I recall a discussion recently about Team DoubleClick and thought some of you might find this interesting.

I did go to their website and it looks like they've revamped it a bit. Although the page that refers to their new licensing program just has a countdown clock on it and isn't fully functional yet. Seems odd they'd put out a press release before their webpage was ready to have all the details available.

Has anyone heard of this? What do others think of what they are offering?

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

I did read that in my google alerts yesterday. I didn't look at their website until today. That is odd that they'd put out a press release and not have the program ready to go.

What I read made me think of the Cybertary franchise opportunity. I wonder if it's similar. It's actually too bad their website doesn't have more information since their press release is getting hits.

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Lanel Taylor, CVA ~ Virtual Bookkeeper
Taylored Office Solutions
Custom fit solutions for all your office needs.

Has anyone seen this press release? http://www.pr.com/press-release/90593

What do you think of this - would you apply and do you think this will mean that going forward clients may expect licensing of VAs?

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Julia

Hmmm, not my favorite subject, but in this case, I think the "licensing" is a licence to use their tradmark and name (like being able to use a sports team logo for some marketing purpose), not the same as being licensed (qualified) to be a VA (like having a driver's licence).

--Kathy

Given their other practices, I have a feeling the "flat monthly fee" will be exorbitant. And I can't imagine what the application process will be like if they are only accepting 200 people -- likely long and unreasonably difficult.

Originally Posted by kathyscache

Hmmm, not my favorite subject, but in this case, I think the "licensing" is a licence to use their tradmark and name (like being able to use a sports team logo for some marketing purpose), not the same as being licensed (qualified) to be a VA (like having a driver's licence). --Kathy

That's what I thought too. This will be interesting to see how this pans out. While I am in total support of expanding and growing, given the latest thread we had in another post, I hope that things are heading in a more positive direction.

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Doreen R. Patrick, MVA, ACS, CIVA
www.virtualbusinesspartners.net

Why would anyone one of us pay a monthly fee for a toll free number, a website, the ability to share files and a network. I have a toll free number, a local number, efax account and conferencing calling for $20 per month, most of us have websites and now websites are very inexpensive, there are so many options, and many are free, for sharing files/desktops and we already have a wonderful resource for support from other professionals right here. Maybe I am missing something, but if I were hiring a VA I would be much more impressed with a professional that created a successful business out of nothing but our experience and quest for knowledge as many of us have rather than someone who had a vague certification. What does their licensing mean?

Just my initial reaction. Maybe I'm wrong.

Donna

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Donna Cravotta
Virtual Management Concepts LLC
www.virtualmanagementconceptsllc.com

Quote:

given the latest thread we had in another post, I hope that things are heading in a more positive direction.

From someone who's in the trenches with them, I doubt it highly. I won't say too much publicly though.

This is not a business model that I am at all interested in. They do manage to get quite a bit of publicity though, and as a result will "educate" many people that the way they do things is the only/right/best way. There will still be people out there who understand the value of working with a committed independent business owner in a collaborative relationship.

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Lorri Morin, CPVA
www.virtualsynergy.net

I just visited Team Double-Clicks website for the first time. I'm very glad that I saw all the reviews on this forum before checking out the website because I probably would have fallen for their "easy to work with" blah, blah, blah stuff...lol It actually does sound like a pretty good deal especially for someone trying to get their foot in the door. Maybe, from a client's standpoint, they are a great company to do business with but from what I'm hearing here, all serious VAs should steer clear. The one thing that would bother me is the fact that you are a contractor for them and the client only pays them $25 per hour (rounded up) AND they say that they mark that up (from where?) so that they can make a profit. Where does that leave the VA actually performing the work? Maybe 50 or 60%? Even at 80%, you're only making $20 per hour which, I guess, isn't too terribly bad except that you still have your own overhead and taxes to deal with. But they never give you an idea of the percentage you'd make. The only thing that they are definite on is that the client only ever pays $25 per hour, TDC gets a portion of that and the VA gets a portion that which "may vary depending on the task or project." Leaves it too up-in-the-air in my opinion. Because they decide what percentage the VA gets, you could end up making only $10 an hour on what would normally be charged as high as $50 per hour. Why on earth would anyone charge the same amount for data analysis/project management as they would to create an excel spreadsheet or a basic database?

So, even though their website looks fairly nice and seems to offer a promising opportunity, you really need to make sure that you read between the lines (on any such website) and figure out the numbers for yourself to decide wether or not it's worth your time and effort. Personally, I want to have be in business for myself and not turn it in to, basically, a franchise.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy: