Every freelance transcriptionist learns pretty quickly that the key to making the most money is to start getting their own clients rather than working for transcription companies. When I realized this, I decided to start my own company. You can continue on as a freelancer getting your own clients, but starting a company establishes you as a professional and prepares you for scaling up when your business starts to grow. If you need a bit of inspiration, you can read all about my journey in my blog post, How I Went From Freelance Transcriber to Successful Business Owner. And keep reading to learn how you can start your own transcription company.
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Table of Contents
Get Organized
Even if you’ve been thinking about starting a business for a while, it’s important to start your transcription company by getting organized first. You need goals and a plan to keep you on track throughout your startup process because it can be quite easy to get sidetracked or discouraged. Take some time to jot down your long- and short-term goals. Think about what steps you’ll need to take to achieve those goals. Then, do a little bit of market research. Knowing who your competitors and your ideal clients are will give you a competitive advantage. I recommend you research transcription specializations and niche markets. Finally, use that research and your goals to create a basic business plan that outlines your path to success in the transcription industry.
Make Your Business Official
There are always legal requirements you must fulfill when starting a new business. Get these out of the way now so that you can legally start making money as soon as you are ready. If you are doing business in the U.S., you’ll need an Employee Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service. You’ll also need to register your business with your state, and possibly your county or city. A business license might also be required by one of these jurisdictions. The US Small Business Administration is a great free resource if you need help with any of the legal requirements.
Setup Your Backoffice
Once you’re legally allowed to do business, you can open a bank account. It’s important to keep your business income and expenses separate from your personal funds. Your startup expenses will include registration and licensing fees, insurance, software licenses, a domain name and web host. You might also want to hire someone to do your branding or build a website. Be sure to keep track of all of your startup expenses. I use Melio for expense tracking and making payments to vendors and contractors. Melio is completely free and super simple to use, which is great for me because bookkeeping is not my strong suit.
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Create Internal Processes
It is essential to set up internal processes for keeping documents, holding meetings and interviews, assigning work to transcriptionists, and communicating with clients and contractors. Having processes in place from the beginning will keep you organized and make your business’s startup so much easier. Your processes will also let your clients know that you are a professional. There is always a learning curve when starting something new, so taking the time to think through processes that flow well can shorten that curve. As work starts to come in and you start to grow, you’ll want to reassess and tweak your processes based on what you learn along the way.
I use Google Workspace for some of my internal processes. Through Google Workspace, I have a dedicated business phone number, email address, website, cloud storage for all of my templates and documents, a way to hold virtual meetings, and a calendar that my transcriptionists access to schedule their shifts. Google Workspace is already very affordable, but you can get 10% off of the Starter Plan with Discount Code: MCQNEYXCQTYX4HM!
Complete Other Essential Tasks
Contracts are essential as well. They protect both parties and define the working relationship between you and your clients or you and your transcriptionists. Contracts spell out who is responsible for what and dictate how issues will be handled if something goes wrong. You’ll need a service contract for your clients to sign, which outlines the scope of work and payment terms. I recommend purchasing a contract template from Legal Dash Forms because all of their templates are written by attorneys, they are fully customizable, and they’re very affordable.
You’ll need an independent contractor agreement for your freelance transcriptionists to sign. The agreement will define the transcriptionist’s working relationship with you. I purchased an independent contractor agreement template from A Self Guru. I know, the name sounds cheesy, but Amira at A Self Guru is a lawyer dedicated to making sure small businesses have the protections they need. Her templates are incredibly easy to customize. You can check out Amira’s independent contractor agreement template HERE.
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You’ll also want to develop processes for taking on new clients, hiring transcriptionists, and overseeing the transcription workflow. These tasks might seem daunting, but without processes in place, you could miss a deadline or accidentally send a transcript to a client before it was proofread. Think about how you’ll receive audio files from your clients, assign jobs to your transcriptionists, and manage your team. For new clients, I use Dubsado, which is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform that allows me to automate the processes I have in place for clients.
For transcription workflow management, I use Trello. My transcription workflow Trello boards allow transcriptionists to claim jobs and ensure that deadlines are met. I’m able to oversee the entire process from beginning to end and step in when necessary. In fact, I’ve made several Trello board templates that keep my transcription company running smoothly. Try my fully customizable Transcription Workflow Template. And as you scale up, start using my Trello Template Pack for Transcription Companies.
Scribe Manager is another great transcription workflow management platform. I’ve tested Scribe Manager, but I’ve never used it in production just because I already had my system set up on Trello. Scribe Manager is made by Tyger Valley Systems, which also makes the FTW Transcriber. Their familiarity with the transcription process is obvious in Scribe Manager. The platform connects with clients and freelance transcriptionists. It also includes invoicing and a lot of customization options. You can assign work or let your transcriptionists choose their own jobs. It also allows editors to send transcripts back to the transcriptionists for a redo. I highly recommend Scribe Manager for new transcription companies.
If you get stuck developing processes before your business is up and running, reach out to other transcription company owners for advice and inspiration. Networking will allow you to get up and running much quicker than doing everything alone and you just might develop some great relationships in the process.
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Spread the Word About Your New Company
Now that all of the behind-the-scenes work is done, it’s time to start letting your clients know that you are ready to start serving their transcription needs. To start, just get a basic landing page set up on your website and make sure it includes contact information. You can build out an entire website later on. I recommend you also set up a business page on LinkedIn and Facebook. Start sharing your website with all of your contacts and on social media. Finally, be sure to read 6 Easy Ways to Find Clients for Your Transcription Services! As inquiries from potential clients start coming in, you’ll want to start hiring freelance transcriptionists.
You’ve Got This!
Keep track of your progress and check off goals as you complete each one. Be sure to network with other transcription company owners during your startup phase. They will help you stay motivated and share great resources. Don’t be afraid to alter your goals as you go if needed. Sometimes, the path we thought we wanted to take turns out to be the wrong one and we need to change course a bit to achieve our goals. To help you get started, I’ve created a free guide, “How to Start a Transcription Company In 30 Days.” My guide breaks down startup tasks into easy and manageable pieces. It’s also packed with tools, resources, and best practices for getting started. Download the free guide and follow my blog for more tips and resources.
