Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant relationships

I have said many times how very proud I am of the group of individuals who are the American Association of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants (AAVBA).

From the beginning of this venture, I vowed to have a group that would work together for the greater good.

We were going to be an organization that epitomizes professionalism, ethics and solid relationships. And not just with each other, but also with the attorneys we work with.

The VBA industry is a relatively small community. So is the Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney community. If we say or do something good, everyone knows about it. By the same token, if anyone uses derogatory language or berates someone in the VBA community, word will get back to whomever is the target.

This was evident at the Fall Conference in South Carolina. Word got around that there was a new Exhibitor that provides a service most Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys can use that will make running their law firms much easier.

The new Exhibitor was AAVBA.

We were swamped all weekend by attorneys who wanted more information about how using a VBA could help them run their offices more efficiently. And we delivered.

Word was out that this was an organization that could very possibly be the answer to the problem most solo practitioners struggled with. The problem being they (the attorneys) needed an extra hand in their law firm but were unable to pay a full time staff. Enter the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant.

I have never made claims that I had anything to do with the formation of the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant. I will take credit however, for having the idea of getting VBA's in front of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.

And the idea of marketing on behalf of the AAVBA members is also my idea. Something that has never been done prior to the formation of AAVBA.

There are other marketing ideas that have been exclusively mine, but we won't go into that.

But not all the ideas came from me. Because of my relationship with my fellow AAVBA members, we have been able to implement ideas I could never have come up with.

And when those ideas are utilized, the VBA who comes up with the idea is given credit. Although, sometimes in my hurry to do things, I will forget to write down the name of the VBA. Sorry! And when that happens, I will still give credit to the VBA by mentioning the idea did not come from me.

I believe we have the first class organization that we do because our focus is building relationships and building businesses.

Our conversations are about the business, not about each other.

If an issue arises that must be addressed, it is addressed to the AAVBA membership. No one is ever exposed. I do not believe in publicly humiliating anyone. After all, we've all made mistakes.

If a problem arises with an individual, I speak personally and privately with that person. It begins and ends there. No one ever knows what happens and most times the members are not even aware there is a problem.

Besides, there is never anything that cannot be addressed and handled professionally without destroying the relationship.

I believe that by spreading rumors and talking about each other in a negative light creates a negative environment. For anyone who is part of this organization, knows I will not tolerate any negativity. Like my mother used to say, "if you can't say something nice, say something vague". it was meant to bring humor in a difficult situation.

Thankfully, I have never had to say "something vague" about our members. I know straight up, most of our members are in AAVBA to grow their businesses and to help others do the same.

There is another saying which goes like this, "ignorant people talk about each other, intelligent people talk about matters of the world".

Have you ever been in a conversation where someone is talking about another person you do not know? What did you do? Did you walk away? Or did you become part of the conversation? Did you believe what that person was saying about this other person? Without confirming the story? Or did you believe this person simply because you felt they would not talk about anyone in a negative manner unless it was true? Or did you bother to confirm it?

Where I grew up, if someone said something about somebody, that person would bring the two people together and ask them who said what. This way, there was no misunderstanding. Each person had the opportunity to say face to face what they had to say directly to the person they were talking about.

Needless to say, there wasn't too much gossiping going on. You never knew when you would be asked to confirm what you were saying. So you better have had your story straight and also the facts to back it up. It kept everybody honest.

Build your relationships. Don't destroy them. When there is an opportunity to clear something up, do it immediately. And remember, judge slowly. Don't believe everything you hear unless you have the facts to believe it.

Vikki