Business Overview:

If you’re looking for a career that will enable you work at home with great freedom and flexibility, medical transcription might the best career choice for you. A medical transcriptionist (MT) listens to medical reports that have been dictated by healthcare professionals and transcribes that information into a report format. Transcriptionist services are used in all branches of healthcare from pediatricians and dentists to chiropractors and counselors. Some doctors’ offices and hospitals now use voice recognition software. This means as a medical transcriptionist you will be editing a report that the software has already transcribed into a rough draft. Whether transcribing or editing, two things are certain: You can have great flexibility in working at home and you can control your income by how hard (and how smart) you are willing to work. If you want to be in a high-income bracket, you can start your own medical transcription business. You would have other MTs working for you, and you can expand this business idea as much as you like. Most doctor’s offices and hospitals now use digital dictation, which makes this the perfect online business idea; you never have to leave your home to do your job.

A Day in the Life of a Medical Transcriptionist:

A typical day as a medical transcriptionist would find you in your own home with no commute to get to work. You would retrieve the dictations over the Internet that were assigned to for that day. You then would transcribe or edit each report, carefully proofing each report before marking it as complete. If you run your own medical transcriptionist business, you would be overseeing the other MTs that work for you. This might involve answering their questions, listening to parts in the dictation where they are stumped by new vocabulary, and arranging their schedules. As a medical transcriptionist business owner you would also be responsible for bringing in new accounts and invoicing your existing clients.

The Good

• MTs are largely able to determine their level of freedom and income. They can choose to be employees if they want benefits or can be independent contractors and have their own accounts.
• Most medical transcriptionists now work at home over the Internet. There is no commuting, no professional wardrobe needed, no office politics.
• As a medical transcriptionist you have many career options available to you: Employee, statutory employee, and independent contractor.
• Medical transcription jobs offer an extremely flexible career that can change with you as your life does. You can move between part-time and full-time work and between needing benefits versus wanting higher take-home pay.

The Bad

• Medical transcription courses are often required before you can land your first job.
• The career of an MT requires sitting in front of a computer for hours at a time.

Resources

• Medical Transcriptionist Work
• Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity
• Advance for Health Informational Professionals
• Medical Transcription Industry Association

Technorati Tags: medical transcription, medical transcription business, medical transcription courses, medical transcription jobs

A Business Overview:

If you want to enter a lucrative profession that few people know about, consider starting a photography business that takes photos for major lending, leasing and insurance institutions.  These companies need digital pictures of homes, cars, commercial property, businesses, trucks, RVs, and boats for financing or insurance purposes.  They continually need to be updating their photographic information and it’s not cost effective for them to send people out to cities around the country.  They look for freelance digital photographers to do this work for them. The requirements for entry into this field are very minimal, allowing you to get started quickly.  You must be at least 18 years old, and of course you’ll need to have a digital camera and a computer so that you can send the pictures via email. If you already operate a photography studio, this would be the perfect way to expand your business. They look for freelance digital photographers to do this work for them. The requirements for entry into a photography business are very minimal, allowing you to get started quickly.  You must be at least 18 years old, and of course you’ll need to have a digital camera and a computer so that you can send the pictures via email. You have the freedom to work when you want, and can easily schedule appointments around your own schedule.  This is a great business idea that is in demand no matter where you live.  Every part of the country has a need for insurance and financing-related photos to be taken.

A Day in the Life of a Photography Business Owner:

As a photographer who is taking local photos for national companies, each day can be vastly different from the next. For example, on one day you might be taking photos of two cars, a boat, and RV. The next day may find you filling out the forms that need to accompany the digital photos, uploading the photos from your camera to your computer, and emailing them out to the companies that requested them. The following day you may decide not to schedule any appointments, wanting the day off. This home-based photography business provides you with that kind of flexibility.

The Good

• Great flexibility in the days and hours you work.
• Ability to determine your income by how hard and how long you want to work each day.
• Low start-up costs to enter the digital photography business.
• Good variety of photographic opportunities, from boats on the water, to homes and cars

The Bad

• Not a lot of direct people contact with some of the photos you’ll be taking.
• In Northern climates you may have to battle inclement weather on occasion.

Resources

• Professional Photographers of America
• America Society of Media Photographers
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Photo Marketing Association

Technorati Tags: home based photography business, how to start a photography business, photographer business, photography business, photography business plan, starting a photography business

Business Overview:

If you love to cook, enjoy parties, and get great pleasure out of people truly enjoying wonderful food, being a caterer might be a great career choice for you.  If you like to make beautiful presentations of the food you’ll be in even higher demand. Catering is like event planning with a menu.  The diversity offered with this business idea is immense: You can cater everything from formal black tie events to children’s birthday parties to company picnics.  Or maybe you’ll want to specialize in just one area and focus on weddings.  Whatever you choose, you’ll find great flexibility because you get to decide how many events you want to cater and when you want time off.  If you already have a restaurant, adding a catering division may be a simple way to branch out and gain additional customers.  If you are not a restaurateur, you can run this business like many other caterers and prepare all of the food in your own home kitchen and then transport it to the location, or you can do all of the food preparation on site.  Your goal is prepare wonderfully tasting food and to present it in a timely and beautiful manner so that the host doesn’t even need to think about that aspect of the event. This can be a very lucrative career and the possibilities for expansion are immense.

A day in the Life of a Catering Business Owner:

A typical day as a caterer would find you spending the day preparing food for the event you will be catering.  If you choose to prepare the food in your own kitchen this means that you will later be carefully packaging up all the food to transport it to the event location. Once there you will be setting up the food in a beautiful presentation.  If you choose to prepare the food on site, you will need to transport the ingredients and any cooking equipment you may need to the site.  During the actual event you may need to be very close on hand, perhaps serving the food to the guests, either at a buffet table or circulating appetizers among them.  When the event is over you will need to completely clean everything up, collect your payment, and transport everything back to you home. The next day may find you meeting with future clients to discuss menus and pricing for your services.

The Good

• Flexible schedule in being able to select which events you want to cater.
• Being part of a fun and festive atmosphere where celebrations are often taking place.
• Much of the prep work can be performed in your own home.
• Catering services are in demand in nearly every location.

The Bad

• Start-up costs can be high if you do not already have a well-stocked kitchen.
• Long hours may be required on days when a major event is planned.

Resources

• International Caterers Association
• National Association of Catering Executives
• National Restaurant Association
• General Catering Information

Technorati Tags: catering business plan, catering business startup, how to start a catering business, starting a catering business