The Transcription People
My name is Annalisa Holmes and I am the Director of The Transcription People, a successful Australian on-line transcription business run from our corporate office on the NSW Central Coast. I have a fantastic team of transcription typists, most are onsite in the office but some are highly skilled independent contractors who work from their own home-based office. Having the extended team of work from home typists allows me to quickly and easily grow my team when the workload dictates.
I started my business seven years ago as a work from home venture. I was working for a large corporate when I became pregnant with our first child. Once he was born I knew I wanted the flexibility of being able to look after him and continue to work, so working from home was the perfect solution. I now have two children, one still at home however the flexibility of this business allows me to work around their schedules.
I started small with a basic website, I got my business out there via online ads and local networking meetings and quickly landed my first client, who is still with us today. In the first four years of business 90% of my clients were referred by that first client.
So what is transcription and why does that fit in well with the work from home mould? Audio transcription work involves typing a document or transcript from a digital audio recording, typically an interview or meeting. Digital audio can be easily and securely moved around the internet. Most people have the latest computers at home with high speed internet so there is really no difference to having someone next to you in an office or the other side of the country. The people we employ have typically been employed in business and have been given training and on the job experience so can bring that work experience with them when they work for themselves from home.
My team of dedicated transcriptionists make this possible and are the backbone of my business. Many have been with me for a number of years but all have discovered the benefits of working from home for themselves. The feedback from my team on the benefits of working from home is always reassuring and inspiring. In fact, they profess to be the lucky ones. They consider working from home to be a luxury, citing no commuting dramas, no travelling costs, being in their own environment and personalised office, no drop-in interruptions from co‑workers, choosing what hours in the day to work, fitting exercise into daily routine, spending more time with family, less stress, greater flexibility and increased productivity as just some of the many benefits.
In addition, I look for someone who is flexible, reliable, self-motivated, able to meet deadlines and has a strong work ethic which encompasses strong communication skills. Being an on-line business means communication is integral to the day-to-day operation of my business. I communicate daily online in real-time with my team via Messenger and email ensuring we are only a click away from each other at all times.
The need for expectations to be clearly spelled out, particularly in the area of performance measurement, coupled with excellent communication between both parties is vital. I believe having the luxury of being able to work from home offers both parties the personal freedom to achieve their personal goals and the ability to achieve a perfect partnership created by happy transcriptionists and a happy business owner.
Tags: Transcription Work From Home Part Time Jobs
