TRANSCRIPTION

Work at Home Typing for Others

By Diane Cantrell

For many years I searched for a way to work from home using my computer as a way to earn a full-time income. I finally have that satisfaction now because I have found a way to type at home for others.

I first began doing transcription work at a financial services firm I worked at from 1991 to 2004. Some time went by and one of the accountants that I had worked with contacted me to see if I would like to be his personal transcriptionist from my home. I figured this would be a good way to supplement my income so I accepted, and that’s exactly what this work turned out to be.

All of the work I do for him is handled via the internet. He emails me the voice file and I type it and email him back the typed Word document. Simple!

As time went by and my frustration with ‘office politics’ grew, and I knew I had to find some way to turn this transcription work into my full-time business. I found it somewhat difficult to find others like this accountant who would like me to type up their information for them and was not keen on the idea of typing resumes all day.

I began searching online for companies that hire independent contractors to do transcription work for them. What a search it was! I found that in addition to the intermingled transcription businesses out there on the internet were a whole slew of ‘get-rich-now-typing-from-home’ schemes. Many of them sound so promising, that I must admit I was sucked in to trying a few. Some are now making me a little money, but most are sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

I finally was able to find websites that truly want people to succeed in the transcription business and listings of the businesses that really do hire transcriptionists. The first company I found said it wasn’t hiring at the time but that I could leave my email address and would be notified when they were hiring again.

Six months went by and I had long given up on the hope of doing transcription full-time from my home, when lo and behold, they emailed me to say they were hiring and I could test for them if I was interested. I went through the testing and finally scored my first position with a national transcription business as an independent contractor.

During their hiring period we all had more work than we could handle. It was great! But then I realized that they had hired so many ICs (independent contractors) that the work was getting hard to come by. I decided the only thing to do was to secure positions with other transcription businesses to make sure I had a full schedule each week.

I now work exclusively with four transcription companies, one of whom is only quarterly work, one I have to set a schedule two weeks in advance and log in for my scheduled time, one calls me with each job to see if I want it, and the other has me email them how much time I’m available for each day/week and they send me that much work.

So, finally, I can say I work from home full-time with legitimate companies and it’s everything I thought it would be and more! I work when I want and from the comfort of home. The pay is comparable to what I made in offices but the freedom is worth more than the money.

Stories of people looking for real solutions to making their dreams come true

Everybody has a dream whether it’s traveling the world, spending more time with family and friends, helping loved ones recover their health, or supporting organizations whose work you value. We all have them. The question of why some people realize theirs is what we’re looking at in these interviews. When you read the accounts of other people looking for freedom from the endless workplace and mountains of debt that keep you just getting by, ask yourself how you would answer the questions. You may discover that you’re in the market for a real solution and ready to move toward your goals.

Susan is the mother of three elementary students. She works as a chef at a catering company and at the kids’ school. She is working 7 days a week trying to keep up with the bills and provide for her family. her ex-husband has the girls on the weekends which allow her to work this hectic schedule. She is exhausted with this lifestyle and is looking for a better solution that would provide income while working from home.

What do you like about your work? I care about nutrition and enjoy cooking. I used to like the work more but now it exhausts me.

What would you change if you could? Ideally, if I could work only one job that would be great. If I could find a way to make money online, or with a home-based business, I would try it.

Why is that important to you? There are only some many hours in a day and with three kids, each one takes time. They also take money. It’s a real balancing act. I want to be home for the girls and be able to provide for them.

How does it make you feel not knowing how you will make more money? It’s scary. We’re living paycheck to paycheck. The girls only get to go on vacations with their dad because he has more money. I want to be able to take them traveling, too.

What would you do if there were nothing stopping you? I’d find a real way to make a lot more money working from home and work it hard to create enough income for me and the girls.

If you’re like Susan and you’re looking for a way to change your present situation so you too can get what you want, you might consider a residual income business. Residual income businesses continue to provide an income even when you are not. These opportunities come in a variety of forms- multi-level marketing, network marketing, house parties, affiliate marketing, etc. Whether you’re looking to make money online or off (or both), you could find an opportunity to work in the exploding wellness industry with a residual income business.

You too can make your dreams of optimal health and wealth come true while being of service to your family and community. Discover a real solution and move toward your goals of making money working from home, for yourself.

Copyright (c) 2009 OnlineBizU.com

“So, what do I blog about each time?” is a question I often get from clients. To keep your blog active and healthy, I recommend blogging at least 3 times per week. However, that notion is overwhelming for many. Even though you may be an expert in a topic, your mind may go completely blank when it comes time to blog, and then at other times when you’re not blogging, your idea cup runneth over.

The primary thing to remember is that blog posts don’t have to be long and complicated. You’re not writing an article, a report or a thesis. Many times a blog post is only a paragraph consisting of a few sentences that contain your thoughts about something. Now, doesn’t that sound easier than composing a 600-word post each time you sit down to blog?

Here are 20 ideas you can use to help you create a blog post when you’re stuck for an idea:

1. Current events. Can you link what you do in your business to a current event? Open up your daily newspaper or your RSS news reader and see what’s happening in the world, your country, your state, or your city. Give your opinion about the event and a solution, if you have it, and relate that to your business if you can.

2. Trends in your industry. I read constantly and subscribe to more industry publications than I have time to review. However, there are a handful that I do regularly read, and it’s to those that I look to for what the trends seem to be. When you blog about the trend, put your unique perspective on it, or write a rebuttal post, disagreeing with the relevance of the trend.

3. Get personal. Tell a story about what’s happening in your life or in your business that would be useful or instructive for your readers. Chronicle both your highs and lows, your wins and your struggles. One key to successful blogging is getting personal with your readers. The more “real” you are with your readers, the better your reader gets to know you and begins to like and trust you. You become a “real, live” human being to them who faces similar issues that they face.

4. Top 10. Most of my writing is in the form of a Top 10 list because it’s an easy way for me to outline the points I want to make and then go back and fill in the details for each point. In this case, each of your points for a topic can become an individual blog post, and when all the points are complete, you can compile the full list for an article for your ezine or website.

5. Frequently asked questions. If you’ve been in business for awhile, you know the questions that clients and prospective clients ask you to answer over and over again. Instead of repeatedly responding to the same questions, write a series of blog posts that answer your target market’s most frequently asked questions.

6. How you helped a client solve a problem. Clients hire you to solve a specific problem they’re having, whether they do that when they buy your service or your product. List 3-5 most recent problems that you have helped your clients solve. Create a post that talks about the problem and the solution you provided (either with your client’s permission, or by making it generic enough to hide the client’s identity) that becomes a learning experience for your readers.

7. Interview an expert. What people do your know and admire in your industry? If you admire them, chances are that members of your target market do, as well. Contact them for a short email or recorded interview and ask them 3-5 questions that you’d like to hear them answer about their lives, their businesses, industry trends, or how to solve a particular problem. Publish the interviews as blog posts, adding audio and graphics if you have them.

8. Solicit and answer questions. Ask your ezine subscribers or blog readers to ask you their most pressing question related to what you do. I do this and get questions for 1-2 blog posts per week, and it helps me stay in touch with the needs of my readers, as well.

9. Review something. Read a good book lately related to your industry? Just purchased a product to help you solve a problem? Reviews aren’t limited to the critics at the New York Times. Blog about your experience with a product, book, or service, highlighting both the high points and low points, and whether you would recommend that others use or purchase it.

10. Read other blogs. Go to Google’s Blog Search or Technorati and find other blogs related to your industry or your target market. Add those to your blog reader and take an hour or two each week to read the posts on those blogs. Do you agree or disagree with the post? Have another point of view? Think the blogger was on target but you want to expand on her point of view? Reading other blogs is a great way to generate ideas for your own blog.

11. Keep an idea file. Sometimes a blogging idea or concept will strike you when you don’t need (or want) to blog. Begin a blog idea file by creating a document or spreadsheet to track your ideas and thoughts. If you’re in the zone, go ahead and write the post, and then you can post it to your blog on a day when the idea well is dry.

12. Create a tutorial. There’s always something you can tell your target market how to do. Create a written, audio, or video tutorial of the process as your blog post. Depending on the complexity of the tasks, the tutorial may need to created in multiple parts, like Part 1, Part 2, etc., which would make for multiple posts to your blog.

13. Share a positive/negative email. I often share exceptionally positive or negative emails I receive from people (without names to protect their identity as appropriate) either to celebrate kudos I’ve received or to demonstrate how I responded to a particularly nasty or upsetting comment. I get the most mileage out of the negative emails, and I often ask for feedback about how my readers might respond to the situation.

14. Take a tour. Take a self-made in-person or virtual tour of something useful to your readers. For example, if you’re a dating coach, tour the top 5 online dating sites and report your experiences as a client in each. If you’re a restaurant consultant, visit 3 local restaurants and evaluate what’s often overlooked in staff training based on your experience as a customer.

15. Write about a Twitter or Facebook update. You only get 140 characters in Twitter to write about something. If you need more space, or want to respond in greater length to someone’s Tweet or Facebook status update, do so in your blog. Thought-provoking questions are often asked on Twitter, and the answers may inspire you to blog.

16. Create a “Best of” list. What are the top 7 blogs to read in your industry? How about the top 5 people to watch? What about the 10 most useful online tools you use? Nothing attracts attention on a blog quicker than a list, so create one yourself or ask your readers to help you in the process.

17. Report from an event. Attending a professional trade show, conference, or networking event? You can report live about your experiences at the event on your blog. Talk about the workshops your attended, the vendors you met, the speaker you heard — the sky’s the limit!

18. Debunk a myth. Each industry is plagued with myths and fallacies about success/failure or what does/doesn’t work that the industry professionals would like to see vanquished once and for all. Use your blog to debunk some of the most common myths/preconceptions/notions in your industry and set the record straight.

19. Talk to newbies. Picture yourself as a newbie in your industry once again. What do you know now that you didn’t know then? What questions did you ask? What knowledge do you have that you think everyone knows? Getting back to the basics can help bring all of your blog readers up to speed.

20. Write about a client conversation. Many times I’m inspired to blog as an expansion or continuation of a conversation I had with a client. The blog post focuses on a topic of the conversation, not the conversation itself. Typically the strategy/idea/technique you’ve discussed with one client will benefit your blog readers as well.

This is just the tip of a very large ice burg of ideas for posts to your blog. Take a look around your life, your business, conversations with clients and colleagues, and what’s happening in the world around you. You’ll soon begin to see more potentials for blog posts that you ever thought possible!