Re-Opened for Business

So here's the thing: my job is in jeopardy. The old company was acquired by a new company and they're shredding my job and paycheck to the point where I don't even recognize them anymore. I'm just sick about it and have been searching desperately for a new job, but those are not so easy to come by.

But....I own a very small medical transcription service which has been toddling along unassumingly for a couple of years now (I've been in business overall since 1997). It used to be bigger, but when I lost a large client to electronic medical records, I didn't work to replace them but instead took a job as a supervisor at a large national service.

Now that my job is about to be gone, I suppose the reasonable thing is to try to ramp up my service again and start searching for new clients. I run the business from my home, all audio and documents are digital and run through a secure site. Clients can either call in their dictation or use a digital handheld and upload. It's a really sweet setup and works like a charm.

But the problem is that I'm not a salesperson. I'm a great transcriptionist and supervisor, but I suck at marketing and sales.

So how do I go about selling my business and finding new clients? What's the best way to market online and target the audiences that would be looking for a medical transcription service?

I'm hoping someone out there is a sales/marketing genius and is willing to share the love....um I mean advice.

Trip Update

Well, we made it through the flying just fine. The kids were a lot less freaked out than I expected, thank goodness!

Unfortunately, the flight left the airport at 4:40 in the morning, and although I set the alarm for 2:00 a.m., it didn't go off. We woke up at 3:00 and despite that we managed to shower, pack the car, and drive 20 miles and still get at the airport a half hour early. I don't know how we did it...must have been some kind of magic.

We're in Oregon where it has been pouring rain, windy, gray, and dismal. I miss the snow and sunshine in North Dakota!

Anyway, that's the latest. Several more days, then back on a plane and back home.

Talk to y'all later!

Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder

Tomorrow morning at the ungodly hour of 4:30 a.m. we are flying out to Oregon to visit family. I was unable to get vacation time off at Christmas, which is when we usually go back home to visit, so we had to settle for January.

The kids have never flown and my husband has only flown once (we usually travel by train). We will have two layovers; one in Minneapolis and one in Boise. I hope the weather holds so we don't get diverted or cancelled - I so don't want to vacation in an airport.

I'm thinking this whole trip is going to be more of an exercise in frustration control than anything else. I'd really rather stay home, but who among us can say "family obligation?" Yeah, well, that's what this trip amounts to.

Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see our families. I just don't want to have to fly half way across the country in questionable weather conditions with people who have never flown before and may freak out on a plane, just to visit for a week people I can usually only tolerate for a few hours at a time.

*sigh*

Wish us luck.

Introducing: Conversations

I'm starting another blog called Conversations. I wanted a place where I could write about more controversial issues without offending anyone. I'd like to keep this blog more amiable.

If you're interested in lively discussion and debate, or just want to know what other people are thinking about the issues of the day, come on over and check out Conversations.

See you there!

Exposure

I've been pondering a rather solemn event that happened in my family recently and thought I would write about that, but I've had enough solemn for the last week, so for now I'm going to give myself a break from the morose. I can always go back to it later.

I read this article on Yahoo today and it made me giggle. It's called "Facebook's War on Nipples."

It's all about the propriety of public breastfeeding, and how Facebook has been removing photographs that show any fully exposed breast (which is defined as showing the nipple and/or areola). So breastfeeding fanatics are going nuts about this.

Okay, I know for a lot of people it's a serious subject. I just find the whole fuss amusing. Here's how I feel about breastfeeing, if anyone cares: I didn't breastfeed my kids, so I'm slightly irked by all the militant women who insist that breastfeeding will make their kids better, stronger, smarter and/or healthier than every other kid on the planet. My kids are of way above average intelligence, and healthier than most kids, so I think the whole breastfeeding-is-superior-to-everything-else myth is a load of crap.

That being said, I don't really care if women breastfeed in public. It would be nice if they'd have a little modesty and throw a towel or something over their shoulder, but it's certainly not pornographic. However, as a culture we tend to squirm in our seats when we see a naked breast unless it is pornographic. For some reason boobs are more acceptable in pornography or "artistic" black and white photography than they are feeding a baby.

Just like almost every other contentious issue in our culture, people seem to believe it must be one way or the other. Groups, organizations, associations, and factions line up on either side of the issue and start hurling accusations and threats as if only one side can win the argument and from that day forward there will be no other choice but to adhere to the views of the winning side. Did we all forget that there is a middle ground, if anyone is brave enough to wade out into it?

Because at heart I'm a peacemaker - mediator - conciliator, always looking for a happy medium, I wondered:

Women breastfeeding in public aren't hurting anyone, so those people who freak out about it should just lighten up - maybe turn the other way or don't stare at the naked boobs? And women who breastfeed in public might just take into consideration that they're not alone in the world and that when you're in a public place other people's sensitivities should be taken into consideration. How hard is it to put a towel over your shoulder?

Anyway, I found this article to be a welcome diversion from all the stories reviewing the woes of 2008 and speculating on the woes to come in 2009.

So where would you stand on this issue? Are you a mediator or agitator? Are you pro-public breastfeeding or are you squeamish about it? Or do you even care one way or another? Come on, it's the last big issue of 2008...weigh in!

In Reading Heaven

Even though I've been down in the dumps over the holidays because of the uncertainty about my job (see previous post), I was overjoyed at the amount of new reading material received by family members as gifts at Christmas.

My son and I read like crazy, so family members know that books are always an excellent gift for both of us. Of course they obliged, as always, by restocking us with books this year.

Between us we received:

Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Critical Mass by Steve Martini
The Testament by Eric Van Lustbader
The Prodigal Spy by Joseph Kanon
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

We also got a book full of IQ tests, and a book about herbs and their medicinal uses, as well as a book about "freaky science" facts (beware: I'm likely to be posting some of those in the future!)

So we got a pretty good haul for reading this year, but I don't think these books will last very long, though, since I've already finished Artemis Fowl and Inkspell and I'm well into Inkdeath. Both Artemis Fowl and Inkspell were awesome. I can't help myself...books are like chocolate. Once I get started I just can't stop until they're all done!

Having the Rug Pulled Out

Just when I think my life is sailing along smoothly, life pulls the rug out from under me.

I found out last week that the company I work for is being acquired by a much larger company. I have been offered a job with the new company and assurances that my job and my pay will remain the same at least thru Jan 31.

Wow, that long? Gosh, the security is so warm and fuzzy. A whole month.

After having looked at the teeny tiny bit of information they've provided to us after much begging and pestering, from what I can figure out so far is that my job will be significantly different as will my pay after Jan 31...and not for the better.

I've spent a lot of frantic hours lately looking for another job, but of course with the economy in the tank, the job market is not so great. Everyone's cutting back. Nobody's hiring. They're making due with the employees they've got.

So it seems I'm trapped. I either tolerate a significantly different job that I don't want, with less pay which will make it incredibly difficult to support my family, or else I don't have a job at all. What a choice.

I've been just sick with panic. This company, coupled with the company I currently work for, chose 5:00 p.m. the Friday before Christmas to inform everyone of this merger. All of us have been upset and there seem to be few, if any, answers to our questions. I hate to be a glass is half empty kind of person, but what does that say about the company we're going into?

So, I will be spending January desperately searching for a new job, and crossing my fingers that things won't turn out nearly as badly as it seems they will.