Transcription Ideas Blog

Seth Godin has a book called “Purple Cow.”

However, it was not original with him. In fact, as you can see below it comes from a poem that was published in 1915.

Seth Godin's Purple Cow Milk Carton

THE PURPLE COW
by: Gelett Burgess (1866-1951)

NEVER saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one.

“The Purple Cow” is reprinted from A Nonsense Anthology. Ed. Carolyn Wells. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1915.

Transcription isn’t an original idea for a business. However, you have to have some sort of demand for your product or service, or you won’t stay in business.

The more common your product or service, the more you will need to find your “purple cow” way to stand out from others.

My husband is a creature of habit (Southern saying, I believe) and likes to eat basically at three to four places when we eat out. So, my daughter and I decided to look in the phone book (yeah, we still do it that way sometimes) to see what types of eating out choices there were. Her comment was, “They’re all pizza, Chinese food or Mexican food.”

Of course, they weren’t all that type of food, but the large majority were.

The question: What makes one different than the other? If there’s no real difference, then more than likely that place won’t be there next year.

Your transcription needs a niche. So, how are you going to niche your transcription?

We’ll discuss that in the next blog.

Women who work out of their home have justifiable safety concerns. How do you accept work from clients without worrying about your safety? The easiest way to handle this issue is to meet your client in a public place away from your home. There are many more places to meet clients today.  I suggest one of the following places below:

• The library. The library is a great place to meet a new perspective client. You will have others around when you meet and depending on your city, they will be conveniently located.
• Starbucks. Starbucks is a great place to meet clients because it is set up for this type of meeting.
• Panera Bread. Panera Bread is also a great place to meet. Many people meet there, and larger cities have several choices of location.
• The client’s office. You can offer to pick up the work if your client works in a fairly public place.

You don’t have to meet clients in your home office or allow them to come there.  Meeting outside of your home office is much more acceptable in today’s work climate with many more people working from home. If a client has a problem with this, it may be a warning sign. Opening your door to a stranger is never a good idea.

By Marcia Francois

Small business owners have so much to do every day – the business of your business (or what you’re actually paid to do), marketing, administration (emails, voicemails, etc.), bookkeeping. The list goes on and on…

And that’s only one part of your life!

In order to have a balanced life, you need to manage your time correctly otherwise you’ll be stressed out, burnt out and frazzled!

Here are the top 3 things I do to make sure my small business runs smoothly:

1. Eat your frogs every day

Every day decide on a maximum of 6 things to do. Before you even put them on your list, ask yourself if they bring you closer to your business goals or not.

Then do the most important task first. It often seems like that one is also the most difficult task. Once that is out of the way, your day gets better and the rest is a breeze.

This way, even if you don’t finish your 6 items, the most important tasks will always be done. I use this method for responding to emails too.

2. Remember Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

Many times we don’t know how long something will take so we allow hours and hours for simple tasks. If you genuinely don’t know, then start keeping a time log for tasks you do routinely, like writing a weekly Ezine, daily blogging or posting to forums.

Once you have an idea of how long regular tasks take, set a timer when you do them in the future and aim to complete in that set time, every time.

3. Have monthly, weekly and daily checklists

For anything you do more than once (or plan to delegate to a virtual assistant), make a list as you go along.

My monthly checklists have accounting and computer back-up, my weekly checklists have article submission and blog planning, and my daily checklists have checking web stats.

This is so that you don’t waste time having to rethink your steps of action every day, week or month, or worse still, you forget to do something important. I have a whole system for automating your business (Business Control Journal) as part of my Organise your Business system.

I suggest that you have some self-care items on your lists too. I read every day for pleasure and aside from a 20-minute planning session for the week ahead, I take the weekends off.

If you start implementing these 3 tips on a consistent basis, I guarantee that you’ll free up at least two hours a day.

I’d rather spend an extra two hours with my family; wouldn’t you?

Marcia Francois is a time management and business organising coach who helps small business owners break out of overwhelm, make the most of their time and get important projects done. Visit http://organiseyourbusiness.com for your free 7-part audio series, 7 tips for time-strapped business owners.

By Marcia Francois

My number ONE decluttering tip is one in, one out.

I use this principle with clothes, with kitchen utensils and I use the exact same principles to keep my inbox, digital photos, PDF and other documents under control.

Here are some other tips to eliminate electronic clutter:

1. Make time daily to delete emails.

My goal is to delete 100 emails daily so I go through my inbox, sent items, folders, etc. every couple of days.

2. Choose photos as you download them

When you download photos from your digital camera, choose the best ones there and then and delete the rest. I don’t know about you but I usually take about 3 or 4 pictures so that I can choose the absolute best pictures.

**Bloggers, once you’ve published your post, delete the photos from your hard drive.

3. Declutter downloads regularly

If you download checklists, forms, recipes and e-books regularly (like most of us do), set aside some time to regularly go through your folders to delete the ones you no longer find useful.

When I read e-books, I make a note of the ideas to implement and then delete the PDF file unless it’s really something WOW or I’ve paid for it.

This tip applies to PDF files, Word and Excel documents. The only things I don’t delete with such ruthless abandon are the tools, checklists and e-books that I’ve created

4. Have a maintenance plan

Make a date with yourself for 15 minutes every week (starting this week) to eliminate your electronic clutter.

If you put these four steps into place, you’ll be able to say good-bye to your e-clutter for good!

Marcia Francois is a time management and business organising coach who helps small business owners break out of overwhelm, make the most of their time and get important projects done. Visit http://organiseyourbusiness.com for your free 7-part audio series, 7 tips for time-strapped business owners.

5 Steps to a Tidy Desk

By Marcia Francois

You won’t believe all the excuses I get from people about their untidy desks!

“It’s because I’m creative” or “I know where everything is”.

Sound familiar?

This may very well be true. However, for most people, an untidy desk makes you feel overwhelmed and out of control.

How can you be productive when you’re overwhelmed? Right?!

The good news is that it’s a lot easier than you think. You can have a tidy desk in just 5 steps:

1. Set up your desk properly

If you answer the phone with your left hand, then keep the phone to the left of your computer. Now this might seem obvious but you’ll be surprised at the number of people I encounter who have to scramble and reach behind their computer to get to the phone. It’s like that game Twister!

2. Touch each piece of paper once only

This is going to force you to make decisions - throw away, action, forward or file. Those are the only choices you have

3. Have one notebook for all your notes

When you take messages or need to quickly jot down a note, write it in your ONE notebook. You shouldn’t have 10 post-it notes and lots of other pieces of paper on your desk. Better still, write the date on the top of every page so you can reference old information quickly. And start each day on a new page – literally!

4. Clear junk regularly

Every time you get up to go to the loo or for a coffee break, clear your desk of empty mugs, glasses, snacks, etc. The same goes for all those dry markers and pens that don’t work. Throw them out!

5. Have only the papers you’re actually working with on your desk

I have a rather strong fondness for these plastic envelopes. I use these nifty tools to keep my many projects sorted. When I want to work on something, I just grab one of these and open up the contents on my desk.

See? Easy!

You can also have a neat and tidy desk in just 5 steps.

Now what you should do is do a quick, 30-second tidy every evening when you finish your work so you’re ready and raring to go the following day.

Marcia Francois is a time management and business organising coach who helps small business owners break out of overwhelm, make the most of their time and get important projects done. Visit http://organiseyourbusiness.com for your free 7-part audio series, 7 tips for time-strapped business owners.

One of the most popular questions I get from blog and mailing list readers is this:

How do I control all the paper?!

I understand completely because when I get lazy, that’s the first area that goes out of control for me too.

The first thing you have to do is decide and make decisions. I like using a timer because I’m naturally competitive (anyone relate?) and that inspires me to take action, and quickly too!

Before you start, gather the following items:

1. a timer
2. wastepaper basket
3. brightly coloured pen (I like a nice thick red gel pen)
4. notebook and/ or planner
5. post-its (the originals, not the cheap stuff)

Right, now you’re set!

There are only four actions you’re allowed to do once you’ve scanned each piece of paper. Don’t take longer than 30 seconds to scan the page.

1. Dump it
Throw it in the bin. The more ruthless you are, the less you have to file! Win-win!

If you only need one piece of information, write it down straight in your notebook and throw the piece of paper away. Some of you are hyperventilating - that’s okay

2. Delegate it
If someone else has to attend to it (husband needs to phone), write the action on the paper itself or on a post-it note and put that in a separate pile.

3. File it
Please do yourself a favour and only put paper in this pile if you ABSOLUTELY need to reference it. Just a quick stat for you - only 20% of filed papers are ever referenced again.

Use your post-it pad for different categories. For example, when I’m doing my weekly paper sorting session, I use Household, Marcia, Dion and Business as my categories.

4. Do it
Here I apply the two-minute rule. If you can do it in two minutes or less, do it right there and then. When I say “do it”, I mean either action it or schedule it to action later.

For example, if you’re working on your papers at 10pm and need to make an appointment, you can’t phone right there and then, so write it on tomorrow’s to-do list. That’s within two minutes and it counts.

There you have it - the only four things to do with paper. If you stick to making decisions, your paper will be beautifully organised.

Marcia Francois is a time management and business organising coach who helps small business owners break out of overwhelm, make the most of their time and get important projects done. Visit http://organiseyourbusiness.com for your free 7-part audio series, 7 tips for time-strapped business owners.

I’m very excited to have my very first guest blogger. Marcia will be my guest blogger for the next four Tuesdays. Be sure to check back for organizing ideas for your business.

Marcia Francois is a time management and business organising coach who helps small business owners break out of overwhelm, make the most of their time and get important projects done. Visit http://organiseyourbusiness.com for your free 7-part audio series, 7 tips for time-strapped business owners.

When you are self-employed you have to pay all expenses associated with employees. This includes the employer’s share of Social Security taxes.

You also have to pay for your insurance. If you have insurance provided by your spouse, you still need to take this expense into consideration, because it is not being paid for you.

Your business will have expenses for supplies, phone service, marketing, and many other expenses that you may not take into account until you are in business for awhile.

Another consideration in setting your prices is that you will not be working full-time in your business. Even if you have been in business for many years, you still have to do work “on” your business. This includes things like reading up on new technology, networking time, etc. All of these things are important for your business, but you do not get paid for them directly.

A good rule of thumb is that your hourly charge needs to be twice the amount of money as you would like to make. If you do not charge by the hour, but by the project, then you will have to figure out how many hours it takes to complete projects.

If you are doing medical transcription, or any other type of transcription that uses medicines in the transcription, the best place to look up the spelling of that information is: http://www.webmd.com/drugs/index-drugs.aspx.

Web MD has medicines listed by condition it is prescribed or alphabetical by name. It is a great resource for this.

Another way to get help with spelling is to use an add-on medical speller. The one I recommend is: http://www.datatrace.com/medical/DT_Medical_Spellchecker.htm 

DT Medical Spellchecker is loaded right into your software. The directions to load it in are included with the software. It is very reasonably priced as well.

Before the Internet age in order to find addresses for doctors’ offices you had to purchase books that were for regions of the country. These, however, get outdated soon because they are only published once a year. Some companies are marketing updated doctors’ addresses that you can download into your PDA. However, you have to pay a prescription price for those. You could, of course, look up the information in the Yellow Pages, either hardback or online. I’ve found that these sometimes are outdated as well.

Instead of putting out money on these types of things, especially when you are just starting and are low on funds, you can find really great sources for doctors’ addresses from your local hospitals’ Web sites. 

The reason you need these addresses is because when doctors dictate letters to other doctors sometimes they do not give you the address, just the name of the doctor to whom the letter is going.

Below are some hospital Web sites in North Carolina.

Greensboro, North Carolina, USA:

http://moses.photobooks.com - Moses Cone Hospital. This is for doctors who refer patients to Moses Cone Hospital. This is a great source for doctors in the Greensboro, NC area.

http://www1.wfubmc.edu - Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center. This is for doctors who are in the Winston-Salem area and refer to Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center.

http://www.highpointregional.com - High Point Regional Health System. This is for doctors who refer to High Point Regional Health System. They are in the High Point, NC general area.

http://www.randolphhospital.org/contact.htm - Randolph Hospital. This is for doctors who refer to Randolph Hospital out of Asheboro, NC.

http://www.unchealthcare.org/site - UNC Health Care. This is for doctors who refer to the UNC Health Care System in Chapel Hill, NC

If you are not in this area of the country, look up the name of your local hospitals. They probably have links to their addresses. This will help you get an accurate address to send your transcription.