J is for Just Do It

Over the years I have dealt with countless wannabe transcriptionists who for whatever reason just don't actually start working as a transcriptionist. They come up with so many excuses that in the end I don't actually believe they want to do it. JUST DO IT.

I'll never forget the case of one, (whose name I won't mention), who STILL hasn't started as one and she first approached me years ago.

What equipment do I need?
- a computer
- the internet
- some speakers and headphones

What courses can I take?
- If you can type, then you don't really need a course, unless you want to me a medical transcriptionist then -
- take a medical transcription course.
- Worthwhile but not NECESSARY to take a course in computers or business management

How do I start?
- Advertise, and start. In other words, JUST DO IT!

Can you send me files to practice with?
- No. The files I have belong to my clients and are confidential.

Where can I get files to practice with?
- From the internet.

Will you check them for me?
- Maybe. Well, actually, no, not unless you're going to pay me for my time.

Either you want to do it or you don't, and the best practice is when you're actually working for a client. So - literally - JUST DO IT!


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I is for Initiative - and also for Listen to Instructions

Initiative

Use some.. call it thinking creatively, thinking out of the box, etc etc, you have to use your initiative if you are going to be successful in the virtual world. It's about being proactive, not reactive. You don't need anyone to succeed, other than yourself.

I get so frustrated with people, especially new transcriptionists or VAs, or can't or don't show any initiative. Seriously, folks, if you don't have any, or can't think for yourself, then don't become a VA or a transcriptionist. In our line of work, you need to be able to think on your feet all the time. I don't mind at all helping newbie transcriptionists or VAs who ask intelligent questions and use their own imaginations. I do get tired of it when people ask me the same question over and over, don't do the things I suggest or cannot seem to think for themselves. After all, my time is money as well, and I don't charge for mentorship although sometimes I think I should. Some experienced VAs do. However, the fact is as long as you're willing to help yourself, I'll help you when you have questions where I can and there may come a time when I need to ask you for something as well. So there it is - show initiative, and we'll get on fine, and you'll get on fine in your business too.

You've got to be able to think how to handle a job, how to market, what to do next. You always have to be one step ahead of the game. If you're part of the pack, and not a leader, it's going to be hard for you to make a success at this kind of work.

Even once you've been doing it for a while, it's possible to slip a bit with your mental attitude and your thinking - and suddenly you find yourself back in the pack. This can often be when you are tired or ill, and a bit under the weather. The difference between a leader and a follower, however, is that the leader realises he's slipped and regains the lead, by thinking creatively.

Instructions

The other thing I want to make mention of is Listen To Instructions. Can't highlight that enough. Listen to Instructions. If my client passes me instructions and I pass them on to you as my subcontractor, or if I have my own set of rules and regulations and I'm the client, you need to pay attention to the instructions I give. Nothing more annoying than outsourcing a job to someone and then they send the work back and all the work's been formatted wrongly, the wrong form of words have been used, the wrong titles have been used, etc etc.

The best is to question the client until you are satisfied you know what they really want. No client minds being questioned a lot - in the knowledge that they are going to get a good quality product at the end of the day.

But, if at the end of a job, the client realises you haven't paid any attention at all to what they've been telling you, then they will probably either dock you pay or not use you again.

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H is for Hard Work.

This one's pretty easy. H is for Hard Work. When you work for yourself, you work harder than you've ever worked before. Look at me now. I work 10 - 12 hour days, yet I know that marketing is a crucial part of what we do too, so here I am putting in an extra bit of work by writing a blog post.

Working for yourself is Hard Work. I always laugh when people tell me they're going to do what I do so that they can have more time with their children. I've done this since 2005, and I can tell you that I spent more time with my children pre Typewrite Transcription, when I had an 8 - 5 office job. My children are 15 and 13 now and they've practically raised themselves. So if you think you're going to spend more time with your children, this is not for you.

Firstly, you need to be working at least 8 hours a day. So for example if you're busy with work that takes you three hours to complete, make sure the other five are filled with things that will be productive towards creating more income. Marketing, admin, improving processes, invoicing. Once you keep yourself on focus, you'll find that your 8 hours and more are filled every day, and pretty soon, those 8 hours (and more) will be filled with actual work, and you'll be wondering when you're going to find time to do blogs, admin, invoices, etc, etc.

That's about all there is to it, really. You're here to WORK. Work at homers often come up against prejudices. Those who work in offices sometimes seem to think that we aren't really working. Well, we are. Probably more than you, because.. yes, we don't commute. We get up, see the kids and hubby off, and then ... don't spend any time in the car, we go straight to the office, and work. We don't knock off at 5 and drive home, we knock off at 6 or 7, or not at all.  There have been so many times that I've sat down to work, thought to myself that in an hour or two I'd go and get breakfast - and then turned around and it's 2pm and I haven't had breakfast OR lunch.

H is for Hard Work.

I will allow that maybe there is a bit more flexibility - I can for example stop and go and fetch my son from school, and he can stay home from school when he's ill without it being a problem, although there are some days I wish I could get a tutor for my boys to help with homework - I have fleeting thoughts of maybe they aren't getting enough input from me. In fact, I know they aren't, and too many are the times when I've chased them out the office because I have a crazy deadline.

So if you don't want to work hard, and want to have a half day job or spend time with your children, this isn't going to work for you. If you're prepared to give almost your every waking moment to getting it off the ground, then you can do it.

I'm repeating this title over and over. H is for Hard work. H is for Hard Work.  And one more, for luck. H is for Hard Work.

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G is for Gaynor

That is me! Gaynor Paynter, the owner of this business, the one who together with Alison Fourie started TAVASA, and the one who also runs the Pop Speaking site.

By now many of you have been following my blogs while I complete this challenge and I thought I'd like to share a little something about myself.

So then.. here it is!

My name is Gaynor Paynter and I'm the owner of my own transcription business. I'm a mom of two teenage boys, and a wife. I live in South Africa but believe that with the internet the world is our oyster. I've always had a fascination with popular culture, the stars, the media, and celebdom in general. I'm also kinda retro so a lot of stuff you'll see here will come from years gone by, but I appreciate the talents and qualities of today's celebs too. I co present on a radio show at Radio Today Johannesburg, and you should check it out cos we've got some awesome guests lined up. In my spare time, I'm a wannabe novelist. I've got a heart and mind for community and I serve on my Ward Committee. This is the reason why from time to time you're gonna see some causes mentioned and supported on here. I believe we must use the resources we have to do whatever good we can. And I run my own transcription business - I've been doing it since 2005. It's had its ups and downs, that's for sure. I've flirted with the idea of going back to the office and went back to one for a month in 2012. It didn't work. I never worked well in an office. I like to call my own shots and do my own thing. And I find that my ideas and the boss' clash and we don't work that well together. LOL. Besides, I like what I do. I like the variety of the daily tasks I do. For example, today I've worked on a project about Oliver Tambo, typed up an arbitration report and now I'm busy typing a religious book. I'm a mish mash of everything. I'm interested in everything, I find that most things have something to like about them.

F is for Finance and for Facebook.

Finances

I must admit that one of the reasons I finally decided on a virtual business was for financial reasons - I already had a computer, printer and the internet! What more do you need? In the beginning, I couldn't even afford to pay for webhosting, so for a long time I used a freebie site, and I did ALL of my marketing online. I still do for the most part, and I've been running  Typewrite Transcription since 2005.

Firstly, I created a website. I've been through various hosts, but currently (and to stay, as it's not a good idea to keep changing domain names) my website is at Typewrite Transcription.  and even now, it's the only form of marketing I pay for on a regular basis. On an ad hoc basis, I do things like brochure drops - I did a barter agreement with one of the printing companies and had 5,000 brochures made, which the post office distributed into boxes for me at 10c a brochure.

I haven't had to lay out any capital to start the business. Obviously as years go by, you upgrade equipment, buy new things, etc, and as the business grows, you sub contract. I started out doing all my books myself, which I soon discovered wasn't a very good idea - I'm useless at accounting and maths and the greater complexities of SARS etc elude me. So I've outsourced that and the small monthly cost I pay is well worth it to have FIGG Excel Accounting Services do my books (So F is for Figg, too) 

E is for the Edward Chamberlain-Bell Show..from the wind beneath your wings

I had a chance to be on the Edward Chamberlain-Bell Show on Saturday 25 January. It was a huge honour for me.

I want to say a huge thank you to Edward for inviting me on his show. It was a lot of fun and gave me a good opportunity to get the word out about our industry and answer some of his and his co-host Laura's questions.

So please have a listen in here - my part on the show starts at 00:30.

I was pretty nervous going in to this show. I am not sure why as I've been interviewed before and I also conduct interviews sometimes. But I guess this was just a big opportunity, because The Edward Chamberlain-Bell show is ALWAYS very informative for small business and it's a show which has pretty fast made its mark in local radio and is only going to get bigger. It was great to be on there and get the chance to yak about our industry, my business and the virtual world in general - without having to be the one thinking about the questions.

One of the questions centred around the biggest challenge in the industry, and I had to say that it was fear. Not only because fear was the first thing on my mind at the time. But because it really is true. I think we all have fears, and it can be crippling. You can get that blind fear that doesn't allow you to do anything. But the thing is that if you really want to achieve something, you've got to try to look past that fear and picture where you might be after you've gone past the fear and done the thing you wanted to do anyway.

The Edward Chamberlain-Bell Show team aim to help you live your best life ever this year. If you've already forgotten your New Year's resolutions, they've got a painful reminder to keep you on your toes this year, and they're going to keep reminding you until you can also say you're living the best life you've ever had. You're allowed to fail but you're also encouraged to be your best.

Ed calls me the wind beneath his wings because I do social media and podcasting for Radio Today Johannesburg, which includes his show. That's a pretty nice accolade to have and it's a fun gig to have too, because it allows me that teensy weensy bit of creativity which I also mention in the show. Working in our field one can tend to get a little bogged down, so it's nice, and important, to give freedom to your creative side every once in a while.  This is also how the interview opportunity has come about - Ed and I have got to know each other through this and he was so taken by me he decided to have me on the show and I know he's going to read this which is why I'm stoking him a little. LOL :-)

Edward agrees, forget about those resolutions for 2014, and be true to who YOU are and what makes the U in YOU happy! And that is what I think too.

The Edward Chamberlain-Bell Show is broadcast on Saturdays from 12h00 to 13h00 (GMT+2).

Radio Today (@Radio2Day) broadcasts on 1485 AM in Johannesburg and country-wide on DStv audio channel 869. Stream: www.1485.org.za/ and 1485.mobi. Follow Ed on Twitter @thewordofed.

Next up for me - break the TV barrier. I've never been on TV and I want to be, so I'm looking for opportunities.

Please share this blog if you have enjoyed it, and follow me on Google Friend connect and / or on Twitter @TypewriteSA or on Facebook  I can learn from you, too. I would really value comments and input from you on this post and I always try to follow back. Many thanks for taking the time to read this. Tweet

D is for Dusting and Domestic Work and those other things we Don't get to do...

... when we're running our own businesses. Look in South Africa we as business owners we are very spoiled. If business is doing well, we employ domestic workers (traditionally known as maids). Some people in other countries tell us this is a class thing, a way of keeping people down, etc, etc. Well, there are laws around it, and domestic work is a big form of employment of people who may not be employable in other ways. The unemployment situation here is dire, and by hiring domestic workers we are helping the situation. Anyway the fact of the matter is that many of us do have domestic workers and so for 11 months out of 12 we are sorted. The problem comes in in December when most domestic workers go back to the homelands, or on days where they may be sick or affected by problems out of their control such as strikes.

When I'm busy, I'm working 12 - 18 hour days, and house cleaning is the last thing I feel like doing. It's the last thing I feel like doing at any given day or time, but it has to be done. Nobody likes living in dirt. Come December time, and you're still busy at work, and the housework piles up and up, things can get interesting. Suddenly in addition to the 12 million things you've got to do, you've got to sweep, vacuum, dust, do dishes, clean bathrooms and kitchens. Now I've never tried the excuse, but I can't see my clients liking it if I say "I'm running late, the dishes are piled to the ceiling."

C is for Client Care.

Customer Care, Client Service, Service Delivery, call it what you want, it's about looking after those who pay you, and in South Africa, and I fear the rest of Africa too, it's sadly lacking for the most part.

In my book Working From Home as a Transcriptionist in South Africa, I've dedicated an entire section to obtaining and keeping customers. As a small business owner, you've probably put a lot of work into obtaining your customers. If you haven't, you should be, but that's a whole other topic. But many people seem to think that once they've got the customer, they can stop putting work into retaining them. That's where many small businesses fall down and it contributes to the reason why many such businesses fail.

Once you've got the customer, you need to work on keeping them. For the purposes of this post I'm going to focus on the virtual industry, as opposed to retail or anything like that. So you've got your customer, and they decide they're going to use your services.

There are a few basics a virtual service provider should keep in mind in order to keep that customer they've worked so hard for.

B is for Back to Basics

Sometimes in business, life happens. You get busy, you run out of steam, you get overwhelmed, you get tired. That flooded, drowning feeling can be very hard to cope with. I had it a lot when my children were little. I'd get so very envious of my sister in law, who had my inlaws running hook line and sinker around her kids and my hubby and I were just about the only support we had for our own two. It's a bit better now that they're older, but there are still days when there is just no room to move, or breathe.

A is for Africa

Hi all, and welcome to the new year, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year celebrations. Hope that it may be a great and successful new year for you all!

I am taking part in the VA Tips and Tricks Blogging Challenge whereby we write a post twice weekly working through the alphabet from A to Z. I'll be doing the challenge across two blogs, this one and Pop Speaking, so for the other posts that make up the series, e, head on over there.

I live and work in South Africa, and I thought that to start with, Africa would be a good subject as I'm not sure how many of the others taking part in the challenge live or work in Africa, or what they know about it. It's a good topic to introduce myself to you with.

Is South Africa falling off the planet?

Is South Africa falling off the planet?

This might sound like a strange thing to say. But I've been going through business directories making sure my business is listed, and listing it where it isn't, where possible. And most of these sites ask you to state the country you're from.

And fairly often, I've found that it gives as options countries like America, Britain, France, Australia. And no South Africa.

I'm never sure what to do in this case. Often it also asks you for your postal code. I don't have an alternate address in another country. If I did, I'd probably live at it.

Luckily, my services are global and I can usually 'fool' the site into thinking I'm in the States. Sometimes not, sometimes it's too clever for me. And it's supposed to be a global directory. And this line of action is more problematic when you're trying to sell a product which is specifically relevant to our own country. So.. what does one do? I'm not really a patient person and I'm not very interested in writing to people to ask them to include SA, on the off chance that they may reply and may be able to include me. Probably it's some software they themselves have picked up and they don't have much say over it.

It's made me wonder why South Africa isn't included. What's the criteria of these lists? That they are first world countries? That the economy of the place performs to a certain standard? In any case, more and more often, I'm finding we're not there - and it makes me think we're falling off the planet.

Working during Christmas

Hey all.  This is basically just to let you know that I will be around during the Christmas period (feel free to comment and let me know if you too will be working during the holiday season).

I've got a few things in the new year I'm looking forward to - the continuation of a job with one of my favourite clients who do the most interesting documentaries, some work for an American attorney and The VA Blogging Challenge which will involve a bunch of VAs and transcriptionists from all over the world blogging on subjects ranging from A - Z throughout the year.

I'm also busy with my new blog Pop Speaking which centres around popular culture, interviews and giving exposure to celebrity causes. It explores closely the idea that there is a golden thread of humanity which runs through us all. I have some amazing interviews on there already and there are some phenomenal ones coming up with Daniel Baron, The J9 Foundation (Joost van der Westhuizen) and Chris Mann who is a leading authority on popular culture.

I'm also busy updating my ebook - Working From Home as A Transcriptionist in South Africa - for 2014. New version will be on sale in early 2014.

I want to wish clients, virtual assistants and transcriptionists a merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Business Blogging

I'm busy doing some fairly extensive work on my blog going through old posts, linking them up, making sure they're still relevant, etc, etc. I've added some pages to the blog to link up articles under concise headings so that you can easily go there and find what you're looking for. So I thought I'd write a quick post about the importance of blogging. 

Someone wrote a comment the other day, saying "I wish I had time to blog, I'm working on my business since 4am to 7pm" or whatever the time was. Now, personal blogging, I can understand. Don't have a lot of time for that myself. But when you're a business owner, I see having a business blog as an essential part of the business. It just is that way. It's the space where you can write your experiences, get others to share their experiences, and of course it's a marketing tool. Every piece of content you write is a bit of something that is going to go out into cyber space and be associated with you. And it's of interest to other transcriptionists, and to clients who may want to find something out about you before they employ you. It shows your longevity, your expertise, whether you can write or spell - the list goes on. Everything you find time for, or don't, depends on how much you prioritise what you're trying to do. And I think that blogging is an essential part of any small business's marketing plan. 

You don't have to blog every day, or about everything. In fact, don't blog if you don't have anything to say. That can be detrimental to your reputation. But in business, there is a lot to say, and a lot of people out there who can benefit from it. So share your expertise and share things you want clients of your industry to know. There's a lot of people in the transcription or virtual assistant field who can really benefit from the expertise of others, and it's great to educate potential clients for the benefit of us all.

Related link - my celebrity / pop culture blog

John Ritter - RIP 1948 - 11 Sept 2003.

Something strange has happened to me. I've become a fan of someone 10 years after he passed away. I'm a stargazer. I love my celebrities. But this one's different. In the past I've always become a fan of a person in their lifetime.

I'm talking about JOHN RITTER.

I always LIKED John Ritter. But to be honest, I didn't know that much about him, I'd seen him in Problem Child and I remembered that he'd been in Three's Company. And I was sad when I heard he died, specially since we were just beginning to get into 8 Simple Rules. But while I was old enough to remember Three's Company being shown on TV, I wasn't old enough to have got any of the jokes.

Fast forward to last month when I began watching episodes of it and I instantly irrevocably became a fan of both the show and of John. I think the reason I went looking for stuff to laugh at was that I'd forgotten to laugh, forgotten to live with a bit of humour - financial constraints, health issues, living in a stressful city... it all added up to a not very fun-filled me. I needed something to giggle at, and I found it. I've watched episodes of Three's Company every night since, and I've had a belly laugh in EVERY single episode. (I hope the neighbours have ear muffs :-) )

Marketing a Business in the DRC

I received this query today and I thought I'd share my reply here with you.

I'm humbled to have met you online trough our FB friend xxxx 
I've just moved to DRC and I'm trying to bring a wealth fashion concept to a marketing illiterate nation
I will be importing some fashion clothing and jewellery from Dubai and/or China to sale up here in Eastern DRC.
I have a lot of friends from this region and myself grew in South Africa. What I need to know from you is, how can I get all my facebook friends living there and abroad to talks about my business?
How can I turn to facebook to ignite a sleeping marketing to my advantage?
Or, should I say I can I best advertise my business online?

Transcription Service Providers

 There are some things to consider when you as a client or business owner are looking for a transcription service provider. This article assumes that you know the basics when it comes to getting something transcribed - have recorded a good, clear quality recording and are able to get it to your service provider.

1. Content.
What type of transcript is it that you need done? Is the content medical, legal or general by nature? If it's medical, ensure that your transcriptionist actually does have some medical transcription background.  Legal and general transcripts also require technical and linguistic know how. Check how the transcriptionists responds to emails, writes, and generally interacts with you. After all since typing and language interpretation are a great part of what the service requires, you can assess these skills in the general interaction.

Interview with Jassy McKenzie and Jo-Anne Richards at Skoobs!

My friend Lornette Joseph and I were fortunate to attend a Bloggers get together held at Skoobs in Monte Casino recently.  We are bloggers (Check out Lornette's fantastic Madiba related post Forever A Man of the Times here) and as if the thrill of attending such an event in such an eclectic venue wasn’t enough, we were fortunate in that I was selected as one of the winners to interview authors Jassy McKenzie and Jo- Anne Richards!

Jassy Mackenzie is from a family where books weren’t just more important than television; they were so important that television was banned from the house.

Today, Jassy is the editor of HJ, a hair and beauty trade magazine. She has had numerous non-fiction articles on a wide variety of subjects published locally and internationally over the past 11 years.

Jo-Anne Richards is a South African novelist and journalist, whose work has been published internationally. She teaches creative writing through Allaboutwriting  and lectures at Wits University in Johannesburg.

The Doctor.

Going to the doctor's when you are really feeling ill is the worst thing ever. First of all, the receptionist at our doctor is not friendly. Scares the shit out of me. So I quash all thoughts of sickness, nausea, it's all overcome by the thought of phoning her. I bite the bullet and phone. (this could also have something to do with my social anxiety. I hate the phone, in general) Get an appt. Think "fuck how far it is to the doctor's". Get in the car, think "fuck how far it is up those stairs". Get into the doctor, see him, convince him I'm freaking dying here dude..! It doesn't even bug me that the doctor mistook me for my hubby. Get a script. Fuck it's a long way back down those stairs. Get back down to the worst parking lot that ever existed and navigate my 10 year old, lack of power steering, vehicle out of it, without bumping ANYTHING. Not even a bin. :-) Think "fuck how far it is to the chemist". Park, stagger into the chemist. On this day of all days, could someone hurry the hell up and serve me, I need to get home to die in peac...e, on my bed..... no.. of course not. 3 of the pharmacists seem to be needed to sort out a query on the phone. The fourth can't seem to help the customer in front of me. I sit on a chair to die there. Eventually, pharmacist calls me. Takes two hours to figure out my medical aid plan has changed (yes, I could have told them, but it's as much as I can do to utter 'hello'). Finally get my meds. Stagger into grocery store to buy some Energade, dry biscuits and pasta. By this time, nothing matters.. if I die here, I might as well die here as anywhere. Again - if you could just HURRY, just today, not any other day, just today. As it's kinder to my family if I die on my bed. No... one person in front of me in the queue, but the teller seems to be trying to set a new record for going slow. Eventually get home. Swallow what seems like masses of tablets. Nibble on a ginger biscuit. Sit down and realise two things. The medical profession stopped being about the person and started being about money when doctors stopped making house calls. The second thing was gonna be 'now I feel well enough to write all this," but in the mean time I've started feeling crap again. Happy Monday folks!

Recording categories for clients

I added the following content to my services page:

WHEN REQUESTING A QUOTE FOR TRANSCRIPTION PLEASE INDICATE TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING YOUR AUDIO FALLS INTO (if you are unable to we will make this assessment for you)
Category A:
Clear speech
No background noise – recorded digitally in a quiet surroundings
A cleaned up verbatim transcript is provided unless specifically stated that strictly verbatim is required.
Category B:

Group discussions, Telephone recordings, Multiple speakers
Background noise, Technical subject matter, Outdoor recording, Low quality digital files
Speakers using English as a second language
Poor recording quality due to inferior equipment.
Analog recordings made on cassette

Business Mentorship and bouncing ideas off people

Some days ago I asked followers on my Facebook page how they cope when they've got a job to do that they know they can do, but they wouldn't mind bouncing it off someone else for ideas.

I rather liked Alison Fourie's idea - from AMF Typing - she said she bounces it off me, and that's the type of relationship we have - most of my challenges get bounced off her too. I guess we are each other's mutual mentors.

Other comments were also interesting - Roger Frost of Wett Inspections said: I usually Google my idea, and see what's out there. There isn't much out there that already hasn't been done. Usually it is just a matter of taking an old idea or product and putting a new spin on it.

Done van Mollendorf added that she approaches family and friends and also mentioned that joining online communities with the same interests helps so that one can get an idea of people's feelings and thoughts on the matter.

 When you work in an office full of people, you have colleagues. Usually there's the computer guy, there are office staff, managers, directors. Colleagues who you can brainstorm with. When you're self employed, working for yourself, that can be negated. So it is important that you establish a network of people that you can bounce your ideas off. I would love to see more comments on this post about this.

Related Article: Audio Recording categories. 



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Niamh Greene - A Message To Your Heart

Niamh Greene is an author who writes with a compassion that makes you feel she speaks to you directly. I chatted about one of her books at our local book club the other day and I was asked what makes the book readable. My answer was that I feel like her characters could be me.

Those of us starting and running our own businesses are going to love A Message To Your Heart. The running of the business is not the main subject of the novel, but the life of the business owner is. Do you feel like your family don't take you seriously? Have you got overheads you are not sure how you are going to meet? Do you have staff and other people in your life who are just not performing as you believe they should? Then read A Message To Your Heart.

The book itself is about a literary agent, Frankie, who has set up her own agency after having worked for a larger one. She is, to put it bluntly, battling to make ends meet. She has one big client, and the person who rings her the most is the bank manager.  To her family, she seems work obsessed and addicted to her phone, which her brothers call her Crackberry.

On a make or break business trip to San Francisco, Frankie loses the phone and once in America, she hires a temporary one. (There is not one business owner I know who can say they have never lost a cell phone, at least, not honestly). However she soon begins receiving strange text messages. Eventually she decides to reply to one to inform the person sending them that she now has the phone and is not the intended recipient of the messages. To her surprise, she receives a call from the person sending the messages - and things twist and turn in sometimes comic, sometimes heart rending, but always human turns of fate. Does Frankie get the client? Does she save the business? What is the reason for the text messages? You're going to have to read the book to find the answers to these and a lot of other things! I was sad to reach the end of the book. I wanted it to go on. I felt I'd made friends with Frankie!

Follow Niamh Greene on Facebook here.   If you want to read more about Niamh Greene, who she is and how she got published, then click here.

Related article: We talk to novelists Jassy McKenzie and Joanne Richards.

Query from a wannabe VA newbie

We received this query today:

Hi there

The term VA  is new to me! I never knew anything like it existed, but at the same time, it makes so much sense!

I read about it for the first time in a magazine this weekend.

It makes me feel like there is hope after all!

I am in a complete “limbo” situation at the moment.
·         45 Years old,
·          female,
·          never been married,
·          no children,
·          retrenched from a reasonably-paying management position just over a year ago (interior industry),
·         now in a much more “scaled- down position” (…. with a “scaled-down” salary to go with it),
·         never invested in property….
·         Not likely to inherit much
·         … and EXTREMELY concerned about my future …(I have literally 20 years to get myself together before I retire)

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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