Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Featured VBA-Sue Durkovich-Vista, CA

"Virtual" Assistant: A person who can multi-task jobs for different people in different locations without ever leaving home.

This type of work is becoming very popular for people who like flexible working hours and who do not enjoy being in traffic congestion for an extended period of time.

When I first heard about Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants, I felt this would be ideal to add to my notary business. I have been a California Notary Public for 15 years and the past six years added the job of loan closings which became popular for notaries. While I was working a full time job, I was doing closings in the evenings and on weekends. I soon found I could be busy more than full time so I left my job to build the notary business. The business was very lucrative for over a year, but then began to slow down. The bankruptcy assistant field was emerging and since I had worked as a paralegal in the 90's, I felt my legal background would be advantageous.

I found there was much more training and studying to do to be able to do this type of work and I spent many hours learning from a paralegal who had worked in the bankruptcy area for 20 years. She really knew the business and developed a wonderful training program with excellent materials. I also attended a few of her seminars.

Bankruptcy petition preparation can be done for any licensed attorney anywhere in the United States since bankruptcy is Federal law. I use Best Case software and I can do a petition for any jurisdiction. By using my services, I can save a law firm time and overhead expenses. The debtor meets with the attorney, is given Intake Forms to complete; the forms are returned to the attorney for review and then given to me to prepare. If information is missing or incomplete, I will prepare a list of questions for the debtor (with a copy to the attorney) and email the debtor. With the attorney's permission, I will continue to communicate with the debtor until the petition is complete. The attorney is always kept informed of the questions and/or conversations between the debtor and myself. I can communicate with the debtor at a time convenient for him (including evenings or weekends). However, I do understand I never give legal advice and if the debtor has a legal question, I will write it down and direct it to the attorney. In fact, when first talking with a client I make sure they know I am not an attorney and cannot give legal advice.

I invite you to visit my website: http://www.petitionsos.com/ or call me at 760-224-6507 if I can answer any questions.

Attorneys: You can contact Sue at her website listed above. Once there, go to the "Contact Us" page. There, you will find Sue's contact information.

I have personally known Sue for two years. Sue assisted me on my first petition preparation and has developed training material for the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant and also for the Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney.

Thank you Sue for this great information and introduction to your services!

Vikki

New Beginnings

Looks like 2009 is going to be just a little different than I had originally planned.

For starters, I resigned as Executive Director of the American Association of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants effective today, February 17, 2009.

This was not something I had not envisioned for myself or the organization.

But now that it's done, I need to move forward.

I know for many people, change is difficult. This might be difficult, I don't know. Only time will tell. One thing I know for sure. I made the right decision.

The VBA industry is fast becoming a popular career considering the economic climate.

For myself, I have always believed in this business and I knew, eventually, attorneys would see the benefit of hiring an Independent Contractor to prepare petitions. I also knew, that with a little convincing, the seasoned bankruptcy attorneys would eventually come around. Why not? It is a win win for everyone.

So now what? My heart and my passion to help people attain their goals in this industry is what drives me, so I'll continue going in that direction.

The new organization is the National Society of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants. Although, I want to drop the virtual. Why you ask? Some of us work in an attorneys office one or two days a week. That's not virtual.

Myself, I pick up Client files from my local attorneys and bring them to my home office to prepare. From there on, the attorneys and I work virtually, electronically. Meaning our communication is via email, fax, phone or text.

In the coming months, I suspect there will be more and more organizations and associations forming and why not. There is more than enough room for anyone who wants to do this.

If anything, I encourage you.

Be creative.

Form your partnerships as many of you have already done.

Just promise me you'll stay true to yourself, honest, professional and never give anyone a reason to say anything but good things about you. If you do this, I've got your back all the way.

So here's to 2009 and the many changes it is obviously going to bring. I say, bring it on.

Stay encouraged,
Vikki

Monday, February 2, 2009

Featured Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant-Dee Medlin, Anderson, CA

The featured VBA (Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant), for the first two weeks of February is Dee Medlin.

If you're new to this blog, I am featuring AAVBA members in 2009. I will feature a new VBA every two weeks. Dee's biography will run through February 16th.
If you are a Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney considering the services of a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant, read Dee Medlin's biography. I am confident you will find her to be a top notch professional.

For those considering the career of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant and would like more information, please leave your request in the "Comments" section of this blog. I will get back to you asap.


DEE MEDLIN


Professional Information:

I bring over 30 years experience in the Tech Sector working for 2 Fortune 500 companies in various roles. I served as an Executive Assistant supporting the Vice Presidents for over 8 years and over 11 years experience in software development as a Software Engineer. I left the tech sector at the end of 2005 and moved to Sacramento, California in the Bay Area. I served one year at Stanford University as an HR Systems Analyst. I was ready for a career change and had already spent some time researching opportunities for home businesses.

In January of 2007, I discovered VBA's through 713Training.com After weeks of research into this field and encouragement from the wonderful man in my life, I took the step and purchased all the training materials in March. In April, I completed the training and attended a two-day seminar in Southern California. In June, I launched my website and received my VBA accreditation. In July, I landed my first attorney client and filed my first case in August. I averaged about 2 cases a month for the rest of the year. I continued marketing but was not getting the response or the revenue I was expecting. I took on a part-time job in January 2008 and continued marketing. I made the turn in July and quit the part-time job and now devote 100% to my business. I currently support 9 attorneys from CA, FL, OH, AZ, Y, NC, and WA.

Through the 713Training membership, I met Vikki Watanabe and we began to talk and share stories (and struggles) of what is required to be successful not only in this field but as an Independent Contractor. Vikki and I collaborated on introducing SKYPE to AAVBA members and we provided an informative Webinar on the subject. It was a great opportunity and my first venture in co-hosting a Webinar. I look forward to future project and opportunities with AAVBA and working with fellow members.


Personal Information:

We are an active and lively family with 4 grown kids. We love to camp, fish, golf, cook, eat and entertain. I also enjoy a good book and watching movies. My goal this year is to plant a vegetable garden. I can't wait to play in the dirt!



Attorneys: You can read more about Dee's services at her website.

Title 11 Virtual Assistant

http://www.t11va.com/

From there, you can contact her via her "Home" page.


On a personal note, Dee has been instrumental in the development of AAVBA. She extends herself giving of her time unselfishly. Dee has mentored many AAVBA members. I would not have been able to grow this organization to where it is without Dee and other AAVBA members who give their time to help others become successful.

Thank you Dee,

Vikki