Janet Shaughnessy, Founder of TranscribeAnywhere.com
Janet Shaughnessy began working from home as a medical transcriptionist in 2007, later branching out into general and legal transcription and forming her own company, Zoom Transcription Services. Prior to launching her own successful online business, Janet worked in the insurance and medical industries in different capacities, primarily administration.
When it became necessary for Janet to work from home, she sought different avenues, many of which were failures. Although success can be found working from home in many different industries, not many of them appealed to Janet. Most were either too inflexible to accommodate her schedule or involved direct selling, which wasn’t her favorite thing to do. It was then she had that “aha” moment and realized that her skills in transcription might work well in the online world. It did…and then some!
It was while running Zoom Transcription Services that Janet had the first seed of an idea for a course. One of the biggest obstacles in building her online business was the lack of qualified transcriptionists. For some reason, a lot of people believe that transcription is merely the ability to listen and type. It’s so much more. Training new hires one at a time was becoming burdensome. The first course, entitled General Transcription Training: The Zoom Method, was sold on DVD through the Zoom website. She later added on legal and medical transcription courses. The courses were later made available as digital downloads. The courses are now offered to you here at TranscribeAnywhere.com and are presented on an e-learning platform that is self-paced and much more comprehensive.
In addition to running her transcription business and working with her students, Janet is a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and niece to her loving family, and she hopes a good friend to those she calls friend. She is very involved in building a church in her community and growing in spiritual maturity. In addition, she is a jewelry designer, crochet addict, loves hiking, skiing, and just enjoying friends and family.
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an you tell us a little about your background? What did your life look like before TA?
Before TA, I was working as an Inside Sales Rep for a large manufacturing corporation. I was fairly happy, good at what I did (Inside Sales Rep of the Year 2017), and patiently waiting. And waiting. And waiting. You see, the original company had been bought out, and I was very excited for new career opportunities that I could apply for within the bigger corporation. A position became available for an Inside Sales/Office Manager role at my location. I applied, as did my counterpart, who was also more than qualified for the position. We were both turned down. Neither one of us has a degree. I had been at the company longer than anyone else — everyone came to me with issues. I trained everyone walking in the door, including the current DC manager. It was a slap in the face — and a wake-up call.
Q: Wake-up call indeed! When did you start doing transcription, and what made you decide to learn it?
I decided to stop making money for other people’s dreams and to start making money for my own. I had been a legal secretary/paralegal back in the ’80s and ’90s; why not go back to what I knew I was good at and use it as a stepping stone to leave corporate America behind?
Q: What was the most challenging part of getting started?
Getting started! I researched and researched — what do I really want to do? What do I like to do? What am I good at? I ran in that circle of fear and anxiety that prevents us from making a decision, I would say, honestly, for about two months. The decisions don’t get easier, but I am faster and more confident when I make one. I learned it’s okay to fail; just change direction and keep going.
Q: So true. The only way to really fail is to never try! What have been the most valuable things you learned during the course?
That you are never too old to learn; that sharing my experiences as I went through the course helped me as much as it helped others. Grammar is hard; really hard.
Q: I couldn’t agree more! We can always learn new skills, no matter what age we are. How long did it take you to find your first client? How many clients do you have now?
One week after I graduated from the course, I started working for a transcription company; two weeks later I was working for another transcription company and one client. Now, almost a year since I started the course, I have one client and have started another business where I have two clients. I also am working on publishing a handbook for a group of law firm professionals in my area.
Q: How long did it take you to recoup the cost of the course?
I graduated at the very end of January and broke even at the end of May. Keep in mind, I was still working that full-time, corporate job. I would transcribe four nights a week and on the weekends. I officially quit on June 29th and I have not looked back.
Q: That’s amazing! Congratulations! What advice would you give anyone thinking about becoming a transcriptionist? Is it worth the money for training?
Yes; it is definitely worth the money and you can use your skills, not only for transcription, but for other things as well (proofreading, scoping, publishing handbooks, helping writers). I really love my one transcription client and am working toward gaining more transcription clients in the near future. Based on the workload, I would be comfortable having one or two additional transcription clients.
I didn’t know when I started that there were so many varied options for transcriptionists. I didn’t think about transcribing for anyone else, other than lawyers and court reporters. My advice is to keep an open mind and say yes to something you’ve never tried before.
Q: Yes! You never know what opportunities are around the corner. What do you think it takes to be a GOOD transcriptionist? How about a GREAT one?
Skills, first of all. I am a really fast typist, so that is a definite advantage. Second, willingness to learn and grow. Educate yourself! Thank goodness for Janet being hard on me when I took the final. I realized how right she was about my needing to continue working on my grammar skills. Every week, I spend at least two hours or more studying grammar — and I still feel like I need to improve!
If you want to make up to $60/hr, you must attend a FREE work at home workshop here. Caitlin Pyle, multi-millionaire work at home mentor will show you how to work from home as a proofreader and makeup to $60/hr! HEAD HERE to begin your work-at-home career.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about being a transcriptionist? What about your least favorite?
I get to work from anywhere, anytime. I get to challenge myself every day to be better. And I help other people in both my work and personal life — the freedom to be able to do this is amazing.
Least favorite? When the client records their audio in a coffee shop. A loud coffee shop. A loud coffee shop, right next to the espresso machine. Seriously, it’s the only downfall and you just have to “eat the frog” and push through it.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you? Anything else you’d like to share?
Up at 5 a.m. for my three-mile walk; then I walk the dogs. I have breakfast, meditate, or listen to a podcast (I recommend Caitlin Pyle at Work-At-Home Heroes on Facebook). After that, I start work at 8 a.m., take a break for lunch, and then back at it until 3 or 4 p.m. I do admin tasks, set up meetings to get out and network, and occasionally work evenings or weekends.
Practice self-care and discipline. Focus and keep moving. I’m always hustling for another client, educating people about what I do, or educating myself — even when I’m booked. Surround yourself with positive people, positive things, and positive thoughts!
WHY CHOOSE US
Choose us because you’re ready to learn everything you need to know. Choose us because you want hands-on experience. Choose us because you know being truly successful as a transcriptionist is about so much more than typing fast.
Choose us because you want …
- high-quality education without breaking the bank;
- lifetime support from real people who care;
- to learn not just how to get clients, but
how to keep them; - to build an excellent reputation and
grow your business.
Choose us because you don’t just want to
“do transcription” — you want to become
a transcriptionist.
Transcription Jobs from Home: FAQs
Can anyone do this?
No. You need to have patience and the ability
to sit for long periods of time. An eye for detail is also necessary.
Will I get rich?
No, but you will reap the rewards of freedom found by working from home and performing challenging work.
Are updates included?
All future updates are included
Do you help me find work?
Yes. We are not a job placement agency, but we do provide you all the tools and resources necessary to find work as a transcriptionist.
Is there a demand for transcription?
YES! With the exploding popularity of video all over the internet, there is a rapidly increasing demand for transcription…Read More>
Will I have support as a student?
Yes! Our student community on Facebook is one of the most helpful you’ll ever experience.
What is the difference between legal transcription and general transcription?
General transcription is the practice of transcribing from audio and video files for all different types of industries,… Read More>
How long do I have access to the course?
Forever.
Where can legal transcriptionists find work?
Legal transcriptionists can find work in law firms, legal support agencies, government agencies, and legal… Read More>
Transcription Jobs from Home: How to Make More Money from Transcription Jobs
Secret #1: They Have EXCELLENT Training
Be very cautious of websites claiming you can easily find work as a general transcriptionist without training: that is not the whole truth. You might be able to “do” transcription without training, but no one can do anything WELL without the proper training and practice.
Yes, there are certain skills you may already possess that will help greatly — the ability to type fast is a must — but transcription involves much more than typing.
Here’s just a handful of things you need to know to perform excellent work as a transcriptionist:
- How to format a transcript for each type of transcription (there’s more than one!)
- What “time coding” is and how to use it correctly
- When to use an em dash and when to use an ellipsis
- How to properly notate sections with poor audio
And then there’s knowing how to market yourself well, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Just know that marketing yourself as a transcriptionist without training will almost certainly guarantee failure. Excellent transcriptionists get hired again and again — and those who take the time to learn, earn!
Secret #2: They are Savvy Marketers
You’ve got to get the word out about your services. This can involve social media, building a website, SEO tactics, applying to various job sites, transcription companies, and lots more. Having excellent marketing skills can increase your exposure to potential clients AND skyrocket your earning potential.
Not a marketer? No problem! The type of marketing needed for transcription is NOT the same as the tactics used in multi-level marketing (yuck!).
Successful savvy marketers realize one thing: they have something worth sharing — their skills! Remember: people and businesses need your skills. Changing your perspective on how you approach marketing can really help boost your confidence and increase your chances for success. Instead of approaching marketing from a salesperson’s standpoint, try to approach it as someone who is providing a needed service — one that is worth good pay.
Secret #3: They Know Where to Find Higher-Paying Gigs
To get higher-paying work, you need to seek it out. Working for big-box companies doesn’t involve a lot of business-to-business marketing, though.
Many people stick with “big box” transcription companies that pay peanuts and end up quitting, frustrated they can’t make it worth the time spent. Thing is — and almost no one talks about this — in our digital world where almost everything is audio and video, there is a lot of transcription work out there that’s not offered by the big transcription companies, but you have to be skilled and confident enough to seek it out. Otherwise, the poor pay from the bigger companies will severely restrict your earning potential — so much so, you’ll probably quit.
Knowing where to find the jobs that aren’t easily found by the untrained eye can really be the difference between peanuts and payday!
If you want to make up to $60/hr, you must attend a FREE work at home workshop here. Caitlin Pyle, multi-millionaire work at home mentor will show you how to work from home as a proofreader and makeup to $60/hr! HEAD HERE to begin your work-at-home career.
The post Transcription Jobs from Home – How I Made Money and Quit My 9 to 5 Job appeared first on How We Make Money Online .
* This article was originally published here
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