Last August we held a workshop in Vancouver British Columbia where we met attendee, Kathy Andrews. Kathy had found our workshop online and registered since she wanted to start her virtual assistant business. We’ve kept in touch over the past year by email and calls. Today we received this email from Kathy:
Hi Sue & Joel,
Just wanted to let you know how appreciative I am for the encouragement you gave me last year when you were in Vancouver and the few months after when I was so unsure.
I have just landed my first “big” contract. It is for a business coaching firm in San Jose. We got together because of a LinkedIn VA discussion. They were asking if it was possible for their meetings to be transcribed live. All of the VAs that answered said, no, you had to record it first. They said their meetings could not be recorded. Then I came on and said it could be transcribed live. I did a test run for them to show how it could work and we are now working together several times a week.
I never would have had the courage to go to these forums let alone say I could do it if it was not for the encouragement you had given to me.
Again, thanks, and enjoy your nomad life.
Kathy Andrews
Kathy told us the company was looking for 80% accuracy and she got 90% so they were very impressed! And as Joel told her, “Real-time transcription has to be nearly unique. In cases where there’s a need, you probably have NO competition!”
We’re glad to have been a part of helping Kathy succeed as a transcriptionist. Visit Kathy’s website at http://andrewsvirtualtranscripts.com/
It’s a great success story, but it does beg the question – what happened to all the transcribers? It used to be a skill (not common), that could be found (certainly here in UK) in most companies! Well done for spotting an opportunity and if you enjoy it – make it your speciality! Go girl!
It is a skill and in Kathy’s case a real asset. Kathy and I have found there are transcribers out there. But they all want a recording to transcribe from. Kathy can do the transcription live since she has vast experience in court reporting.
I have done live transcription as well though I usually only do it for my number one client any more (my husband). He has a very moderate pace when he speaks and so it’s fairly easy to do. In fact I transcribe directly as he speaks to a typewritten document even though I know shorthand. That eliminates one step and means we get the job done even faster.