UK VA Survey 2025

UK VA Survey 2025
I am based in the UK and have at least one active virtual assistant client.*

YesNo
Name*

First NameLast Name
Where are you based?*

East AngliaEast MidlandsNorth WestNorth EastNorthern IrelandScotlandSouth EastSouth WestWalesWest MidlandsYorkshire & The HumberUK overseas territory
What gender category should we include your data in?*

FemaleMaleNon-binaryTransgenderPrefer not to sayOther
What age bracket do you fit into?*

18 - 2930 - 3940 - 4950 - 5960 - 6970+
Typically how many hours per week do you work in your VA business? (Please answer as an individual)*

0 - 1010 - 2525 - 3030 - 4040+
What PERCENTAGE of the hours you work are non-billable? I.e. admin hours to work on your business as opposed to billable hours paid for by your clients. (Please answer as an individual)*

0 - 5%5 - 10%10 - 20%20 - 30%30 - 40%40 - 50%50 - 60%60 - 70%70 - 80%80% +
Is being a VA your only income?*

Yes - it's my only income and I pay all billsYes - it's my only income and we jointly pay billsYes - it's my only income, but I am not the "breadwinner" in my familyNo - I have other income, but being a VA is my main incomeNo - I have other income and being a VA is a sidelineOther (Please give details)
Where do you usually work from?*

Home - dedicated office spaceHome - ad hoc workspace (kitchen table/dining table/sofa)Rented office - whole spaceRented office - hot deskOwned officeClients' premisesPublic space (e.g. coffee shop, library etc)Digital Nomad - I move aroundOther (Please give details)
Do you offer on-site services alongside your VA business?*

Yes - no extra chargesYes - although I charge for travel time & expenses separatelyYes - although I charge a higher on-site rate to allow for extra expensesNo - unless in exceptional circumstancesNo - never
Have you PAID for specific VA training? (Please do not count any free courses/content)*

No - Not paid for any specific VA TrainingAdvance Academy (Paula Edwards)Alchemy VA (Suzy Sanders)APVA (Holly Partridge)Catherine GladwynExecutive PA (Joanne Hawkins)Girls Mean Business (Claire Mitchell)My VA Business (Sarah Rugg)SmartPAThe Simple Ops Co (Amy Gould)The Business Savvy VA (Kayleigh Johnstone)VA Coaching and Training company (VACT/Amanda Johnson)VA Classroom (US based)VA Handbook (Jo Munro)VA Mentor Programme Advantage VA (Kylie Jones)VA Networking VA Start Up System (US Based)VA Success Group (Justine Curtis/Emma Walker)Virtual Miss Friday/1nsourcing (Michelle Dale)Other
Have you attended or do you plan on attending any industry events this year?*

NoThe PA Show (26th - 27th February 2025)North East VA Conference (16th May 2025)London VA Meet upsLounge by the Sea (8th May 2025)Midlands VA Conference (14th April 2025)South West Virtual Assistant Collaboration EventsUK VA Conference (17th October 2025)Other (please give information)
What year did you establish your VA business?*
What is your business format?*

Sole Trader (solopreneur)Sole Trader (with associates/subcontractors)Sole Trader (with employees)PartnershipLimited Company (just you)Limited Company (with employees)Limited Company (with associates/subcontractors)Franchisee
Are you VAT registered?*

YesNo
Your annual turnover (If 1st year please estimate turnover based on current monthly earnings) - Please give the turnover ONLY for your VA services income - not other business activities such as training or passive incomes.*

0 - £5000£5,001 - £10,000£10,001 - £20,000£20,001 - £40,000£40,001 - £60,000£60,001 - £80,000£80,001 - £100,000£100,000+
What is your average hourly rate? (If you charge per project, work out how long the project usually takes you and divide your charge by the number of hours to give an hourly rate e.g. Facebook set up = £100, usually takes 2 hours, your hourly rate would be £50.)*
Do you charge different rates for different services? (e.g. Typing = £35/hour, Social Media = £30/hour.)*

YesNo
Pricing Strategy: How do you determine the prices you charge?*

Market driven - I figure out what my target market can afford and price accordinglyCost plus - I figure out what I need to live off and how many hours I want to work and then price it based on thatIndustry standard - I looked at what other VAs were charging and priced myself similarlyPremium - I believe I offer better services than most other VAs and therefore charge above what others doOther (Please give details)
Pricing Strategy: Do you expect your prices to:*

DecreaseStay the sameHave a small rise (under 5%)Have a moderate rise (5-15%)Have a large rise (15%+)
Do you have:*

Terms & conditions / client contractService level guarantee / set turnaround timesConfidentiality agreementDisaster recovery plan / off site data back upProfessional indemnity insuranceWritten marketing planData protection registration with ICOAnti money laundering regulations registration (MLR)Website cookie policy / privacy policyNone of the above

Which of your services do you make money from? (Enter a % of turnover.)

	Percentage (%)
General admin
Accounts / Bookkeeping
Social Media (inc website updates and blog / copywriting)
Typing
Audio Typing / Transcription
Marketing
Events (including online events/webinars)
Web Design
Call Answering
Design / Graphics / Video editing
Training
PA Support/ Diary Management
Personal support (Inc Access to Work support)
AI / IT / Technical support
Minute Taking
Other

Total (must equal 100%)
Error - Answers must equal 100%
Do you specialise (niche) in anything specific?*

YesNoOther (Please give details)
If you answered yes to the above question, please give details about the area(s) you specialise in?
Do you plan to expand the business this year?*

No - plan to reduce work through my own choiceNo - plan to reduce work because I'm not making enough money/it's difficult to get clientsNo - happy to stay the sameYes - small rise in clients/amount of work completedYes - big rise in clients/amount of work completed
Do you do associate work for another VA?*

YesNo
If you answered 'yes' to the above question please select the one that applies to you...

I only do associate work and wish for it to remain that way.I only do associate work at the moment, but I do want clients of my own.I do a mixture of some associate work and I have clients of my ownI don't do any associate work.Other
How do you get paid by the majority of your clients?*

Retainer - paid upfront for a set number of hours per month in advance of work being doneRetainer - via invoice at month end after work has been doneProject fee - paid in advance of work for a set projectProject fee - paid on completion of work for a set projectHourly rate - ad hoc billed via invoice depending on how many hours workedHourly rate - ad hoc via invoice but billed via Direct Debit/card paymentHourly rate - billed regularly via invoiceOther
Have you undertaken work for clients through the Access to Work Scheme?*

YesNo
Do you use subcontractors / associates in your business?*

YesNo
If you answered yes to the question above, how many subcontractors / associates do you have in your business?

1 - 56 - 1011 - 2021 - 3031 - 5050 - 100Other (please state number)
If you have associates, what % of your workload do you outsource?
If you have associates, what is the average hourly rate that you pay them?
Where do you find your associates?

They contact me via my own website/social mediaVia online networkingPeople who I meet face to faceVia outsourcing websites like PeoplePerHour, Fiverr, Upwork, Odesk etcOther
How many regular clients do you have?*

Where are your clients based? (Enter a % - Choices must add up to 100%)

	Percentage
Local
National
EU
Rest of the World

Total (%)
Error - Answers must equal 100%
How many times do you follow up on new business leads?*

1-2 times (e.g. 1 phone call and 1 follow up email)3-6 times (e.g. few emails, couple of phone calls)10+ (e.g. as above but over a sustained period of time)Other (Please give details)
How long did it take you to find your first client?*

I already had my first client lined up when I launched.1-3 months4 - 6 months7 months - 1 Year1 Year - 2 YearsOther (Please give details)
What do you find the MOST effective way of getting new business? We are only asking for one answer here as we want to know the one most effective method for you.*

Referrals/word of mouthFace 2 Face NetworkingWebsite/blog/organic SEOVA Agency/Freelance Site (UpWork, Time Etc, Fiverr, People Per Hour, subcontracting for another VA etc)LinkedIn (reconnecting with people who already knew me)LinkedIn (cold leads who I didn't know before)TwitterFacebook GroupsFacebook (existing contacts)Facebook (cold leads who I didn't know before)InstagramOther Online networking (not social media - but forums etc)Paid for search listings (Google Adwords/banner advertising)Direct Mail (Postcards, flyers, email newsletters)Business & Industry awardsReplying to job advertsPR - news coverageCold calling (Telesales)TV advertsTikTokDiscordRadio AdvertsPress Adverts (newspapers, magazines)Outdoor advertising (Posters, car graphics)Other
If you would like to add anything else about your marketing practices, have more than one method or anything that works well for you then please feel free to tell us here:

What market sector are your clients in? (Please use % - Choices must add up to 100%)

	Percentage
Business Consultancy / Coaching / Mentoring)
Charity/Non-profit Organisations
Education
Entertainment
Financial
Government/ council
Healthcare/ Beauty
Hospitality (Travel/ hotels/ restaurants)
Legal
Medical
Media
Manufacturing
Online Business
Property / Real Estate / Construction
PR
Personal services
Recruitment / HR
Religious organisations
Technology
Trade
Other

Total (%)
Error - Answers must equal 100%
Do you offer a discount rate for charities / not for profit organisations?*

YesNoOther (Please explain)
How many hours of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) have you undertaken this year?*
CPD (learning, updating your knowledge and increasing your skillset) can include sessions that you attended either online or in person, at conferences, workshops, training sessions, networking events, etc.
Has your business been affected by the rise in living costs?*

Positive effect.No effect.No effect - Work is as normalNegative effectOther
Has the arrival of AI affected your business in any way?*

Yes - A positive impactYes - A negative impactBoth a positive and a negative impactNo - I have noticed no affect on my business.Other
If you answered 'Yes' to the above questions, please give details of how it has affected your business.
Have you lost/had to turn down work as a result of having to care for someone else (e.g. children, elderly family members, etc)*

YesNoN/A I don't have caring responsibilitiesOther
Has being a VA affected your mental health in any of the below ways?*

Very positivePositiveNegativeVery NegativeBothNeitherOther
How do you see your VA business?*

A short term incomeAn income which suits my lifestyle just nowA long term businessA side gig which I'll continue with around other thingsOther (Please give details)
What are the top three favourite online tools you use in your business?*
What's the end goal of your VA business? (Sell up? Expand but be hands off? Have physical premises? Move to Spain? Tell us all about the dream...)*
What is the biggest positive about being a Virtual Assistant?
Have you found any negatives about being a VA?
What would be your number one top tip to anyone starting their VA business?
Help us get it right - is there anything we've missed off this survey?
How did you hear about this survey?*
Your email address - We ask you for your email only to ensure responses are authentic and to send free copies of the survey report to the first 10% who fill it in. Your email address will not feature in the Survey Report and will not be passed on to any third parties, nor used for marketing purposes.*
example@example.com
A free copy of the UK VA Survey 2025 will be given to anyone who completes this survey. We will email you once it is published.

Information given (except your name and email address) will be used in the UK VA Survey 2025. Your personal data (name and email address) given to us in this form will not be used for anything else other than for survey admin purposes and will not be passed on to third parties, nor will it be used for marketing purposes. All information used in the final report will be anonymised before release. Please find our Privacy Policy here

If you have any questions, please email gwen@societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk

Thank you so much for taking the time to fill in this year's survey. We hope you find the results helpful.
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