Bye-Bye 2020 - here's hoping our paths never cross again

I first met you on the first of January a year ago.

It was a pleasant meet - even optimistic.

It was hopeful and filled with promises.

Everyone was cheering us on

Everyone was on our side.

However the cracks soon appear

I did my best to hold on to our dreams

However my efforts were all in vain.

You went ahead and ripped my heart wide open

You kept killing me every day 

And I kept dying a million deaths

Now, I can't find any excuses for you

I have to get real and straight with my folks

I have to say goodbye.

Hope we never meet again

Hope our paths never cross again! 

My Biggest Frustration

For years now I've been trying to find an affordable and easy to use transcription management platform, but to no avail.  This has been my biggest frustration.

I've tried scores of project management portals and softwares trying to fit them to my need.  However, all of them fail to satisfy me or make a good alternative to my simple Excel sheet.

True, there are these big enterprise level transcription management platforms and portals.  But these cost tens of thousands of dollars, money I could not afford at this stage.

Examples of What I Like

I am not alone.  Most transcription companies don't get it right either.  Like myself, they've cobbled together a number of solutions to accept files from clients and payments from clients via their website.  However, they simply miss the client self-service portal.

Transcription companies like Rev and TranscribeMe got everything right, in my humble opinion.  The problem is these are big companies backed by institutional investors pouring millions.  I, on the other hand, am bootstrapping my service.

Plug and Play Transcription Platform

Plug and play.  Yes, that's the key to making thousands of transcribers' lives easier.  I wish we have a platform like Blogger or WordPress for blogs where you can simply sign up and get a business-ready transcription website.

By business-ready transcription website, I mean a website for freelance transcribers with easy to build forms that allow uploading of media files, a simple project management tool and also invoice and payment capability, etc.   Simply stated, a CRM, project management and marketing platform built into one platform is what I've always wanted.

Such a platform will allow thousands of transcribers around the world to start their own freelance businesses and gain their freelance from employment.  It will allow married ladies to work from home while caring for their babies and families.  It will allow people like myself to bootstrap their businesses without investing a fortune.