Breaking free from the grind: Colleen's path to work-life balance as a transcript proofreader. Graduate interview with Colleen Hayes

020: English class was always Colleen's favorite class, and she loved reading and being analytical. She went to college for a degree in Literature and even taught English abroad for a couple years in Europe.

When she returned home, she entered the traditional workforce, setting her passion for English aside. She soon found though that she struggled with a 40-hour work week and felt guilty when she needed time off. Her mental and physical health -- and her life! -- were all taking a back seat to her work.

Now in her early 30s, Colleen felt stuck and restless. She knew this wasn't the life she wanted, and she went looking for something better.

She tried different jobs, but none were what she was looking for...until she found transcript proofreading.

At first, she felt nervous about being a business owner. That hadn't been on her radar!

But she decided to give it a try...and just six months later, she had built up all the clientele she needed and had created a life where she could feel respected and give respect, be in charge of her schedule, take back control of her health, and live life on her terms.

Listen as Colleen shares her story leading up to becoming a transcript proofreader, how she approached learning a new skill, and what her life looks like now. She also gives invaluable tips to current transcript proofreading students and those thinking about this new side hustle. If you want to learn from someone who has successfully built their own business, this episode is for you!

To grab the show notes for this episode, including any links mentioned and the transcript, visit

theproofreadingbusinesscoach.com/episode020

Connect with me on

Instagram @theproofreadingbusinesscoach
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Or send me an email: elizabeth@elizabethjwiegner.com

Transcript

Elizabeth 0:04

This is the Proofreading Business Podcast with Elizabeth Wigner. For more, visit theproofreadingbusinesscoachcom. All right, today I have a grad guest on today and for those of you who are inside the community, you are instantly going to recognize her. It is Colleen Hayes. For those who aren't in the grad community and the student community, colleen is she's not only a grad, but she's also one of our moderators inside the community and that's kind of a weird term, moderator because you are more. You do literally everything for the students inside the community.

Elizabeth 0:43

But I am so excited to have you on because we have so much good stuff to talk about, not only like tips that you have to help people thinking about proofreading current students. But I also feel like you and I are very similar in like our reasons for why we proof. We are both. We don't have kids. We are in. We like to do this for the freedom of it, for being able to choose yourself your goals and stretch yourself further. Challenge yourself, be your own person, and I'm excited to get to talk about that today. So all that to say welcome, colleen.

Colleen 1:18

Thank you so much, elizabeth. I'm really excited to be here and, for all of you who know, this is Colleen Hayes, the proofreader, and not Colleen Hayes, the reporter, so keep that in mind.

Elizabeth 1:31

It's so funny. They're literally same name, same spelling court reporter and proofreader and it might cause some confusion sometimes, but we always get it cleared up.

Colleen 1:41

I'm so excited to be a guest today and talk a little bit about my proofreading journey. So yeah, lay it on me.

Elizabeth 1:48

All right. Well, let's kick it off. Tell me about your background. What were you doing before proofreading, kind of like lay the stage for what eventually got you here?

Colleen 1:58

Sure, so I am, I would say, probably on the lower average age of our proofreaders. I'm in my mid-30s I actually just turned 34 on Friday, dropping that.

Elizabeth 2:10

Happy birthday, thank you.

Colleen 2:13

And I grew up in New Jersey. I went to New Jersey public schools. I was always one of those kids who got relatively good grades, especially in English and history, but I always got that note on my report cards. Colleen is a joy to have in class, but she needs to finish her homework. Kindergarten all the way up through senior year, it was a recurring theme that is so funny.

Elizabeth 2:44

I would not have pictured that of you. I love it yeah.

Colleen 2:50

And you know I found science and math relatively interesting, but I always struggled with them. So I always knew I wanted to go and you know, english class was always my favorite class. I knew I loved reading, literature and analyzing and all of that. So when I went to college I went to Guilford College down in North Carolina. It's a small Quaker school. I ended up majoring in English, literature and German. I absolutely fell in love with my German professor Shout out to Dave Lindbergh. He was just such an engaging instructor and I had had kind of.

Colleen 3:30

You know I had to take a language requirement, but I wasn't sure what to do. So I took German my first semester and I ended up studying abroad in Munich and then, after I graduated from college, I went and taught English abroad for two years in Austrian high schools. Wow yeah, it was an amazing adventure, and I mean in terms of work-life balance. I was required to do 13 hours of instruction per week and then I had the rest of the time to myself. Nice, yeah, I got to travel. I got to, you know, meet other English and German speakers nearby. I think I ended up getting about a dozen countries under in my passport during that time abroad. So that was.

Colleen 4:18

It was an incredible adventure and I learned so much about, I mean obviously, german I had, and I learned so much about, I mean obviously, german. My German got very good. I learned a lot about, you know, problem solving. You know, when you're traveling in a new place you need to be able to be on your toes and navigate cultural differences. All of that and I just you know it reinforced my love of adventure. So I got back from Austria and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do next. Teaching was fun, but I also knew it was a lot more work than what I had been doing, thought you know, okay, I'm not going to go to the traditional teaching route, but what else can I do? I ended up moving to Philly. I moved into this gigantic house with six roommates and we all tried to split food. It was in like one set of washer dryers. It was a disaster.

Elizabeth 5:17

That sounds awful In a good way. That was right, a right, a good, awful, great learning experience.

Colleen 5:27

Yeah, I mean, it wasn't. It wasn't all bad, but it was tough too. You know, um, we had a beautiful house. It was a. You know, philly was a again a wonderful adventure. Thankfully I didn't have anybody else. You know, I had my own room to myself at least okay.

Elizabeth 5:41

good, okay, that's good, good, that's good.

Colleen 5:44

Yeah, but you know I was. So I was living in Philly, similar to you. I was working three jobs, three part-time jobs to make it meet ends meet. One of them a few of them were part-time administrative assistant jobs for nonprofits or HR departments, things like that, and I liked that work, but there wasn't a lot of room to expand and grow in where I was. I also I was waiting tables and I worked on the weekends as a youth group facilitator for the Quakers of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Colleen 6:27

So I got a lot of different experiences under my belt, but I was also, as I said, a bit limited in what I could do next. So a couple of other things happened and during lockdown I ended up deciding to move back in with my parents in New Jersey. It was just easier for the family and at that point I wasn't working. I was looking for other remote opportunities or to pivot in some way, and I just allowed myself a little bit of space to explore which was really important, as you can imagine all of those jobs, all of those roommates. It was just, it was a lot.

Elizabeth 7:13

And I needed a little bit of space, yeah.

Colleen 7:16

Yeah. So I ended up researching a couple different things. I looked into getting into technical writing. I did a short gig as a recruiter and I also did a little bit of ghost writing too, for different like photography articles, things like that and I was really intrigued by the idea of technical writing, which is producing you know manuals for different machinery or you know your technical documentation for software. And then I realized that you really needed to know coding to be able to get a job in technical writing. And you know, I got the GitHub account. I started learning all this stuff and my brain just wasn't absorbing it. So I decided, you know, I just kept looking and eventually I found your program and it seemed like it was a great fit wow, what a journey to get there.

Elizabeth 8:18

Yeah, when you said you were hr and admin assistant and non-profit, I was like while working through that, that is, that was literally what I was doing. Are we the same person, just in different states?

Colleen 8:29

Basically yeah.

Elizabeth 8:33

So and I also you focus on, you know you have limited upward movement, which is also something that I mean. Even I mean you have a college degree and you have an amazing background with everything that you've done, and yet it's still. I mean I think that's a common thing to feel is, even with a college degree, feeling like you're limited and don't have a lot of options. Or you have options, but is that really where you want to spend your life or what you want to spend your time doing?

Colleen 9:03

Absolutely, and I think you know there are many things that contributed to this kind of route and some of it is. I'm realizing, 10 years out from my degree, how much an alumni network, a strong alumni network, is crucial to college graduate successes. You can have all the skills that you want. It's knowing people who can get you in the room to have a good conversation, and I didn't necessarily get a great benefit from that, and you know there's I love. For example, I worked at a nonprofit called the German Society of Pennsylvania and we had a lot of fun. I helped them with their membership database. I also helped them organize and staff events. You know we put on some really great parties, but you know a small nonprofit, they only have a limited budget and they hired me for a very specific reason. So you know, at some point you have to ask yourself when it's time to move on, and that's what it came down to.

Elizabeth 10:07

So yeah, so what attracted you? After you know, I love that you've tried a lot of different things too, because I feel like it can kind of be frowned upon, used to it's getting more common to have multiple jobs and not feel like you're job hopping or not a stable person. That's what I've done. I've done a lot of different jobs, like you, trying to find what I loved, and, like you said, you've learned so much from it and also learned what you don't like or what your brain just doesn't wrap around. So tell me when you got transcript proofreading, what was kind of like oh, this could work. And then kind of tell me your journey through learning transcripts sure, uh.

Colleen 10:48

And to your point earlier, my, my parents were in the same careers their entire lives. My dad worked for the same pharmaceutical research company for 45 years. My mom switched jobs, but she stood and stayed in the early childhood field.

Elizabeth 11:06

Yeah, it's like the generation before us. That's what's really common, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Colleen 11:12

It's just a whole new world to navigate, and you know, different rules and tips apply so yes.

Colleen 11:18

What led me to transcript proofreading was, like many of the people you've interviewed, I was served up one of your ads on Instagram. I actually one of my dearest friends is a disability advocate and she especially works with chronically ill folks trying to navigate all of these systems and they have a bunch of like. They follow a bunch of hashtags about fully remote work, accessible work, things like that, and they're actually the person who sent me your ad initially very neat, yeah, and they know that I'm I'm really into grammar and that I'm good at these things.

Colleen 11:58

I've looked over all of our friends resumes and blurbs and short bios many times, so so you know, I sat on the ad for a week or two and then I thought to myself, you know what? I'm in a good space where I can take this risk, and I think this will really play to my strengths. So I decided to try it out and I'm very glad I haven't looked back since. It's really been a great fit. So absolutely.

Elizabeth 12:27

I mean not even just from transcript proofreading, but now getting to support the students too. It's just, it's amazing, yeah. So tell me, like when you got started, was there anything you were worried about starting your business or things that you particularly struggled with or what was? Because some people, like they go all in and it's positive all the way, like they love it even if it is challenging, but it's, and then some you have a lot of doubts or concerns along the way. What was kind of your thought process journey while you were learning?

Colleen 12:57

Yeah, Well, some of the things that were a challenge for me. I had never imagined myself to be a business owner before enrolling in this class. It was, I don't know a lot of people who have started their own business and kept with it for a while. It's not necessarily something that's modeled to me.

Colleen 13:19

You know I had had a couple of harebrained schemes about, oh, it'd be fun to open this kind of a shop or do that, but I'd never actually opened, cracked a book to see what the process would be like business administration and management portions which you go over very thoroughly in phase three of your course. So that certainly helped and I think the more that I got assurances with my proofreading skills, the more I was able to remember. You know you already have a lot of these administrative skills that you've used for other people and being able to ramp up my business at my own pace is a big part of that. I didn't have to hit the ground running and manage 20 clients all at once and deadlines and all of these things.

Elizabeth 14:22

I could slowly build my way up to accepting more and more pages as I got more comfortable that was that that's huge, Because I I know like when you go into transcript proofreading, the big goal is, I mean, like you have your big, giant goal of this is what I want my business to look like and this is how much money I want to have and this is how much how busy I want to be, and when you have, please have those. If you don't have big goals, you're never going to achieve them. Because if you don't have something to shoot for, but and you can get overwhelmed thinking about, oh, I've got to graduate and instantly have everything I need, and yes, that's what we want, because we want instant gratification, but it's not really good for you either. Yeah, absolutely.

Colleen 15:14

I've often struggled with being able to do a 40-hour work week and then take care of the rest of life as well. I would get home and be totally exhausted after my job, and so the vacuuming never happened, doing my laundry never happened. I rarely got to see my friends, and that's one of the joys that it's turned out that I've had from this job is I'm able to schedule doctor's appointments, schedule a trip to see friends, move around my schedule in a way that works better for my brain and my energy levels, in a way that was quite distressing. That I wasn't able to do when I was trying to meet my 40-hour work week minimum.

Elizabeth 16:06

Yes, cannot yes that enough. Yeah, by the time, especially if like being around a lot of people like I enjoy that, but it's also very draining very limited amount of time that I can manage a lot of people or just having your brain sitting at a desk doing admin work or working with youth or being a server Like there are only so much time in your day that, like your brain has to go all in if you want to do a good job. And then what's left when you get home?

Colleen 16:38

Yeah, for you Exactly, it wasn't much yeah.

Elizabeth 16:42

Yeah and back. Yes, the vacuuming was yes, I feel that completely Well, it wasn't much. Yeah, yeah and back. Yes, the vacuuming was yes, I feel that completely Well, it might get done. So what are your? I guess that kind of goes into what are your favorite parts about having your business now. You kind of highlighted on some of it, but like if you could really hone in on what you would say are your favorites if you could really hone in on what you would say are your favorites.

Colleen 17:06

Well, I think probably some of the people listening to this podcast will understand it's very freeing, not feeling like I have to fit into someone else's workplace culture. I set the tone for how my business operates. I, you knowplace conflict is really hard, like you were saying. Just the day-to-day interactions can be draining and then also navigating the politics of who's on your team, who's your manager. Are conflicts being handled in a professional way? A lot of the times that's what inevitably would bring about the end of a position.

Colleen 17:51

For me, it wasn't necessarily the tasks, it was the environment around it and so, like I said, I set the tone for how I handle my business as well as how I speak to my clients or potential clients. I expect a certain amount of respect and I will give it back in due course, and that's really nice being able to say if you aren't meeting my standards for respectful communication, that's fine, we can part ways. I haven't run into that issue much, but I know I have it in my back pocket if I need to. I love that. I get to start my day when I'm ready. Usually I'm not that great at rolling out of bed and getting to work. It's less of a problem these days, although sometimes I do roll over and check my phone and my partner rolls his eyes at me a little bit.

Colleen 18:54

But, I usually try, to you know, not actually reply to an email until I'm fully awake, but I know I have an email waiting for me you know it's probably good.

Elizabeth 19:04

That's probably a good plan to wait till your brain can like function before you hit reply.

Colleen 19:09

Good call. Yeah, it doesn't look great if a professional proofreader sends a typo written email. So you know it's good to take a beat. Take a breath, yes.

Elizabeth 19:20

But you have that option too. If you want to check it, check it, you can, and if you don't want to, you don't have to, and or you don't have to get to it until later. That is nice, yes absolutely.

Colleen 19:31

I also, as I'm sure if you're in the communities, you know I have three cats. I have three tuxedo cats. They're the best. They're so cute. They're absolute men. But I love them and we get to hang out all day long. I get to take breaks from my work to play with them. We were watching some birds at the bird feeder yesterday.

Elizabeth 19:57

Oh my gosh, that is the cutest.

Colleen 20:00

Yeah, we just have a good time, and they definitely follow me around like puppies, so it's perfect.

Elizabeth 20:06

it works out for all of us you know, I think I probably a lot of people have experienced this since 2020, like our pets, now that we're home, a lot like I don't know what they would do if I had to go to a nine-to-five they would be devastated, yeah they'd be so bored. They don't have a human to boss around.

Colleen 20:36

And then the last point I'll make and this is one of the really important things that's come out of owning my own business is I've been able to take charge of my health goals in a way that I wasn't able to in a traditional workplace. If you're someone like me who struggles to get to the six-month point or the one-year mark at a job, you know when benefits kick in. It can be really hard to then subsequently set up your doctors and dentists and therapists appointments. I would always feel really guilty about taking an afternoon off to go and see my doctor or go get my tires checked or whatever it is. You know, going and doing those things that you have to do during business hours was always a struggle for me, and in this past year and a half I've been able to.

Colleen 21:29

I qualify for my state's Medicaid program, and that has reduced so many barriers to care that I've had before. I've been able to reestablish relationships with doctors, get some things checked out, and I've been pursuing a mental health assessment as well, which has been something I've been meaning to do for years and years but just didn't have the time. So I'm really grateful to be able to take care of those things, and maybe that means I'll be able to work my way up to a 40-hour work week if I have the right accommodations and support to be able to do that, and before. I was just caught in this catch-22 of I have to work to be able to get to the doctor, but I can't get to the doctor because I'm working. So it's been such a breath of fresh air to be able to take care of myself, and I've mentioned to you I've started going to the gym. Yes, I go to the gym at like 2 pm where nobody else is there. It's amazing. I love it.

Elizabeth 22:36

It's so nice having an empty gym. Yes, you know I don't talk about that enough. I mean I talk about, like freedom in your schedule and you can set your own day but I don't emphasize enough that the difference it can make for your health not just your physical health but your mental health too Like it's huge when you can take time for things for being a human that you can't take when you're just in the grind all the time that corporate life or even nonprofit life can insist that you have.

Colleen 23:12

When you're really worried about. You know I am not very good at clocking in on time and that reduces a lot of anxiety for me and I don't have to worry about that anymore and it just taking that level of that layer of anxiety out of my planning is so freeing. It allows so much extra mental space and it's also helped me develop my confidence and my self-esteem in a way that the corporate schedule was not working for me. So yeah, absolutely.

Elizabeth 23:45

No, that's another really good point about clocking in, that stress of you know you need to be there at a certain time and if you're not, you're probably going to get an email or a phone call or called into the boss's office and it's not like you don't do a good job or you don't get your work done. But hey, if you're consistently clocking in at 8.05 instead of 8 o'clock, then you must be an awful employee. When no right, and that's such a good once you take, when you start taking layers of anxiety out of your life, it's amazing. Not only your I mean your physical health feel is better too, but also you. Just you have space in your brain for more things. Absolutely Such a good point, yep.

Elizabeth 24:25

So you know, as a team member on the Proofreading Business Coach team and you are so involved with students like you help give feedback sessions, you're in the community with them, you're working with the team and myself to make sure they're supported. I was going to say I would love for you to speak directly to students about some ways that you've gone through your business that you would love to share with them. I mean you do already inside the community but like bullet point or things for people who aren't even students yet. Maybe they're thinking about it and they're wondering is this a good fit for me? Is this something that I can do? You know you always have a million questions running through your head. I'd love to give the floor to you to share what you'd like to say, like if you could put everything with a bow and hand it to them. If you did this, this will really help you.

Colleen 25:15

Sure, yeah, I can share a few nuggets. I would say, especially if you're already signed up and inside the course and inside the learning community, utilize that search function. It's incredible. We have, at this point, three years of discussions going back about all of our processes as proofreaders, going through the transcripts, asking questions about specific whether it's grammar or business issues. We have so much packed into that Facebook group and feel free to comment on a post that was made 17 months ago and bump it back up and get the discussion going again. We'd love to see that it shows that you're engaged and that you're flexing your research skills.

Colleen 26:07

I think the research is a huge part of being a good proofreader. Sometimes you have to be able to fill in gaps, whether that's in a Facebook group or on a Google search or even looking back at previous transcripts. Um, flexing your research skills is important at this stage so that you can confidently handle whatever your clients throw at you. Um, don't be afraid of being wrong. Uh, if somebody asks a question and you have an idea about what the answer should be, don't worry about whether it's right or wrong. We're just glad to see you're thinking about it. Something that I think all of us have said before is and each proofreader is going to work slightly differently or see something different. If you can justify the decisions that you're making, that's great. We spend a lot of time, I would say, like hemming and hawing over small details as proofreaders. Yes, does a comma go here? Does a comma not go here? Well, at the end of the day, it's your client's work and we want to respect their style. But if you have a good reason to put a comma in there, then that's good enough.

Colleen 27:29

While you're practicing I think I said this to somebody who was concerned about proofreading the spoken word I think there should be more words added in here. I don't really understand this phrasing. Does this mean I'm a bad proofreader? No, absolutely not. It means that you are picking up on patterns and issues of the spoken word and you're laying the foundation to be a good proof reader. Right now you're a good proof reader. To really knock it out of the park, to be a stellar proof reader, is to be able to see those sorts of things and then say is this that someone could have actually said? Right, if I was in a hot courtroom with a bunch of people staring at me and I was trying to remember something that happened five years ago, or I'm trying to perfectly word this question that I only get one shot at asking. Can I imagine that someone would stumble over their words this way?

Elizabeth 28:37

Is it?

Colleen 28:37

possible that someone added this extra repetitive word in Maybe and that just it takes time, it takes practice, it gets becoming more familiar with legal jargon and kind of the spoken shortcuts that people use when they're speaking off the cuff. You know, nobody speaks like a textbook use when they're speaking off the cuff. Nobody speaks like a textbook. Even the most articulate person that you know doesn't speak perfectly every single time and it's important to have grace for people, right? The people who show up on our transcripts. They're from diverse places, diverse, diverse experiences. Their voices and ways of speaking are different. That might be regional, it might be cultural, it might have something to do with their education, but it's important to teach or it's important to approach all of these people with respect and dignity, regardless of you know, throw out your judgments of how people speak. It doesn't matter whether you think they're a good speaker or a poor speaker. It's about respecting them and their testimony. And we all get flustered, we all get tongue-tied especially, you know, let's be.

Colleen 29:54

If people are in a courtroom, especially for a criminal case, it's because something really horrible happened.

Elizabeth 30:00

Yes.

Colleen 30:01

And they're reliving what's happened to them, and I would not expect someone to speak perfectly in that instance and, yeah, I think it's just important to keep that in mind.

Elizabeth 30:15

No, go ahead.

Elizabeth 30:16

Oh no, I was going to change topics, so you know, that's you have put so much in there, I'm like man, where do I start to unpack? That's so good, no, it's. I love where you're talking about getting used to the spoken word and understanding your like one part of what you're saying about understanding people don't speak perfectly, even like even if they have a perfectly rehearsed speech and standing up in front of people, they're going to make mistakes. You make mistakes when you have one-on-one conversations and you definitely are going to make mistakes when you're in a stressful situation and have attorney, or the attorneys will even make. They're in stress, I mean, they're in a stressful position too. So, giving grace because the grace that you give people is the grace that you'll receive back and I am assuming you would like to have grace as you're learning something new and if you make mistakes, when you make mistakes and when you have the mindset of giving grace to other people, it really helps come back to you too.

Colleen 31:15

Yeah, absolutely, and it might be. You know, it might be indirect. You know, obviously we don't get to speak to a deponent, but if you send an over-annotated transcript back to a court reporter because of the way that someone speaks, they might not come back to you as a client because you know the spoken word doesn't seem to be coming through.

Colleen 31:41

Something that our students and I still struggle with is regional dialects, the different ways that people speak, whether they're born English speakers or they're second language speakers. Especially people who are really into grammar can struggle with regional dialects, and the only way you're going to get more familiar with those things is listening to real people talk. So my advice, if you're struggling with the spoken word or with regional dialects is honestly start eavesdropping on people and I know that's actually a fun project.

Colleen 32:24

Yeah, I know it might sound creepy, but you know, if you're in the grocery aisle or you even have the opportunity to go and sit in the gallery of an open courtroom, just start opening your ears to how the people around you speak and I think you'll be really surprised at what you can glean from that. Start thinking if I was a court reporter and I had to write what these people were saying, what would it look like on the page? How would I punctuate the sentence that person just said if I couldn't go in and copy edit it? That's why margie calls her book bad grammar.

Colleen 33:05

Good punctuation yes because we've got to work with what we've got. So eavesdropping on the people around you listening to conversational podcasts you know things like the Moth or other storytelling podcasts, where it's not scripted, people are just speaking off of the cuff. If you approach the conversations happening around you with a transcript proofreader's lens, I think you'll be surprised at how it helps with your practicing and getting a handle on the spoken word, because that's really the only way to get better at.

Colleen 33:43

It is exposure, whether that's inside the practice transcripts or in real life and I know everybody hates that advice, but it's practice, so you can do it. You just need to approach the subject with open ears and an open mind hundred a thousand percent.

Colleen 34:02

Yes another point that I wanted to, and this is speaking of clients. I think it's important to keep in mind that court reporters are certified professionals. They know what they're doing. Sometimes you'll get a client who's fresh out of school and, or, you know, really struggles with commas or quotes or something like that, but the majority of court reporters have been doing this for a long time. They've passed their certifications and they have a writing style, and when I initially approach a new client, I try and make this point very clear is that I respect their knowledge and I respect their writing style.

Colleen 34:49

It's important to trust your client and to trust their notes. They're the ones in the room hearing what is being said, the pacing and inflection and all of that they take very thorough. I mean, that's their whole job. So trust them and trust their notes and just keep in mind you know this isn't like grading a high school paper. You know we're not, and it's not like copy editing. We're not refining what's being said. We're just honing and polishing something that a respected professional has produced, and I know that has gotten me a few jobs, because I make it very clear to potential clients that I'm not there to be their English teacher and they don't want that. No, they don't. They want me to be on their team there to be their English teacher and they don't want that?

Colleen 35:38

No, they don't. They want me to be on their team and to make their life easier, and they don't want to feel, like every time they're getting a transcript back for me, that I'm judging them. So I keep it short and to the point and let them know that I respect their hard work.

Elizabeth 35:56

That ties in what you said earlier about like you can work with clients who respect you and also that you respect them, like it's a mutual thing when you both respect each other's skills and talents that you're bringing to the table.

Colleen 36:08

Yeah, I'm sure we've all been talked down to by a coworker or a boss before and it makes you not want to go to work. So why I'm not trying to bring that energy into my own business?

Elizabeth 36:22

Yes. So I mean because as proofreaders it's really common like if you do any like hashtag proofreader or something like that search on Instagram, instantly you're going to find stuff about being a grammar snob or grammar police or other just very unpleasant terminologies to associate with being. It's like why would anybody want to work with somebody who's going to make you feel disrespected and unintelligent and incapable? That's not how you do it.

Colleen 36:50

Right and it actually it ties back into my experiences learning German and teaching English abroad, and I don't get to talk about this much in the group because it's kind of tangential.

Colleen 37:03

But my German was not that great when I first showed up to Austria and I very much had an immersion experience where I had enough German to be conversational experience where I had enough German to be conversational. But when things started getting technical or a little deeper, I started getting a little lost. And there was a time I was a couple of months in and one of my Austrian co-teachers was in the break room and she asked to the assembled teachers I'm going over to the convenience store, does anybody want me to grab anything for them? And I responded it elf deutsch, uh, with a little bit of an austrian accent, saying oh no, I don't need anything. And everyone in the room turned around and they were like look at you, wow, you sound like a real Austrian. Yes, well, thanks. But that you know.

Colleen 38:09

Even at my most fluent and fluid of German speaking, I knew I wasn't speaking like a textbook. Especially in Austria, austrians don't speak perfect German, so I had a kind of a double fold, double fold issues to get through, and that's also part of what's allowed me to give grace to our speakers in transcripts as well. But you know, whether it's english as a second language or not, there's so many weird and wonderful ways that we can put sentences together and if and they say this in the deaf community as well just make communication happen. However, you can just keep trying and switch things up and you'll get your point across, and I just try and keep that in mind when I'm reviewing a transcript as well is those mechanics of learning a second language and knowing that you're not getting it right but you're getting it close enough. The verb tenses aren't always going to agree, but whatever, it's fine, the verb tenses aren't always going to agree, but whatever, it's fine.

Elizabeth 39:19

No, that's perfect example with the verb tenses. Because when you speak, I mean I've tried to learn Spanish and hot mess. But I mean, like when speaking English, I have so much respect for people who come in trying to learn English as a second language or a third or fourth, because even as natural born English speakers, it can be a struggle sometimes, and sometimes I even think when I'm sitting there writing and see the words on the page, is this verb tense the correct word? Like, what kind is this word? Singular is a plural, depending on what it is. But when you're speaking and you're in transcripts, you can't change that. You have to leave it alone, and our tendency as people who like to make things perfect and we're grammarians is to make everything perfect, whereas your point is to understand that people don't speak perfectly. It's imperfectly perfect or perfectly imperfect, whichever way you want to put it, and to just leave it alone, which is so hard to do when you're getting. I think that's probably the hardest thing with transcript proofreading.

Colleen 40:20

Absolutely, it really is. Yeah, yeah, it's incredible how often judges, lawyers, doctors, mechanics whoever it is they will not say the right verb tenses. Nope, I do it too Sometimes. I'll be writing an email and it should be, there are, and I'll write there is and I'll have to go back and change it. Yes, and it's okay. Language is here to evolve and adapt and change and fit outside boxes and it's all going to be okay, I promise.

Elizabeth 40:56

And that, to me, is what's so fun about transcript proofreading is it's not black and white, it's not perfect. It's part of learning to just go with the flow, which is so really takes a weight off my shoulders. Instead of having to be so perfect it's, I can just let it be.

Colleen 41:17

Yeah, and I also completely understand the perspective of people who are still going through the course or people who are thinking of joining the course. This sort of work appeals to those people for whom typos jump out of the page, people who are very passionate about grammar and punctuation and getting it right and, like you said there, who are very passionate about grammar and punctuation and getting it right and, like you said, there's a certain amount of letting go. That needs to happen to really be successful.

Elizabeth 41:46

And that's why there are so many practice pages inside the course and the community where you can ask questions and be like you know. I think I understand this, but I don't. I'm not 100% sure. This is my thought process. Can you help me know if I'm on the right track or what I need to adjust? So it's, and you have personalized feedback sessions, which you also help with calling. So it's not like you're left on your own to figure it out and you're not judged for not being able to be perfect on day one, because none of us are perfect, or even day 100. I mean, you've been proofing. Has it been two? I think it's two years. Right With your business.

Colleen 42:25

It is a year and a half A year and a half Okay, so I joined your course in October of 22. I launched in January of 23. And I got my client, my first client, about a month after I started marketing. So yeah, year and a half.

Elizabeth 42:44

So you started October 2022. And then you had a client in February of 2023. That is awesome. You were booking it. But I was like, yes, you did that's. You know. Like I say, I don't care about your speed through the course. You can take two years if you want, or you could take a couple months if you want, but the important thing is you're taking it seriously and working at a pace that goes for you, and that's what you did. I mean, obviously, by the point February, you were ready to go.

Colleen 43:17

I mean obviously, by the point February you were ready to go. Yeah, and it definitely. You know I making that first couple marketing posts really felt like jumping off of a clip. You know I double checked those posts about 14 times for typos and I haven't had to market in at least a year, so it was fine. It all worked out. I caught myself on the way down and it's been a success.

Elizabeth 43:43

So, yeah, isn't that the best feeling to just get working and not have to? I mean, yes, you market like if you've been doing it a year and a half. You had to market for about six months to get the clients you wanted. But now which I think if you could speak to that a little bit, because I know sometimes this can be a struggle, and us with grads, like when you graduate, you instant, I mean, understandably, I wanted clients the day after I decided I wanted to be a transcript proofreader and you know you can get your first client when you. It took a month. Some people it takes sometimes like a couple days later they're like I got my first transcript and I'm like, wow, so impressive. Yeah, I know, and it's not something where you just snap your fingers and you have it. So maybe you could talk to kind of your, your mindset that you had during the six months that you were building up the clientele to where you're happy, where you're at now.

Colleen 44:40

Sure Well, to be honest, I spent a lot of time refreshing the various resources and pages that you direct us towards. In phase three, I spent a lot of time obsessively checking my Facebook page and my email. Perhaps I should have put the phone down a little bit more so if you're in that place, you are not alone Very understandable, but I started trying.

Colleen 45:16

That was when I really got serious about building better work habits. You know, I'm sure I pulled up some practice transcripts and did a little bit of work. In my downtime I probably cleaned my house very a little too vigorously. So there's a little bit of waiting and there's a little bit of patience that comes in, and I was actually going to speak to this just in general. It's really important to take care of yourself when you're going through this course and when you're getting your first clients and when you're working through 700 pages that are all due Saturday. At all of the stages of this journey, you need to be able to put pressure on yourself when you need to, and then back off and give, like this word keeps coming, coming up, giving yourself grace. Um, you know you don't have the. Well I, since I don't have another job on top of this, I don't have the guardrails of a work schedule, to kind of keep me in check, to keep me on schedule.

Colleen 46:30

It's really easy to get distracted or to bury yourself in kind of a small mindless task and get distracted from the bigger goal. So it's important to keep coming back to your business. Reviewing some of the bonus materials in phase three A lot of the bonus content that you put in is so packed full of information that's worth reviewing, but it's also it's simple stuff. It's like practicing good posture and making sure you stretch and you drink lots of water and have snacks nearby so you don't get, you know, grumpy after three hours. Yes, yeah, you know, being frustrated and impatient is a good way to practice mindfulness and feelings through your emotions. Going back to my mental health journey, my therapist calls it urge surfing. You know when you get a feeling that you can't quite shake, we know, physiologically speaking, that it only takes a few minutes to be able to move through that emotion and to go through the rise and fall of it. So surf the urge, get curious about it, feel your breathing. Where is this frustration coming from and is there something that I can do about it right now, or is there nothing that I can do about it and I can let go of it a little bit. Those are as much as your grammar and punctuation skills. Those skills are going to help you surf the waves of freelance work, which you know it can be feast or famine.

Colleen 48:15

Sometimes you have to be able to, whether it's dealing with the frustration of not getting work in or sitting with a really difficult, maybe triggering, topic in the deposition or the trial that you just worked through. Taking care of yourself in that way is really important. To go back to what I was saying earlier, sometimes you read really disturbing content and there's not much that you can do for those people. But you can take care of yourself and you need to be prepared to do that for yourself and have tools in your toolbox to be able to take care of yourself. Take a walk, get yourself a treat, talk to a professional or a friend that you trust, whatever it is. We need those things to be able to keep moving and keep our lives going.

Elizabeth 49:11

No, that's a good reminder, because it's really easy when you're focused on your business to make your business everything and to kind of sacrifice yourself for your business and I'm totally talking to myself right here. But if you don't take care of yourself, then you don't have a business. And your whole point I love to say have you're building your proofreading business to have the life that you want to have, not for your life to run your proofreading business kind of thing, or your proofreading business to run your life. You want it to be the other way around. Um, and so because you are like if you were in the rat race, or you work at three jobs at once, or you don't want to just jump from the what is is the term jump from the frying pan into the fire, kind of thing where you're yeah.

Elizabeth 49:55

But also, like you say, giving yourself grace and being patient because you can't. You have all these things you need to be doing. You should be doing them and also just being patient. I feel like so many people give up just a couple weeks in or a month in, when, if they just kept going like you, six months and you were there and that's. Everybody's story is different. Some people have it much faster, some people take much longer, and the important thing is that each person kept going and didn't let themselves this is my favorite word wallowow in. What am I doing, like everything's going wrong, instead of actually taking care of themselves and their mental health and physical health? And yeah, absolutely.

Colleen 50:42

Yeah, and it's especially. You know. I certainly sympathize with everybody who's stretching to make ends meet right now. You know we're all in a really tough spot right now with prices, with being able to keep roofs over our heads. I am very glad that I have the space to be able to build up my business at my own pace. And I know not everybody's in that same scenario and I know not everybody's in that same scenario, and so that's why I also, you know, don't.

Colleen 51:14

if you're worried about anything like that, don't quit your job, move and become unfindable. You know it's take your time, pace yourself and you will get there.

Elizabeth 51:28

You will build your skills, your business your confidence to be able to make the moves that make sense for you and for your family. There's no rush. I know it seems weird how that works and I can't say there's a scientific reason for it that I know of, but it really does when you just do what you need to do and you'll get there. You really will long time and put you massively in debt compared to a little bit of time. A little bit of time, I mean, it's all in perspective, but that you can spend working on your transcript proofreading business is everything yeah, I, I've just paid off my student loans 12 years after graduating nice earlier this month.

Colleen 52:44

Congrats, that's huge. It's, it's huge. The return on investment is incredible for this class. I really have no complaints there. I'm so happy to hear You're really. You know what you say about. If you qualify for phase three, you're going to be able to hit the ground running with clients is true, this course has rigorous standards because we want you to succeed. It reflects well, you know, obviously we want you to succeed and your success reflects well on the proofreading business coach program as well as the grads inside of it. When all of us are prepared, it's better for the rest of us as well.

Elizabeth 53:27

So yes, you may not feel like it's very fun and that it's rigorous in the middle of it, but I promise when you graduate you're going to be like I did it, I can do anything now. Yeah, really. So if you could leave with one last you have given so much. I feel almost bad asking for one last piece of advice from you, colleen, because you you dropped so many gold. I mean, I have, like my notebook. I went onto my next page. I was writing stuff down. But if you could leave like with one last thing that you really wish students and non-students alike would know, what would that be?

Colleen 54:05

Hmm, I would say my last and kind of culminating piece of advice would be to be open to learning. Yes, in terms of punctuation and grammar, but also. This course teaches you so much more than just punctuation and grammar and how to be a good proofreader. There are lessons about confidence and abilities, about goal setting, getting back up and dusting yourself off. Be open to those experiences and know that we're here to help give you a cheer or a kick in the butt, whatever you need in the moment, but you've got a safe place to make some of those mistakes and to do some of that learning here. It's so satisfying.

Colleen 55:04

You know, like I said, I was so intimidated when I first started with the idea of starting a business from scratch, so intimidated when I first started with the idea of starting a business from scratch. But going through the course, being able to look back 18 months later, it really is one step in front of the other and slowly you'll build your way up to the top and you'll look back and you'll be amazed at how far you've come. So you know it, it takes some time. It's a challenge. Um, be patient with yourself, but know that you've got the tools laid out in front of you. Just stay the course, and if you do, you're going to have a new and exciting challenge. I you know, I get to read something totally new every single day. Uh, variety is definitely the spice of life, and I get to work with words. There's really nothing more that I could ask for, so keep at it.

Elizabeth 55:59

Ah, colleen, thank you so much. I feel like I'm going to have to just take that snippet right there and put it on repeat, because that was good. Thank you so much for your time to share not just your story, which is fascinating, but also all the advice, ranging from like taking care of yourself to how to go through the course. I mean, it was so good. Thank you so much for this. I absolutely loved it.

Colleen 56:20

Well, thank you for having me. I had a lot of fun and I will see you all around in the community.

Elizabeth 56:25

Yeah, yeah, Y'all will love Colleen in there. So yes, absolutely All right. Thank of Colleen in there. So yes, absolutely All right. Thank you, Colleen. Want to learn more about transcript proofreading? Then check out my free workshop. Is Transcript Proofreading the Right Money-Making Business for Me? It's less than an hour and it answers lots of FAQs around transcript proofreading, so you can decide if this is the perfect side hustle for you. You can check it out on theproofreadingbusinesscoachcom. Forward slash workshop registration.