About/Where to Start General Questions Payment Questions Technical Help Using the Forms

Q. Who Are You?

My name is Danielle Keister (pronounced Kī-ster, not KEE-ster, but please call me Danielle) I've been in the administrative support business since 1997, when I officially took out my business license after doing this work on the side for many years.

My expertise comes from an administrative background spanning 30+ years, with 20 of those running my own administrative practice where I specialize in supporting solo attorneys in business, intellectual property and entertainment law.

Since 2004, it's also been my privilege and honor to be a highly-regarded business expert and mentor in our industry. Besides my business savvy and straight-talking, no-nonsense style, I believe people are attracted to the authenticity and integrity of my expertise. Unlike others in our industry, I teach people as someone who still actively owns and operates a successful practice and has since 1997.

When I say the ACA Success Store has everything you need, that's not some cheesy marketing line. You don't need everything in the world anyone could ever dream up to sell you. And you especially don't need a bunch of fluff and padding to trick you into thinking you're getting something substantive that only adds to your overwhelm.

What you need is just the RIGHT information and tools to set your business up properly and learn the important skills you need to be successful more quickly and easily than trying to do it (slowly, blindly, from scratch) all by yourself.

And that's exactly what you'll get here. Education is the great equalizer. Armed with the RIGHT tools and education you get only from the ACA, you, too, can enjoy a business of freedom and flexibility that brings you happiness, money and the ability to live the life you choose.

These products will save you TONS of time, energy and money. Plus, everything is delivered by instant download (links sent to you by email) so there's no waiting. You can literally start your business TODAY.

A couple points I feel are important to share with you

1. I don't sell “ebooks.” What I offer here is sophisticated business and marketing training and education... the kind of training that teaches you how to command fees that equate to $75-100+ an hour... the kind of training and education that show you how you can work a 20-hour week making $5,000+ a month... the kind of training and education that show you how to get exactly the kind of clients you want and nearly every single one to say "yes" to working with you. Instead of spending months or years in a classroom, what I've done for you is package up all my own education, expertise and years of experience running a successful practice and distilled it down into a simple, easy-to-understand, self-paced components-based program of business start-up and improvement.
2. My products are not “cheap” because you aren't buying junk. I don't do junk. This is industry-leading training and information second to none. My heart and soul — not to mention 30+ years experience and expertise — go into each and every product. I pride myself on them being the most comprehensive and substantive products in the industry that truly help people create joyful, freedom-filled, financially successful businesses. There's a lot of garbage out there (quite often from people who are new themselves and not qualified to be educating anyone), which is why you pay peanuts for it. My products on the other hand are actually vastly underpriced. I simplify complex business concepts into easy-to-grasp learning that you can implement immediately in your business. You would literally pay thousands of dollars anywhere else, in any other platform, for the high level of quality, thoroughness, and actionable information and learning you get from my products. In that respect, they're a bargain and absolutely the best value for your money.

Q: What should I start with?

This is a question I'm asked fairly often. Without knowing what stage you're at in your particular business journey, it's difficult for me to say. You're really the best person to determine that.

What I can tell you is that each and every product here plays a vital, specific role in your business set-up as a whole. That's because your business is a whole, living organism. What you do in one area of your business involves and affects every other part.

For example: If you want to get clients and consults, you need to understand marketing and set your website up with a proven conversion system that gets those results. Once you start getting those consultation requests, you will need to know how to navigate the whole consultation conversation so that you are more successful in converting those prospects into clients. That's also going to involve how you price and package your support and present your recommendations to potential clients. And, of course, once you get clients, you need all the proper documents, forms and agreements in place and to know how to work together successfully so that not only do you get clients, you actually keep them by demonstrating professional operations, creating a smooth and consistent client experience, and thereby increasing their trust, confidence and delight in you every step of the way.

You get ALL of these critical components here in the ACA Success Store. It's why your interests are served best by getting my complete system — The Whole Shebang (SET03) — instead of bits and pieces of it. By getting the entire system at once, you'll have each next step ready at the exact time you need it so you don't lose momentum. Plus, you'll get all the products at a great savings over purchasing them individually.

Q: Why should I buy your contract templates?

Those freebies and generic templates you find on the Internet at other organizations or office supply stores are FULL of legal holes that can (and will) cost you dearly. All my contract templates are top quality, having been tightly crafted, honed and reviewed by my own business attorneys over and nearly 20 years business experience and success.

Each comes with helpful document instructions and useful explanations to help you better understand legal terminology and be a more successful businessperson.

Plus, you’ll save hundreds of dollars by having your attorney review them instead of drafting them from scratch.

What you pay for my products is a small investment in yourself and your business success that will pay for itself a thousand times over!

Consider all the time and money it costs you to start a business. A lawyer you hired would charge you more to draft a single contract than what you'd pay for my entire program of products offered here. (And by the way, all the legal agreements/contracts offered in the ACA Success Store are lawyer-drafted and approved by my own legal team.)

And think of all time and headache involved in trying to create everything yourself from scratch. With my products, all the hard work, research and guesswork has been taken out of the equation, and it'll take you only a fraction of the time to get your business up and running.

 

Q: Is it possible to get a sample before I purchase? I hate to spend money until I can see what I'm getting.

Yes! Here is a page where you can sign up to receive two complimentary business tools that show the kind of quality and value you get with our products:

Two Free Business-Building Resources

Be sure to also read the reviews from hundreds of your colleagues who have purchased our products and been happily surprised at the wealth of value they received.

Q: Do you have a refund policy if I buy something and the product does not meet my expectation?

All sales are final. Refunds cannot be given on digital files under any circumstances. Because here's the thing… since these are e-products, there's no way to "un-deliver" and return them once they are in your possession. Instead, I go to great lengths to describe the products in the descriptions so you can make an informed purchase.

There are also hundreds of testimonials from our happy customers who are thrilled with the quality of my products. I'm not an internet marketer who rolled out of bed yesterday and decided out of the blue that I'm an expert on this stuff without any background or experience. I'm a well-known, successful veteran and thought leader in this industry with an administrative career spanning 30+ years who has run her own successful practice (and still does) since 1997. I know what I'm talking about. ;)

I care deeply about this profession and helping others achieve the same kind of success. I care about creating resources and learning materials that are of the best and highest quality. I don't put my name on anything I am not proud of and I constantly make improvements to my products based on user feedback. For all those reasons, I think you will be very happy with your purchases, but ultimately that's your decision to make. I'm not here to twist anyone's arm or bargain with the value of the information and learning I provide in my products.

Q: Your forms are AWESOME!!! I'm shocked that you don't charge more. Why don't you?

I wanted to keep the basics very affordable because I know that most people in our industry start their businesses very under-capitalized. However, the more advanced, "intensive" stuff, if you will—my premium guides—are priced more in keeping with the value of the business knowledge and education in them. They are worth every penny and more.

Q: I live outside of the United States. Are your contract templates okay to use for those of us who don't live or work in the U.S.?

Absolutely! My products are beneficial to anyone who is in the administrative support business no matter what country they're in. This is because they cover principles of working together and doing business with clients that are universal, as well as important concepts and terms that are specific to the administrative expert–client relationship. You may also be interested to know that U.S., Canadian, Australian, and U.K. laws originate from British Common Law, and you're going to find that these and many European and other developed countries all operate very similarly when it comes to business.

What may or may not be universal is some of the legal terms/language or formatting specific to your country or location. As with any legal document, it is always advised that you consult with an attorney so that he or she can review and fine-tune your final draft. The changes are most often very minimal, if any. The contract templates can save you money in this case because the attorney is not drafting them from scratch.

Keep in mind that the operative word here is template. While our contract templates are extremely thorough and comprehensive, they aren't intended to do all the critical thinking for you. You still need to go through and make your own edits and adaptations according to your own particular circumstances and location.

Q: Having no credit cards at the moment, what are my payment options?

You may pay by debit or credit card or e-check via PayPal. Sorry, no money orders or hardcopy checks are accepted. Paying by debit or credit card is instantaneous. Upon checkout, you will immediately receive an email with links to your product download page. (PayPal purchases may sometimes take up to 30 minutes before the transaction completes. Please do not attempt to re-run your transaction.)

Q: I don't have a PayPal account. Can I still pay by debit or credit card?

Absolutely. You do not need a PayPal account to pay by debit or credit card. Once you have selected all your products, click the button to checkout. On the screen that comes up, simply click the link where it says "Don't have a PayPal account?" This will take you a screen to type in your debit or credit card details. Simple as that!

Q: If I pay by e-check, how long before I receive my products?

E-checks are S-L-O-W! If you pay by e-check (i.e., using a bank account as the funding source), it can take up to 10 business days for your e-check to clear at our end (i.e., the funds may appear to be cleared at your end, but it still takes a few more days beyond that for them to clear at our end). Your order will be processed only after the funds clear. As soon as that occurs, you will automatically be sent access to your download links. If you'd like your order right now, please use a debit or credit card.

Q: Can I pay by e-check if I don't have a PayPal account?

You will need a PayPal account to pay by e-check.

Q: Help! I am trying to pay as a guest, but every time I enter my credit card details, I get a message saying “You have already signed up with this info” (or something to that effect).

The problem could be one of two things:

1. You’ve reached your guest checkout limit and will need to create an account in PayPal before you can proceed with payment; or
2. You already have the card you’re trying to enter linked to an existing PayPal account. You'll need to log into that account instead of checking out as a guest.

If neither of these is the issue, contact PayPal directly so they can determine what the difficulty might be and get it sorted for you.

Q: How much do the products cost in U.S. dollars?

All of my products are listed in U.S. dollars. Upon checkout, PayPal calculates the currency conversion automatically. If you'd like to calculate in advance what your particular exchange rate will be, you can use a free tool such as XE Currency Converter.

Q: I can't purchase the complete set right now. Do you offer a payment plan?

The ACA Success Store is structured with a built-in payment plan. If you aren't able to purchase The Whole Shebang (SET03) (which offers you a fantastic savings as your incentive and benefit), you have the option of purchasing each product individually at full price and spreading the cost out over the course of time as you are able. The drawback, of course, is that you'll pay more and you'll be missing important components of the complete business set-up and training in the meantime.

If you need to purchase products individually over the course of time, to help give you some direction, I've organized everything into sequential categories based on which part of the business process they apply to.

Q: Okay, I've placed my order. How do I get my products?

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT: Your products are instantly downloadable once you submit your payment (unless you paid by e-check; in that case, the products become available once the funds have cleared at our end which can take up to 10 days). Once you checkout, you will be automatically redirected to a web page where you can download the items you purchased. You will also receive an email containing the download links. For security reasons, these download links have expiration limits so it's important you download your products to your computer right away. Not to worry, though. You are given ample time—5 attempts within 120 hours—to download your products.

Q: Help! I didn't download the products to my computer right away as instructed. My computer has since crashed and now my links have expired.

We will happily resend your download links if your order was placed in the last 30 days. Exceptions to this policy will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The reason is that products and packages change. I'm constantly improving upon them and that often entails pricing increases. We are happy to help if we can and where that help is not abused or a ruse to get free upgraded products.

Keep in mind that when you request a policy exception because you did not follow the instructions originally provided, researching your request diverts time and attention away from our current priorities. I'm sure you can also understand that we can't be responsible for computer failures, software defects, lack of regular backup, acts of nature, or any other scenarios or accidents that result in loss of files, and our time can't be spent constantly reactivating old orders (we, therefore, place a time limit for link reactivations).

People who are active in our community (e.g., regularly read and comment on our blog, participate on our Facebook page, provide testimonials and reviews, etc.) will naturally receive preferential treatment when it comes to special favors and exceptions.

For those who are not active, contributing members of our community and whose complimentary reactivation period has expired, you may be required to repurchase the items at full price, pay the difference between the original and current price, or pay an administrative fee (provided that the items are still available and have not been discontinued). Again, this will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Q: I ordered an item that came in a zip file. How do I open that?

Most operating systems and office suites open zip files easily, some even automatically. However, if you are having problems, you can also use a free utility like 7Zip to open and download zip files. If you are on a Mac platform, visit this page for assistance. I promise, it's not difficult at all. And remember, as an administrative expert, it's your business to figure these things out. ;)

Q: Why do I need to have clients sign a contract in order to work with me?

Naturally, you never "have" to do anything you don't choose to. However, it's never in your best interest as a business owner to work without a signed contract in place (not to mention at least some partial, if not full, upfront payment).

Business is business only when there is a fair and equitable exchange of benefits and interests. The client pays for work to be conducted or executed on his or her behalf in exchange for a fee that you determine will fairly compensate you for the value of your time, skill, knowledge and expertise. If everyone were mindreaders and always remembered exactly what they promised to do, we could simply do business on a handshake and a promise and we wouldn't need contracts.

But that's not reality. And it's you as the business owner who has a greater burden of risk and liability in this exchange. This is why we use contracts in business: to formalize in writing all the expectations and terms of the relationship so that everyone knows what their obligations and considerations to each other are, as well as their rights and recourse. It just helps keep everyone honest and on the same page. In case anyone's memory fails them, a written agreement is there to remind and legally uphold those promises and understandings made to each other. In a worst case scenario, a written agreement is easier to legally enforce than an oral agreement.

Q. I live in Australia. I purchased your contract templates, but I'm not familiar with the term d/b/a. What does it mean?

Thanks so much for this question! Although we work in a global marketplace, it's not always easy to know whether certain terms are consistent or understandable in different countries. So thank you for bringing that to my attention.

In answer to the question, d/b/a means "doing business as." It is used to denote a sole proprietor's business trade name rather than his or her personal name (e.g., Jane Doe d/b/a Jane's Administrative Partnering) or one or more of a parent entity's business trade names (Smith Companies, Inc., d/b/a/ John Smith Administrative Consulting).

Some countries use "trading as" for the same purpose. The contract templates in my store are based on U.S. business terminology so if you operate in a different country, you'll want to simply replace any regional terms with those for your location. And as always, have your own attorney check any legal documents before you use them in your business. Other than that, they will save you LOADS of time and money rather than drafting from scratch.

Q. On the business plan template I am having a hard time coming up with the replacement word for "we" and "our" since it is only "I" who will be doing all the work for now. My mentor stated it is not acceptable to put "I" in its place, that I need to put my business name; however, that is so redundant! Any ideas? Thanks.

I have to disagree with your mentor on this one. Most of us in boutique firms and solo practices are not completing business plans for the purpose of getting loans or attracting investors. The fact is, very few small businesses of our kind are funded this way.

First and foremost, the point of going through the business planning process is to gain clarity and consciousness about your goals and objectives for your business and how to best achieve them. It's what we learn and gain insight from by going through the process that is the important thing. Therefore, it doesn't matter at all whether you use "we" or "us" or "I." If it's just you, then use "I."

Q. I purchased a set of your awesome forms and have a question. Can you clarify what this means: "Any waiver by either party of a breach or violation of provision of this Agreement by the other party shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach by either party. No waiver shall be binding unless executed in writing."

Great to see you reading so thoroughly! What this basically means is that if one party breaches (violates) a part of the contract and that breach is waived (allowed or "forgiven") by the other party, that doesn't mean that if they breach another part of the contract, that breach will also automatically be waived or forgiven. It means that each breach is handled independently, and if a waiver is given, it won't be legal or enforceable unless it's put in writing. It also means that just because you waived one breach, you are not obligated to waive it again or allow it to continue if it's an ongoing breach.

Q. I recently purchased your entire startup package for Administrative Consultants and I'm finding it so useful. Thank you. I do have a quick question regarding one of the forms: It's the customizable confidentiality agreement. I can understand why a prospective client would expect me to sign a confidentiality agreement, but how do I explain to them that I need one as well? I read the contract, but I still don't understand exactly what it is I'm asking them to hold in confidence. Can you break it down for me in clear, easy to understand language? This would go a long way in helping me to help my clients understand what I'm asking of them.

If you're new, you might not want or need to use it right now. You might not have developed your processes and programs to the extent that they become valuable intellectual capital. But eventually you will if you're in business for any length of time.

Intellectual capital can be your unique processes, systems, tools,diagnostics... all kinds of things that you develop yourself, that make your service unique. Many businesses find it important to protect that intellectual property. When that's the case, you want to make sure clients understand that any of the proprietary information, processes, tools, etc., that they become privy to through your work together are intellectual property that they may not share with others or coopt or adapt for their own use. And that's because you have a right to keep those things private for use just with your own clients and not make them public information, and you have the right to earn money from those things however you see fit.

Here's one example... let's say you come up with your own signature database system that you use with clients. And say you allow clients the use of this while they are a client. Since this proprietary and original database is part of your intellectual property and proprietary systems, you obviously do not want everyone to have access to it. The client also does not have the right to sell your system or make use of it for their own personal gain. They also don't get to use it if they no longer are a client, if that's what you deem. You, as the owner of the system, are the only one with the right to say who gets to use it, how, when, etc. It's proprietary intellectual property that you alone own and control however you see fit.

That's why you would have them sign that kind of confidentiality/NDA agreement. It's for the same reasons that they might ask you to sign one as well. You are both businesses with intellectual property and proprietary information. ;)

Q. I purchased several of your learning guides (which are awesome!), but I have some questions around a few of the concepts and need a bit more personal help in implementing some of these things in my business. Can I email you with those?

Ah, this is actually a great teachable moment that you can take with you into your own business about the importance of honoring, respecting and valuing your time and expertise...So here's the thing: the products you purchase from the ACA Success Store are self-study, meaning they are do-it-yourself. They don't come with my personal, private mentoring, coaching and support. That's an additional service for which I charge a fee.

I am contacted by hundreds of people every month wanting my personal time and attention, and there's only so much of me to go around. I also have my own personal administrative support practice to run and clients to take care of besides the work I do with the ACA.

For all these reasons, my personal time and energy comes at a premium. I have to take good care of myself, which means guarding my time and energy and maintaining boundaries. I also need to honor and respect the value of the experience and expertise that I offer.

With that preface, so that you understand why I charge for this additional service, if you need that extra bit of personal support in your business, you can absolutely book me for a private one-on-one laser session.