Should you be a subcontractor or a solo virtual assistant? The first thing to ask yourself is what the difference between the two is. The first difference between being a subcontractor under another virtual assistant and being a solo virtual assistant is mainly how you get the clients.
Subcontractor vs Solo Virtual Assistant
There are many virtual assistant agencies out there that will hire you as a subcontractor to contract work that they have gotten for their agency. I own a virtual assistant agency, and I have four subcontractors on my team who I sub work out to. This means that I secure the clients and my subcontractors do the work.
Whereas, if you were working as a solo virtual assistant, then you would have to secure your own clients and do your own work. Those are the main differences between the two.
Can You Do Both?
Now you might ask yourself, could I do both? And the answer is absolutely yes; you can do both. Some teams and agencies require that you not take individuals who are in their target market or niche because of a non-compete clause in their agreement with you.
But that all depends on what you agree to when you join a virtual assistant agency or team. Personally, I have a non-compete clause in my subcontractor agreement, but as long as they are not reaching out to the clients that we are working with and trying to get them to become their personal clients, then they are not breaking that clause.
They are able to have and promote their own business, but they would have to get their own clients, and it must be apart from any communication we have with clients. Otherwise, they would be breaking our agreement.
Doing Both
As I shared, I’ve done both things in the past. I’ve worked for agencies, and I’ve worked as a solo VA and secured my own clients. Usually, as a subcontractor, you are going to get a lower rate than you would if you were charging the client yourself upfront. That is because most agencies take a percentage of the hourly wage to pay themselves and to deal with any of the paperwork/back-and-forth with the client.
I still have to communicate with the client, so I still take a percentage of that. Therefore, the subcontractor would get a lesser percentage or a lower hourly rate. I would encourage you, if you are new to working as a VA, go ahead and get some clients as a subcontractor because it would give you valuable experience. It would also give you the opportunity to learn from another virtual assistant who is already established.
Thanks for reading!
