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If you're a consultant, trainer, speaker, or coach, it's time to raise your prices!
If you're a consultant, trainer, speaker, or coach, it's time to raise your prices!
If you're a consultant, trainer, speaker, or coach, it's time to raise your prices!
When you charge £1,000 for a one-hour webinar, it can feel like a big number.
But it’s worth understanding where that money actually goes, and how much of it is really take-home pay. Let’s break it down.
That £1,000 is not what ends up in your pocket. First, there are business costs.
Even a lean speaker has expenses: software, platforms, insurance, marketing, accountancy, tech, professional development, admin support, and more. Let’s assume they’re efficient and spend around 15% on running their business.
That leaves 85% → £850.
Next comes tax. This varies hugely depending on setup, but let’s be conservative and say 20% needs to be set aside.
Now we’re at 65% → £650.
Unlike employees, self-employed people don’t get paid holidays. If they want to take the UK statutory minimum (around six weeks including bank holidays), they need to plan for that. That’s roughly 12%.
Now we’re at 53% → £530.
Then there’s the rainy day fund. Tech fails. Laptops die. Bookings cancel. Life happens. Setting aside 10% brings us to 43% → £430.
Finally, there’s pension savings. Optional, yes, but important. Let’s allow another 10%. That leaves 33%.
So from that £1,000 invoice, the amount that’s actually available for personal spending is around £330.
This is exactly why pricing can feel confusing, and why so many speakers and trainers undercharge without realising it.
If you’re unsure whether your fees truly support the life and business you want, the Fox Virtual Assistants Profit and Pricing Audit can help you step back and look at the numbers properly. It takes the emotion out of pricing and replaces it with clarity, structure, and confidence.
If this has made you pause and rethink your rates, feel free to get in touch and we can talk it through.
The cost-effectiveness of hiring a VA compared to a full-time employee in the UK.
If you're a consultant, trainer, speaker, or coach, it's time to raise your prices!
If you're a consultant, trainer, speaker, or coach, it's time to raise your prices!
If your business requires less than 900 hours of support work annually (roughly 17 hours/week), congratulations, hiring a VA is the most cost-effective way to grow your business.
How did we work it out?
Full-Time Employee (FTE)
37.5-hour work week
5.6 weeks of annual leave (including public holidays)
4.4 average sick days per year
1 hour plus daily for lunch and tea breaks (unpaid)
Effective Annual Working Hours for FTE:
Total hours/year: 52 weeks x 37.5 hours = 1,950 hours
Less annual leave: 5.6 weeks x 37.5 hours = 210 hours
Less sick days: 4.4 days x 7.5 hours = 33 hours.
Effective working hours/year: 1,950 - 210 - 33 = 1,707 hours
FTE annual costs approx. £36,000.
VA hourly rate: £40/hour.
Break-even hours for VA: £36,000 / £40/hour = 900 hours.
When hiring a VA, there are NO:
- employee benefits to pay
- National Insurance contributions to pay
- need to supply any equipment or training courses
- rent to pay for an office
If you'd like to find out more, about how a VA can support your business, get in touch!
Assumed data based on industry averages and general knowledge as of 2024