Secretarial Services: January 2005

1/30/2005

Secretarial Services - Medical billing resources

Medical Billing Resources

Read Paul's article "Medical Billing from Home: Is it a Scam, Is it Hot or Not? Click here to red what Paul says about the Medical Billing business.

Medical billing beginners book. Paul runs a successful, legitimate medical billing business. He shows how to avoid medical billing scams and educates people about the who, what, where and why of this profitable industry. He shows step-by-step how to start a successful medical billing business from home. This is the only medical billing book I recommend! You must read this before buying software or other products about medical billing. Click here

Medical Billing Certification Program . Comprehensive, affordable online home study. Software and support included. Click here.

To learn more about the Medical Billing Industry before taking a course, read the Medical Billing Beginners Book below. Click here.

Medical billing home study course. Click here.

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Provided by Leva Duell, Start a Secretarial Service, http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/ © 2005.

Be sure to forward this blog to friends who are interested in starting a secretarial service. http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/

Secretarial Services - Medical transcription resources

Recommended Medical Business Resources

1. Michelle has helped many people start their own medical transcription business. She can help you too. The Step-by-Step Guide To Medical Transcription at Home. Click here for details.

2. Medical billing beginners book. Paul runs a successful, legitimate medical billing business. He shows how to avoid medical billing scams and educates people about the who, what, where and why of this profitable industry. He shows step-by-step how to start a successful medical billing business from home. This is the only medical billing book I recommend! You must read this before buying software or other products about medical billing. Click here

Read Paul's article "Medical Billing from Home: Is it a Scam, Is it Hot or Not? Click here to red what Paul says about the Medical Billing business.

Home study courses

Medical Billing Certification Program . Comprehensive, affordable online home study. Software and support included. Click here.

To learn more about the Medical Billing Industry before taking a course, read the Medical Billing Beginners Book below. Click here.

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Secretarial Services - Success tools

Below are success tools for secretarial services and other businesses.

The Secretarial Business-In-A-Box helps you start your own secretarial service. It tells you what kind of clients have typing needs and farm out typing work on a regular basis. It reveals what kind of businesses are the best prospects and provide large typing jobs, word processing, transcription, data entry, and typing. Discover what typing projects are in demand and what other services you can offer in your secretarial service business to create additional profit centers.

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Secretarial Services - Ebay resources

Ebay is the greatest money-making opportunity in history. Part 2.

We selected some of the best books on making money on eBay.

Recommended eBay Resources

How Janiece Smith, a dental hygienist, made up to $11,212 a month on ebay. Find out how you can do it too!

The Ultimate eBay Shopdrop Powerpak gives you everything you need to start and profit from your own successful eBay business today! Click here for more info.

The Silent Sales Machine Hiding On eBay. Automate your online auction income - multiple eBay success strategies. Jim Cockrum combines his eBay experience with direct marketing experience and came up with some effective unknown twists to increasing eBay profits. I highly recommend this book. Click here for more info.

How to Sell Art on eBay. Techniques and strategies to make money with art. Click here.
Free Auction Profits. How To Turn Completely Free Merchandise Into Cold, Hard Cash on eBay. Click here.

The Auction Revolution eBay System. Move into the top 5 percent of eBay Sellers. Click here.

Turbo-Charge Your Auction Store. eBay Sellers' Guide to SELLING MORE & saving 90% on listing fees. Click here.

Sell on eBay. Click here.

Wholesale and dropship directories

If you need to find products to sell there are plenty of wholesale and dropship directories.

Find over 1,000,000 products at wholesale prices. Best buying sources from the U.S. and around the world. Low factory prices. Best manufactures, exporters, wholesalers, drop-shippers. Click here.
North American Wholesale Co-Op Access all the top wholesaler catalogs online. Find items to sell on eBay and more! Click here.
New 2004 Wholesale Source, Free Dropship. We provide you more than just wholesale sources. We dropship directly to your customers for you. Perfect for the active EBAYer. Click here.

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Looking for typing work at home? Start a secretarial business. The Secretarial-Business-in-a-Box provides instant tools you need to start and run a successful secretarial service. Free articles and business start-up newsletter at http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

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1/29/2005

Secretarial Services - Secretarial services you can provide

What secretarial services should you offer?

Your skills will help determine what secretarial services you'll offer. For example, if you've got a good typing speed, you can provide transcription services. If you have design skills, you could provide desktop publishing, graphic design, or graphic layout. If you have legal or medical experience, you may want to target legal or medical clients.

Here are some secretarial services you can provide to home businesses, small businesses, and individuals. You don't need to offer all these services. Analyze your skills. Ask your clients what they need.

Typical services provided by secretarial services:

Word processing or typing such as typing documents, promotional materials, letters, invoices, proposals, reports, memos, correspondence, manuals, books, manuscripts, resumes, job applications, briefs, price lists, templates, articles, meeting minutes, business plans, surveys, forms, miscellaneous applications, academic documents, legal documents, medical documents, term papers, college papers, theses, screenplays, and research papers.
Transcription. Depending on your skills, you may specialize in legal, business, or medical transcription.
Database work and data entry: mailing lists, mailing list management, database maintenance, and database management.
Resumes: Resume typing, resume writing, resume preparation, resume consultation, interview preparation, and submitting resume to online job banks.
Secretarial and administrative work such as filing, phone answering services, and scheduling.

In a future posting, we'll mention even more secretarial services you can offer.

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You can reprint this article on your web site if you include this Resource Box:Looking for typing work at home? Start a secretarial business. The Secretarial-Business-in-a-Box provides instant tools you need to start and run a successful secretarial service. F*ree articles and business start-up newsletter at http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.
Recommended Medical Transcription Resources

Michelle has helped many people start their own medical transcription business. She can help you too. The Step-by-Step Guide To Medical Transcription at Home. Click here for details.

1/28/2005

Secretarial Services - creating readable documents.

When running a secretarial service, it's important to create good-looking documents for yourself and your clients.

Follow these guidelines to make your documents more readable and appealing.

In general, serif fonts are easier to read for body copy. Serif fonts such as Times Roman and Bookman have curly bars at the end of the lines. Sans serif fonts such as Arial and Helvetica have straight ends and are often used for headlines.
Make headlines larger and bolder than the text to attract the reader to the text.
Limit the number of fonts and graphics in your documents. Too many typefaces make a document hard to read.
Use italics, underline, and bold sparingly. Long sentences in italics are hard to read. When overused, bold loses impact and darkens the page.
Sentences or paragraphs in all capitals letters are hard to read. Use capitals only for short headings. For longer headings, use upper/lower case.

Professional-looking documents will make a good impression and will increase credibility and sales.

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Cash in on the high demand for secretarial services. The Secretarial Business-in-a-Box provides everything you need to start and run a successful home-based secretarial business. Visit www.startasecretarialbusiness.com. "

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Secretarial services - creating professional documents - using spaces

Why Using Spaces To Line Up Text Is A Bad Idea

by Rafael Van Dyke

With typewriters being almost a thing of the past, you would think that the typewriter mentality would go along with it. But old habits die hard; and there's one that makes me cringe every time I see it - lining up row of text with the spacebar.

This worked very well with typewriters and even most word processors because you could count every character (including the space) to be exactly the same size. For example, let's say you wanted to create 4 rows of text divided into three columns. You would start off by simply typing the text you wanted in the first column and then hit the spacebar repeatedly until you got to where wanted the next column of text, and repeat these steps for the third column of text. For the next 3 rows, you would press enter, type your first block of text and hit the spacebar again until you were in the same spot that the previous 2nd column started, and the same with the 3rd column.

This technique stills works in today's word processing programs, as long as you continue to use fixed width fonts like Courier or Courier New. There's the catch, you typically won't use fixed width fonts to type your documents with. Instead, you'll be using TrueType fonts like Times New Roman and Arial where each character size is different; therefore, the old spacing technique will never work. Don't be lazy and settle for jagged alignments; learn the new and improved techniques to line up text.

Using the Default Tab Stops

The simple way to line text is to use the default tab stops that are set with every new document (typically every half inch). You would use the same technique as before, except you would hit the tab key instead of the spacebar. Using the tab key actually gets you to your spot a lot faster and you don't have worry about lining up text because the tab stops are in exactly the same place on every line.

Creating Your Own Tab Stops

Creating tab stops in your document is not a new technique. You can actually create tab stops on a typewriter; but it was considered an advanced technique, so only expert typists used them. The concept is still the new, but Microsoft Word makes a lot easier to create them. To create your own tab stops, simply click in the bottom half of the Ruler Bar where you want them each of them set. You'll know it's set when you see an "L" in the ruler bar. After they're all set, you only have to hit the tab key once and it will automatically go the next stop. If you need to make a change to any tab stop location, just click and drag the "L" along the ruler; you can also click and drag the "L" off the ruler to remove a tab stop.

Changing the Tab Alignment

The tab stops we've discussed so far have all been aligned to left. You can change them from left tabs to either center, right, or decimal tabs (good for aligning numbers with a decimal in them). To do so, simply click on the box directly to the left of the ruler bar that has an "L" in it; each time you click, the symbol changes to a different tab alignment. However, this technique is the hardest to learn and to manage. There's a better to creating lists with different alignments.

The Best Technique - A Table

Using a table is by far the best way to create any type of list you want. You simply create a table with the number of columns and rows that you need, adjust the column widths by clicking and dragging the column lines, and just type your text in each cell. You can change the alignment by simply using the alignment buttons you normally would for a paragraph. The added advantage of tables is being able to format them with borders and shading. Typically the top row would contain your headings, which you could format with bold text and a gray background. If you don't need any special formatting, simply highlight the table and remove all the borders and shading.

Either way, using a table will be easier to maintain than any other technique. But any technique is better than trying to use the spacebar. If you haven't already, for your own good … please break this habit!

Rafael Van Dyke is the site owner of BETTERDOCUMENTS.COM and the editor of its articles & newsletters. Go to http://www.betterdocuments.com to subscribe to newsletters and to download FREE DOCUMENT TEMPLATES.

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Ebay - the greatest money-making opportunity

Ebay is the greatest money-making opportunity in history. Don' t miss out!
Selling on eBay is the easiest way to make money online. Many eBay Power sellers are making $5,000-$10,000+ per month. Did you see the 60 Minutes report that featured regular folks just like you and me who are making incredible money selling on eBay? Here's the part of the report that should get you very excited:

Laurie Liss and her mother Darlene built their own eBay business that is now selling $30,000 to $40,000 a month!
A 43-year-old mother makes $2000 a week on eBay!
There are nearly 69 million eBay users who spend $59 million every day.
Thousands of people are giving up their day jobs to sell on eBay full time.
More than 500 bids are placed every minute of every day
Ebay is conducting 12 million auctions in about 18,000 different categories at any given moment.
About two million new items are offered for sale every day and 62 million registered users visit eBay to find them.

Get your share of the eBay profits!

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Training and courses for secretarial services

Do you need to brush up on your secretarial skills? Here's some secretarial training tools, tutorials, and success tools.

Computer Training and Tutorials

Tutorials.com. Learn the most popular software, including Microsoft Windows, Word, preventing, and more.
Computer Training CDs

Home study courses

Medical Transcription

My friend Michelle has helped many people start their own medical transcription business. She can help you too.The Step-by-Step Guide To Medical Transcription at Home. Click here for details.

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Secretarial Service - Providing Transcription

Transcription is one of the most profitable services you can provide in your secretarial service. You can provide business transcription, general transcription, legal transcription, and medical transcription.

Provide these guidelines to your transcription clients to get quality transcription work, avoid time delays and mistakes, and reduce transcribing fees.

1. Use a good quality microphone. Position the microphone near all speakers.

2. Check the batteries in the dictation equipment.

3. Use tapes designed for voice dictation. They filter out background noise. Demagnetize and clean tapes regularly.

4. Erase the tape before dictation and indicate the end of the transcription to avoid transcribing old materials.

5. Rewind the tape to the beginning of the dictation.

6. Dictate in a quiet environment. Turn off the TV and radio. Distance the microphone from air conditioners and fans. Avoid noise, music, and acoustics in restaurants, outdoors, and airplanes.

7. Speak clearly. Instruct people not to talk simultaneously. Identify all speakers.

8. Don't eat or drink when dictating.

9. Discuss the purpose of the transcription and style preferences with the transcriptionist. Do you want a verbatim transcript for legal purposes? Do you want to include sounds like uh, um, hmmm? Do you want to indicate laughter and long pauses?

10. Avoid delays and costly revisions by spelling unusual words and words with questionable spelling, i.e. Kathryn, Katherine, Catherine, or Caterine. Provide supporting documents and words the transcriptionist may not be familiar with such as technical terms, names, streets, and cities.

Instruct your transcription clients to provide you with a high quality recording to get an accurate transcript at the lowest possible price.

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http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

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You can reprint this article on your web site if you include this Resource Box: Looking for typing work at home? Start a secretarial business. The Secretarial-Business-in-a-Box provides instant tools you need to start and run a successful secretarial service. F*ree articles and business start-up newsletter at http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

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Recommended Medical Transcription Resources

Michelle has helped many people start their own medical transcription business. She can help you too. The Step-by-Step Guide To

Medical Transcription at Home. Click here for details.

1/27/2005

Articles About Starting a Secretarial Service

Here's some articles that will help you start a secretarial service.

How to choose a name for your secretarial service.

Choosing a business name for your secretarial business is important.Select it carefully. Be sure the name fits these criteria. Click here to read the article.

Business start-up cost to start a secretarial service business.

Mentions costs involved in starting a secretarial service. Click here to read the article.

Business start-up checklist for secretarial services.
Discusses tasks involved in starting a secretarial service. Click here to read the article.

Equipment needed to run a secretarial service business.
To start a secretarial business, you will need a computer, major word processing program, and a printer. Click here to read the article.

Turning keyboarding skills into cash!

Don't fall for typing scams. Find out the legitimate ways to use your keyboarding skills from home. Click here to read the article.

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The Secretarial Business-In-A-Box helps you start

your own secretarial service. It tells you what kind of clients have typing needs and farm out typing work on a regular basis. It reveals what kind of businesses are the best prospects and provide large typing jobs, word processing, transcription, data entry, and typing. Discover what typing projects are in demand and what other services you can offer in your secretarial service business to create additional profit centers.

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1/26/2005

Secretarial Services - Medical Transcription At Home

If you have typing skills, you should seriously consider a medical transcription at home career. You can start small and build up your business at your own pace, in your spare time.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical transcriptionists can expect job opportunities to be good. Government job information data suggests that employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012.

My friend Michelle has helped many people start a medical transcription business. She can help you too.The Step-by-Step Guide To Medical Transcription at Home. Visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/medical-transcription.html

Below is an article written by Michele.

A Medical Transcription At Home Career

by Michele Miller

As a medical transcriptionist, I get asked several times a month how I got started in this business. So many people nowadays want to work from home, especially mothers with young children. That's the primary reason I started my home business ten years ago, so I could be there for my daughter. I didn't want someone else taking care of her after school instead of me.

It's really not hard to start a medical transcription business. The start-up costs are low compared to many other home-based businesses.

You need a form of education, via home study courses or by attending your local community college. You do NOT need a degree in medical transcription to start a business either. In a short amount of time, usually nine months or less, you can be working from the comfort of your own home, just like me.

You will need some equipment, such as a computer, a printer, a transcriber, and some reference books. All of which can be purchased second hand if need be. The latest and greatest equipment is not necessary to get started.

Now, there are some special skills you will need, outside of the education, which include:

Ability to type - your speed will increase with experience.
Excellent grammar skills.
Good listening skills.
Basic computer skills with a work processing program.
Research skills.
Must be detail oriented.
Ability to work on your own.
Ability to maintain work deadlines and be a self-motivator.You will also need some computer programs such as a medical spellchecker and a word expander utility to cut down on the amount of actual typing you do. Some programs, such as Microsoft Word® include this type of utility. It is the best invention by far, in my opinion.
Basic bookkeeping is necessary, but not difficult. A good bookkeeper is great to have when it comes to taxes and advising you about saving money with tax deductions for your business.

Medical transcription is usually paid by the amount of work transcribed. Therefore, it is quite normal to charge your clients by the line. If you charge 13 cents per line and type 200 lines per hour, (this is a very comfortable speed to type) your hourly rate would end up being about $26.00.

Being self-employed does have some pitfalls. One must consider, as with any home based business, that once you become self-employed you are responsible for securing your own health insurance, and putting away money for retirement.

However, there are many positive things about being self-employed, as I'm sure you can imagine. For me, what I love the most, is the flexibility I have with my time. If I want to work late in the day I can, and if I want to work early in the morning, that's up to me. Running a home-based medical transcription business is a lot of fun.

Medical transcription is not for everyone, and it is important before venturing into any business that you weigh up the pros and cons of it all and do what is best for your situation.

Michele has helped many people start their own medical transcription business. She can help you too. She is the author of The Step-by-Step Guide To Medical Transcription at Home. Visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/medical-transcription.html

Secretarial Services - Creating Error-Free Documents

Your secretarial clients expect error-free work. Apply the proofreading tips below to proof your documents. The type of document and purpose will determine how you proofread. Proofreading a legal document will be different from proofreading documents with multiple columns, numbers, or names.

Proofing Tips

Use your word processor's spell checker first.
Then read and proof your document thoroughly.
Read backwards (right to left or bottom to top) to concentrate on spelling instead of content.
Reread the document for content to find omissions and plurals.
Wait a couple of hours or a day to proofread what you typed. You are more likely to find errors.
Have others proofread your documents. Consider using a professional editor.

What to Check

Check for overlooked insertions, omissions, and duplications.
Check parenthesis, quotation marks, apostrophes, hyphenation, and compound words.
Verify any words you are not sure of.
Watch out for words the spellchecker won't catch such as it's/its, their/there, your/you're, were/where, then/than, and to/too.
Check for consistent spelling of specialized words throughout the document.
When adding or revising information, check the changes and additions.

Letters/Memos

Check the date.
Check name, address, phone number (in letterhead), subject or reference line, signature, and recipients of copies.

Long Text (manuals and other documents with 10 or more pages)

Check consistency. Using a style sheet will help you to be consistent with tables, titles, subtitles, and headings.
Check spacing before and after paragraphs, titles and subtitles. Viewing documents in outline view helps you check spacing consistency.
Proofread in steps. Check all the titles first for consistency in size, type style, and spacing before and after. Then check paragraphs, numbering, etc.
Use your computer's automatic page numbering. Check if all pages are printed and sorted in the right sequence.
Check sequence of numbers of itemized items. Verify that you have all items.

Technical and Legal Documents

Read the body of the document against the original. Proofread sentence by sentence to catch omissions. Or have someone else read the draft while you verify your work.
Check the outline. Check headings, sequence of numbers, letters, and indentations.
Statistics, Tables, Accounting, and Itemized Data
Having someone else read the original while you check your copy.
For columns: If you input data across the page, then proofread your copy down the columns. If you typed the information down the page, then proofread across the page. Proofread numbers across the page, then down the page. Verify the number of entries in each column with your copy.

Transcription

Follow your office or client guidelines. If you did not receive guidelines, decide on a style and be consistent.
Verify names and specialized terms.
After transcribing, replay the tape at the fastest speed and verify your finished typing against the tape to pick up misspellings.
After you are accustomed to the style and content of a dictation, replay unclear phrases while transcribing instead of listening to the complete tape a second time.

Make a good impression and increase credibility with error-free documents. Take the time to proofread.

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Looking for typing work at home? Start a secretarial business. The Secretarial-Business-in-a-Box provides instant tools you need to start and run a successful secretarial service.

The Secretarial-Business-in-a-Box provides a proofing disclaimer and client agreement to protect secretarial services from liability.

Free articles and business start-up newsletter at

http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

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Provided by Leva Duell, Start a Secretarial Service, http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/ © 2005

Be sure to forward this blog to friends who are interested in starting a secretarial service. http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/

How to Design Effective Business Cards

If you're in business, you are expected to have business cards. Business cards are one of your best marketing tools. Make sure your business cards convey a professional image. Follow these tips when designing your business cards.

Do not use clip art.
Design a logo or have one designed. For secretarial services, this can be as simple as using a special font for the business name.
Provide a benefit-oriented headline. The benefit and tag line for my secretarial business is "Office Support Without the Overhead."
Mention your phone number, email, and web address. If you work from home, do NOT mention your street address.
Use the back of your card to provide additional information or tips. Secretarial services can mention the different services they provide such as word processing, transcription, desktop publishing, graphic design, and data entry. Or mention the documents you can create such as flyers, brochures, manuals, and mailing labels.
Use good quality paper.
Choose business-like colors.
Order new cards when any information on the card changes.
Carry your business cards with you at all times.

Business Card Resources

Get free business cards at Vista Print. Click here for more information.

Get 250 premium quality, full-color business cards FREE! An $85.00 value! Click here.

Shop Office Depot for Customized Business Cards, Stationery, and More!

The Secretarial Business-In-A-Box helps you start your own secretarial service. It tells you what kind of clients have typing needs and farm out typing work on a regular basis. It reveals what kind of businesses are the best prospects and provide large typing jobs, word processing, transcription, data entry, and typing. Discover what typing projects are in demand and what other services you can offer in your secretarial service business to create additional profit centers.

1/25/2005

Secretarial Services. Getting Typing, Word Processing, Data Entry, and Transcription Work

Do you have good typing skills? Have you considered providing secretarial services, typing, word processing, transcription, or data entry work from home?

I use the term "typing" here because most people still refer to word processing as "typing."

First, I want to warn you about typing scams. Don't fall for ads mentioning they have work for home typists or will provide you with lists of customers. Most of these ads are scams. Click here for more information about typing scams.

Here's the good news. It is possible to get typing work from home. If you have typing skills, the best way to get typing work from home is by starting a secretarial or transcription business and get your own clients.

There is a high demand for secretarial services. Many small business need help with word processing, administrative work, and data entry. Organizations and individuals need typing work as well.

I've ran a secretarial business from home for 13 years and have many friends who operate a secretarial business. Some have been providing their secretarial services for over 20 years and make a full-time living from their business.

Secretarial services offer a wide range of services. Most secretarial services provide typing, word processing, transcription, data entry, and miscellaneous office support services. In addition, some secretarial services provide mailing services, bookkeeping, and miscellaneous administrative services. Writing, typing, and updating resumes are a profitable addition to a secretarial service.

To provide secretarial services, you'll need a computer, a word processing program, and a printer.

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1/24/2005

Secretarial services and recommended home businesses

Secretarial Services.

If you know how to type, you can provide secretarial services from home. Click here for more information on starting a secretarial service.

If you are interested in providing secretarial services, you might also be interested in the following home-based businesses. They can be a business in themselves or additional profit centers to your secretarial service.

Medical Transcription.

My friend Michelle has helped many people start their own medical transcription business. She can help you too! Click here for details about starting a medical transcription business.
http://www.startasecretarialservice.com/medical-transcription.html

Surveys.

Get paid $5 to $75 per survey. $10 to $125 per hour! Fill out simple 10-25 minute online surveys? Click here for details about online surveys.
http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/businesses/make-money-online-surveys.html

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Leva Duell has operated her home-based secretarial service for 13 years. She is the author of The Secretarial Business-In-A-Box, a complete start up kit to start a secretarial business. Visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

1/23/2005

Secretarial Services - Equipment Needed

What equipment do you need to operate a secretarial service?

To start a secretarial service, you will need a computer, major word processing program, and a printer.

You don’t need a high-end computer for word processing. However, if you want to provide graphic design or web design, you'll need a powerful system.

Most computers come with a word processing program. I recommend using Microsoft Word because most of your clients will use it.

Many secretarial services start their secretarial service with an inkjet printer because they are less expensive than laser printers. I recommend using a laser printer because it provides better quality printouts and faster speed. You need a laser printer if you provide graphic design or resumes.

You may need a fax machine if your clients want to fax you work. At first, you can use your computer to send and receive faxes but you'll only be able to send faxes of documents you have in your computer.

To provide transcription services, you will need a transcription machine. Transcribers have a headset and foot pedal. The foot pedal allows you to stop and rewind the cassette while having your hands available for keyboarding. Until you have a transcription client, you won't know which size cassettes you'll get. Talk to your prospective clients before buying any equipment. Or call secretarial services and transcriptionists in your area and ask what size cassettes they are getting.

\Transcription machines are available from Sony, Panasonic, Olympus, Lanier, Sanyo, and Dictaphone. Office Direct has a large selection of transcription machines at http://www.officedirectinc.com/SyStand.htm. Check local office supply stores such as http://www.officedepot.com and http://www.officemax.com.

You can buy new and used transcription machines, computers, and other equipment at a fraction of the cost at http://www.ebay.com.

Check out this web site for used equipment:http://www.mtdaily.com/ads.html
You can start your secretarial business with just a computer and printer. Buy additional equipment or software when a project requires it.

Checklist for starting a secretarial service

Below are some of the tasks involved in starting a secretarial service.

Write a business plan.
Determine what services you want to offer.
Determine what kind of clients you want to target.
Determine a space where you will set up your home office or select a business location.
Purchase equipment and office supplies: computer, software, printer, desk, and computer chair, pens, paper, paper clips, and stapler.
Choose a business name.
Verify that the name is not used by someone else.
Register your Fictitious Business Name (D.B.A.) if you will operate your business under a name other than your personal name.
Check if the business name is available as a domain name (e.g. yourname.com) and register the domain name.
Get a separate phone line. If you plan on advertising in the Yellow Pages, you may need a business line.
Create sales/promotional materials.
Design a logo.
Design and print business cards.
Design flyers or postcards.
Design letterhead (print it from your computer).
Design a fax cover sheet.
Design invoices/sales receipts.
Write sales letters.
Design a web site or have one designed. Select a domain name and hosting company. Check out Five Star Web Design for affordable web design.
Get an email address.
Get a business license. (check with your city and state)
Order Yellow Pages advertising and other advertising.
Call everyone you know and introduce your business.
Open a business bank account.

You will need to take additional steps if you'll have employees, a business partner, or will incorporate. Procedures vary from state to state. Check with your city and county to find out what legal requirements you'll have to comply with.

Refer to this checklist often when starting your secretarial service to check what steps you'll need to take next.

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Resources

Shop Office Depot for Customized Business Cards, Stationery, and More!

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Looking for an easy way to start a secretarial service? The Secretarial Business-In-A-Box provides marketing strategies and ready-to-use sales letters, postcards, forms, and templates. Visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

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Be sure to forward this blog to friends who are interested in starting a secretarial service. http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/

Secretarial Services - Start-up cost

Here's what you'll need to run your secretarial service and the estimated start-up cost for starting a secretarial service.

You can start your secretarial service with just a computer, printer, a few business cards, and a pack of paper. You can get additional equipment and supplies later.

Computer. Any computer will get you started. You don’t need a high-end computer to do word processing. However, if you want to provide graphic design or web design services, then you'll want to get the best computer you can afford. Cost: From $200 for a used computer to $1000-$2500 for a new computer.

Software: Most computers come with a word processing program. I recommend using Microsoft Word as soon as you can afford it because that's what most of your clients will have. Cost: Check with Microsoft for the current rates.

Printer: I recommend a laser printer but many secretarial services use an inexpensive inkjet printer. Cost: From $20 for a used inkjet printer to $600-$2000 for a laser printer.

Desk. You can get a small computer desk or use a table. Check local office supply stores such as Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Staples. All three have catalogs. Cost: $30 and up. You have a lot of choices for $100-$200.

Computer chair. Choose one that feels comfortable to you. The more expensive chairs are not necessarily the most comfortable ones. Cost: $30-$200.

Office supplies. You'll need at least one pack of paper to print your clients' work. Cost: $3-$7.

Telephone: I recommend getting a separate phone line from the beginning. Cost: Check with your local phone company.

Business cards: Print your business cards on your own printer one sheet at the time or have a set of 500 or 1000 printed for $20-$100.

Business license. Cost: $20-$100 depending on the city and county you're conducting business in.
If you already have a computer, your start-up cost is minimal.

All the best success with your secretarial business!

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Looking for typing work at home? Start a secretarial service. The Secretarial-Business-in-a-Box provides instant tools you need to start and run a successful secretarial service. Free articles and business start-up newsletter http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

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Provided by Leva Duell, Start a Secretarial Service, http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/ © 2004

Be sure to forward this blog to friends who are interested in starting a secretarial service. http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/

1/22/2005

Secretarial Services - Medical transcription

If you have secretarial and word processing skills, consider medical transcription.

Medical Transcription.

Michelle has helped many people start their own medical transcription business. She can help you too.
Click here for more information about starting a medical transcription business: http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/medical-transcription.html

Read these articles to find out if medical transcription is for you..

Articles about medical transcription and medical billing

Medical transcription and medical billing
How Michele started her medical transcription at home career
Medical transcription appeals to rural residents
Medical transcription resources
Medical billing - is it a real business or a scam?

Provided by Leva Duell - Start a Secretarial Service
http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com

Articles about secretarial services

Secretarial Service.
If you know how to type, you can provide secretarial services from home. The Secretarial Business-in-a-Box provides everything you need to start and run your own secretarial service.Click here for more information about starting a secretarial service.

Articles about starting a secretarial service:

For more information about starting a secretarial service business, visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com

Secretarial Services - Fictitious business name

Today, we'll discuss how to register your fictitious business name for your secretarial service.

If you want to operate your secretarial service under a name other than your personal name, e.g., John Doe doing business as "Typing Plus," the county, city, or state may require you to register your fictitious name. Registering your business name also prevents others from using it.

Procedures vary from state to state. In many states, you pay a registration fee to the county clerk at the county office. Some states require placing a fictitious-name ad in a local newspaper. The newspaper printing the legal notice for your business name usually files the necessary papers with the county for a small fee. Check your local papers and shop around as prices vary drastically. Papers with smaller circulation are less expensive. Your bank may require a fictitious-name registry to open a business account. Call your bank or local city courthouse to find out the procedure for your area.

Fictitious-name filings do not apply to corporations in most states unless the corporation is doing business under a name other than its own. You won't need to register a fictitious business name if your own name is part of your business name because the registration's purpose is to protect your clients by making it public knowledge who owns the business.

Sample of Fictitious Business Names

Private Secretary Office * Professional Secretarial Services * Right Now Secretarial Services * SOS Secretarial Services * Express Secretarial Services * A Word Processing Professional * Anderson Typefast * A-Plus Office Services, Inc. * Computer-Ready Transcribing * Creative Computer Graphics * Dial-In Word Processing * Office Specialist * Fast Fingers * Fast Secretarial Services * Fast Word Processing * Hypertyper * International Word Processing * Jill's Word Processing * Office Support And More * The Office Extension * The Secretary * The Steno Pool * The Village Word Processor * The Word Processing Center * Word Processing By Marie * Word Processing Emergencies.

After selecting your business name, you can create your logo, letterhead, envelopes, and business cards.

All the best success with your secretarial business!

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Get the instant tools to start your own secretarial business NOW. "The Secretarial Business-In-A-Box" provides the following tools: - Who your most profitable clients are and how to get their business.- Proven marketing strategies to grow your business in record time - 16 ready-to-use postcards to promote your secretarial business - 7 proven letters to promote your secretarial business - Forms to run your business. Get the instant tools to start your own secretarial business NOW. Visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

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RECOMMENDED HOME BUSINESSES

Get paid $5 to $75 per survey. $10 to $125 per hour! Fill out simple 10-25 minute online surveys? Click here for details. http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/surveys.html

Start a home-based medical transcription business visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/medical-transcription.html

If you are interested in other home-based businesses, visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/start-a-home-business.html

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Be sure to forward this blog to friends who are interested in starting a secretarial service. http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/

Be sure to forward this blog to friends who are interested in starting a secretarial service.

Secretarial Services - Choose a business name

Today, we'll discuss how to choose a name for your secretarial business.

Choosing a business name for your secretarial business is important.Select it carefully.

Be sure the name fits these criteria:

Indicate what kind of business you are in
Easy to remember
Distinctive - stand out from your competition
Catch the client's attention
Create a professional image
Inspire clients to buy from you

Which of these has more appeal? HyperTyper or Judy's Word Processing?
"HyperTyper" tells what Gloria Laube of La Mesa does. Not only does she type, but she types fast. Many people have commented they choose Gloria's services because of her business name.

A Promotional Tool

The right name is an effective advertising tool. If it doesn't describe the nature of your business, potential clients may not realize that you offer something they need.

Choose a name that is simple and easy to remember. You want your clients to be able to pronounce it and spell it. They also have to remember it to call information when they lost your phone number. For example --- Which of these is easier to remember: "Bob's Graphics," or "La sécretere Rapide?"

The first letter of your business name will affect where you are listed in the Yellow Pages. Keep your name short - long name increases your advertising cost.

List Characteristics

List all the characteristics of your business. Find synonyms. Check several categories in the Yellow Pages and look for existing names you like. Play with combinations and variations of all of the above.

Brainstorm

Think, brainstorm and you will come up with ideas that fit your needs. The process of brainstorming involves the interaction among several people where each throws out ideas. Send a short survey to your friends and business associates. Have them vote from 1-10.

Try using any of these descriptions in a name.* Word processing * Secretarial services * Transcription/transcribing * Medical Transcription * Legal Transcription * Office support * Desktop publishing * Graphic design

Should You Use Your Own Name?

Using your own name, followed by the type of service works well if you have a reputation in your specialty. An example is "Jim Smith's Medical Transcription" or "John Doe's Legal Transcription." Looking like a one-person organization makes your business more personalized. People like to deal with the same person rather than with different people each time.

Try your own name in combination with any of the above. Add words such as:* Professional * Excellent * Reliable/dependable * Fast * Express * Creative.

Test Your Name

Once you have chosen a few names, test them out on friends and family, potential clients and everyone you know. Ask them what kind of service they think you provide and what feeling they get about the name.

In our next blog, we'll discuss "How to Register Your Fictitious Business Name (D.B.A.)."

All the best success with your secretarial business!

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Resources

Click here to get free business cards printed. Shop Office Depot for Customized Business Cards, Stationery, and More!

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Visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.

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Recommended Home Businesses

Get paid $5 to $75 per survey. $10 to $125 per hour! Fill out simple 10-25 minute online surveys? Click here for details.
http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/surveys.html

Start a home-based medical transcription business
visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/medical-transcription.html

If you are interested in other home-based businesses,
visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/start-a-home-business.html

* * * * * * * * * *

Be sure to forward this blog to friends who are interested in starting a secretarial service. http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com

1/21/2005

Welcome to the secretarial service blog

Welcome to the secretarial service blog.

This blog is for people interested in starting and running a secretarial service. Visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com for more details.

Provided by Leva Duell, Start a Secretarial Service, http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com

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