Published June 25th, 2008 by admin
Questions and Answers from VBAs - Issue 91
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QUESTION:
Dear Victoria: We need help with our budget. We already have 2 laptops, 1 desktop, a fax machine, a business plan and a marketing plan. What would you suggest as the best use of our funds ($5,000)? Our biggest expense seems to be the software license fee of $995/per computer ($3,000). I spoke with Mike at Best Case today and was educated on single user vs. multi user license agreements. Because each partner is going to be at a different location we would have to have a WAN (wide? area network) in order to take advantage of any multi-user discount or “simultaneous” access. That leaves $2,000 for everything else. Also, he made it sound as if only attorneys can purchase Best Case. I didn’t ask him outright to clarify, I consulted my partners and we thought we’d check with you. We know your Bankruptcy Workbook says not to purchase Best Case until you after you are adequately trained, are confident completing petitions and have begun marketing your services. We just assumed we could buy Best Case ourselves. Would you clarify that for us?
We would like to form an LLC because there are three of us. We budgeted $875 for this which includes our state filing fee and administration to be completed by Legal Zoom. We are tempted to try and cut the budget in half and do it ourselves (Office Depot) but wanted to hear your advice on do-it-yourself kits? We would be equal members in the organization. Real estate and kids are our primary assets.
We are each preparing to sit for the AVBA exam sometime in August and do 3 hours blocks of online training. We have also budgeted for your petition review service once we began drafting them. Do you still review 7 and 13 petitions for $50 each? Our marketing cost(s) are limited to our website, press releases, email, telesales and postage for limited direct response mailings.
An alternate temporary solution is to have our CEO (she discovered you many years ago and introduced you to us) form a sole proprietorship and 1099 myself and Michelle. Our goal would then be to work that way until such a time that we could afford to form LLC. We want to be taken seriously as a business by our attorney clients and we want to work together as a team in some way.
Thank you for taking the time to read this email. We are looking forward to hearing your words of wisdom.
Warmest Regards, Monica
ANSWER:
Monica; I am so happy that you emailed me with your healthy list of questions. The questions you are asking are the same questions many others ask. So, I hope you don’t mind, but I am answering your email in a public broadcast to help other virtual bankruptcy assistants.
I will answer each one of your questions one at a time:
1. The current cost for a Chapter 7 single user license for Best Case software is only $795.00. You do not need to purchase the Chapter 13 license at this time. Why? Because 75% of all the bankruptcy petitions you prepare will be a Chapter 7. If and when you do encounter a Chapter 13, you can purchase the additional module from Best Case at that time. And since you will be paid more money to prepare a Chapter 13, you will have the funds from your business to meet that expense.
The additional $125.00 license should be purchased for each additional person working under the same company name. For example, a virtual assistant I hired back in 2007 to help me prepare bankruptcy petitions only paid $125.00 to be added on to my license since we worked together. The virtual assistant was at a different location and still qualified to work under my license by Best Case.
Therefore, I believe you would only be required to pay the initial $795.00 for the Chapter 7 license and $125.00 per each additional person.
2. The reason Best Case may have made you “feel like” only attorneys could purchase the software is because they don’t like selling their software to non-attorneys who work directly for the general public. You can clear this up by informing Best Case that your company works for a variety of different attorneys on a virtual basis. Also, feel free to educate Best Case employees about the virtual bankruptcy assistant field. Once they understand that you work solely under the direction of licensed bankruptcy attorneys and do not commit unauthorized practice of law, they should no longer make you “feel” uncomfortable in selling you their software.
3. As far as an LLC, you are consulting with websites that are utilized by consumers. As a business owner, you should stay away from consumer-based websites and consumer-based companies. Simply file your own LLC with your state courthouse. The cost is only a few dollars. I downloaded the form from my Secretary of State’s office, filled it out, sent a check and I had my LLC within a few weeks. Next, I applied for my EIN number from the government website and it only cost a few dollars.
Never waste your money paying consumer-based companies like Legal Zoom to perform tasks that you can do yourself.
Besides, why do you want to form a LLC anyway? An LLC is excellent if you are afraid you will be sued, the party wins the case and a lien is filed on your home. But what are the chances of that happening when you are performing a service for attorneys? What reason would an attorney have to sue you?
I ran all 8 of my previous companies as a sole proprietor from 1988 to 2006. The only reason I formed an LLC in 2006 was to protect my home if someone sued me because they didn’t like a book or training video I developed. As you know, there are crazy people in this world.
4. Yes, I will review your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition for $50.00 as long as the process does not take over an hour. However, the cost would be higher for the review of a Chapter 13 since there is more time involved. Normally, virtual bankruptcy assistants charge an additional fee to the attorney to cover my review fee. But we can discuss this once you have a Chapter 13 for review. Like I said before – it may be some time before you even encounter one.
People ask my all the time why more Chapter 7s are filed versus Chapter 13s. There are several reasons, but one of the main ones is because the majority of people wait until they have exhausted all avenues before filing bankruptcy. People will normally cash in their 401Ks, stocks, bonds, savings and all other assets to pay their bills. Only when they have nothing left do they normally file bankruptcy. This is why the majority of bankruptcy petitions filed are Chapter 7s.
I urge you to keep a watch on the filing of different chapters at the American Bankruptcy Institute website at http://www.abiworld.org They are a much better authority than I am on the topic.
Summary
Thank you again Monica for your excellent questions. I am sure many of our virtual bankruptcy assistants are happy you asked them also. It gives them an opportunity to learn the answers to the same questions they also have. Do not hesitate to email me again if I can help you.
QUESTION:
Good Morning Victoria. Thank you for the great webinar on Wednesday, June 18, 2007 sponsored by VANetworking. It has been one of the best I have heard. Since very little is free of charge in the world of VA Training, this was worth more then a lot of paid advice I got so far. Could you give us a hint, how to approach the virtual bankruptcy assistant field and where to start. Which of your training materials would be best?
ANSWER:
I have developed a wide range of products in both printed, eBook and video format to provide people with a choice of which type of training works best for them. I cannot recommend any one product you should start with. You will have to decide if reading a book or watching a video is the best training method for you. You will also need to assess your background and determine which products do not cover the knowledge you already have in the legal field.
But rather than trying to determine which product you should buy, why not join the National Association of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants for only $15.99. Once you join, a complete new world will open for you. Not only will you be provided with a lot of free products like pre-recorded teleconferences, discounts on office supplies and much more, you also are entitled to discounts on every training product you purchase. The discounts will more than pay for your $15.99 membership. Just visit:
https://www.713training.com/administrator/signup.php
You can login instantly as soon as you join. I believe joining the organization will be the less costly and most beneficial method for you right now until you determine which direction you want to go in.
QUESTION
Dear Victoria: I am finally getting my marketing materials together and was wondering if it was okay to use the example client intake forms and questions from the seminar I attended in 2006 for my marketing packet, along with my finished petition. Please let me know. Thanks!
ANSWER:
As far as the training materials being used in your marketing packet, I would suggest that you have the marketing packet reflect YOUR work, not mine. There is no reason for you to cut corners and make yourself appear lazy,
You could use the Client Intake Forms, but YOU need to input the information into Best Case, prepare YOUR own Attorney Cover Sheet and print out YOUR own finalized petition for YOUR marketing packet.
QUESTION:
Dear Victoria: I attended the seminar held in Orlando last July. Shortly after that I started putting together information and then started to market my services to local attorneys. It was slow getting started (partly because I was still busy doing loan closings and didn’t push it too hard).
As the mortgage business got slower, I started marketing the bankruptcy business more aggressively. On a lark, I sent my information to a larger bankruptcy law firm in Ft. Myers. Bankruptcies is all they do. Two days later I received a call from them. Over the past 2 months we have gone back and forth over fees and the level of work they wanted my company to do. It originally started as we would only be doing data input and they would do all the research and client contact (at a significantly lower fee). It has now changed that we will do all the work at a much higher fee. Because they are anticipating sending me 2-5 petitions a day we negotiated a lower than normal fee.
One of the issues that we had to resolve is they use Bankruptcy Pro as their software. I downloaded a trial version of the software to see how it works. While it works differently from Best Case, since I know the basics, I feel the problem is not insurmountable. And, to alleviate the problem of me having to buy new software, the law firm has set it up so that I am now connected to their server and will use their software.
I just got a call from the law firm while typing this email and they said they had 6 cases they are going to be sending me in the overnight tonight. I’m very excited!!
Also, while I was marketing my company, I received a call from someone who had previously worked for a bankruptcy attorney. Her girlfriend had given her my information. She wanted to know if there was anything she could help me out with. I met with her and she really knows bankruptcies. She’s helped me out with one attorney I’m doing a little work for because she knows so much about Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings. She’s made some great recommendations to this attorney on fixing some problems he had. She’s going to be doing some of the work with my new client which will free up time for me to market to other attorneys.
ANSWER:
Congratulations! I am so very, very happy for you. You are truly blessed. Not only do you have a steady law firm client, but you have someone knowledgeable in bankruptcy petitions to help you. Praise God for His blessings and give Him the credit. There is no doubt you will not be successful with this set-up.
However, to address your problem regarding the difference in software programs, you will need to do things “their” way for awhile. Then, slowly show them the difference between their software and Best Case. For example, you may say: “I just wanted to show you that your software adds on an additional 20 minutes of time per petition because of … whereas, Best Case fills all this information in for you. If I saved 20 minutes of time per petition I completed, I could save you money.” Or something to this effect.
In marketing or changing the way a person thinks, you simply concentrate on the benefits to THEM – not you. Don’t aggravate them to the point that you lose them as a customer. Instead, show them the benefits to their law firm that Best Case can be by showing them specific examples but still follow whatever they want you to do. Eventually, you may be successful in changing their mind. If not, be thankful you have a steady customer who may use your services for many years to come. You may have to get used to Bankruptcy Pro and just live with it for this customer client.
QUESTION:
I just wanted your advice. I got contacted by two different attorneys who are swamped by bankruptcy petitions looking for assistance. They both seemed extremely interested in my services until they asked what software I used. When I told them Best Case, they said they use EZfile and have been using it for years; and at that point their interest ended. Even though I told them I could efile for them or send them the completed petition in PDF format, it was clear they would not use my services unless I had EZfile.
ANSWER:
Why would you destroy your marketing efforts? If the attorneys had the work to give you – do whatever they want. They are the customer. You cannot dictate to your customer what you want them to do. If they want you to use EzFile and they have been using it for years, use EzFile. There is nothing written in stone that says you must use Best Case. I use it because I like it. But if an attorney wanted to give me a lot of work, I would use whatever software he or she wanted me to use.
Your purpose as a virtual bankruptcy assistant is to provide services in preparing well-detailed bankruptcy petitions. All bankruptcy software programs are going to be similar because all bankruptcy forms are the same. Never destroy your potential future over an argument about what software program to use.
If possible, call the attorneys back right away and tell them you looked at EzFile software and you would be happy to use it for their law firm. Then, NEVER make this mistake again.
QUESTION:
I just downloaded the AVBA Exam and then I received an email about the Certified Bankruptcy Examination in San Antonio, Texas. Why are you offering two different exams?
ANSWER:
I am NOT offering two different exams. Please read the email carefully. It specifically states: “Do not confuse the Certified Bankruptcy Exam with the AVBA Exam developed by 713Training.” The difference between the two are:
Certified Bankruptcy Exam – An exam developed by the Judicial Assistants for paralegals, legal assistants and non-lawyer persons.
AVBA Exam – An exam developed by 713Training.Com for virtual bankruptcy assistants.
The Association of Judicial Assistants is located in Trenton, New Jersey. I doubt they have ever heard of 713Training.Com let alone virtual bankruptcy assistants. So please understand the exams are totally different and offered by two different companies.
THE FIRST WEB TRAINING SEMINAR
On June 21, 2008 we held the first Web Training Seminar sponsored by 713Training.Com. This seminar covered problem petitions and a discussion of how to proceed with them. After the seminar was over, all attendees received a free copy of the seminar in video format. Below are some comments we received from virtual bankruptcy assistants:
Thanks for all the great info on the webinar today. I learned a great deal, especially about those “problem” petitions. (Peggy)
Thank you Victoria and Dana for making it happen! I really needed the training on the Schedule I and J. I’ll put into practice what I have learned!!!! (Fraser)
UPDATE ON 1-ON-1 PERSONALIZED TRAINING
Last week I conducted 1-on-1 Personalized Training every day of the week. This was necessary in order to work out the problems and develop an easy workflow for training.
The training was so successful that one day, I assisted an attorney in setting up a new law firm practice through the use of the new Lotus software. The attorney paid for 3 hours of training and I covered everything she needed to get her law firm started. Plus, she is interviewing several virtual bankruptcy assistants in the Central District of California because she plans to run her law firm practice from her home.
A wonderful benefit of this new Lotus software is that people are discovering that 3 hours of training is the same (or more than) a full day of training at a seminar. In the past, people have paid $275 to attend a seminar, $150 for lodging, $300 for air travel and another $150 for food and other personal expenses. This amounted to about $875.
Now, with the advancement of new technology, you can eliminate all your travel, lodging, food and personal expenses. You now enjoy the convenience of sitting at home at your computer and being trained 1-on-1. This is completely different compared to sitting in a hotel conference room with 15 or 20 other people, all demanding the attention of the presenter. By having a private and personal training session, you can receive the same full-day of training in only 3 hours.
Schedule your training today for only $150.00 and see the difference for yourself at:
http://www.713training.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=84
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO VICTORIA RING
Please send your questions to http://www.713training.com/contact.html and I will be happy to answer you personally about any topic relating to the virtual bankruptcy assistant. If your question is chosen to be included in a future newsletter, your name and any identifiable information will not be revealed as I will always respect your privacy.
Have a wonderful week.
Published by
Victoria Ring
713Training.Com LLC
http://www.713training.com