Tuesday, September 16, 2008

First 6 months

September 28, 2008 marks the 6th month AAVBA went "Live".

My idea of AAVBA began in August of 2007. The first person I talked to about my ideas was Sharon Hassler of GoGetNotary.

I've long been an admirer of Sharon. I've seen what she's accomplished with GoGetNotary and the GoGetExperts business.

I tossed ideas to Sharon to get her input while this idea was still in its infancy. I hadn't even filed the legal documents to make it an official business. We spent hours on the phone talking about this organization. Sharon gave me advise and was there when I needed to talk to someone. Which is a lot.

The value of the time she gave me is priceless. Once it's gone, you never get it back. Someday, I hope to I can repay her.

Well, the first thing I can share with you is Tip #1: Never start a business during the holidays. Talk about your #1 major stress factor!

A good time to start a business is March. File the legal stuff, get your website and shopping cart installed, set up your business/organization schedule (Meetings, Webinars, Travel) and go!

A little known fact is that I was not scheduled to conduct training. The person I had lined up for training had other obligations and responsibilities and I did not feel that handling a new organization like ours, with it's endless work hours would be a good fit.

So it was decided that I would do the training. Major stress factor #2. I had two weeks to get ready to conduct my first training session. Somehow, with the help of my wonderful AAVBA "founding members" cheering me on, we got through it. I say "we" because it was never just me. Believe me, I had a lot of help.

The most exciting part of this year was our association with NACBA. Being at the Annual Convention and now at the Fall Conference meant I had one more way to let attorneys see upfront what we do.

Our AAVBA members are encouraged to go to these conferences with us. The members pay a small participation fee, bring all their marketing materials to the Convention/Conference and participate at the AAVBA Exhibit Table.

For those VBA's who cannot attend the Convention/Conference, we offer another way to participate. The VBA purchases a Raffle prize to be given at the Convention/Conference. These raffle items are engraved with the VBA's business name.

These ideas came to us from our members.

Our organization believes in the AAVBA membership. They are very intelligent individuals and they bring a wealth of information and ideas. We respect their opinions and ideas.

If the idea will benefit the overall good of the organization, we use the idea and give credit to the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant.

We held two VBA Luncheons this year. Both successful. At our second VBA Luncheon, we had Sherry Duke of Suite Solutions (Credit Report Import) give a presentation.

The next two weeks are all about preparing for the NACBA Fall Conference. We have so much to do.

And that brings us to the present. Our first six months. It's still hard to believe.

The next six months and the next year (which is only three months away!) will be just as busy, I'm sure.

I hope you will make plans to be with us. We've only just begun.

Wishing you wildly successful days!

Vikki