If social media is to be believed, I should probably be earning $10,000 a month by now.
After all, becoming a virtual assistant is supposed to change your life overnight, right? At least that is what some influencers would have us believe.
But after years of working as a virtual assistant, I average around $6 an hour.
What a joke, right?
Honestly, that is what I used to think.
I would see people posting their five-figure months, six-figure businesses, and screenshots of income I could not even imagine earning. And while I was genuinely happy for them, I could not help but wonder if I was doing something wrong.
Should not I be earning more by now?
Should not I have figured everything out?
Should not I be one of those success stories too?
But over time, I realized something.
This “joke” paid our bills.
This “joke” put food on our table.
This “joke” allowed me to work from home and spend more time with my family.
And while I may not be one of those six-figure VAs traveling the world, I am grateful that this work carried us through seasons when we needed it the most.
Do I want more? Absolutely.
Do I dream of building digital assets and creating a life where I do not have to trade every hour for money? Of course.
But being grateful does not mean I want to stay here forever.
It just means I respect the season I am in.
Because maybe one day, when life looks completely different, I will look back at this chapter and smile.
Not because I was earning $6 an hour.
But because it helped us survive while I slowly built the life I was praying for.
The part nobody really talks about
Social media makes it feel like becoming a VA automatically means financial freedom.
Like once you learn the skills, clients will just show up and suddenly you are earning big money from anywhere in the world.
But that is not how it looks for most people.
At least not for me.
And for a while, I genuinely thought something was wrong with me.
Maybe I was falling behind.
Maybe I was not trying hard enough.
Maybe I just was not good at this.
But over time, my perspective changed.
What that $6 per hour actually looks like
It does not sound impressive.
I know that.
But it paid for real things.
Bills. Food. Daily expenses. The basics of life.
It also gave me something harder to measure: time at home, flexibility, and the ability to slowly build something on the side.
So no, it is not glamorous.
But it is real.
And I think people forget that not every stage of life has to look impressive to still matter.
“Why do not you just find better clients?”
People might ask, “Why do not you just look for premium clients?”
Trust me, I already did.
And I had them.
And they left.
And honestly, it sucked.
Not because they were bad clients. Some of them were actually great. But freelancing is like that. Clients come and go. Businesses change. Priorities shift. Budgets get cut.
That is the reality that does not always make it into social media posts.
So these days, I do not assume that someone earning more than me is doing something I am not.
I still want better opportunities. I still want to grow my income. But I have stopped believing that one “perfect client” will fix everything.
Because clients are temporary.
And that is exactly why I have been trying to build digital assets. Things I actually own.
Something that does not disappear just because a project ends.
So am I stuck?
No.
But I am also not pretending I am already “there.”
I still want more.
I still want better opportunities.
I still want financial freedom.
I still want to build things that are not tied to my hours.
But I am also not ashamed of where I am right now. Because this “in between” stage is where a lot of the real work happens. The part people do not post about.
The truth about six-figure VAs
I am not saying they do not exist. They do.
But they are not the standard.
And they are definitely not the starting point for most people.
What you usually do not see is:
- the years of experience
- the failed clients
- the low-paying beginnings
- the skills built over time
- the inconsistency behind the scenes
So when I say I am not a six-figure VA, it is not a confession.
It is just honesty.
Am I aiming to become one? Yes.
There is a lot of fulfillment in knowing that your work is reflected not just in appreciation or kind words, but also in paychecks that match the effort you put in. Do not get me wrong. I love hearing praise. It feels good to know your work matters. But to be honest, I also know the real challenge is not just finding better-paying opportunities.
It is learning how to value myself properly along the way.
Gratitude Doesn’t Mean Settling
I want to make one thing clear.
Being thankful for where I am right now doesn’t mean I agree with being underpaid.
And it definitely doesn’t mean clients should use gratitude as an excuse to undervalue virtual assistants.
Yes, I am grateful that this career helped put food on our table and allowed me to be present with my family. But gratitude and self-worth are two different things.
I can appreciate what my current work has done for me while still believing that I deserve better opportunities and better pay.
Because let’s be honest, being thankful doesn’t pay the bills.
Hard work, experience, reliability, and the value we bring to businesses deserve fair compensation too.
So no, this is not me romanticizing low rates or encouraging clients to pay less.
If anything, I am still learning how to value myself better. In fact, I think undervaluing myself is one of the biggest reasons why I haven’t reached the income goals I dream about yet.
I’m grateful for this season, but I don’t plan on staying here forever.
Both things can be true.
You can appreciate where you are while still striving for more.
Final thoughts
If you are also starting out and you are not earning big numbers yet, I want you to know something:
You are not behind. You are just in progress.
And there is a big difference between those two.
I am still building. Still learning. Still figuring things out. But I am also still here.
And for now, that is enough.
