Virtual Assistant Business – How to Name Yours

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How to Name your Virtual Assistant Business

Coming up with a name for your virtual assistant business can be stressful and agonizing for some people. You brainstorm and come up with ideas, but nothing seems right to you.

You want something that reflects you personally as well as your business and what you do. It’s this big, important thing. It will be the name of your website and social media profiles. You’ll write it on tax forms, business plans, and your email signature. So you want it to feel and sound good.

And, for most virtual assistants, this will be the beginning of it all for you, the way that people will come to know you and your business.

So, it’s only natural that it’s a place where many VA’s become stalled when it comes to setting up their virtual assistant business.

So What’s In A Name?

Don’t make it so hard and here are some great tips for you:

1. Know the rules and laws

Your business structure and where you are located may affect what you use for a business name, such as using part or all of your name or certain terms. Make sure to check first. Better safe than sorry.

2. Don’t make it too hard

Don’t use something too hard to spell. People will find it difficult to find you and your website. Just because you know how to spell it, if it’s not a common word or phrase, others may type it wrong when searching for you.

Do a Brain Dump on Names

3. Play with words that relate to your services

Consider using a name that relates to the services you provide for your clients. Use a thesaurus to come up with different words that have the same meaning.

Here’s what Caroline Davidson, Owner at The Functioning Executive had to say about her experience with this:

I didn’t want to use my name so I took the term, “Executive Functioning,” and put a spin on the words. Executive Functions, simply put, is a term used for the cognitive skills a person needs to plan, organize and complete tasks. My business name is “The Functioning Executive”. I function in a support role for busy executives!

4. Don’t pigeonhole yourself with a name

While I do encourage you to brand your business based on your services, don’t niche the name down too much. For example, maybe right now you offer social media services. That’s your main focus. So you call your business Susan’s Social Media Boutique.

Six months into working with clients, you decide that you are much better at—and love—project management. But your business name says “Social Media.” Now you need to start a full re-brand, purchase a new domain name, and possibly pay to change some business paperwork.

It’s not that you CAN’T change your name. It’s certainly not impossible. But it’s best to think ahead about your business plans and goals and create a name that encompasses that.

Naming your Virtual Assistant Business Should be Relatable

5. Focus on the outcome of what you do for clients

What kinds of results do your clients get from working with you? Think about physical as well as emotional outcomes. If they can relate, they’ll want to know more about you and be interested in working with you.

Here’s how Kat Salonga, Owner of Virtual, At Last! decided on hers:

My business name is Virtual, At last! As in “my business is goin’ virtual, at last!” I decided on it since it has the word “Virtual” and I figured it might be good for SEO. I also wanted my clients to feel relieved and thankful that their business is finally launched online; my customers are usually non-tech savvy female entrepreneurs. It represents the feeling of triumph after all the hard work.

Check Out Different Names Using a Google Search

Here’s another great explanation to get your wheels turning from Sencery Clemente, Owner at Tailor-Made Virtual Design:

I started by writing down all the words that I wanted to be associated with my business. When I think back on it now, it was a list of values that I wanted my business to be founded on.

Then I started thinking of experiences I had in the past when dealing with service providers and wrote down the good and the bad about those experiences – those were mostly emotions of how the experiences made me feel.

After that, I looked at the lists and started to think about how I wanted my future clients to feel when they interacted with me and worked with me. I want them to have a unique and specialized experience because we are all different in what we need/want/desire for our businesses.

6. Keep it simple- Use your name or initials

If you’re struggling and nothing sounds right to you, then keep it simple and use your name, initials or some variation of that. Again, just keep in mind the rules and regulations for where you live. In Georgia where I live, if you’re a sole proprietor, you don’t need to register the name if using your name in your business name. In other states, however, if you brand your business with your name, you can’t sell it in the future.

Here’s what Jessica Scotten, Owner at Pineapple Relations, had to say about this when she was coming up with her business name:

I have no idea if I want to sell in the future, but future me can’t make decisions like that today, so I’ll plan on being prepared.

Use a Great Tagline

7. Never underestimate the power of a great tagline

If you decide to use a simpler name or your name, use a tagline to explain more about what you do. Sometimes coming up with the tagline makes figuring out the business name easier.

And, if you change up your services or your market over time, you can tweak the tagline to match while keeping your business name the same.

8. Make sure the name is available

When you come up with something, Google it and perform a business name search to make sure it’s not already being used. Then search to see if the domain is available.

Here is how Julie Hoflin, Owner at Your Versatile VA, handled it when setting up her business:

I checked the free trademark search websites to ensure it wasn’t already trademarked in either the US or Canada, and once that was done, I officially registered the name in my province. In my jurisdiction, by registering the name legally, a deeper trademark search is completed and I felt so much better knowing if/when granted, I could rest assured I wouldn’t suddenly be told to stop using this name after investing time, money and effort into branding and establishing my biz under this name.

So there you have it. My best tips for coming up with your virtual assistant business name. If you’re working on your name, or if you’ve already established your business, comment below and share your process!

I want to give you one more reminder to always check the laws for your area—depending on your business structure and location, different rules may apply when it comes to naming your VA business.

Setting Your Rates as a New Virtual Assistant

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Setting Your Rates as a New Virtual Assistant 

Setting your rates as a new virtual assistant can feel scary. Many new Virtual Assistants price their rates very low in the hopes that this will attract more clients.  

While you may get more interest initially, this method usually backfires because bad clients tend to hire based on your price alone. You’ll end up thinking that being a VA doesn’t pay enough and is too much of a headache to deal with. 

Here’s how to set better rates that attract quality clients… 

See What Others Are Charging

It can be helpful to look at what other Virtual Assistants charge to help you set your prices. Some virtual assistants do post their rates on their websites.  

But make sure your price comparing with VA’s who do your type of work. Comparing rates between a VA who specializes in web design and a VA who specializes in social media videos won’t help you set your rates. 

Hourly Rates vs Fixed Price

Next, you need to understand how other VA’s set their rates. There are two common ways to do this. Some virtual assistants charge a fixed price per project while others charge an hourly rate.

The hourly rate is helpful when you’re new and inexperienced. It gives you the space to learn how long it takes you to do certain tasks, which projects your clients’ value, and what a fair wage for your time is.  

However, the hourly rate is not helpful if you have advanced skills. For example, when Trisha started out as a VA, she set up mailing lists for her clients. The process took her about 4 hours and she charged $25 per hour. This means her clients were paying her an average of $100. 

But as Trisha developed her skills, it only took her 2 hours to handle the mailing list set up. Since she was still charging by the hour, she earned $50 instead of $100. This means she was losing money because of her experience. 

The way to overcome a problem like this is to offer a fixed price. That’s what Trisha began doing. She charged a flat-rate fee of $100 for every mailing list set up that she did. She was still offering the exact same service; the only difference was the new price reflected Trisha’s years of expertise and knowledge. 

Ask for a Deposit

Make sure you ask for a deposit from your clients at the start of each project. This protects you if you start working on a project, but your client must cancel it for some reason. You’ll still have the deposit which should cover the time you’ve already invested. 

But a deposit also protects your client, too. It assures them that they’ve booked time on your busy schedule and makes their project a top priority.  

Most clients understand this and will happily pay the deposit. But if a client balks when you bring this up, they may be more interested in test driving your services than making an actual purchase. 

Setting your rates when you’re first starting your virtual assistant business might make you feel nervous. This is natural and you’ll become comfortable discussing your prices as time goes on.