Olympus AS-2400 Transcription Kit.

I've been busy trying out the Olympus AS-2400 Transcription Kit. The kit includes a headset and foot pedal or foot switch and easy to use software. In South Africa it's available through Maynards.

Previously, I've been using Express Scribe without a footpedal, and I was a bit nervous about using the footpedal, since I hadn't previously used one since 1994 where I used one on an analog dictation machine!

However, now I've started, I can't see me ever going back. It makes life so much easier and I believe I've said goodbye to hotkeys forever.

The software is the DSS Player Standard Transcription Module Version 2.0.0.0. Your audio files are easy to import and are stacked up in folders like files in a window, making it easy to see and work with.

 Besides making secure file management easier than ever before, it offers multiple file transfer options to suit individual requirements. Full Citrix and Terminal Service support is provided and it is compatible with POP3, SMTP, and extended MAPI email environments. Moreover, SSL support for email/ftp is also included.

Features of the transcription kit include: 

- RS-31 - 4 button USB footswitch (3 + 1) for hands free operation

- Under chin ear phone E-62 ODMS - Olympus Dictation Management System CD (R6)

- Transcription module to organize and playback dictations

- Manages DSSPro, DSS, WAV, WMA, and MP3 audio files

- File and document management

The audio controls are great too and offer a lot of versatility. I love that the slow down / speed up function controls the speed of the audio but it doesn't distort the voice. The voice distortion that some other software packages give is irritating and sometimes renders the audio inaudible. 

This is a great solution for secretaries and transcriptionists particularly since it is completely compatible with recordings produced by the Olympus digital recording equipment such as the DS-7000 pictured below.  (which I recommend all my clients to purchase) 

I decided to give this a try out on one of the most difficult audios I've had this year. It was the perfect transcription to try it out on. It was a South African government recording done around a table in a government office somewhere in the Free State. The council was NOT using an Olympus recorder, and I had background noise, indistinct names, a very long recording - the works. The software is not a miracle worker and it couldn't clean up all the noise, but it helped significantly and I got better results than I have with other similar programmes. The software offers an option to increase volume in one headphone over the other, and this was useful to increase the volume of distant speakers. 

Another awesome feature is the inline bar which you can choose, which floats on the top of your screen as you transcribe. This saves clicking in between the larger interface and the document you're working on. 

There are a ton of fantastic features with this software which will mean you won't want to look back. Check it out for yourself at Maynards.

Please share this post on your Facebook and Twitter and follow me @TypewriteSA. 

K is for Knowledge

We all have a certain amount of knowledge, based on our life experience, our age, the studies we have done, the books we have read, etc. And if you run a business, as we go along you gain knowledge or experience. When you start something new, it can really feel like you know nothing. You can really feel out of your depth. It's known as being green, or being a "noob" in today's terms.

But as time goes by and you stick at it, you become more seasoned in what you do. You remember what it's like being the junior in high school? Knowing nothing, and nobody. And all too soon, you are the senior, and you remember what that's like too, being the one who is expected to pass on information. In business it's the same. There are advantages to being green and to being seasoned.

I guess I would say I'm pretty seasoned, having run my business, Typewrite Transcription and Typing Services CC, since 2005. That's not to say there's nothing to be learned from newbies. The further along I go, the more I realise that I have a lot to learn from younger people (or maybe I should say "people who are less experienced in the field than I am", as I'm still only 38.)

I also think, though, that it's almost our social responsibility to share the knowledge that we pick up, particularly in industries such as the VA and transcription industries, which are still pretty small in my opinion.

This was one of the reasons I started this blog all that time ago - to share knowledge, so if you are a newbie, and even if you've been in the game for a while, I really recommend that you browse around this blog, read up what I've written in the past. Please comment and share on posts as well. I also wrote my ebook "Working From Home as a Transcriptionist in South Africa" to specifically share information with newbies. It's tough when you start out, and you feel like there aren't a lot of resources to help you. I've been told on many occasions how much my ebook helps, and it doesn't only help South Africans, it's sold well across the world.

As business owners it's also our responsibility to make sure that we keep gaining knowledge. While we are alive, we can still learn, so I don't want to hear the excuse that you are too old. You are not!

This blog forms part of the  VA Tips and Tricks Blogging Challenge. For more posts in the challenge search this blog and my Pop Speaking blog. 

Tweet

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!


Tweet

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.

Tweet

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.

Tweet