates are set with standard location pricing in mind. But the word standard in this particular instance implies that hourly charges range from $6 to $20 or from $30 to $60. This means your virtual assistant hourly rate could be on the lower end or the higher end of the range. Already within this offer there are a few peaks for a virtual assistant to conquer and for a client there is plenty of choice. Newcomers who have just started on their career path or branched out into this business are likely to set lower personal assistant hourly rates to build up a clientele or gain experience. It could be anywhere from $6 to $8 before they start to think big.
VA skill set
Skill set is another yardstick applied to virtual assistant rate. There is a range of general services like email filtering, research, flight booking, transcription, data entry, documents conversion, blog management that you can apply for $6 – 10 an hour. If you require an expertise in seo-optimization, keyword research, link building, branding, article spinning, content writing, copywriting, social media management and other writing needs there are specialists with language or marketing degrees that charge as little as $8-10 per hour. Some VAs have specialized skills they can bring to the table for your benefit for much higher virtual assistant hourly rate. This relates to website building, setting up and maintaining WordPress blogs, custom programming.
Hourly rates vs. Hourly packages
Selling hourly packages as opposed to setting virtual assistant rates per hour is another way to apply for VA services. Some virtual assistants, especially companies will sell a certain number of hours as a minimum. It works like this: 40 hours at $8,5 virtual assistant hourly rate equals to $340. Some companies offer discounts for bigger packages of hours what is particularly alluring. Sometimes rates are set on a price-per-hour basis but this should be negotiated in advance.
So, have you found a way out of this dilemma? Still thinking in terms of wasting money or getting peanuts? Say: “ Neither!” Consider carefully factors that influence pricing and start with an hourly rate or package which is simple. Now you’re armed with another saying, which is start smart and simple!
