Indeed it is! With the award of the second Daisy Scholarship, Christmas is definitely on its way.
This year we had so many applications it was really hard to decide on the winner, but eventually we decided. Congratulations, Tiffany B!
If you weren’t successful this year, please do try again, or why not gift yourself the course this Christmas and get started your new career in 2020?
Sonya and I have found with the rise of budget basement transcription companies, a lot of the work that medical transcribers used to perform and the “churn” of transcripts for academia is being targeted by these companies. That’s okay, there is still more than enough room for professionals who charge living wage rates, BUT you need to make sure you have a point of differentiation to offer clients, because you aren’t going to be able to compete with the prices that these companies charge.
Do you think Harrods is concerned about Kmart? Do you think the high-end fashion and jewellery shops are worrying about where their next customer is coming from? No. To get the best work at the best rates you need to be the best you can be at what you do. You need to offer your clients exceptional standards, accuracy and customer service. You need to ‘wow’ them so that if they are approached by someone else, they are unlikely to want to move as they are so pleased with the service you provide. Can you tailor your invoicing to help them? What service can you provide that no one else is offering? How can you tailor their experience in working with you?
To become a professional you need training. The companies that charge clients low rates often take on people with little or no training. People seem to think that this is an “in” to the transcription industry, however Sonya and I simply cannot see how that is the case. These companies will not give you feedback and an edited transcript to see for yourself where you are going wrong, which we do when we mentor at Top Team Transcripts. And they bounce people regularly, which is not good for confidence-building. You wouldn’t expect to watch a couple of You Tube videos on how to build a wall and then expect a building contractor to take you on and risk his reputation by employing someone without the necessary skills. When the wall falls down, it’s the employer who loses his clients not the contractor who built the wall.
This is why well-paying transcription companies need experienced and professional transcribers. To get to this level proper training is vital. Sonya and I have been working in this industry since 2003. We have poured everything we have ever come across into our TranscribeRight course. We wish we could give away more scholarships, and, hopefully, in time we will be able to increase the number of awards per year. But for now, we are thrilled that we can at least help some on their way to becoming the best they can be. Why not join them? With lessons starting at as little as $15, and the entire course available in easy $50 instalments, there’s no better time to start.
Happy transcribing!
Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash
