A Day in The Life of a Virtual Assistant with Children

Trish Donmall owns Conor's Admin Services.
Here she chats about running her business AND having children.

A Day in The Life of a Virtual Assistant with Children

 

I often hear people say that they want to work from home to spend more time with their children, then when they do they are discouraged as the “extra” time they have at home doesn't always turn into more family time. I know there are quite a few out there that will relate to this.

 

 

Translation / Transcription and the rates

We had this query on our Facebook page this morning:

Good heavens it is not easy to find a guide as to pricing for transcriptions! :) Not sure you can help, I have been asked to transcribe Afrikaans focus group discussions into English but don't know how to charge. Someone suggested the going rate is R100 for 100 words, that is R1/word. Is that roughly what people are charging? Thanks a lot!

This is the answer I provided:

Hi Ewald. Thanks for the question. To me R1/word is a good rate for TRANSLATION. But when a client makes this type of query, essentially they need to be educated that transcription and translation are two different things. First, you're going to need to transcribe the Afrikaans, and then you're going to need to TRANSLATE it into English. You can possibly do the translation as you transcribe, but that then will take longer than plain transcription. So you're going to need to charge a translation rate as well as a transcription rate. I would consider then having the transcript proofread, or at least proofreading yourself - as it's easy to make grammatical errors or type sentences that don't read smoothly when working this way. I hope this helps and give me a yell if you need any further help.

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The paperless office

Good morning all. I was having a thought this morning about the concept of 'the paperless office'. At the beginning of my career in the mid 90s, this was something that was on the tip of everyone's tongue. We all thought that with the mass advent of computers in the business world, there would be no more need for paper. 'The paperless office' was a thing a lot of people went around discussing.

Today, though, it doesn't seem to have occurred. At least, not in my office. What about yours? I seem to need a paper trail as much as I did back in those days. It's not for want of trying. I've tried to file things on my computer, and of course, I do. But computers crash, you switch hard drives, etc, etc, and things get lost. So I sit with my trusty old files, and I feel like there's something better I should be doing, something kinder to the environment. The point is though, how do we do a paperless office that is also kind to the environment? Are disks, cloud servers, hard drives, flash drives, etc, any kinder to the environment than the production of paper - paper, which at some point in the future will return to ashes, whether I recycle it or by the simple passage of time will decay?

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it.



I'd love your comments on this.

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Business Processes and Procedures

This is a very quick post just to catch you up with how we are... I can't believe this year is already into April. In any case, this year - as in all the other years - it's been business, business, business, for us. We've had a couple of things going on - some major projects, a revamp in a few systems and things like that, and a jacking up of processes and procedures.

I think it's all the more important for a scatty person to ensure that they are as systematic as possible. If you're scatty and you let your systems and procedures go, you're going to get into a big mess. Even if you are not scatty, and you fall into this trap, things will become chaotic. And the last thing you can afford in a small business is to have chaos. Chaos within your own business will probably lead to your valued clients thinking you are chaotic too, and not utilising your services. Hardly a winning situation. So, as hard as it might be, keep your systems and procedures in place.

Every now and again, it's worth having another look at the way you're doing things. Are things 100% by the book? Are you keeping up to speed with what's going on in the back end of your business?

Keep on top of it, and you will see that it pays off in the end.

And efficiency is the kind of communication image you want to impart to your client.





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Express Scribe and the Blasted "Done File"

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I had a question today and got a great answer from Trish at Conors Admin, so I thought I would share it for you.

Hi guys.

I’m using Express Scribe Pro v5.5 with Windows 8.

In the old versions of Express Scribe there used to be a place where it stored the ‘Done’ Files. I can’t find it with this one. I can only find a piece in the software itself where it talks of recovered files, I’ve cleared those.

Reason I’m asking is my Express Scribe seems to be getting a little unresponsive, and I think I need to clear it.

Is there still a ‘done’ folder somewhere on my hard drive?

Answer:


Hi Gaynor

I'm on Win7 and Scribe 5.01 and had a similar problem recently. I went into the settings in Scribe and on the Disk Sage tab there was a path for the data folder. Which in my case was c:\users\me\appdata\roaming\nch swift sound\scribe

Trish

email and website down

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Everybody please note my company email address and website are still down. Have asked but not had any reply as to when they might be up again. Very stressful but for business please email me on gaynorpay@gmail.com for now. Thank you

The Work At Home Woman

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Hey all.

I got interviewed by The Work At Home Woman - thank you so much, guys!!

Click here to read the interview.

I’ve been running my transcription and typing service since April 2005.
But let me go back to the start. I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, really. I’ve always been able to think for myself and been quite independent. I have worked for bosses, but I’m not a good employee – I’m far better as an independent thinker.

Click here to read more.

Getting and giving interviews is an excellent way to get your name out there, and if you have a blog you would like to interview me on, or if you would like to feature in an interview on my blog, please email me

. 

What the world needs now...

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What the world needs now is principled people, people who can love, people who can stand up against wrongs, stand up for what's right, who can forgive, forget, if you believe in God, then try to live in the image of that God. What the world needs now is love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfOcqlFkQvw

What have I learnt in business this year

Alison Fourie of AMF Typing shared this post earlier on today. We thought it was very interesting and beneficial.

The one thing I have learnt in business this year, and I think it’s because I have been more aware of it this year than before, is that I never stop learning, I’ve built my skills up nicely this year to be even more of a benefit to my clients. Everyone thinks typing is just typing. It’s not, I’ve improved my word processing skills considerably. I’ve taken the time to learn the little things in word, powerpoint etc, my graphics skills have improved a lot. I build graphics which I’ve no idea how to do, yet when finished my efforts are sometimes pretty good and can match a graphic designer, so I’m told. I’ve really been an asset to my clients and my clients have shown appreciation of that so it is worthwhile to go the extra mile


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Word Association

Today we decided to have a little fun by playing word association on my Facebook page.

Word association is simple. You type a word, and I type the first one that comes to mind. It's a great way to interact with likers on a non intellectual / thinking way.  It's great and interesting to see what the first word people come up with is.

 Play with us here

A word game is a good thing for a typing service to do. Transcribing all day long / proofreading / editing, words are what we do. It's nice to have a bit of fun with them too.

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Small Busines Marketing

Marketing Your Small Business 

Hi all.

This is just a quick post to remind you how important it is that you go and market your services on a regular basis. Even if you're incredibly busy with your business, you need to keep up your marketing activities. The reason for this is that you might be busy now, but it's because of marketing work you did months ago. So the marketing work you do now is what's going to keep you busy in coming months. 

Saying that, you don't need to spend a great deal on marketing, particularly in our type of industry. Too often I see too many businesses going crazy and spending too much.  They go out and buy all the bells and whistles, hundreds of T shirts and pens and brochures and banners, etc. etc. Personally I have never believed too much in the flashy bits and pieces of marketing. You need a solid website, business cards, maybe some vehicle branding, Facebook and social media. And then to go and list it all on different business directories. 

Howzit! is a brilliant place to go and advertise your services or any of your classifieds. Unlike most other services like this they allow you to bump up your ads every day. http://www.howzit.co.za/

Remember that you can purchase my ebook - Working From Home as A Transcriptionist in South Africa. 

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Digital Voice Recorder: Which do I need?

Audio recording: When you are planning to record interviews that you know are going to be transcribed or which you would like to store on your computer, make sure that you buy a device that allows this functionality. Cheaper voice recorders do not allow this.  You are looking for a device which employs functionality like this:
Record in MP3 or PCM or WMA

Rapidly transfer recordings and data via USB 2.0
USB powered recording for sparing battery power
Front speaker for crystal-clear voice playback
The more powerful front speaker offers a potent, rich and crystal clear sound experience.
Large, easy-to-read backlit display which allows you to view all file info at a glance

This is going to save you time and money.

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Audio File formats working on Express Scribe

Hi all. I received this question regarding transcription and decided to answer it on my blog. 

Question: "I definitely want to include transcription as a service later on in my business.  I am in the process of learning and reading all there is about transcription.

I would say the best way to get into it all would be to actually do transcription exercises by transcribing from audio files that you load onto Express Scribe.

Now that is where my problem starts.  The only thing I can get loaded on Express Scribe is songs from a CD.  Now when I try to load a voice recording that was recorded with a cellular phone ( Samsung Galaxy Note) , and then emailed to me, I can not seem to get it loaded.  It says "the 3ga format is not supported by Express Scribe".

Either I am trying to load voice recordings that can not be loaded on Express Scribe, or I am going about this all wrong.

Is there certain software I need to make audio files like voice recordings able to load onto Express Scribe?  I probably need to save the voice recordings as another type of file or I do not know!  Could it be that it must be voice recordings from certain devices other than a cellular phone?  I do not know what I must do to get it right as I do not even know what I`m doing wrong.  I am really eager to do this!

Please can you give me some advice on this matter?  It would be greatly appreciated!"

Hi there. I think the basic answer to this is that Express Scribe is not compatible with all file formats.  See here to see which ones they are compatible with.  The paid or pro version of Express Scribe can play more formats than the free one can. 

However, all is not lost. One of my favourite programs is a free download called Any Audio Converter. It can also be a bit of a misnomer, as it does NOT convert ANY audio and I actually think that 3ga is one of the ones it doesn't do. But it does convert most of them into formats that can be played with the free Express Scribe. However, that doesn't really answer your question.  So here's what does. The internet is our friend. It tells us the answer to most things, including how to get 3ga converted to MP3, which works in Express Scribe. See this link, the author of which has found the solution to your particular problem: http://www.blinkycab.com/forum/index.php?topic=819.0

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What to do during maternity

This question came in from a transcriptionist this morning. Interesting one, answers? (I have removed her email but will forward comments) Morning Ladies (and Gents – not sure?)

I am in a bit of a predicament.  I am having my third baby end April.  Even now, finding the time to work is a huge mission.  You other work at home moms must know what I’m on about.  So do I close down altogether?  Or do I find a handful of typists to assist me until I get back on my feet.  I don’t really want to close down altogether, this company is very close to my heart.  

So ... I am looking for a handful of people that I can try out until the end of the year.   I will proof read everything that is done for me, for a while, but then I’m hoping by the time baby comes, I shouldn’t have to proof read at all, because by then it’s done the way I want it.    I will give them a full set of instructions on how I set out my transcripts and any other rules etc to help them along.

So ... after all that, are there any ladies out there looking for more work?  If you are interested, could you send me a bit of a CV, nothing formal.  Some references would be great too.  Also your rates – urgent and standard.

Thanks for taking the time out to read this.   I hope to hear from some of you soon.  You may mail me directly at the below email address.

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Transcription and typing services Johannesburg

WE SPECIALISE IN TRANSCRIPTION, TYPING, SOCIAL MEDIA, WRITING, PROOFREADING AND ALL OTHER BUSINESS ADMIN SERVICES! BOOKKEEPING / ACCOUNTING SOLUTION PROVIDED

Contact us: gaynor@typewritetranscription.co.za / +27834424689 / Fax 0880116155633

Please follow our blog and we encourage you to share our posts as guest posts on your blog as long as you link back to us.

And you know when Mari Smith talks to us AGAIN we are getting places!

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Non-traditional Marketing

Today I would like to talk briefly about offline marketing or non traditional marketing. I must admit that when I started my business in 2005, and for many years thereafter, I marketed entirely online. And this works great. Initially, I used my website, this blog, my Facebook business page (when it became available), submitted to directories like Gumtree, etc, etc. It was a 24 hour job to get my name out there, and I didn't rest, doing it night after night while I had my full time job, and day and night after night after I began doing it full time.

However, last year a friend of mine started his own business and I followed his progress with interest, noting his style of marketing his business offline. He went the whole hog getting Tshirts done, pens and other corporate products made. I don't necessarily advocate this type of approach when your business is going to be mainly online, but it does depend on the type of service you offer and how big your company is going to be.

At that stage I remembered that I HAD done some offline marketing in my time of starting the business. I printed notices, brochures, etc and distributed them at all the local shopping centres including pinning them up on notice boards. I walked the streets of our suburb flat distributing brochures and telling people what I did.

Last year however on the back of my friend promoting his business, I entered into a barter agreement with a local printing company and had them print brochures for me. These I hand out EVERYWHERE.

What do you do for your offline marketing activities?

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Santa Shoebox

Hey everybody, 

There are many people who would like to give a little extra at Christmas but don't know how. It's not easy to get to a place to drop off donations, or you don't know specific organisations or places or people to give to, or you need a little direction. 

The Santa Shoebox project needs your help. And it's also something your company can do .... to fill that corporate social investment need. 

The Santa Shoebox Project is an inspiring community initiative of the Kidz2Kidz Trust (IT2671/2009, PBO 930031301 Section18A NPO 102-098) that co-ordinates the donation, collection and distribution of personalized gifts at Christmas time to underprivileged children across South Africa and Namibia. 

Participating is a profoundly valuable and personal experience with each donor selecting the child he or she chooses to pledge a Santa Shoebox for by name, gender and age. 

 

They have 85,000 boxes pledged and they need to get to 100,000. We can't have some children not receiving anything while their friends do. Get to it!! Typewrite Transcription is fully in support of this initiative and salutes the Santa Shoebox organisers. Please remember to like us on Facebook and follow the blog. You are more than welcome to reference our material or follow our blog but please link back to us.

Business Communication

Good morning all, this is a very quick post but it's about communication particularly in a business scenario.

Communication done well is a very effective business tool, and done badly, it can be dangerous. With all the forms of media both online and offline that are at our disposal today, it's very important to get our message across in an effective, concise and clear way, particularly if we are using it for business purposes.

My short and brief rule of thumb that I tell clients is the following: Use your website for static things that don't change much like your contact details and your about us page. Use your blog for longer things that you want to communicate like new products, industry norms and standards, information you want to share. Use your Facebook page for day to day things and to engage your fanbase in conversation. And then, link them all together and ensure that they all impart the same sort of general feel.

This post was inspired by a very ambiguous communication I received this morning, about concert tickets which left me wondering whether the person had them, wanted them or couldn't stand them!

I have research interviews to transcribe today so I'm out of here - have a great day all!  Please remember to click through my site and get in touch if you need my services.  Please follow our blog and like us on Facebook

Available job

Minute takers in Johannesburg sought for the end of this week. Please contact client direct - I don't know any more about this job and don't have time to answer questions :-) Levison 0764946941

RSS directories for Search Engine Optimisation

Hi guys, I've discovered something new.

 Part of what is needed to get websites seen by search engines is backlinks and the quality of your site rating. I tested my site rating and found it wasn't as high as I'd like it to be. I then discovered that there is a whole aspect of something I haven't been doing - submitting my RSS feed of my blog to directories. Apparently by doing this I'll vastly increase my backlinks and I should get quality ones as well. This is how you find your RSS feed for your blog (assuming you use blogger) http://blogname.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss You can use this to do some free automatic submissions for you. What this means is that people will be able to visit these directories, find your site or other sites they are interested in and have your site's feed turn up on their homepage or on their own site.. so keep updating your blogs.