Any MTSO's out there willing to give marketing advice?

I have been transcribing for 6 years and want to get my own accounts.  What is the best way to do this?  Any info would be great! Thanks

• Any MTSO's out there willing to give marketing advice? - nm.
  • Marketing - Patti
    • If you're an overseas vendor here's how to market....sm - American MT
      • Just looking for a piece of the pie. - ANOTHER AMERICAN MT
    • Thanks for the info. Its greatly appreciated!nm. - Souzam

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Make sure everyone understands that you WORK from home (it's not you're home and you work). And you have to learn the concept yourself as well.

Stick to the same schedule you did when you worked in an office. If you didn't make personal calls in the office, don't make them when you work from home. If you didn't run errands when you worked in the office, don't run errands when you work from home. (and the list goes on)

is to get some rest!!  Get yourself on a regular schedule and stick to it -- even on the weekends.  For example, I am in the bed by as close to 9 p.m. as possible, watch about an hour of TV or so,and then I'm off to sleep.  Also, before I go to bed, I take a 325 mg of aspirin -- it cuts down on restless leg syndrome and just makes me rest better.  I'm up promptly anywhere from 6:45 to 7 (never after that -- I have an alarm set in case I don't wake up on my own), have my coffee, eat a small breakfast (believe it or not, it IS the most important meal of the day -- just a small bowel of cereal or oatmeal and a piece of toast gets me through to lunch and I'm not a big breakfast person) get cleaned up/dressed, and am at work by 7:30.  Even on the weekends if I'm not working, I still get up at the same time.  Your body will learn your routine and come to rely on it.  Since I have been doing this (MANY years) I have found that I'm able to be sharper and more mentally aware. 

I eat something small for lunch, take at least a 5-10 minute break an hour to stretch or just get up and refocus, and still am able to get a good solid 7-8 hours a day.  Just what works for me! 

And for listening to me boo hoo about being laid off or dissolved as the suits at the hospital like to call it.  Anyway, I have officially accepted a QA Editor position with a service and I'm actually in a more positive frame of mind than I was last week.

I got my laptop all set up and ready to go with a laptop stand for plenty of ventilation, I put off buying any kind of wav player and just downloaded ExpressScribe for the time being, and I didn't saturate the market with my resume, but picked only a few places to apply based on suggestions and information you all gave me here.  And I did all of this because you ladies gave me such good advice.

I just wanted to say what a great place this is and it is very, VERY wonderful to have a place to network, socialize, fellowship, or just plain gab with colleagues and friends. 

That's not advice, that's rubbing salt in her wound.  Your other piece of advice about getting a loan is basically stating the obvious.  I'm sure the OP realizes she may have to borrow some money.  I think she was probably asking what should she do about the employer treating her unprofessionally.

Basically, you gave lousy advice and your only intent was to kick her when she was down.

I do brochures, flyers and postcards.  I mail out using a list I have.  I also have accounts in several of the large medical buildings by hospitals and I will often go from floor to floor giving out my information. I have gotten a 20 to 25% reply so it works.  Since I have been in this for 15 to 20 years now a lot more comes from word of mouth but when I started out I just sent out information about my service.

E-mail me if you want more specifics.  Patti

Myth

I have been an MT for over 10 years.  I also am getting burnt out, tired of my job, day in day.  However, I do love transcription and make excellent money at it, have grossed over $50,000 per year the last 5 years.  I decided to go back to nursing school and am very happy with my choice.  However, over these 10 years of transcription I have had my ups and downs.  My biggest issue with being at home working is lack of socialization, being home day in and day out with just the kids and the animals really gets to a person, sure hubby is home at night and thinks working from home is the easy life, thus the return to school and boy has my overall enjoyment of life changed once I realized I was the problem, not everyone else and I needed to find myself again.

Anyway, my biggest advice to you three-fold:

1.  Get into counseling for yourself, find out who you are and what your needs are, whether or not you think you need to, I sense you are feeling overwhelmed and need someone other than your family to talk to that can be nonjudgmental to your feelings and needs.

2.  If you're only making $100 after you pay preschool you can either keep doing it and be miserable, or quit because you are lucky enough to have a husband who can support the family without your income. (See how fast his mind changes just by losing the income you do have as to whether your job means anything.)  Or look for a different company or office that you like more and are more productive if you really want to do transcription (lots of fish in the sea as far as companies).

3.  Find a local "mom's" group where you can get out and socialize.  MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) is an excellent one that is nationwide, they have a website.  Also Mom2Mom is in a lot of areas.  They provide a once a week time for moms with kids the same age to get together, socialize, (some offer spirtual guidance some don't) and each week a different mom takes a turn watching everyone else's children at the facility that hosts it so the other moms can talk about things they have in common.  Every stay-at-home and work-from-home mom needs to socialize with adults, without their kids, or they will have a nervous breakdown eventually no matter how much they love their kids.

Sorry so long but it does get better but you have to take the first step at making yourself happy.

do what is right.  If she fails to do what is right, then go about this in an adult way and not act like such a child.  "you suck"  That is so immature.

She is responding to you and you are eating her alive.  Why would she put herself out there to be treated like this if she didnt mean it. 

I am really astonished at how people can act on here.  Would you treat people like this in person?  If you do, I cant imagine you having very many friends. 

Remember we are all "HUMAN." 

I am a small MTSO and also IC'd for another company a couple of years ago and something similar happened to me.  However it was probably a little different as I did the pick-up and deliveries although I was an IC for the company.  When she did not bill the clinics so that I could not get paid, I knew the clinics and so I went to them and told them that after a certain date I would not be doing their sevice because I was not being paid -- a little different than your story but you can also let the clinics know how that service is being run.  Again, only after you write your calm, fact filled letter.  But if someone threatened my business with anything like that - going to my accounts -- they would be paid within 24 hours.   Reputation is what counts in this business.   But again, just write to them calmly and with the facts asking them to prove that you had signed a contract, then giving them 48 hours to produce such contract or send you a check for your services or you will see them in court.   Again, I would threaten to go to their accounts to let them know how they run their business but only as a last resort.  But just do it, write them you deserve your money.   Was there problems prior to quitting and that is why you just left suddenly -- I know this leaves them in a lurch but if they were a crummy company they probably deserved it.  Also if you did not sign a contract stating you would not go after any account you worked on for two years go for the accounts. 

my hospital's TAT is between 24 and 48 hours depending on type of report.  When I worked in-house, it was from 2 to 48 hours, with Op notes/HP having a 2 hour TAT.   I think it varies a bit between hospitals, but as a general rule most reports are no greater than 24 hours. Sometimes discharge summaries have a longer TAT, such as 48 hours.   I don't have any experience with VA hospitals, but they probably aren't much different.  

I am an IC for a small MTSO.  I have a deduction taken from my invoice every pay period for renting Transnet equipment.  My foot pedal broke and I asked urgently Monday morning for a replacement foot pedal to be Fed Exed to me - work was on the system and needed to get done.  Well, after many many phone calls and e-mails I got the replacement foot pedal via Fed Ex (they shipped on Friday) on Saturday morning.  So I worked all weekend to get caught up on a whole week's worth of work.  Got my invoice yesterday (late - the MTSO has rescheduled their payment schedule as they are not getting promptly paid by their clients - the ICs had to accept the new payment schedule or quit).  There was a deduction for $40.13 for delivery fee for the foot pedal.  The Accounts manager says that "many memos" have been sent out that ICs are responsible for delivery fees.  Huh?  I looked over the memo I received about Transnet rentals and it said our invoice deduction covers maintenance costs for faulty equipment, etc. (the MTSO had originally said I would be billed for a new foot pedal - then I brought up the memo on rentals that covers faulty equipment and that got dropped pretty quickly).  I told the Accts manager that postage is the MTSOs expense, just like it is my IC expense to return the faulty equipment to the MTSO.  I also mentioned that the MTSO pays for phone charges to fax stuff to ICs; likewise the ICs pay for their phone charges for faxing to the MTSO.

What would you do?  I am so fed up with this MTSO...I don't make that much money on Transnet anyway (most of my lines are from microtapes) that I am tempted to just tell her to take all of my doctors on Transnet and quit doing these willy nilly deductions without my approval or knowledge.  This is the third time the Accts manager has taken "deductions" from my invoice without telling me - the last time was for Chicago taxes on rental equipment (totally illegal according to Cook County govn't) - that took 2 weeks to get straightened out!  Arrggghhh!!!