Switching From Hourly to Retainer Pricing Took Her VA Income to $144,000 a Year

Rebecca Morassutti started as a virtual assistant on Upwork in 2014, landing her first client within 24 hours, and earned about $65,000 by the end of that first year working hourly. By 2016-2017 the hourly model had burned her out enough that she considered quitting.

In 2017 she switched to value-based retainers instead of hourly billing, analyzing the revenue impact she generated for clients and pricing accordingly: "I analyzed the value I added to my clients' businesses and presented them with a pricing structure based on that research," backing her pitch with "proof of sales from emails and campaigns." One client who started at $1,500 a month now pays more than $6,000 a month, with some clients raising her rate on their own each year.

By 2024 she was earning $144,000 annually working with just 3-4 clients at a time, with an average client relationship of five years. The retainer model also freed her from tracking hours: "I no longer kept track of my hours because I was on a retainer, so I could take time off without being paid less."