| Line | Course reference |
|---|---|
| US-based VA hourly band | $25 to $60/hr; experienced generalists average $35 to $50; specialists at the top (web-verified) |
| Job-listing average | about $24/hr |
| Upwork median (global pool, includes the $4 to $7 offshore tier) | about $13/hr: the floor, not the ceiling |
| Monthly retainer territory (solo VA, direct) | several hundred to $2,000+ per client by scope and niche; agency example: $400 to $1,000 shared, $1,600 to $2,500 dedicated (unverified, one operator) |
| Worked monthly arithmetic | 3 clients x $800 = $2,400/mo; 6 x $1,200 = $86,400/yr before expenses |
Compute backward, from life, not the market. Billable ratio runs 60 to 75% of working hours, so plan on 80 to 110 billable hours a month at maturity, fewer in year one. Worked example, assumptions labeled: $5,000 true target over 100 billable hours = $50 floor.
| Line | Worked example | Your numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly income the business must produce | $5,000 | $ |
| Plus benefits replacement (health premium, retirement match) | included above | $ |
| Plus tax sweep | included above | $ |
| True monthly target | $5,000 | $ |
| Realistic billable hours per month | 100 (band 80 to 110) | |
| Floor rate per billable hour | $50 | $ |
Publish nothing you cannot defend in one sentence. Diagram worked example: $30 base becomes a $950 package covering roughly thirty hours, about $32/hr effective.
| Rung | Rule | Worked example | Your price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly (pilots, trial work) | inside the market band; always scoped in writing with a cap; migrate or end within a couple of months | $30 base | $ |
| Hour block (10 to 20 hrs prepaid) | about a 10% discount off hourly; invoiced on the first, paid before the work; unused hours expire; never under roughly ten hours a month | $27/hr; $405/mo for 15 hrs | $ |
| Capacity package (flat monthly outcome) | priced from floor rate + tracker-measured hours + niche premium; round confident numbers | $950/mo, about $32/hr effective | $ |
One-sentence defense: "My rate is ______ an hour; blocks of ______ hours a month run ______ prepaid; most clients start on the ______ operations package."
Move twenty-five to thirty percent of every payment into a separate tax account the day it lands. Self-employment tax is 15.3% on net earnings; quarterly estimates required if you expect to owe $1,000 or more. Software stack runs $30 to $60/mo; LLC filing ($35 to $500 by state) can wait until income is real.
| Month | Payments received $ | Swept to tax account $ (25-30%) | Software $ | Other expenses $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pull the time-tracker data against each package. Where effective hourly has slipped below your floor, the package needs repricing, re-scoping, or retiring.
| Package / client | Package price $ | Tracker hours / month | Effective hourly $ | Floor $ | Verdict: reprice / rescope / retire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|