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A Touching Transcriptionist’s Tale – Get Your Hankies Ready

I already know I have a fantastic team of transcriptionists here at CLK.  I already know that each of them have a story.  Here is another.  When you think that working from home is a luxury, I hope this gives you just a little more insight.  The only luxury is being able to be where our heart needs us most.

Why Transcription? ~by  Nicole Gennrich

Let me first say I love the work that I do for CLK.  Who knew you could never get bored doing your job.  It’s the same physical movement but the subject is always different.  I find it fascinating every day.  But I can honestly say that’s not what first drew me to the possibility of transcription as a career.

I’m fairly young and spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.  I had a daughter who I took to daycare every day so I could go to work.  I knew I hated missing so much time with her but knew, just like every other parent, that the bills had to be paid as well.  I was the marketing manager at a small water treatment company; liked my job but didn’t love it and didn’t really have any training to do anything else.  One day my whole view of my job, daycare, and the world changed.  My daughter’s daycare was closed that day so a “friend” of mine was watching her for me.  I received a frantic call from him that she was having a seizure.  I told him to call 911 and left work immediately.  When I got to my house the ambulance was still there so I rode to the hospital with her.  We had to stop a long the way because she was no longer breathing on her own and needed to be intubated.  After she was examined by the doctors they pulled me in a separate room and informed me that she had been shaken very violently and would probably not wake up again.  She was 18 months old.  They took her by helicopter to the best children’s hospital we have.  I knew if she could be saved they would save her.  Three days later in her ICU room I said goodbye to my baby and held her as they unhooked her from life support.  After spending a lot of time not being able to move I decided I had to figure something out.  I returned to my job but had been demoted and replaced because of my extended absence.  Understandable…life goes on for the rest of the world even when it has stopped for you.

Anyway, I had spent too much time and worked to hard to go back to where I started when I first joined the company.  I also realized I loved and missed being a mother and knew I needed to find something to do so I could be there if I ever had another baby – trusting someone would not be an option anymore.  That’s when I heard an ad on the radio for a seminar about medical transcription.  I went to the seminar and found out about going to school at home and working at home.  I started my medical transcription course with At-Home Professions and loved it.  It took me awhile to finish but I got it done.  In December 2007 I had a baby boy and knew I could be home with him.  I had a hard time finding work as a newbie to the medical transcription world.  But then I found the posting for transcription with CLK.  I wasn’t sure about the general transcription part but thought I’d send my resume anyway.  I can honestly say I love the general transcription more than medical now.  Why I choose transcription – it’s fun, fascinating, and I know my son is safe when I go to work every day.

Next time you visit your doctor, ask them an important question!

Where does your health care provider have their transcriptions done?  You may think that is a silly question.  One that is not important to you, but read on – you might just change your mind.

I believe the best people available to do a job should be those hired to do the job.  That being said, I believe that if there is work in the US, and a need for workers in the US, then it should be US workers filling that spot.  They are trained, they are dedicated, and they are familiar with the demand that is placed upon them.

I believe that to be true for all countries.  If you have jobs, and you have citizens, then offer training to your citizens, offer the job to your citizens…don’t send work somewhere else just because it is cheaper – you end up getting what you paid for – substandard work.  If your citizens need work and your economy needs help, why not spend time training and getting the work done within your borders by people who understand what it is you are looking for and who are dedicated to doing a fantastic job because they needed the job in the first place.

The US Transcriptionists are fighting for their jobs!

For example – the US Transcriptionist typically spends THOUSANDS of dollars for their training.  They live day-to-day searching for work, and are told they must have 2 to 5 years experience.  Yet gaining that experience is difficult because much of the work is sent over seas to be transcribed by others who do not have English as their first language and who are mills churning out low quality work in bulk, because they are “cheaper” than a US transcriptionist.

Where is the logic in that?  You send your audio over seas, you get it back and spend your own time correcting the transcripts, and at the same time, risk your information being unsecure and shared with others.  I would think your time is more valuable than that – having paid for a service only to have to edit because of language barriers.  Have you read the article about the women over seas who threatened her US client that she would post his information on the web because he was a little late in paying her?  Or what about the language barriers that cause major problems for doctors and their patients.  http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/it-strategy/2004/08/26/when-indian-transcriptions-head-awry-39164629/

Many US transcription companies state they do not offshore their work, but I am here to tell you that many, many of the larger companies do.  With a little investigation, just checking out their website, or even some of the transcriptionist forum sites, you will find that more and more of US work is being off shored, leaving these skilled US transcriptionists out of work.   It can be as simple as the contact page or e-mail address they set up on their website, or affiliations they note.  Many use off shore companies to subcontract their work to, but hide it from their clients.

Identify theft is a big problem!

In addition, identify theft is a scary situation.  A prospect every US citizen should be worried about.

Did you know that some researchers feel that up to 78 percent of identify theft begins off shore?  Criminals are finding more and more ways to get your information because more and more work is being sent offshore – http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/banking/financialprivacy/p90682.asp

Of course we have issues within our borders, but at least here, the laws are enforceable and we as citizens can demand protection from abuse and misuse of our information.

Why does it matter where your doctor has his transcripts completed?  Here are some scary thoughts:

When you go to your doctor’s office, you are expected to give them all of your information, including family, medical and social history.  Now maybe just having your social security number and insurance information is scary enough, but when you add-on the medications you use, the family history, your social history, it becomes easier for those with less than honest intentions to “become” you. In accessing credit card information, one of the questions a credit card company will ask you for security reasons is “what is your mother’s maiden name’.  when filing an insurance claim, the criminal has all the past information to validate who “you” are.

Think about what your doctor knows about you.  Think about all the information he obtains from you at every visit.

Lets not forget, that due to increasing malpractice suits and the ever rising cost of malpractice insurance, more and more doctors are dictating even more information to cover themselves and validate their care of your medical needs.  The fact that they have to do this is another blog – but imagine, every phone call you make to them, every illness you discuss, every change in address, phone number, insurance, etc – being dictated and transcribed off shore, where there is no legal recourse if someone were to take it and use it with malicious intent.  Even your child’s name and those of your extended family is oftentimes dictated by your doctor.

Do they know?

Some doctors, due to the ever-increasing costs to run their office have thought that off-shoring their transcripts can save them money.  Some are not aware that the hospital or facility they are affiliated with, or even the transcription company they utilize, sends the work off shore.  They just forward the audio and wait for it to be returned.

Those that off shore directly, typically have a person they pay to review and edit the transcripts – how is that saving money?  Paying sick days, holidays, taxes etc for an employee to correct what they already paid for?  Wouldn’t having it done right the first time by a person trained in the profession and who speaks your language be more cost-effective in the long run?  Those that send their transcripts to a US company who sends it off shore just have not researched enough to know any better.  They simply looked for the cheapest rate.

These US companies that off shore their work may be “saving” you money, but they do it for selfish reasons.  They charge you one amount, send the work off shore and pay pennies to have that work transcribed, allowing them to pocket a big chunk of change themselves.  In the long run, the only one who wins is them.

There are people all over the US looking for work.  Looking to make money.  Needing to make money.  Why not allow them to do the job they spent time and money to be trained for?  Think about how that helps that nation’s economy.   Your information will be safe and if not, they are legal ramifications that can be sought out.

Again, I am not against people working and earning a living.  I am for the people of a country that has work to offer being able to train and gain that position.

Transcription of medical and non-medical reports is a growing business with growing demand.  It documents conversations, and is used as ‘proof” of events.  It allows paperless tracking of events and discussions, and aids many individuals and companies every day.  your information is important enough to document, isn’t it important enough to safeguard and have accurate as well?

How not to hire American!

A few years ago I came across a conference, held here in the US at a Hilton Hotel.  It was all about how not to hire American – even if they could do the job – all in the name of saving a buck.  These were US companies, US jobs, at a US hotel discussing this topic.  SHAMEFUL if you ask me.  Here is the link to that video, still seen on the web.  http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/190607_avoid_hiring_american.html

Whatever happened to the days of being proud to display “Made in the USA”?

The next time you visit your doctor’s office or other health facility – ask them – who does your transcripts?  Even EMR information is being of-shored, so demand to know where your information is going.  Who has access to it?  Can they assure you that their transcription company does not offshore.  Does your insurance company offshore their medical reports?

The next time you have an audio to be transcribed – think American.  The next time you deal with a US company, ask them – do you off shore any information at all?  Safeguard your information.  Be proud to say your transcripts were Made In The USA.

www.clktranscription.com  We NEVER off shore our work, and we can show you how using a US transcriptionist can save you time and money. Contact us today for information on how we can assist you with your transcription needs.  The US transcriptionists will appreciate it and work harder to meet your demands.

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Transcription Company

Having a transcription company transcribe your audio/video absolutely can save you time to handle other chores and business, in the long run saving you money, because how valuable is your time to you, your family and your business?    How can you be sure that you’re getting everything you can out of  the transcription company handling your projects?

Here are some tips for anyone who is thinking about recording audio for transcription, or has audio they would like transcribed:

When setting up for your recording, take into consideration your surroundings.  Background noise will interfere with the recording.  A good transcription company understands you do not record in a bottle and there will never be absolutely no background noise, but limiting the circumstances allows the transcription company to focus on the words of the speakers, and allows them to research any possible questions with the content.

Try not to place the recording device flat on a  desk.   This provides openings for echos of chair movement, glasses or other items on the desk being moved.  Even the keyboard keys or paper shuffling can interfere with the spoken words you are trying to capture. Keep in mind, whatever is on the desk is closer than the mouth of the speaker and will be the loudest thing on the audio.

Be mindful of the volume being recorded.  Be mindful of cell phone usage during an interview.   And most importantly, be mindful that the device is turned on.

When speaking, try not to cut the other person off.  This is not always possible, but even repeating your comment or question if this occurs helps the transcription company develop more complete transcripts for you.

When choosing a transcription company, there may be questions or concerns that you should have asked but were not aware of until AFTER you have assigned your project.  Be specific in what your demands are.

Do you want verbatim-verbatim – every um, er, false start and stutter transcribed, or do you wish the transcript to be cleaned up, removing false starts and stutters?  Do you want the speakers grammar cleaned up, or leave the transcript as spoken?  (In most cases, false starts and “sounds” are cleaned up automatically, but grammar, if spoken incorrectly, is not.  Many transcription companies understand that the way a person speaks is unique to them, and shows their personality.)

Is there a particular format you want?  Do you want the speaker’s names noted or just generic headings used?  Do you want contractions used if spoken?  How many spaces after a period would you like?  What font size or page margins?

Is there any portion of the audio that you do not want transcribed?  If paying per minute of audio, this is very important, and could save you money.  Is there chit chat before or after an interview that you do not need transcribed?

Is there a deadline?  Many transcription companies note standard TAT for a return of your work (24, 36, 72 hours), and may hold it using a first in, first out method to assigning.   If you need your audio the same day, next day or even a week later – let your transcription company know.  This not only ensures you that you will get it in time to meet your deadline, but will allow the transcription company better handle their workload.

Name your audio file before you send it to the transcription company, or tell them what you would like the transcript saved as.  Inform the transcription company of who the speakers are, especially when names may not be clear or have odd spellings. If there are topics or words you feel may be foreign to the transcription company, let them know.   This too, allows the transcription company to have a heads-up on potential research for terms and phrases if needed, or even decide to assign to a particular transcription with strengths in that area of topic.

Lastly, it is always a good idea to let the transcription company know how long the audio is.  This allows them to verify that your audio has been received in full with no disconnects on download or other problems.

Some questions you may want to ask your transcription company:

Is there a specific format that the audio / video file must be for them to transcribe and develop a quality report from it?

Do they off shore their work?

Do they utilize speech recognition?

Do they have a pool of transcribers to help with your workload so that multiple transcriptionists can cover your audio, all familiar with your demands?

Do they utilize independent contractors and are they all bound by confidentiality.  Having a confidentiality contract with a transcription company alone does not safeguard your projects if those actually transcribing the work are not bound by the same confidentiality.

Are their rates negotiable and what does their regular rates include?  Is the per minute rate for any audio, no matter the length and no matter how many speakers, and no matter the TAT expected on regular assignments?  What is their priority or stat rate?

If you do not communicate these things to your transcription company, you may not get what you were looking for.  If your transcription company doesn’t allow you to make these demands, then maybe you should review other companies and what they can offer you.

CLK Transcription never sends their workload offshore.  We never use speech recognition.  We know nothing understands the human voice as well as the human ear.

CLK Transcription uses independent contractors and each must sign a confidentiality agreement before any work is assigned.

CLK Transcription never holds work and does not use a first in-first out assignment schedule.  We have a team of transcriptionists that are each trained on every account so that your work never has to wait to be assigned.  This also allows us to work on those large projects of multiple hours simultaneously offering a quicker TAT for multi-day seminars, focus groups, and conferences.

CLK Transcription can accept all forms of downloadable audio, as well as CD, DVD and cassettes, utilizing the best of available programs to convert to MP3, and if you wish, can forward the converted file to you when the project is complete.  CLK Transcription can also transcribe hard copy white paper into a word document for you.

CLK Transcription offers standard proofing on every project received, and when a difficult audio is received, we have multiple people listen and fill in as many gaps as possible – at no extra charge.  Although we treat every client as our only client, we have found it necessary to charge a nominal fee for priority files (files needed back immediately ASAP), however in most cases, files are returned well within 24 hours, regardless of length of audio anyway.

CLK Transcription’s rates are below the national average, and we offer discounts for education projects, discounts for referrals, and many times throughout the year, we offer dollars off to our regular clients.  We review each new client and the projects they will be assigning to us and develop a rate that works for them.

CLK Transcription is servicing the world with professional, quality transcriptions.  We offer the quality you demand at a cost you can afford.  Contact us at CarolLee@CLKTranscription.com or visit WWW.CLKTranscription.com for details on how we can assist you with your transcription needs.  We are LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/clktranscription where our recommendations can be viewed. Follow us on Twitter @clk_shortcake.

It will be our pleasure to offer a $5.00 discount to any new or standing client who mentions this blog or retweets on Twitter.

Are You Looking for Time and Money? CLK Transcription May Have Found It For You!

When journalists, authors, doctors, etcetera, begin to think about having their audio/video transcribed, the first thought is probably cost. Many attempt to do the work themselves, or hire in-house staff to do the transcription.

When hiring an in-house staff, you have to consider hourly pay, benefits, and keeping that person busy with “busy work” when no transcription work is available for them to handle. They have to consider days off, sick time, vacation…not just the cost, but who handles the work when their “transcriptionist” is not around?

If you are handling the transcription task yourself, I have to ask you – how much is your time worth? How long does it take you to transcribe the audio? What does it breakdown to in terms of hourly wage? Are there other things you would rather be doing? Interviewing another person? Organizing the data for your article/book? Managing other tasks? Taking time out to do personal chores?

For those who hold weekly, monthly or annual meetings or conferences – having those events recorded and then transcribed allows you to share this information with more than those who have been able to attend the function personally. Sure you can share the video, but what happens when other’s busy schedule precludes them from sitting and watching a video?

Having the transcript allows them the freedom to move around and tackle their day, and you the knowledge that they have a true concept of what occurred and something they, and yourself, can refer back to when necessary. How many times have you wished you could replay a meeting for what was said?

For the educator, or those seeking higher levels of education – your class audio can be transcribed for sharing as well. Those interviews and other audio developed for your paper can be transcribed for reference.

CLK Transcription offers a discount for educators and students alike. We feel education is THE most important thing a person can have, and love the opportunity to help you reach your goals. We have been proud to handle transcripts for professors or students of UCLA, Bloomsburg University, Wilkes Barre University, King’s College, Illinois State University, Minnesota State University, Wisconsin State University, Harvard University, and others.

Having a transcription service handle your audio/video projects allows the freedom to do what it is you must do to meet your TAT. Freedom to continue your other work to bring the project together. Freedom to share information in a manner that fits everyone’s schedule. Freedom to develop the best end result you possibly can, without the stress, time or money you may have been spending in the past.

A transcription service can be the cost-effective and cost-efficient tool that you are looking for to allow you more time to get your project done, to share important information, or just to get your personal chores tended to.

When using CLK Transcription Service, you only pay for the audio/video assigned. No sick time, no vacation time, and certainly no overtime or benefits. We have individuals who have special skills to research terms and information, skilled in listening and hearing the most difficult audio and transforming it into a quality transcript.

CLK Transcription can handle multiple audio, in varying lengths, and can meet or surpass your expected TAT in most, if not all, cases. We have transcriptionists all across the United States and we never offshore, EVER. We also never use speech recognition. We feel the nuances of your audio deserve the extra care given by a human ear and human hands.

CLK Transcription has been recommended by the best journalists and by many of the Universities in the country, as well as large publishing companies and other professional corporations – from the medical research industry to the business and finance industry. We also have handled many motivational and teaching seminars by many of the world’s most well-known speakers and coaches.  We have handled files as large as multi-day conferences and seminars to the few minute audio of a journalist, on a wide variety of topics. Yes, we even do voice mail transcription giving you the freedom to step away and know your important calls will never be missed again.  We have clients all over the world, and have transcribed many, many ESL audio as well. We love what we do and take the time to do it right – for YOU!

Check out our recommendations today at http://www.linkedin.com/in/clktranscription and find out what CLK Transcription can do for you.  Let us transcribe your next audio/video and show you what you have been missing. It may just be the time and money you have been looking for!

I believe we can be, so much so that I stake my name on it.

We also love to retweet our favorite journalists and organizations tweets to share your wonderful ideas and projects with others.  Join us @CLK_Shortcake or on Facebook – look for CarolLee Streeter Kidd.  Join us!  We would love to have you as part of our team!

CarolLee Kidd

President/Owner

CLK Transcription, Inc.

https://www.clktranscription.com

CLK Transcription, Inc. Making your life a bit easier

Here are just a few things we can do for you to make your professional and personal life that much easier:

Allow you more time to work on other projects, while we transcribe your audio.  While you interview or write your next article, we can transcribe the audio for verification purposes.

Allow easy documentation signing, without printing all the paper work by developing your electronic signature that can be copied and pasted into an online document in most cases.

Allow you to easily use your computer to listen to your audio by converting those less recognized formats into a format your programs can easily work with.

Allow your podcasts, webinars, seminars, conferences and other face-to-face or online meetings to be shared with more people.  We will transcribe into a word document so that you can share with others who have no time to sit and watch a video or attend in person.

Allow you more free time or uninterrupted time during your meetings.  We can handle your voice mail, sending transcripts direct to your Smartphone, anywhere you are.  That important message will find you and let you decide whether you need to handle it now or later.

Are you working on your Masters or Doctorate and have interviews upon interviews that you need to sort out.  We can transcribe them for easy review allowing you more time for the meat of your paper.

Are you a physician who needs their patient reports transcribed quick and efficiently?  We have expertise in all specialties of the medical profession.

Oncology                     Orthopedics                         Hematology

Pediatrics                     Infectious disease                Rheumatology

Psychiatry                    Physiatry                             Radiology

Pathology                     Dermatology                      Cardiology

Pulmonary                   Plastic Surgery                  Ophthalmology

Chiropractic                 Clinical and Acute Care, Op notes, IMEs, and more.

Clk Transcription, Inc. can do all this and more.  All this for what has been noted as less than the national average, and yes, all done by human ears and human hands here in the US.  No speech recognition.  No off shoring.

You can review some of our recommendations on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/clktranscription), or request recommendations from many of our connections on Facebook (CarolLee Streeter Kidd)  or Twitter (CLK_Shortcake).

Contact us today, and see how we can make your life that much easier.

How Can CLK Transcription Change Your Life?

When someone asks me what I do, I tell them simply that I change people’s lives by giving them time.

Time to do whatever they want to do – finish a chore, read a book, continue with other aspects of their work, spend time with family, etc.

My clients send me audio of whatever it is they have;  be it a conference, seminar, webinar, interview, thesis, even thoughts for chapters for their new book in progress.  I transcribe the audio into a word document – thus giving them time to continue with other areas of their life or career.

I also do voice mail.  Many clients go on vacation, even handle daily chores, not tied to the phone anymore.  I receive the audio voice mail and transcribe it directly into an e-mail and send it to them where ever they are on their Smartphone as a message and they can handle it from there.

So yes, I change people’s lives by giving them time to enjoy whatever it is they want to enjoy.

How can I change your life?

https://www.clktranscription.com

Happy Anniversary CLK Transcription, Inc.

It was the month of April when I left my job after some personal and personality differences.  During subsequent conversations with the past employer, it was said that I left to start my own business.  That was not the truth, but it gave me a thought.

I was scared.  I knew that I had the experience to handle it.  I knew I had the contacts to work with.  I was scared but I knew I had potential and I knew what clients wanted – Quality transcriptions, quick.  They wanted to be able to send audios in many ways, many formats, and they did not want stress when doing so.  They wanted communication – open and honest communication about how the work they gave me was going because if I screwed it up – it screwed them up.  I knew what they wanted, knew I could offer it, but was scared out of my mind.  My family depended on me to perform and succeed.

When I realized how scared I was, I knew I was dedicated enough to any potential client’s needs that I was ready to put all my fears aside and go for it.

That May I obtained my first client on my own through mass mailing and face-to-face contact.  It was a major medical publisher and we worked with tapes, picking them up in a local pub’s parking lot.  More joined on using different forms of audio mediums and different forms of transfer allowing me to obtain the necessary programs to handle their work, and learn what others were asking for and accommodate them as well.

I became busy enough to bring on my first independent contractors.  After growing the business as a freelancer handling medical clients, seminars and conferences for large corporations with the assistance of other freelancers, I decided to take another step for myself and become an incorporated small business owner.  This was something that many potential clients had suggested I do, as they dealt with larger contracts and could only work with corporations.

In July 2007 I became CLK Transcription Incorporated.   I was so excited.  I knew because I was still so scared, I still had the fire to learn what my clients wanted and do everything I could to meet their demands.

Many of the corporate clients I had been transcribing conferences, seminars, and webinars for began referring me to the very journalists and authors they relied on to speak at their functions. The very same individuals they relied on for their articles or books.

I continued my marketing, meeting people face to face, online, through various other means that I researched or was suggested to me by the very clients I had been assisting, and I was able to grow and took on more very interesting and fabulous clients.

Now my client list includes non-professional individuals with IEP meetings, physicians of all disciplines, corporations, motivational speakers, personal trainers, journalists and authors.  We transcribe topics ranging from educational, business and finance, health, all medical disciplines, banking and brokerage, entertainment news – you name it, we have transcribed it. (And if we haven’t, we can do the research to provide you with the quality project you demand.)

I respect each of our clients and their work.  I transcribe their audios, proofread their work or personal documentation, convert PDF to Word documents and vice versa, convert their audio,  develop electronic signatures, develop spreadsheets, even transcribe their voice mail.  We never stop the search for new services to offer and new ways to offer them.

I am still scared, and again, that lets me know I am doing exactly what I should be doing.  And now I am able to bring on other US transcriptionists to assist me in getting the job done right – the first time.  I have been training individuals in this field and love it because the great work we do earns respect for the US transcriptionist.  Many of these transcriptionists have been able to grow their own business and I am so proud of them.

Seeing that May is CLK’s anniversary month for the first private client I wanted to take this time to say thank you.  Some clients I may hear from once a year.  Others on a daily basis.  Some refer others and some even blog about us.  I appreciate them all.  We all do here at CLK Transcription, Inc.   Transcription is not just what we do – it is who we are!

Most especially, I want to thank those journalists and authors who have become the backbone of CLK Transcription, Inc’s client base.   Thanks for your confidence in me – in all of us here at CLK Transcription, Inc.  Because of you, CLK Transcription continues to grow!

You are appreciated, not just for the work you do, but for who you are!  THANK YOU ALL!!

https://www.clktranscription.com

Freelancers, Independent Contractors and Small Businesses – Oh My!

The work of a freelancer, independent contractor, and true small businesses have been in the news a lot lately.  From taxes levied and proposed, to payment of bills and collections, to credit available, and everyone who is not a freelancer or independent contractor or a true small business has something to say on the issues. (I say true small businesses meaning those who have owners doing the grunt work right along side the worker bees, and not on vacation or off-site playing tennis. Owners who put their name, finances, heart and soul into the work as well as the business.  In my mind, every freelancer and independent contractor is a small business too.)  The independent contractor, freelancer and true small business are those who every big business has turned to at one time or another – more frequently the past few years – to get a job done and get it done right with quality – the first time.

Well, as a true small business, who began as an independent contractor and then freelancer, who works with freelancers and independent contractors on a daily basis, I felt the need to air my thoughts.

Taxes – for those who think taxing us more will help us grow – you are nuts.  If you think it will help the economy – again, find the fruit bowl and jump in.  You are taxing the small business, independent contractor, freelancer to death. We are working hard with big business and helping them grow – leave us alone so we can grow too.  Leave us alone so we can keep the jobs here in the good ol USA!

Available credit – There is not enough available credit around when you take into consideration, many of us need the credit because our bigger clients are paying slower and slower and we have personal and professional bills to pay.  If we give 30 days for a client to remit payment and they take 45, the mortgage, utilities, and the payment date for the independent contractors used on our jobs have been passed, and we dig into savings and personal accounts, and well there is never a full “catchup” once we get behind. Decent credit is not available to someone who is behind already.  Decent credit is only available to those who, quite frankly, don’t need it and have a credit score over 680 IF you are lucky.  Probably more like 700 or above.  In this economy, find me a freelancer, independent contractor or true small business that has a credit score that high since 2007 and maintained it.

Which takes me to the payment of our invoices, turning us into collectors ourselves.  As a small business who uses independent contractors, I pay my IC’s every two weeks.  I bill my clients every two weeks and give them 20 days to remit.  Tack on the 15 days before a late fee is tacked on, and it is 45 days for payment to come.  Oftentimes, clients will take 60 days before payment is made and disregard the late fees altogether. The great clients (other freelancers, independent contractors and true small businesses) who we understand are in the same boat we are, we tend to forgive the late fee anyway.

Continue that through months and months of billing and payments, and the quarterly tax payments due the moment you seem to get caught up, and there you have it.  The downward spiral of small business, freelancers, and independent contractors.  The most important aspect of USA if you ask my opinion. I know you didn’t, but you got it anyway.

Now many will say, just don’t accept work.  That is not good business when a small business, freelancer, or independent contractor is trying to grow.  If we did not accept the jobs, even knowing that payment could/would be late, we would not have an eventual income.  Worse yet, we show a disloyalty to other freelancers, small businesses, and independent contractors who relay on us to help them earn their income as well.  Even worse – many of the larger companies will find someone over seas to off-shore to, costing the US economy in so many more ways.

The small business typically works with freelancers and independent contractors who in turn are working for other bigger businesses, who also take that 45 to 60 days or more to remit payment.  If you want to tax someone, tax those bigger businesses who are costing us little guys our homes and our livelihoods.

No, not all clients are slow payers.  Some of us are lucky to have those clients that work hard to make sure we are paid.  We all understand the trickle-down economy and how patience is needed. We all know how hard it is when we are waiting for the “check is in the mail” economy (http://wp.me/pLEiA-39) to turn around.  We value our clients, but more, we value our work.  And we continue to do the quality work that our clients demand.

So, please, to all you high paid suits who feel the need to continue to financially harass the true small business, freelancers, and independent contractors – think about it.  If you kill our business, who are you going to turn to the next time you want the job done right?

https://www.clktranscription.com

I Work From Home So I Make My Own Hours? Yeah Right!

When you work from home, everyone thinks you have time for everything besides work. You can chat, run an errand, babysit, volunteer to bake for a friend’s upcoming dinner – anything, because you work from home.

The phone will ring and you say “I have to get back to work” and the person on the other end laughs and keeps on talking.  They know there is no time clock for you.  They do not get the idea of deadlines.  After all, you do work from home.

The doorbell rings and even though you know better than to answer it, they see your car in the driveway and continue to ring the bell or worse, bang loudly on the door itself, so grudgingly you welcome them in for a quick chat.

Kids will come into the room with the most inane questions or comments.  It seems as if they never want to talk until you say “I have work to do.”  They are easy though, just mention chores and they find a way to leave you alone.

The pets will make a mess that can’t wait to be cleaned up, the kids are hungry, the laundry basket grows fuller, the kitchen sink is full, the floors need attention from the vacuum, and the dust just keeps piling up.

So why do we work from home?

Because we can make our own hours?  There is nothing to make – the clock gives us 24 hours in a day, and sometimes we use them all and then some not to mention 7 days a week.

Because we can be with the family more?  Yeah, when they constantly interrupt with questions, because they are nowhere to be found when the work is done and the chores are next on the list.  And scheduling a family hour is just as hard sometimes as scheduling a week of vacation.

Because we can concentrate better?  Have you read above?

Actually, in my world, I work from home (actually let’s get this straight, most of us have an office within our home – yes it makes a difference) because I can be home for my family and friends, for the chores that need to be done, and for my pets, as well as the work that must be done for my clients.

I work from home because I can work 24 hours in a day if I wish, or 17, or 8 or even 2 depending on the workload.   Being available longer hours increases my chances of being able to help others, and in the long run, we all win.  I work from home because I can take care of business, take care of my family and take care of myself much better even with the added stress, longer hours, and many interruptions.

Lastly, I work from home because I find that I can learn more, do more and love it more when I am in the office I designed, organized just how I like it, and able to have those distractions to remind me that there are reasons why I work at all.  And the best part is the dress code!!!

I love what I do but it is not just what I do, it is who I am.

I am proud to be a mom, friend, sister.  I am proud to say that I am a US Transcription Company owner, transcriptionist, educator, and mentor with a home-based office.  I love the work I do for the journalist, writer, doctor, and corporation – from their most difficult audio to their voice mails to their conversion of PDF to WORD documents.  Those that work in a conventional office or those that like me that find working at home a way of life.  Feel free to bang on my door anytime.  Coffee is always on.

https://www.clktranscription.com

Things I Love About Being a Transcriptionist

Just a few of the fun things that make others go “why?” and me go “why not?”

1.  The audio sent at 9 a.m. and need back by 10 a.m. – of course it is a 50 minute file.

2.  The audio sent that has only the interviewer (oops).

3.  The audio recorded outside in a crowded restaurant and the recorder is placed on the table next to the clinking glasses.  (not to mention the full mouths or the recorder taken to the bathroom by the doctor taking a moment to handle more than one business matter.)

4.  The audio with so many false starts, you can’t figure out what is being said at all.  You know, I mean, but, yes, just like that.

5. The speaker who says one thing so often you can auto-text it –  pick one – Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Right, right, right.  You know.  Okay, okay, okay.  I mean.  UHM,

6.  The doctor that starts out with the right hand, goes on to the left hand, comes back to the right hand and then says “transcriptionist please fix” without noting which is correct.

7.  The audio recorded on cell phone while driving through a tunnel so that every other word sounds like “OLIKEALHED”.

8.  The audio with ESL (English Second Language), which is usually fine, except that this time they speak in half-broken English and half whatever language is native.  Something like, “Hello.  Yes ja razumijem što si rekao very clearly.”

9.  The speaker who thinks we can SEE what they are pointing at.  “This here is what we call this column here.”

10.  The speaker who truly believes sounds can be transcribed understandably and uses them throughout their speech. Swoosh, Whoot, Whrrr whrrr.

Seriously…all very treasured moments in my line of business, especially when we can produce the best possible document in spite of it all.

We learn about things – random things through our work.  Ask me about cloud computing, real estate, foods, benchmarks, loan rates, pension plans, student savings plans, the stock market, parenting, any medical illness, drugs, LGBT and the military, credit scores, the movies, empowerment, the economy, and yes – the best new sex secrets and gadgets too.   (Actually you can ask, but unless its published, we take  our confidentiality of all work we do very, very seriously, so we may not answer – but you can ask.)

From seminars, to one on one interviews, to multiple speaker interviews (where everyone speaks at once), to presentations, coaching calls (no not the sex topic) to website material for posting, celebrity interviews, round table discussions, educational reports, and even voice mails.  If it is in any audio format or even written form – we can convert it into a document that will knock your socks off most times.  (Sex topic especially).

My career choice is an ongoing education with many, many educators.   They are not our words.  They are not our stories – we just make it a bit easier for you to get yours out there.

Learning is part of my job.  Transcribing is my career.  Loving what I do makes being a transcriptionist so much fun and worthwhile.

https://www.clktranscription.com