I first began doing transcription work at a financial services firm I worked at from 1991 to 2004. Some time went by and one of the accountants that I had worked with contacted me to see if I would like to be his personal transcriptionist from my home. I figured this would be a good way to supplement my income so I accepted, and that's exactly what this work turned out to be.

All of the work I do for him is handled via the internet. He emails me the voice file and I type it and email him back the typed Word document. Simple!

As time went by and my frustration with 'office politics' grew, and I knew I had to find some way to turn this transcription work into my full-time business. I found it somewhat difficult to find others like this accountant who would like me to type up their information for them and was not keen on the idea of typing resumes all day.

I began searching online for companies that hire independent contractors to do transcription work for them. What a search it was! I found that in addition to the intermingled transcription businesses out there on the internet were a whole slew of 'get-rich-now-typing-from-home' schemes. Many of them sound so promising, that I must admit I was sucked in to trying a few. Some are now making me a little money, but most are sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

I finally was able to find websites that truly want people to succeed in the transcription business and listings of the businesses that really do hire transcriptionists. The first company I found said it wasn't hiring at the time but that I could leave my email address and would be notified when they were hiring again.

Six months went by and I had long given up on the hope of doing transcription full-time from my home, when lo and behold, they emailed me to say they were hiring and I could test for them if I was interested. I went through the testing and finally scored my first position with a nationaltranscription business as an independent contractor.

During their hiring period we all had more work than we could handle. It was great! But then I realized that they had hired so many ICs (independent contractors) that the work was getting hard to come by. I decided the only thing to do was to secure positions with othertranscription businesses to make sure I had a full schedule each week.

I now work exclusively with four transcription companies, one of whom is only quarterly work, one I have to set a schedule two weeks in advance and log in for my scheduled time, one calls me with each job to see if I want it, and the other has me email them how much time I'm available for each day/week and they send me that much work.

So, finally, I can say I work from home full-time with legitimate companies and it's everything I thought it would be and more! I work when I want and from the comfort of home. The pay is comparable to what I made in offices but the freedom is worth more than the money.

But "What can a virtual assistant do for me?" is a little more complicated. The ways in which a VA can help you and your business are as unique and diverse as the individual VAs are themselves. To help narrow down the possibilities, the virtual assistants at the Virtual Assistant Networking (VAN) forum were asked to list the top 10 things they could do for their clients. This is what they said.

1. A VA can assist you with marketing support, increasing you clientele and freeing up valuable time to service your customers. They also can handle all your marketing and publicity helping you to spread the word about your product or services.

2. Many virtual assistants specialize in web design and search engine optimization. Once you work with a VA, they know your business inside and out, who better to help you prepare your website.

3. A virtual assistant can make your next presentation shine by giving it that polished professional presentation which is sure to capture your audience and promote all your products and services.

4. A virtual assistant can be instrumental in proofing, editing, and typing all your correspondence, pleadings, manuscripts, etc., thus allowing a more professional edge to all your business communications.

5. A virtual assistant can take over all your bookkeeping, bills and accounts payable. Let them worry about payroll so you can worry about the important tasks of running your business.

6. A virtual assistant can plan your next company event or outing providing for an enjoyable and memorable time for all. Think how much more enjoyable it can be when the burden of planning is removed.

7. Because VAs work on an "as needed basis" and only when you have work, hiring a VA can save you money. Clients only pay for the work done, and don't have to pay for benefits, equipment, or supplies. What a cost savings that can be.

8. A VA can save you space because s/he work from his/her office as an independent contractor.

9. Hiring a VA can save you time because you will not have to spend time hiring an employee or temporary help, as well as training the new staff.

10. A virtual assistant can schedule your appointments, manage your calendar, organize your desk, and make running a business that much smoother.

Tawnya Sutherland, founder VAN states, "By bringing "the best of the best" of virtual assistants to the VAN Community, we make it easy for clients to partner with successful VAs."

Hiring a virtual assistant is a smart business choice. It leaves you time to focus on more important issues which in turn will help you take your business to the next level.

If you have ever been stopped by someone in the mall or if you have been asked to take a telephone survey then you are familiar with one importantinternet typing job. You are also familiar with the basic method for market research. Companies depend on market research to learn what the consumer wants. The volume of information obtained from such research needs to be typed into a report. Someinternet writing jobs call for a typist who knows how to type up such reports.

Once companies determine what interests their customers, then they want to communicate with their customers. Many companies do that by using newsletters sent to each customer's e-mail address. The companies seldom ask a company secretary to type up such newsletters. They tend to enter their request for a newsletter typist among the many postedinternet writing jobs.

The list of internet typing jobs goes on and on. Some companies need a typist to help with the printing of ads. Some companies desire typists who will supply them with well-typed welcome e-mails. These are sent to those customers who sign up for the company's newsletter. Other companies seem more interested in finding someone to type up information lists.

Information lists are not the only sort of list that company administrators want to see. Such administrators also want access to mailing lists, i.e. the list of customers who are receiving either the company newsletter or the company catalogue. Sometimes the administrators want a list of ordered items. Typed lists of software orders are a frequent need among company administrators.

Typed lists of any kind supply the company administrators with valuable information. While the customers are studying the company website to obtain information about the company's products, the company administrators are studying the many typed lists. If the available lists fail to supply the necessary information, then those administrators are apt to seek funds for moreinternet typing jobs.

Typing, like writing, is vital to the creation of an online presence. Accurate typing insures the delivery of easy to read and adequate information. Good writing adds color and interest to that information.

To Your Success

The ability to type quickly and accurately is crucial for every day life. We live in a computer world. From the server in a restaurant to a CEO of a Fortune 500, typing skills are necessary. Typing is a useful, life-long skill. The better your typing skills, the more opportunities that will available to you.

Typing skills are just as important for children. Prepare your children for the computer age. Teach them when they are young (if they can tie their own shoes, they are ready), and typing will become second nature to them.

Everything will be a lot easier for your children if they learn correct typing techniques with proper finger placement and movement, and without looking at the keyboard. It will help them with school work starting as early as elementary school. Typing speed will affect how fast they can do research, surf the Web, write papers, and save time with school work! Typing has been shown to improve spelling, writing, language skills, and grades.

You could let your children teach themselves how to type… but they will develop bad habits that will plague them their whole life. Or you can choose a scientifically-sound typing course.

Here are a few criteria to look when choosing a typing course.

? Provides fast results.
? Makes it fun and easy to learn and practice so the child will eagerly participate, which eliminates frustration.
? Uses natural, effective learning methods that work and eliminates the frustration associated with traditional typing methods.
? Reinforces proven teaching methods with clever exercises, leading to immediate and continuing gratification results and gratification.
? Lays the foundation of proper finger placement and movement. Shortcuts always lead to disaster.
? Provides the ability to learn at the child's own level and pace.
? Customizable so the child can work on weak typing areas.

Rote memorization is uninteresting and has a high failure rate. Researchers give us clues to the workings of the brain, and how we learn and remember. Kids have rich imaginations. When choosing a typing course, choose one that use these revolutionary mind, visualization and memory connections. Don't fight nature. Tap into these natural learning tools to pique your children's interest and keep them focused on the task, learning how to type. If you take advantage of how the mind really works, you will find that they will master typing skills in a fast, fun and enthusiastic way.

Finding an effective typing course for your kids is important. When your children learn the correct finger placement with proven learning methods, drills and activities, their accuracy and speed will improve and they will be prepared for the fast-paced computer-oriented world of today.

Source: Free Articles