Are you a VA or are you underselling yourself?
When you first began your VA business it’s likely that your budget was tight, and you were overwhelmed with all that goes into setting up your business. Setting up your ABN, creating a website and socials, and perhaps you didn’t quite know where your first client was going to come from. I almost feel the stress just writing that down.
Now, as you’ve progressed further in your VA business, you've had the chance to test different things out and work out where your strengths lie. You might even find yourself in a position where you are underselling your skills and services by continuing to refer to yourself as a VA, because you have niched into a particular area.
View our template linked below, designed for use by Virtual Assistants:
For example, I have a client who started her business offering services that fit the title of VA, and over time she has evolved to become a Kajabi expert (and affiliate), where she sets up the platform Kajabi for her clients. I suggested she consider also referring to herself as a Kajabi setup specialist or an automation specialist. Because, as I’ve been involved in the small business and online business world, it’s become clear to me that a lot of the time people might think they need a VA, but they really need someone like an online business manager or a person who sets up a particular platform or writes niche content and so on.
The difference really lies in the level of strategy and forward-thinking you are bringing to your work for your client. I’d expect a VA to undertake assigned tasks and help with things like inbox management. But, if you’re finding you’re giving advice about platform or system set up, process improvement or helping a business owner with more of the running of a business, you may find you’re underselling your skills by referring to yourself as a VA.
When you can list your skills and the additional value you bring to a business, then you can put yourself in a position to charge more. You can also attract the work that you love doing, rather than being offered more generalist work.
This up-levelling of skills and services, that occurs over your career as a VA, does however come with some risks for your business. Now you're a more established VA, with a diversified offering and packages set up for your clients, it’s time to review all the service agreements and requirements that you have currently and ensure they reflect what you need to protect yourself and your business.
Protecting your business as it grows
When you first started out, you may have either copied a friend's VA contract or service agreement, or had one when you signed up to a VA course to begin your business. I’ve seen a trend with many of the startup programs that they give you packs, sometimes including agreements. While that is handy when getting started, sometimes they are focused more on the non-legal aspects of service (unless you have one of our template agreements!), rather than some of the tricky bits I’ve dug into over the past 21 years in legal practice.
But don’t panic, those templates you’ve been using have probably been okay as a start-up VA. It has helped you work out what your clients do and don’t like and got you into paid work.
In fact, we sell templates at The Remote Expert, so I am not going to rubbish them – they really do have their place for early career VA's or where you’re working in a really narrow niche, such as doing admin work only. But things can get murky when you start to diversify, and offering more shouldn’t come with increased risk to you. I call this the “VA slash” phenomenon. That is, when you are a VA/ content writer or VA/ social media manager etc.
If this is where you are at, now is a good time to review your service level agreement with a legal professional. Not only to ensure you are legally protected, but to know and have the reassurance that your commitments are clearly outlined to your clients.
How to know it’s time to stop underselling yourself
Having had VA’s as clients for a number of years now, it’s become easier for me to identify when I see a VA is underselling their skills. Here are a few of the services which show it might be time to start referring to yourself as something more than a VA, and what needs to be reflected in your service agreements as a result of your expanded service offering.
Diversified services
Do you have an “and” in your service offerings? What I mean by this is, does this sound like you?
You offer a service such as email inbox management AND social media management? or
Do you provide for complete set up of project management software AND the workflow strategy?
Do you set up online course platforms for people AND help them with their online course creation?
Are you offering 1:1 consults in addition to your VA work?
If you do more than one thing, it is important to check your service agreement covers all your offerings.
Particularly for those of you who help people upload content to websites and courses, it is important to make sure that your clients own the imagery and written content that is to be used and that you are involved in helping shape and upload.
Let’s unpack how this looks in action with an example scenario with Grace and Amy. Both teach people how to sell online courses. Grace thinks Amy knows her stuff, so Grace buys Amy’s course and decides to borrow much inspiration from it – so much so that she copies some of the work book content. Grace then hires you to work with the content she has put together. She provides the copy in a word document and you pretty it up, make it into a PDF and upload the resources to Grace’s online course site. Amy’s team discovers the content and sends a scary looking cease and desist letter to Grace, but also to you, because you were involved too. You need to make sure that if Grace does that (and you can’t stop her), that you are protected. With the right wording, you can be protected and Grace can deal with the consequences alone.
Strategy sessions
One of the big trends I've noticed as more and more people get online is that VA is becoming more of a general term (like “tradie” for all construction industry related workers) and so many people do so much under that title. A strategy session or business consultancy is a big part of that shift. If you offer consultancy, your service agreement, and likely your business insurance, will need some reviewing to take into account this shift and expansion of services.
Packages
If you offer packages, you need to make sure the inclusions and exclusions are clear. For example, I hired someone for a Dubsado set up package as a 10 hour package paid up front. However, the terms and conditions clearly stated that all 10 hours needed to be used within a month from purchase date/project start date. The VA was really clear about when I had to use my hours and it was documented in her agreement. However, if you aren’t clear and have an agreement that details your expectations, you can run into the challenge of someone coming to you months or years down the track asking for their remaining 3 hours work.
Certifications and affiliate links
The four most common certifications I see my clients have are:
Kajabi;
Dubsado;
Canva; and
Xero.
If you are going to the expense of becoming certified, you want to make potential clients aware that you have passed the conditions set out by the software company. As you know, there are hundreds of software systems you can become certified in. It is great to upskill and add certifications to your toolkit, and it’s a real draw card for clients with specific needs.
However, if the software has issues, you don’t want to be held liable or be able to be held responsible for issues that are out of your control. As most in the online business world will know, software can be glitchy. Recently, I had an experience where Xero was having some issues, which had nothing to do with my work or my bookkeeper’s work. So, you want to ensure your service level agreement isn’t making any promises about what you can deliver when relying on third party platforms.
With many certifications comes an affiliate link. Essentially, if you refer a client, you get a financial reward or kickback of some kind. This can become a really great source of income. However, you need to make sure your client knows about the relationship and that you declare this rebate, so they are clear there is no tricking them into a particular solution. They must make a decision knowing about your affiliation. In our agreements for people with referral or affiliate links, we include a paragraph that specifies these affiliations.
Confidentiality
Passwords and client business information needs to be protected and how you do that should be covered in your agreement, because your clients rely on you to keep their details safe and allowing them to breached would be disastrous for your business. If your client experiences a data breach or security issue, your service agreement should minimise any risks from your end.
Subcontracting
If you hire subcontractors to deliver work, or you plan to hire a subcontractor, your service agreement should give you the discretion to do so without your client being able to refuse the subcontractor. Additionally, if you hire a contractor, make sure you have a proper contractor agreement for them to act as your subcontractor – including a non solicit clause or restraint which stops them from taking your clients with them.
Something else to be mindful of is whether you are a contractor or employee for your client. If you are in Australia and offer your services to Australian businesses, you may be surprised to know that could be considered an employee and therefore entitled to superannuation and leave. There is a test on the ATO website to determine that. Also, if you do more than $450 in work for a client each month, and it is labour based, the client may be required to pay you the superannuation guarantee. Again, this is something to chat to your accountant and the ATO about, but is good to be aware of.
Ensure you & your business are protected
As professionals who are consistently expanding your skill set and ensuring you are alert to developments and updates with the platforms and software you use, you are likely offering far more than traditional VA services. While you may not wish to change your title, don’t be afraid to pitch yourself as a specialist and charge what your know-how is worth.
If your business is growing, or you have expanded your skills and service offerings, you shouldn’t be taking unnecessary additional risk. For that reason alone, it is wise to have your service agreements reviewed to enjoy peace of mind and ensure you are adequately protected.
Related articles: What every OBM needs in their Online Business Management Agreement
The art of getting paid: How to recover unpaid invoices
At Ready to Boss Legal, we offer reviews of your service level agreements to ensure your legal protection is appropriate to the level of your service offering. Get in touch with Emma for a free initial consultation by clicking here.