6. February 2008 by Tara.

I used to have a great client who would send work regularly. He even struck a deal with me that instead of asking for a volume discount since he sent so many audios, he would pay the regular price if I would just turn his transcripts around faster. It was a great deal and he was one of my favorite Internet Marketers to work with.

I felt comfortable asking him for help. I learned about his family-wife and kids-and even sent them a gift when their second child was born. He just seemed like an all-around nice guy. I made sure that each and every transcript of his was polished and professional, and even went the extra mile by designing a layout, complete with graphics that matched his websites, so that his readers would be even more impressed with the products he created.

This person’s mentor had been a very demanding person, another Internet Marketer who claimed to have made over $1 million online. When I was a partner in another transcription service, we had the mentor as a client and although he offered us a lot of work, he wanted us to always keep his projects a top priority and we worked sometimes day and night to try and keep him satisfied. He was always asking, “Where is this? Where is that? Is this done? Is that done?” even though we were keeping up with the agreed-upon time schedule. He demanded that things were on time, yet it was like pulling teeth to get him to pay his invoices. I hoped that my client would not turn into his mentor.

My client had also been very generous with his list members and customers, giving away hundreds of dollars during teleseminars through contests. He was coming into his success with Internet Marketing and I thought it was so refreshing to see someone sharing with others, not just claiming to have made so many thousands online, but possibly helping others to fund their online dreams of independence too.

Well, something changed one day. I hadn’t heard from my client since his last project and I knew he had others coming up and would need audios transcribed. So I decided to send him a friendly email, asking how he was doing since I hadn’t heard from him in a while. The reply I received stunned me since I thought this guy was different. He was going to be someone who wasn’t always looking for the cheapest deal and would appreciate quality over saving a few bucks…

He told me that he had found another transcription service that charged about 1/4 of my rates, and that although he had to do more work on his end to fix their errors, he decided to go with them because of the lower price.

Where’s the loyalty? Why didn’t he ask me if I would give him that volume discount he never wanted before? What happened to making those thousands upon thousands online and paying for a high-quality transcription service so he could work on expanding his business, rather than having to correct poor-quality transcripts?

I know that things happen for a reason, but it really gets me about certain Internet millionaires who brag about all the money they’ve made and their lovely homes and sports cars, but they ask, “Do you give a discount?” While here I am, struggling to make ends meet, working hard every day.

Since my business has grown exponentially over the past year, I had all but forgotten about this former client. My current clients have shown me that they do appreciate quality, and some of them have stuck with me for years…which I appreciate so much! So for whatever reason this guy turned to being a cheapskate and sending his business elsewhere, it turned out to be a blessing for me. I have the best clients from all over the globe and I appreciate them too.

Posted in Transcription 101 | Print | 1 Comment »

13. December 2007 by Tara.

Does a person necessarily have to type really fast to be a good transcriptionist? My answer is: NO! I really don’t care how quickly a person even hunts & pecks…if the finished product is not accurate, it means nothing that you can type 200 WPM.

I will admit that I’m not the fastest typist on earth, but my finished product is very accurate–word, spelling and punctuation-wise. I’ve had people working for me in the past who turn in transcripts that they’ve created by using speech-recognition software, thinking it will enable them to crank out a million transcripts a day and make them lots of money. Wrong! Most of them were so inaccurate, I had to basically type them over myself. I don’t work with those folks any more, needless to say.

In order to be in tune with the speakers on an audio, a person needs to actually listen to what is being said and not type mindlessly, or grievous errors will surface. I like to pretend that I’m typing the script for a play and I want to convey to the actors the exact way the words should be spoken, so using the correct punctuation and the correct words are very important.

A person could type quickly but not know the difference between “your” and “you’re” or between “affect” and “effect” or “patients” and “patience”…need I continue? There are a lot of those homonyms to be deciphered. Sure, someone could turn around a 3-hour audio within one business day, but how accurate is it going to be? How many errors will they miss, even if they proofread–which will probably also be a quick job.

If you’re fast and accurate, know how to spell, know your grammar and punctuation and can add those special nuances that make a great transcript, then you’re one in a million. Hey–you’re me! I am very proud of the knowledge I’ve gained and of my ability to use what I learned in school as far as using the English language correctly along with punctuation and formatting, to turn out the best transcripts in the business!

Bottom line: Don’t come to me and say you took a typing test and can type 150 WPM with 93% accuracy…that was probably by copying from something that was already typed and formatted for you. To be an excellent transcriptionist, you have to be able to take a blank page and make it into a beautiful, typewritten document, using an audio recording, and have the finished product be understandable and readable.

Posted in Transcription 101 | Print | 1 Comment »

19. November 2007 by Tara.

I must say, my web design skills have come a long way. Now, I’m not claiming to be the best designer on the planet, but I am very proud of how much I’ve been able to change and improve the look of my site. When I first launched it back in 2005, I got comments ranging from: “Really unprofessional,” to: “Very homey feeling and inviting,” so whose opinion do you trust? I went with my own! I really loved what I had done with the site and even though it might have been very amateurish, it was my very own, bought and paid for!

This year I had my friend Alaina design a logo for me and she rocked it out! I gave her my ideas and she put in some of her own to make it really awesome. She’s just starting out and would love another job, so if you’d like to take advantage of her graphic design services, let me know and I’ll put you in touch.

My next endeavors will be to include audio and video on the site, which I’m working on now. It’s been difficult with a heavy workload (which I am so thankful for!) but I’m really excited to move on to that next step.

I welcome your thoughts and comments, so please check out my site and tell me what you think.

Posted in Transcription 101 | Print | 1 Comment »

24. August 2007 by Tara.

“I’m a professional transcriptionist.”

“Oh yeah! One of my friends does medical transcription. She works for a local doctor.”

Well, we do everything but medical! Even when someone connects my job with medical transcription, they still seem to have a hard time grasping the concept of a transcript. It’s like a play script, where each person’s part is labeled by their character name and is written exactly how it should be spoken.

An interview transcript might start like this:

George:  Thank you for joining me for this interview.

Martha:  It’s my pleasure, George. I appreciate your invitation.

Then George and Martha go on with the interview with him asking questions and her answering them. It’s really that simple, but some aspects can be very complicated. What are they? Find out in my next post…

In the meantime, for all of your transcription needs, visit:

Posted in Transcription 101 | Print | No Comments »