Episode 96: What’s the Difference Between Charging Hourly vs. Package Pricing as a Virtual Assistant?

Full Episode Transcription:

(00:07):
You guys, we are seriously so close to episode 100 here on the Ditch the Classroom podcast. And I’m so excited. It’s been such a blessing to be able to pour into you ladies these last few years of running this podcast. And I’m just so excited to continue and dive into the next 100 and see where that takes us.

(01:37):
But for today’s episode, we’ve got another Quick Tip Thursday and I’m answering the question of, “what is the difference between charging hourly versus offering packages for your virtual assistant services?” So typically, new virtual assistants will charge hourly and keep track of their hours that they’ve worked with a time tracking tool like toggle, which is spelled T-O-G-G-L. It’s a free time tracking tool. And then sometimes they’ll also send that time tracking report to their clients. However, as you get better at the services that you’re offering, you’re kind of doing yourself a disservice because by charging hourly, you’re becoming faster at your job and thus doing more work for the same amount of money. So as you get more experienced, it’s really best to move into a package model for your services where you’re essentially charging an additional fee for being skilled in that service. And this also has an added bonus that you no longer need to track your time, which can get a little bit tedious. So to create your packages, you should start with an estimate of how long the service will take you just like you would’ve before for hourly, but then you add on an additional amount on top of that.

(03:02):
So this is kind of like your experienced fee. So it’s really up to you to determine what amount to add, but I would recommend to do some market research and see what other virtual assistants with your level of experience are charging and go from there. Now, shameless plug for the Teacher Turned Freelancer Academy. In this program, I help you with creating your packages and putting them into a beautiful portfolio that you literally just have to plug-and-play your info, it’s already built out for you that will showcase these packages to your potential clients and make it an even easier “yes” for them. So if you’re ready to just put 100% effort into becoming a virtual assistant, so you can start working from home with your babies, the Teacher Turned Freelancer Academy is for you. So go to teacherturnedfreelancer.com, join us there.

(03:56):
And if you’re still wondering, like “Is virtual assistance even going to be a good fit for me?”, Come check out our free workshop. This is a great way, no pressure, to really see if virtual assistance is what you wanna do. So you can find that at ariannavernier.com/virtual-assistant-workshop, or you can find the link in the show notes. And in that workshop, I’m gonna teach you what services virtual assistants can offer and how to pick what services you want to offer, that would really light you up. I’m gonna teach you where to find paying clients that you love to work with each and every day. And I’m also gonna teach you the top three mistakes that new virtual assistants make so that you can avoid them and save time, energy, and money. Okay, so go check that out. Again, that’s ariannavernier.com/virtual-assistant-workshop. Okay, guys, we will see you next week.