Where to go with this, great ideas...

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

I hope you decide to look for your own accounts.  If you wait until you know everything there is to know about running a home business, you will never accomplish anything.  Do you think every entrepreneur—Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Martha Stewart--knew everything when they started out? 

I have had my own accounts over the years and with some, I have signed a contract.  With a few doctors in solo practice, we didn’t sign contracts and I had no problems.  I sent out flyers or letters of introduction in the area where I lived. I also called every physician office to follow up.  My first account came from the local hospital MT department.  None of the other MTs had time to do the account, so an acquaintance asked if I was interested.   So contact MT departments to see if any doctors are looking for someone. 

If you send out flyers or letters, have someone you trust who is very good at spelling and grammar proofread them before you send them out.  Remember that your language skills are what the client is buying, so be sure everything is letter perfect. 

Try to find accounts close to home if you have to pick up and deliver.  If you have clients who are far away and you have to drive there a few times a week, charge them a little extra.  Make friends with the office staff so they’ll be willing to help you out when you need them to look up patient names, referring doctor addresses, etc. 

As far as what to charge, it depends on where you live.  Remember that you have to pay taxes on what you make, and the physician will send you a 1099 form at the end of the year.  So charge anywhere from 15 cents to 20 cents per line, depending on where you live. 

I use the Microsoft word count to calculate line count, but you can buy software to do that if you like. 

Be sure to have a few backup people to help you out when you want to take time off or if you’re sick or your kids are sick. 

Make macros so you maximize your time, and always use your word Expander software, or Microsoft autocorrect, to the max while transcribing.  I include an invoice with every batch of work delivered and get paid every week.  I had one doctor in the past who was very demanding but very slow to pay.  I had to go see him and tell him I rely on that income and I need it NOW, and would not take any more work, or return any, until I received payment. I finally quit working for him because he would never pay me on time.

Good luck!

OR..if you have a company you can recommend, I would also be interested in hearing about it.  I need to start the process somewhere immediatel (have two children at home and one in college, so down time isn't really much of an option for me).

I do have 11 years experience, and if someone can recommend a really decent company, I would be happy to go on as a referral.

I know it is almost impossible to start a union to protect us against pathetic wages, but if anyone can come up with any ideas on what we can do as MTs, speak up.  I'll fund, start, do anything if the result is fair treatment and fair pay.  The organizations out there are geared for the employers to pat themselves on the back, not for us!  Paying memberships for those as an MT is just pointless.  We need these employers to come to us instead of us sending out a zillion resumes only to be told they pay 1 cpl.  I've been an MT a long time, I believe in it and I like it, but I want to love it again.   According to salary.com, the median salary for an MT is $36,000, well many MTs aren't coming close to that.  We need to do something - Thanks!

already e-mailed me today with a concern over production, as if they're surprised it is so low.  Perfect opportunity to respond with my own concerns. 

I use to work there.  The dictators on my account were really good.  They use Emdat/Inscribe.  Pay on 1st and 15th by direct deposit.

It is all IC work, although you still are expected to give a schedule if you are doing stat coverage.  Only major drawback is the big wait for your first check -- almost a month from the time of your first invoice.

Good luck!  

Yes it is the Transcend platform (one of them) but it's not so great.  It's terrible.  Makes working with the AIM system a cake walk! 

Enjoy it while it lasts, and please come back next month this time and let us know how you're doing because you're in for a very rude awakening.

Sits on the fence a lot....not completely honset.

This is so good that I passed it on to friends.  My attitude gets bad sometimes, and I wish it didn't, but sometimes they push you to the quick and then you sufferfor getting things off your chest.  That's not so good, is it, in this formulation.

?

Just a little concerned.  I have not been as dependable with my work schedule as before due to family illness.  It has been bothering me for several weeks.  I am going to talk with my supervisor.  I did not want to mention it to her, just ignore it, because I was afraid she would think that I was making excuses - but I really am not.  So, hopefully she will understand and hopefully I can show them that I can be depended on once again.  I really LIKE the company and would be very upset if I were to be let go.  I feel like this is the best place for me and things happened that I had no control over.  Does that make sense?  What would you do in a situation like that?  I hope I did the right thing.