INSIDE LETTING-GO MENTORING
Compare a VA With a Salary
An example, not a client story.
You are comparing a $105-an-hour VA with a $75,000 admin salary, and the hourly rate looks too expensive. Ivanka Menken uses the VA Cost Comparison inside Letting-Go Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to put both on one page: the salary with its on-costs, the VA with none, and the hours each one buys. You leave with a written comparison and the first task to hand over.
The VA Cost Comparison is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
AN EXAMPLE COMPARISON
The same $75,000, two ways
- $75,000 salaryPlus super, leave, payroll tax
- $105 an hour60 hours a month, nothing on top
- The hoursThe number that decides it
THE COMPARISON
“The hourly rate is not the cost.”
An example, not a client result. Check your figures with your accountant.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
The hourly rate looks expensive, so you stop there
- 01You think an hourly VA is too expensive.
- 02You compare the hourly rate with a salary and stop there.
- 03You have not counted super, leave and payroll tax.
AN EXAMPLE WEEK
It is Tuesday night. You have a VA quote at $105 an hour open in one tab and an admin job ad at $75,000 in the other. $105 an hour sounds like a lot. $75,000 sounds like a normal salary. You are about to choose the salary, without having written down what sits on top of it, or how many hours you actually need.
THE COMPARISON, AS IT STANDS
- The VA: $105 an hour, which sounds high
- The salary: $75,000, which sounds normal
- On-costs on the salary: not counted
- Hours you need each week: not known
- The first task to hand over: not chosen
An example week. Your figures are yours.
WHAT IVANKA SEES
The hourly rate is not the cost
The hourly rate is not the cost. A salary carries super, leave, payroll tax where it applies, workers' compensation, a desk and the time it takes to recruit. A VA invoice carries none of them. Until both are on one page, with the hours each one buys, a $75,000 salary can look cheaper than a $105-an-hour VA when it is not.
The hourly rate is not the cost. The comparison has to include what sits on top of the salary.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Skip the comparison, and you choose on the number that sounds smaller. You may hire for a full-time week when the work needs fourteen hours, or keep doing the work yourself because the rate looked high.
VA Cost Comparison
Both costs on one page, then the hours
The VA Cost Comparison puts two numbers on one page: the full cost of a salary, with its on-costs written in, and the full cost of a VA at their hourly rate. Then it adds the third number that decides it: the hours you actually need.
An example comparison. Tap a part. Your rates, on-costs and hours are yours.
VA Cost Comparison · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is a one-page comparison, written with your own figures and checked with your accountant. The salary column has a row for every on-cost. The VA column has the rate and the hours. Underneath sits the hours test and the first task to hand over.
What it replaces
It replaces comparing an hourly rate with an annual salary in your head, the decision made on the number that sounds smaller, and the work you keep doing because neither option was ever costed properly.
It sits inside Letting-Go Mentoring, before the first handover on the Step-Out Log. The figures are yours and your accountant checks them; Ivanka asks the questions. There is no separate checkout.
THE COMPARISON, ON ONE PAGE
- 01The salary: the base, in the example $75,000
- 02The on-costs: super, leave, payroll tax where it applies, workers' compensation, desk and recruiting
- 03The VA: the hourly rate, in the example $105
- 04The hours: what you actually need each week
- 05The total each way, for the same hours
- 06The first task to hand over, whichever you choose
INSIDE A SESSION
Put both costs on one page
In an example session, Ivanka asks three questions: what is the hourly rate, what is the full-time salary, and what sits on top of it in super, leave, payroll tax and the rest? She puts the two costs side by side, then tests the hours you need against both. The founder writes the one-page comparison and names the first task to hand over. Before the next session, the founder checks the on-costs with their accountant and briefs that first task.
THE COMPARISON, FILLED IN
- The VA
- ~$75,000
- The salary
- $75,000, before anything on top.
- On-costs
- Super, leave, payroll tax, workers' comp, desk, recruiting.
- The hours you need
- Written first. In the example, about 14 a week.
- The first handover
- One task, checked after 14 days.
An example. Your figures are yours.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingThe admin help you keep putting off, and the work it would take off you.
- 2The numbersThe hourly rate, the salary, the on-costs and the hours.
- 3The storyWhy the hourly rate feels expensive and the salary feels safe.
- 4The commitmentThe written comparison, and the first task to hand over.
THE QUESTIONS
- What is the VA's hourly rate, and how many hours do you need?
- What is the full-time salary for the same role?
- What sits on top of the salary: super, leave, payroll tax, workers' compensation?
- What else does a hire cost you: a desk, equipment, recruiting time?
- Which task goes first, whichever option you choose?
Before the next session, the founder checks every on-cost line with their accountant, then briefs the first task to whoever takes it.
WHAT CHANGES OVER THE PROGRAMME
A decision on the numbers, then a handover
By month 6, the admin decision rests on a written page, not on the number that sounded smaller.
NOW
- $105 an hour sounds high; $75,000 sounds normal.
- On-costs are not counted.
- The hours you need are a guess.
- The admin work stays with you.
BY MONTH 6
- A written VA cost comparison, checked with your accountant.
- A decision on the first handover.
- A 14-day check on whether the handover stayed with the VA or the hire.
- One handover each fortnight after that.
THE 12 FORTNIGHTS
- 1Call
- 2Call
- 3Call
- 4Call
- 5Call
- 6Month 3
- 7Call
- 8Call
- 9Call
- 10Call
- 11Call
- 12Month 6
The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, one handover each fortnight, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In the example, 60 hours a month at $105 comes to about $75,000 a year, the same as the salary before its on-costs. With super, leave and the rest written in, the salary costs more; it also buys a full-time week. The founder chooses on the hours the work needs, and hands over the first task. Illustrative, not a client result.
WHY IVANKA
She has built a business across 160+ countries
Ivanka Menken shares her own experience of building a business across 160+ countries. She built Letting-Go Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who became the bottleneck by being good at everything.
She asks what the help will actually cost, and which task it takes off you first. If the hourly rate is the only number you have looked at, the decision in front of you is one page. Write it before you post the job ad or turn the VA down.
“During our sessions Ivanka isn’t just talking theory. She is sharing her own lived experiences.”
Business owner
WHO IT IS FOR
Who fits, and who does not
It fits
- You run a $500K to $3M business and still do your own admin.
- You are weighing a VA against an admin hire.
- The hourly rate is putting you off.
- You will write the comparison and hand over the first task.
It does not fit
- You want open-ended coaching.
- You want a done-for-you fix or someone to find you a VA.
- You want payroll, tax or employment advice. That is your accountant's job.
- You have already hired and the handover is working.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
The VA Cost Comparison is part of Letting-Go Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- One handover each fortnight
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
Founding place, AUD $1,000/month. Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. GST is added at checkout. Claim a founding place.
The VA Cost Comparison is one of the tools inside the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about comparing a VA with a salary
How does the VA Cost Comparison work inside Letting-Go Mentoring?
In a session, Ivanka Menken asks for the hourly rate, the salary and every on-cost, puts both on one page, then tests the hours you need. You leave with the written comparison and the first task to hand over. Letting-Go Mentoring runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and the tool is part of it.
What costs should I include in the comparison?
On the salary side: super, leave, payroll tax if you are over the threshold, workers' compensation, a desk and equipment, and recruiting time. On the VA side: the hourly rate times the hours. Check the rates with your accountant. Ivanka Menken builds the page with you inside Letting-Go Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Is $105 per hour comparable to a $75,000 salary?
On cost, roughly: 60 hours a month at $105 is about $75,000 a year, before the salary's on-costs are added. On hours, no: the salary buys a full-time week. So the answer depends on the hours you need. Ivanka Menken tests that with you inside Letting-Go Mentoring, which runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What if I only need a few hours a week?
Then the comparison usually favours paying for those hours rather than a full-time salary, and the bigger question is which task goes first. Ivanka Menken helps you choose it and log it as a handover inside Letting-Go Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, with reviews at month 3 and month 6.
Write the comparison before you decide
If the hourly rate is the only number you have looked at, start with Letting-Go Mentoring. The VA Cost Comparison is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether it fits.