August 7, 2025 • 10 mins
Want clients who will gladly pay your rate? The Client Magnet Method shows you how to find and attract them fast. Grab your special podcast discount today!
Feeling discouraged by $5/hour VA listings on Fiverr and Upwork?
In this episode, Laura Nicole breaks down the real reason why you're not competing with low-cost international VAs and why clients are still happy to pay $25, $30, even $35+ per hour for your support.
She uses a mom friendly apples vs. oranges analogy to help you see how both types of VAs serve different roles, and how to find high-value clients looking for someone exactly like you.
🎧 Whether you're brand new or feeling stuck, this episode will remind you that you belong in this space - and your rates are worth it.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
- Why low-cost VAs aren't your competition (and never were)
- The real reason clients pay $25+ per hour without hesitation
- Finding quality clients who pay well
🎯 Ready to stop chasing low-paying gigs and start signing clients who value your work? The Client Magnet Method mini course shows you exactly how to identify your ideal client and confidently attract them.
What can you expect from this podcast and future episodes?
- Bite-sized episodes that give you quick, actionable insights into the Virtual Assistant industry
- Learn how to build skills, boost your confidence, and create a profitable VA business
Get the show notes and transcription here: https://www.laurajtraining.com/podcast-ep14-busting-va-myths-$5-vas-arent-your-competition
Find Laura on social media:
Instagram: @hey.lauranicole
TikTok: @hey.lauranicole
Facebook: Superstar Assistant Academy
Interested in earning sustainable income on YOUR terms, working as a Virtual Assistant? Register for FREE and Click Here to Get Started
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Laura Nicole (00:02):
Welcome to your Virtual Assistant Coach, the
podcast for moms who want tomake money from home on their
own terms.
I'm your host, Laura Nicole, asuccessful six-figure earning VA
and coach, who replaced mycollege professor salary in just
five months back in 2020, aftermy daughter was born, and I
have never looked back.
I'm here to help you build aprofitable, flexible VA business
(00:24):
that fits into your family'slives, so you no longer feel
like you're living just to work.
Let's dive in.
If you have ever scrolled Fiverror Upwork and seen a ton of
postings that are looking forvirtual assistants but only
paying like $5 an hour, then I'msure you have felt your stomach
(00:45):
drop and thought to yourselflike how could I ever compete
with that?
How is anybody ever going topay me $25 plus per hour?
But here is the truth you arenot competing with that.
International virtual assistantsand US-based virtual assistants
both serve their purposes, butthey are like comparing apples
and oranges.
They might both be fruits, butthey are like comparing apples
(01:05):
and oranges they might both befruits, but they are not the
same thing.
So in this episode, I'm goingto break down for you why those
$5, $7, $8 listings aren't athreat to you or your virtual
assistant business, how bothtypes of virtual assistants fit
into this market and why theright client for you is going to
(01:26):
be happy to pay $25, $30, $35per hour for the value that you
bring to their business.
So I don't know if you knowthis about me, but I go live on
TikTok almost every day so thatI can talk to as many women as I
physically can about thisopportunity of making money from
home as a VA.
And a question that gets askedall the time when I'm on these
(01:49):
lives is well, what about the $5VAs?
Aren't clients just alwaysgoing to hire a $5 VA instead of
paying $25 for me?
And I get why they have thatquestion right, because then
when I ask follow-up questions,I come to learn where they have
actually been looking forclients, and it almost always is
(02:11):
on freelancing sites likeFiverr and Upwork or in those
really, really big Facebookgroups like the I Need a Virtual
Assistant Facebook group.
And yes, in those specificspaces, most of the postings are
going to be geared towardinternational virtual assistants
who have those lower $5 to $7an hour rates.
And that's because thoseplatforms y'all they are price
(02:35):
driven okay, they are notrelationship driven.
Not only are they putting uppostings and saying that they
want to pay $5 to $7 an hour,but they also typically are just
posting for like one-offprojects where essentially
they're looking for a taskrabbit right.
They just want to hire someoneto come in, do the project, get
it done and then go about theirday.
But that's not what we want.
(02:56):
We don't want to work withclients who want to just bring
us in, have us knock on ourproject and then never work
together again.
So I know, if those are thespaces that you have been
looking to try to find clientsto work with, then, yeah, you
probably feel like the wholemarket is designed for these $5
an hour VAs.
But that simply is not true.
And to help you kind ofunderstand why that isn't true,
(03:18):
we're going to go a little bitmore into this apple versus
oranges metaphor because I wantto make sure that you have an
understanding of what thevirtual assistant market kind of
looks like as a whole.
Okay, so let's just pretendokay, bear with me and like the
kind of silliness of it, butlet's just pretend that
international VAs are the applesin this scenario and US-based
(03:41):
VAs are the oranges in thisscenario.
Okay, and US-based VAs are theoranges in this scenario.
So the apples the internationalVAs, tend to focus on more
repetitive, lower cost tasks.
A lot of times they are goingto be tasks that are more tech
in nature, where their culturalor language nuance isn't
essential.
(04:01):
They don't need to be speakingEnglish as their first language
in order to complete the task.
And hiring an international VAis really ideal for businesses
who need bulk support but on abudget, or if they have a big
tech integration they need donebut they don't want to pay an
arm and a leg for it.
So those apples, theinternational VAs, tend to be a
bit just more task-oriented getin, get it done, doing tasks
(04:25):
that, again, typically are neverforward-facing, they're not
customer-facing because of thelanguage barrier.
And then when we consider whatUS-based VAs tend to bring for
business owners, right, theoranges.
What the oranges are bringingto the table is the ability to
handle higher level support andthose client-facing tasks,
(04:47):
because the US-based VA is goingto be able to really adapt
better to the cultural context,to the native language and
alignment with the business.
A US-based VA very often is notbrought on just as like this
task rabbit to just knock thingsoff a to-do list, but they're
brought in to actually be apiece of the team, right, to be
(05:09):
a part of the team, to be asounding board for the client or
potentially help with strategyin some facet of their business,
and both are valuable.
Right, I love apples and I loveoranges you will often find
both of them in my home but whenI want or need an apple, I'm
going to grab an apple, right,and when I want an orange, I'm
(05:32):
going to grab an orange.
I'm not going to take the applejust because it's cheaper.
Right, it's not like I'm nevergoing to pay for an orange
because I could just always getan apple cheaper.
That's not how it works andy'all a lot of times, especially
small business owners who havea bigger business or they're
further along in business,they're often going to have a
(05:53):
mix of people on their team.
It is very, very common forbusiness owners to have a
international VA for certaintasks and then US-based VAs on
their team for other tasks.
So truly, there's nocompetition there, because the
ways that these two differentVAs would be used are just very
different from each other Bothinsanely valuable to a business
(06:17):
owner, right, but different.
They are not interchangeable,which means that you simply are
not in competition with eachother and, for the most part,
y'all those clients thatactually are looking for the
US-based VAs and they're willingto pay what a US-based VA costs
they are typically not postingon and scrolling Fiverr looking
(06:39):
to hire someone and bring themin that way.
They're looking for someonethat they can trust.
They're looking for someonethat they can communicate with,
someone who brings proactiveproblem solving, someone who can
work collaboratively with them,and so those clients who are
going to be happy to pay you $25, $35 an hour.
We're going to be finding thosepeople through networking and
(06:59):
referrals and those morespecific online community spaces
like Facebook groups specificto your EIDL client avatar or
memberships, or even localentrepreneurship meetups.
They are not going to be foundscrolling through Fiverr and
Upwork.
When I tell y'all that I havebeen a VA for five years and I
(07:20):
have never once even thoughtabout making a Fiverr or Upwork
account, and yet I have alwayshad dreamy clients who I
literally am obsessed withsupporting on my roster, it's
because I take the time toactually network and build
connection and build trust withthese potential clients which
leads me to signing higher valueclients who see my value and
(07:44):
are happy to pay for it.
And I am not the only one, youguys.
There are so many US-based VAs.
There are so many US-based VAs.
There are so many women in theSuperstar Assistant Academy who
have booked out and who havesigned clients, who have never
touched Fiverr and Upwork, andthey also have never had clients
push back on their rate whenthey tell them $25 an hour or
tell them $30 an hour becausethey are implementing the system
(08:06):
to actually networkintentionally and create
connection with these clients.
I promise y'all this is aquality over quantity situation.
Having one real, genuine,authentic conversation with a
business owner will beatsubmitting 50 cold job apps on
Fiverr or Upwork any day of theweek.
(08:27):
So the main moral of today'sepisode, y'all, and the main
thing I want you to take awayfrom this, is that international
VAs at a $5 to $7 an hour arate while that may seem
intimidating or it may sounddefeating, or it may sound like
holy guac, I'm never going toget paid what I want to get paid
.
I really hope you hear me andtake me seriously when I tell
(08:50):
you that that is not the caseand you all simply are not in
competition with each other.
You're both in the same market,but you are serving very
different purposes that trulydon't overlap with each other.
So please don't let that get youdown, don't let that get you
frustrated.
(09:13):
Do not let that be the reasonthat you give up on your goal of
becoming a virtual assistantand creating this income for
your family, because that wouldbe a literal shame.
So if you're ready to learn howto actually find the clients
who will value you and are happyto pay you your rate, then you
need a game plan.
My mini course, the clientmagnet, will show you exactly
how to figure out who that idealclient is and then how to
(09:35):
actually network intentionallyand strategically so that you
can position yourself to attractthe right clients and start
signing contracts withoutwasting all of those frustrating
hours on Fiverr or Upwork.
You can grab the Client MagnetMethod at a discounted rate for
being a podcast listener thelink will be in my show notes
(09:56):
and start building your clientroster the smart way.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on your virtual assistant
coach.
If you love this episode, besure to share it with your best
friend, your sister or even yourfavorite coworker, who you know
wants to start making aflexible income.
I'll see you all next time.
Welcome to your Virtual Assistant Coach, the
podcast for moms who want tomake money from home on their
own terms.
I'm your host, Laura Nicole, asuccessful six-figure earning VA
and coach, who replaced mycollege professor salary in just
five months back in 2020, aftermy daughter was born, and I
have never looked back.
I'm here to help you build aprofitable, flexible VA business
(00:24):
that fits into your family'slives, so you no longer feel
like you're living just to work.
Let's dive in.
If you have ever scrolled Fiverror Upwork and seen a ton of
postings that are looking forvirtual assistants but only
paying like $5 an hour, then I'msure you have felt your stomach
(00:45):
drop and thought to yourselflike how could I ever compete
with that?
How is anybody ever going topay me $25 plus per hour?
But here is the truth you arenot competing with that.
International virtual assistantsand US-based virtual assistants
both serve their purposes, butthey are like comparing apples
and oranges.
They might both be fruits, butthey are like comparing apples
(01:05):
and oranges they might both befruits, but they are not the
same thing.
So in this episode, I'm goingto break down for you why those
$5, $7, $8 listings aren't athreat to you or your virtual
assistant business, how bothtypes of virtual assistants fit
into this market and why theright client for you is going to
(01:26):
be happy to pay $25, $30, $35per hour for the value that you
bring to their business.
So I don't know if you knowthis about me, but I go live on
TikTok almost every day so thatI can talk to as many women as I
physically can about thisopportunity of making money from
home as a VA.
And a question that gets askedall the time when I'm on these
(01:49):
lives is well, what about the $5VAs?
Aren't clients just alwaysgoing to hire a $5 VA instead of
paying $25 for me?
And I get why they have thatquestion right, because then
when I ask follow-up questions,I come to learn where they have
actually been looking forclients, and it almost always is
(02:11):
on freelancing sites likeFiverr and Upwork or in those
really, really big Facebookgroups like the I Need a Virtual
Assistant Facebook group.
And yes, in those specificspaces, most of the postings are
going to be geared towardinternational virtual assistants
who have those lower $5 to $7an hour rates.
And that's because thoseplatforms y'all they are price
(02:35):
driven okay, they are notrelationship driven.
Not only are they putting uppostings and saying that they
want to pay $5 to $7 an hour,but they also typically are just
posting for like one-offprojects where essentially
they're looking for a taskrabbit right.
They just want to hire someoneto come in, do the project, get
it done and then go about theirday.
But that's not what we want.
(02:56):
We don't want to work withclients who want to just bring
us in, have us knock on ourproject and then never work
together again.
So I know, if those are thespaces that you have been
looking to try to find clientsto work with, then, yeah, you
probably feel like the wholemarket is designed for these $5
an hour VAs.
But that simply is not true.
And to help you kind ofunderstand why that isn't true,
(03:18):
we're going to go a little bitmore into this apple versus
oranges metaphor because I wantto make sure that you have an
understanding of what thevirtual assistant market kind of
looks like as a whole.
Okay, so let's just pretendokay, bear with me and like the
kind of silliness of it, butlet's just pretend that
international VAs are the applesin this scenario and US-based
(03:41):
VAs are the oranges in thisscenario.
Okay, and US-based VAs are theoranges in this scenario.
So the apples the internationalVAs, tend to focus on more
repetitive, lower cost tasks.
A lot of times they are goingto be tasks that are more tech
in nature, where their culturalor language nuance isn't
essential.
(04:01):
They don't need to be speakingEnglish as their first language
in order to complete the task.
And hiring an international VAis really ideal for businesses
who need bulk support but on abudget, or if they have a big
tech integration they need donebut they don't want to pay an
arm and a leg for it.
So those apples, theinternational VAs, tend to be a
bit just more task-oriented getin, get it done, doing tasks
(04:25):
that, again, typically are neverforward-facing, they're not
customer-facing because of thelanguage barrier.
And then when we consider whatUS-based VAs tend to bring for
business owners, right, theoranges.
What the oranges are bringingto the table is the ability to
handle higher level support andthose client-facing tasks,
(04:47):
because the US-based VA is goingto be able to really adapt
better to the cultural context,to the native language and
alignment with the business.
A US-based VA very often is notbrought on just as like this
task rabbit to just knock thingsoff a to-do list, but they're
brought in to actually be apiece of the team, right, to be
(05:09):
a part of the team, to be asounding board for the client or
potentially help with strategyin some facet of their business,
and both are valuable.
Right, I love apples and I loveoranges you will often find
both of them in my home but whenI want or need an apple, I'm
going to grab an apple, right,and when I want an orange, I'm
(05:32):
going to grab an orange.
I'm not going to take the applejust because it's cheaper.
Right, it's not like I'm nevergoing to pay for an orange
because I could just always getan apple cheaper.
That's not how it works andy'all a lot of times, especially
small business owners who havea bigger business or they're
further along in business,they're often going to have a
(05:53):
mix of people on their team.
It is very, very common forbusiness owners to have a
international VA for certaintasks and then US-based VAs on
their team for other tasks.
So truly, there's nocompetition there, because the
ways that these two differentVAs would be used are just very
different from each other Bothinsanely valuable to a business
(06:17):
owner, right, but different.
They are not interchangeable,which means that you simply are
not in competition with eachother and, for the most part,
y'all those clients thatactually are looking for the
US-based VAs and they're willingto pay what a US-based VA costs
they are typically not postingon and scrolling Fiverr looking
(06:39):
to hire someone and bring themin that way.
They're looking for someonethat they can trust.
They're looking for someonethat they can communicate with,
someone who brings proactiveproblem solving, someone who can
work collaboratively with them,and so those clients who are
going to be happy to pay you $25, $35 an hour.
We're going to be finding thosepeople through networking and
(06:59):
referrals and those morespecific online community spaces
like Facebook groups specificto your EIDL client avatar or
memberships, or even localentrepreneurship meetups.
They are not going to be foundscrolling through Fiverr and
Upwork.
When I tell y'all that I havebeen a VA for five years and I
(07:20):
have never once even thoughtabout making a Fiverr or Upwork
account, and yet I have alwayshad dreamy clients who I
literally am obsessed withsupporting on my roster, it's
because I take the time toactually network and build
connection and build trust withthese potential clients which
leads me to signing higher valueclients who see my value and
(07:44):
are happy to pay for it.
And I am not the only one, youguys.
There are so many US-based VAs.
There are so many US-based VAs.
There are so many women in theSuperstar Assistant Academy who
have booked out and who havesigned clients, who have never
touched Fiverr and Upwork, andthey also have never had clients
push back on their rate whenthey tell them $25 an hour or
tell them $30 an hour becausethey are implementing the system
(08:06):
to actually networkintentionally and create
connection with these clients.
I promise y'all this is aquality over quantity situation.
Having one real, genuine,authentic conversation with a
business owner will beatsubmitting 50 cold job apps on
Fiverr or Upwork any day of theweek.
(08:27):
So the main moral of today'sepisode, y'all, and the main
thing I want you to take awayfrom this, is that international
VAs at a $5 to $7 an hour arate while that may seem
intimidating or it may sounddefeating, or it may sound like
holy guac, I'm never going toget paid what I want to get paid
.
I really hope you hear me andtake me seriously when I tell
(08:50):
you that that is not the caseand you all simply are not in
competition with each other.
You're both in the same market,but you are serving very
different purposes that trulydon't overlap with each other.
So please don't let that get youdown, don't let that get you
frustrated.
(09:13):
Do not let that be the reasonthat you give up on your goal of
becoming a virtual assistantand creating this income for
your family, because that wouldbe a literal shame.
So if you're ready to learn howto actually find the clients
who will value you and are happyto pay you your rate, then you
need a game plan.
My mini course, the clientmagnet, will show you exactly
how to figure out who that idealclient is and then how to
(09:35):
actually network intentionallyand strategically so that you
can position yourself to attractthe right clients and start
signing contracts withoutwasting all of those frustrating
hours on Fiverr or Upwork.
You can grab the Client MagnetMethod at a discounted rate for
being a podcast listener thelink will be in my show notes
(09:56):
and start building your clientroster the smart way.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on your virtual assistant
coach.
If you love this episode, besure to share it with your best
friend, your sister or even yourfavorite coworker, who you know
wants to start making aflexible income.
I'll see you all next time.
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