How to Get Started - Transcription Services

Description of Job

• Transcribe taped or digitally recorded memos, notes, and manuscripts to a computer file or printout.
• Perform basic spell-checking and editing on files.

The Need

Many professionals, including lawyers, doctors, researchers, corporate executives, and authors, prefer to dictate notes, letters, and drafts of articles, speeches, and books. Corporate and government committees often seek transcripts of meetings. Academic institutions may want a transcript of a speech.

It often makes economic sense to hire a professional transcription service for temporary or project-based work.

Challenges

You need a good set of ears, a fast pair of hands, and the ability to work with clients in technical, academic, governmental, and other specialties. For instance, transcription for a doctor would include medical words and phrases; lawyers use legal and court terms and special forms of citation for cases and law.

The good news is that a number of tools are available to help you perform work in specialty fields. You can purchase medical, legal, or technical dictionaries, and electronic add-ons can expand spell-checkers in word processors to cover specialized terms.

You will need to have equipment capable of working with different types of media, including microcassettes, full-size cassettes, and digital memory. Most word processing software, including industry leader Microsoft Word, is able to accept or output files to or from most other programs.

Most businesses use PC equipment; a relatively small number of companies use Apple Macintosh hardware. In most cases, both types of machines are capable of reading data files from each other. One way to transfer your files without having to worry about converting from one type of media to another is to send them electronically over the Internet.

Know the Territory

Begin by becoming an expert on the use of a computer word processor, electronic fact-checking and spell-checking software, and the Internet. You’ll also need to become completely comfortable with the use of a transcriber, a specialized machine that allows you to control the playback of a tape or memory with a foot pedal; a good machine includes settings that allow you to speed up or slow down playback, adjust the amount of backspacing, and change the tone of the audio to make it clearer.

Some professionals add speech-recognition software to their bag of tricks.

This sort of program is capable of recognizing speech and converting it to text on a computer; the conversion is not perfect and requires a human to edit the files.

Your next assignment is to get to know the market. You’ll have the greatest success in an area that includes businesses, colleges, and professionals.

How to Get Started

Make yourself and your availability known to the business and professional community in your area. Contact local chambers of commerce and associations and ask for leads; consider placing ads in their publications. Do the same at area colleges; post notices in student centers, faculty lounges, and place ads in college newspapers offering your services to professors and students.

Speak with the town or city manager and ask about needs for transcription of governmental meetings.

Send letters to corporations, legal firms, and physicians in your area.

Ask friends and relatives whether they know of area authors or researchers who might need transcription services.

Up-front Expenses

You will need a professional-quality transcription machine; the most common format uses microcassettes, but you may need to buy several machines to handle tapes or digital memory that use other types of media. Machines range in price from about $200 to $400.

You will also need a current personal computer that runs a major word processor such as Microsoft Word, plus a professional-quality printer. If you plan to accept digital files over the Internet or send your completed transcripts that way, you will need access to the Internet.

Other expenses include advertising and promotion.

How Much to Charge

Charge by the hour for services at the prevailing professional rate in your area, which might range from about $15 to $40 per hour. Add a surcharge for rush jobs or work that must be performed over the weekend.

You can also add charges for floppy disks or CD-ROMs you provide to the client, plus a reasonable charge for each printed page of the final product.

If you are required to travel to an office, add a mileage charge. Add the cost of postage or courier service if used to deliver the work.

Legal and Insurance Issues

Special notes: In dealing with your client’s property, seek to limit your liability for damage or loss to the actual replacement value of items in your possession.