Self-employment Idea: Transcriptionist

If you happen to be a pretty fast typist and you do not hate investing a lot of time at your PC, you'll take pleasure in this work. There is a great selection of possible customers; even smaller communities possess medical practitioners and attorneys, and government administrators and councils commonly require transcriptions of their meetings.

You will need to be ready to manage several different forms of audio media, such as cassettes, microcassettes, CDs, other kinds of electronic storage devices, etc. This might require that you acquire some specialized hardware to get started. You also must grasp the vocabulary for different areas, for example medical, legal, or technological terminology. You can purchase dictionaries and spell-checkers that will help you in these areas, but that is going to be an additional initial expenditure.

You have to have excellent hearing, a quick typing pace, and a willingness to sit at your computer for hours. You also need to be familiar with the lingo in particular career fields, though there are software programs to help you with this issue. You have to have standard computer abilities, including experience using word processors and emailing documents between you and your customers.

You need a desktop computer or notebook with desktop publishing applications. Microsoft Word is probably the most widespread word processor, but you can find cost-free alternatives such as OpenOffice and Google Docs, which will save files in Microsoft Word's format.

You'll also want to buy a good-quality transcription machine. This is a system that can play tapes or other electronic media and can be controlled by using a foot pedal on the floor. When you are transcribing digital media, like audio or videos on your PC, you might only need to buy software applications and a pedal. The pedal allows you to regulate playback (rewind, fast forward, etc) without taking your hands off the PC's keyboard, which improves your speed and efficiency.

You might also consider speech recognition software programs on your personal computer. Speech recognition software listens to audio and converts it to written text. The written text is nowhere close to perfect, however, and still must be corrected by a real person.

It is possible to run this company from a home office if you have a computer, desktop publishing software, and a connection to the Internet.

If you currently have a computer with a connection to the Internet at home, you are in a great position. You certainly need to have a word processor. If you don't want to purchase Microsoft Word, it is possible to make do using a free substitute like OpenOffice or Google Docs.

You'll need to invest some time and money advertising and marketing your services. You might need to print fliers, send letters, and set up a web page to market your enterprise.

You should get a transcription machine which includes a foot pedal to make the most efficient use of your time and efforts. A brief Internet lookup reveals a number of devices which use audio cassettes or microcassettes for $300-500. It may be useful, however, to wait and discover precisely what your initial few customers are utilizing to record their audio or video. If your prospects are only utilizing digital media, like audio or video clips on a PC, you may only have to invest in a foot pedal for your PC and some computer software to go with it.

According to who your customers are, you might also choose to invest in a clinical, legal, or technological dictionary or reference books in order to discover the lingo they will be using. You can, however, find some cost-free dictionaries on the Internet.

As mentioned before, you may find tasks from medical practitioners, attorneys, corporation officers, or government officials. When you first begin, get jobs from anywhere you can find them. As you get more customers, you can concentrate on a single field if you want to avoid mastering the intricacies of multiple fields.

Some transcription tasks might pay you with an hourly fee while others may pay you with a certain amount per letter or line of text. When you are beginning, you might only be able to earn $10-15 each hour, however as you grow more knowledgeable, more accustomed to the terms, and faster, you can make more. If you can get tasks that compensate by the line, you could make a lot more by working more time or accelerating your keyboard skills.

Nick Walton is a freelance writer who loves being self-employed. If you are interested in finding self-employment ideas, please visit Walton's web site at http://www.bestselfemploymentideas.com.