Medical Transcription Work At Home

In this week's issue we have:

1. This week's ramblings
2. Transcription Talk
3. Recommended Courses
4. Line Count and Invoice Program
5. Transcription Practice Tapes
6. Article of the Week
7. The Transcription Chat Forum
8. Other home businesses and recommended sites
9. Joke of the Week

THIS WEEK'S RAMBLINGS

Transcription is definitely a rewarding career, and there is a lot of flexibility, which I love. The downside... the office is never closed, or so it seems. There's always lots of work to do, and no sooner do you feel caught up, there is more work waiting!

My friend Pam seems to handle it all so well, and I think the key thing is not to procrastinate. It's best to have a set routine. All her accounts are not exactly "regular". They are regular in the fact that she has to bill them twice a month, but sometimes they don't produce the actual work on a daily basis. She can have nothing one day, then a ton of work the next. For this reason she keeps herself on top of the work and has no choice but to be organized.

I find I get torn in different directions nowadays, especially with my mentoring through emails to customers and visitors to my website. It can take a long time to answer so many emails and keep up with everything. So, I'm re-evaluating my work routine. I'm sort of organized and a planner, but I'm going to try to organize my time better this year. I'm going to make more of a schedule! Well, that's my intention anyway! We'll see how that one goes! If it's a choice between work and going to the beach, I might be at the beach! This is my downfall I think... I know I have a flexible schedule and sometimes I take too much advantage of it!

I'm going to visit my mom in England in the next couple of months. It's been a long time since I've seen her, although we talk a lot on the phone. She has an inoperable aneurysm, so I need to spend some quality time with her. I'll only be gone a week. Anything longer than a week makes it difficult to keep up with work. I'm still able to answer emails while I'm away. I go to an Internet Cafe in the town nearby and drink coffee... and eat doughnuts... lol! But, I can't do my transcription from there, so it's double duty upon my return! Okay, well, I've rambled...

Keep up the good work and keep working on your business!

TRANSCRIPTION TALK

SEPARATING YOUR BUSINESS AND PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNTS

I always advise people to open up a business account, even if you are going to work from home doing medical transcription as a sole proprietor, and not hire subcontractors.

When it comes to tax time you'll be able to clearly see a record of your income and of your home business expenses. You don't want to have the hassle of wading through your personal checking account to figure out how much you've spent and how much you've made.

Also, if you use personal checks for your business expenses it doesn't look as professional as using a business check. Business checks enhance your professional image.

When you open up your business checking account you will be asked for your business license and your Social Security number. Don't forget to ask for your checks to start at #500 or so, that way it looks like you've been in business for a while.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU KEEP THE WORK YOU'VE TYPED?

I get asked this question quite often. There is a lot of controversy regarding the answer however. For security reasons, it is best to delete the work in a timely manner. However, this is not always feasible. I think the best course of action is to discuss with each physician what they prefer. All of my accounts have told me to "keep the work indefinitely", in case they need something and they can't locate it. In this case, I generally back up my files once a month and burn them onto CDs. You can then keep them in a fire-proof box or safe.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Don't forget to check out my list of recommended books! You can get new or used books, and save some money.

http://www.medical-transcription-at-home.com/recommended-medical-transcription-reference-books.html

LINE COUNT AND INVOICE PROGRAM FOR MEDICAL
TRANSCRIPTIONISTS

Counts your lines and produces an invoice - so you don't have to! Visit my site: http://www.count-lines.com

TRANSCRIPTION PRACTICE TAPES

GREAT FOR THE BEGINNER OR EXPERIENCED
TRANSCRIPTIONIST!

I've kept the costs VERY low, so that you can invest in your future without hurting your wallet. I hope you'll be thrilled with the tapes! They are 75% less expensive from my site than most places on the Net!

You get four transcription practice tapes with an answer key on CD ROM!

http://www.medical-transcription-practice-tapes.com

These are great for the student, or even if you are a beginner that would like to try out medical transcription and see if it's for you, or even for somebody that has been out of the transcription industry for a while and wants to brush up on skills. These tapes will also increase the skills of an experienced transcriptionist that just wants more practice.

The tapes are all real-life dictations and the answer key has left each physicians' format preferences intact so you can see how various physicians like their work set up. You do not have to keep to the format when typing the tapes, it's entirely up to you!

http://www.medical-transcription-practice-tapes.com

GUEST ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Business Success Tip #17 - The Strategy of No Strategy
By Ike Krieger

A powerful strategy for business success is to, first and foremost, have a strategy.

Businesses fall apart because of a lack of strategy.

Many businesses go about their day-to-day activities without knowing where they’re going. They just perform task after task hoping that they’ll end up some place good.

Sorry to say, hope is not a strategy.

“How are we going to get our next job or our next client?”

If this question is a driving force in your business efforts then you’re not thinking strategically.

What is strategic thinking? What exactly is a strategy?

According to the dictionary a strategy is: a carefully devised plan of action to achieve a goal.

What’s so important about having a strategy?

A well designed strategy helps you achieve your goals through the effective use of your resources.

If you have unlimited resources you probably don’t have to worry about a business strategy. However, if your business is like most businesses... you probably need a strategy.

When a powerful business strategy is in place it provides the fuel that drives your life and drives your actions.

Tactics are the specific actions you take to carry out your plan. With no plan in place, your tactics are simply task-based activities.

To illustrate the difference I like to use this example:

Imagine that you have an army under your command.

Your resources include the army itself, its weapons, its means of transportation, its food supply and the amount of money you have in the treasury to keep your army in the field.

You can use your army in two separate ways. You can devise a strategy for success and then have your army implement that strategy—or you can simply deploy your army on a tactical basis.

A hypothetical example of a military strategy might be: I’m going to conquer a neighboring country within six months.

If you approach life from a strictly tactical basis the following might be the way you deploy your resources.

I have an army under my command.

I’m going to send my army out and look for a battle to fight.

Maybe we’ll win.

Whatever comes up, we’ll just have to deal with it.

That is an example of tactics with no strategy.

You may end up fighting and winning. You may even end up conquering a neighboring country, but that was not because of any clearly defined strategy.

Now here’s an example of a strategy along with a set of tactics designed to reach your goals. “I’m going to conquer a neighboring country within six months and I will do it by parachuting in my army at night to take over the neighboring country’s infrastructure while everyone is asleep.”

Compare this to running your business.

You have the equivalent of an army under your command. If you are an entrepreneur, that army might be you alone. If you run a business that employs a few or even many, it is those people who make up your army.

Your resources might include your sales force, your marketing team, your administrative staff, your accounting department, your budget or even your day to day cash flow. Regardless of the specifics, you have a limited amount of resources.

If your company doesn’t have a clear plan that’s guiding you towards the most effective use of those limited resources, you’re setting yourself up for disaster at worst and mediocrity at best.

Here’s an example of advertising without a strategy.

You need to “drum up some business”. You create an ad and decide to place it in a local paper. You hope it will get the phone to ring.

The phone rings a couple of times and then the ad becomes a thing of the past. Soon it’s time to come up with another tactic to drum up business.

Compare that to the implementation of a business strategy in which you clearly define your long term advertising goals. Each ad you place is now an integral part of your strategy for success.

Sure, there are examples of companies who have “struck it rich” without a clearly defined business strategy, but are you willing to risk your valuable and limited resources on luck?

There’s no sin in being lucky. However, to base one’s business success solely on luck is, excuse the pun, chancy at best.

Do you have a strategic business plan? Is it written out? Do you follow it? If you’re like most businesses, the answer to all three of these questions is,” No”.

Your day to day activities should be dictated by your overall strategy, not the other way around.

To come up with a strategy you have to ask yourself a question like this, “Where do I want my business to be in three years?”

What’s important to you? What are your dreams? What will success look like for you? What would your business look like in three years if you knew you couldn’t fail? Are you excited about your vision? Is your vision big enough?

Your strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. You get to create it any way you want.

You get to make it up.

Remember this quote when you devise your business strategy.

Here’s the tip – Assemble a team to help you devise your strategy. That team could be made up of business associates, or possibly you and your business coach.

I help a lot of my clients devise a strategy for success. I would love to help you.

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." --Alan Kay - American computer scientist, researcher and visionary

To your success.

Ike Krieger is a business mentor, author and speaker. Ike helps businesspeople say the right thing, at the right time… all the time. Find out how to get more clients, more referrals and more sales, and do it with dignity. His "Yes Formula"® Success System will help you... Talk Less and Sell More™. Learn all about Ike's system and subscribe to his newsletter at http://www.BusinessSuccessBuilder.com

RECOMMENDED HOME BUSINESSES AND OTHER
NEAT SITES

A SECRETARIAL BUSINESS

It's amazing how many people combine home businesses.
You can combine your medical transcription career with
medical billing or just as easily with a secretarial service. It all works really well together. My friend Leva combines her secretarial business with her web design business. It's good to be open to options. You can learn more about starting your own secretarial service here:

http://www.medical-transcription-at-home.com/sec.html

START A CRAFT BUSINESS

If you have any crafting skills and enjoy this type of hobby, you can turn it into a home business.

http://medical-transcription-at-home.com/crafts.html

REAL ESTATE BUSINESS

Build Wealth In Real Estate Foreclosures: A simple, yet powerful and proven formula that will grab you by the hand and walk you step by step all the way.

http://www.medical-transcription-at-home.com/real.html

Here is a neat site for parents that want to work from home: http://www.wahm.com

ADVANCE MAGAZINE FOR HEALTH INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS

Don’t forget to subscribe to this magazine. It doesn’t cost anything, but you have to tell them you are an Independent Medical Transcriptionist to be able to receive it.

http://www.advanceforhim.com/

They do post lots of jobs as well as worthy news items.

MAKE MONEY ON EBAY - This is the "best" book I've read on the subject. It shows you the "real" way to find products for less than wholesale prices too!

Discover The Ultimate eBay® Cash Machine! eBay expert Janiece Smith reveals the secrets she used to make $11,212 per month on eBay. Her eBook will guide you step-by-step on how you can easily create huge amounts of profits selling on eBay. Don’t delay, click below to learn more.

http://www.medical-transcription-at-home.com/ebay.html

JOKE OF THE WEEK

A dietitian was once addressing a large audience in Chicago. "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks erode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. Vegetables can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water."

"But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"

A 75-year-old man in the front row stood up and said,

"Wedding cake."

Pick up your own copy of my ebook and get started with your own home business today! I've helped lots of people over the years, and I do offer ongoing support. It can be your first investment, and your first business tax deduction.

http://www.medical-transcription-at-home.com

Wishing you a safe and happy week!

Michele