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Stop hiring VAs to do what software should.
I know that's a bold thing to say. VAs are great people. But let me be specific about what I mean.
If your VA's job description includes any of the following:
— Copying data from one platform to another
— Sending the same follow-up email with slight variations
— Pulling weekly reports from your tools
— Adding contacts to your CRM from form submissions
— Scheduling social posts from a content calendar
...you are paying a human being $800–$2,000 a month to do work that a $50/month automation stack handles in real time, without sick days, without errors, and without needing to be trained again when they quit.
I'm not saying fire your VA. I'm saying free them up for the 20% of their job that actually requires a human brain client relationships, creative judgment, nuanced communication.
The businesses that will dominate the next decade aren't the ones with the most staff. They're the ones with the leanest systems.
→ Let's audit your VA's task list and automate the repeatable half.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
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I kinda stopped freelancing a couple of years ago. Was putting my focus towards family. My wife and I decided now is the time to really go all in on my dream of building a business around Product Design.
Great decision
GOODNIGHT to all the frens, enemies, supporters, competitors, judges, and nobodies of VOLTYX.
Let's keep the game fair, and make this experience unforgettable with our different kinds of @Recraft mascots!
OSS.
you are right
Today, for the first time, we blocked a client.
From day one, we stayed professional and respectful. The website was approved at every milestone. We even gave a discount because the client's budget was limited.
Every requested revision was completed.
Our policy includes one month of maintenance after delivery to fix any issues. Three months later, the client came back with new requests, and we still completed them for free. Today, months later, they returned again asking for more changes. We quoted less than half of our normal hourly rate simply because they were a returning client.
The response we received was enough.
Looking back, the client had been rude throughout the entire project. We kept telling ourselves it was probably just a language barrier. It wasn't.
Here's what we learned:
Never let a client speak to you with disrespect.
The cost of working with the wrong client is far higher than the money they pay you. It drains your energy, your confidence, and your love for the work.
At the time, we were new to the platform where this project came from. We accepted it because we wanted the experience and the completed order on our profile.
Six months later, one message reminded me that some projects simply aren't worth taking.
Not every client deserves access to your time.
Sometimes the most professional thing you can do is say no — or, if necessary, block them and move on.
Have you ever had to fire a client? Or did you keep trying to make it work longer than you should have?
You just have to keep being professional
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