A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Starting a new transcription business - Help!

Posted: Oct 24, 2013

I am going to attempt to start my own transcription company but in the age of EHR Obamacare rules, how would I go about doing so? What are people charging these days? I am seeing per minute, per line, etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

My advice? Don't do it. - Kitty

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It's not worth it. Start a different business instead like selling shoes or something. Everyone needs shoes. Medical transcription? Not so much anymore.

I agree with Kitty - me

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Medical transcription is no longer a good line of work to be in.

if you can offer more than just med trans, might still be a good biz to start - sm

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More and more offices are goign to point/click, Dragon (Front end speech), or becoming part of bigger groups and even hospital groups so they can have all tech and clerical stuff provided for them. Will be harder to get local clients.

Typing for students used to be a good fir, but so many kids are tech savy these days they do their own typing themselves.

See if there are any writer's guilds in your areas, some authors do still dictate or write out in long hand and need manuscripts typed.

Having a store front with notary, fax, copying, secretarial, mail handling, shipping, etc. is still a good biz in some areas, but expensive to get fully set up.

Help! - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
This is absolutely not a put-down, but a reality check. If you don't know the basics of doing this, you need to take a basic business 101 class and then get some MBA who specializes in helping small/solo businesses like MTSOs to write you a formal business plan, if you are going to do it. You need to speak with your banker about a business loan, with your attorney about legal coverage (especially in light of all of the requirements of Obamacare), and with your financial adviser about whether to do it at all. If I were you, I would consider something else. I quit MT after a 40 year run as both an MTSO and a plain old contract MT. Not trying to discourage you, but you deserve to know the truth. There are undoubtedly people who will disagree, and that is fine. We are all entitled to our opinions. Just please, don't "go into business" for yourself without the proper financial backup and business savvy. When I started my own MTSO three decades ago, I went to a business conference for women and interviewed several banks who were financing small businesses. I selected the bank whose style I best felt matched mine. (I live in a large city and had a lot of choices.) However, when my income dropped a whopping 66% in the mid-2000s, I decided to hang up the keyboard. Fortunately, I am old and could afford to do that. My heart aches for younger people who still have to work and have several years to retirement. Good luck to you, whatever you do.

Going into business - Big dreams

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I would agree to not limit yourself to just medical transcription, such as typing resumes and things. However, one can get a canned generic resume online and do it themselves with just a few alterations.

I think the bigger issue is that you've had no training in owning a business. Kind of reminds me of people who think they can open a restaurant because they know how to cook and like to eat. It's a whole different ball game and you need some serious courses in running a business. People get college degrees to learn how to run a business, even a small business.

I don't understand why you are choosing medical transcription or any type of typing service....help us understand.

Big dreams - Old Pro

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Big dreams, you have called it exactly! Your analogy is spot-on. I am a foodie and hang out with a group of wanna-be Julia Childs. While some of them would probably be able to pull off opening a restaurant, I surely would not, and would not try. The most serious way, IMHO, people who want to start out on their own shoot themselves down is not to take at least one basic business course and have at least one session with a good business attorney and a good small business CPA. Whatever the OP does, I wish her luck, but I view starting an MT service in this day and time the same way I would view investing in the commodities market. You might get lucky, but basically, it's like going to Vegas and putting it all on red. With apologies to Clint Eastwood, Do you feel lucky? :)

Thanks Old Pro - Big Dreams

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Thanks, Old Pro! Gosh, I can transcribe like the dickens, but I don't know the first thing about running a business. Not trying to dissuade anyone, but I think people don't realize the expense, either. Accounting, bookkeeping, liability insurance, especially if people are working on-site, equipment responsibilities, business taxes, etc., etc.

Can you afford to go without a paycheck? - Been there, done that

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Can you afford to wait for 6 to 8 weeks for vendors to pay you? It's not like getting a regular paycheck every 2 weeks. Do you know what your federal and state taxes will be? How about the cost of equipment, maintenance, health insurance? What happens when work slows down AND you have to wait for your vendors to pay you . . . 6+ weeks. Just some questions you need to ask yourself.

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