In this edition of my cross blog talk with Nell Taliercio, the Telecommuting Answer Lady asks me about my target market. Here’s specifically what she wants to know:

“How did you pick the target market you’d like to work with in your VA business and did the target market have anything to do with how you picked the hourly rate you charge?”

But, before I answer her question, make sure head on over and find out why the former rockin’ VA herself decided to close the doors to her VA business and move on to bigger and better things! I have the utmost respect for Nell in making the decision she did and actually hope to be in her shoes someday as well, just in a bit of a different capacity. That’s another post at another time as those days aren’t coming any time soon!

Now as for me and my target market.
I chose the target market of Internet Marketing Mom business owners because

1. I know how hard it can be to juggle family and a business.
   To say I can relate would be an understatement…I cannot only relate, but I find that by helping other WAHMs with their business I’m also helping myself to learn better ways to mish mash the two (business and family life) in better, more productive ways.
2. They Get IT!
   I would be lying if I didn’t mention the fact that other work at home mom business owners totally get it when my kids are sick and I just can’t bare the thought of leaving them to their own devices when what I (and they) really want is mommy’s undivided hugs and attention. All of my clients have actually been a God-send as well with my pregnancy. Not so much now, but in the beginning I was a total wreck and they all fully understood and gave me the space and time needed to focus on my health and well-being.

As for if that market had an effect on the rates I charge. That’s a tough question because yes, in the beginning I felt I needed to “feel for the WAHM budget” and adjust things accordingly. However, I found that by charging lower rates, discounting huge projects, and even giving away tons of work for free, I was literally working myself to the bone and making less money than I could possibly continue with.

I struggled for the longest time in this area. However, getting pregnant with baby #3 and being in business for awhile now I totally “get it” and know that when you have clients telling you you need to charge what you’re worth and that you’re worth more then you have a problem that really needs to be addressed.

That being said, I’ve been very fortunate and haven’t had to actually raise my rates across the board because clients have willingly given me pay raises that I never could have imagined would come let alone as soon as they did.

With 2008 here I’ve done some planning and have big changes in the works for my VA business this coming year that I plan to begin implementing immediately - one of which involves an hourly rate increase that will put me closer to my ultimate goals.

Hope that answers your question and my next question for you is this:

I noticed that you are no longer going to be updating your mom blog over at Casual Friday Everyday. Although I’m sad to see it go, I completely understand your decision and commend you for making the choice. Does this mean you have something else up your sleeve or will you be using that extra time and energy to concentrate on helping others find work at home jobs?

My good friend, Nell Taliercio, aka The Telecommuting Answer Lady, has invited me to join her in a cross blog conversation. Actually she said I was her victim, but that’s ok with me!

Nell is a work at home mom too. She was once a VA herself and now runs many successful websites, including JustOnlineJobs.com and Telecommuting Answer Lady.

She’s mom to 2 little boys who are just adorable. Nell is one of those people who you like the moment you meet her, even online. I’ve known Nell for a few years (almost 3 I think) so when she asked me to participate in this CBC and share my answers to this, I happily agreed to be “victimized“.

“When did you start your VA business and why did you decide to become a VA?”I had actually been researching and thinking about starting a virtual assistant business since 2001, when my oldest son was 3 or 4 years old. For various reasons I didn’t start it then.

The idea was always in the back of my head and in 2004 I met the man of my dreams and he was thrilled that I wanted to someday be able to work from home. After a previous marriage to a man who thought I should not only fry up the bacon, but bring it home too with very little, sometimes no help from him, it was a blessing to me to finally have someone who understood just how important it was for me to not only own my own business but run it from home so I could be the one to raise my child. You can read more about my #1 reason for wanting to work from home here.

In 2005, while pregnant with my second child I started doing small side jobs as a VA, but didn’t officially open my office doors at Take5VA.com full-time until August 2006.

Now, it’s my turn to Nell so here’s your question. Inquiring minds want to know:

Was your VA business the first work at home business you had and what made you decide to close up shop and move on to owning and running other websites instead? Looking forward to hearing your answers!Be sure you follow along on Nell’s blog, especially if you’re interested in working from home because Nell has a ton of information on the subject in that brain of hers! As a matter of fact, Nell’s old forum at Mommy’s Place is where I landed my first VA project! I thank God every day that Nell had that forum because I learned more there in the few months before I got that job than I did in all the previous years combined of researching work at home jobs.