This is one stay-at-home mom’s incredible story of self-discovery and transformation both personally and financially.
Katie Chase is a stay-at-home mom of two young children ages three and six. One of her children has special needs. Her husband earns about $40,000 per year working in logistics for Intel, and the four of them currently live in a 1,000-square-foot apartment in Beaverton, Oregon. They’re looking to buy their first home together.
I had a conversation with Katie in February this year, about six months after she’d graduated from Transcript Proofreading: Theory and Practice™. It’s taken me forever to put it up on the blog, mostly because things kept changing so rapidly for both of us as soon as we finished talking. To say our conversation was life-changing would be putting it lightly!
A little peek into what it was like to be Katie back in the summer of 2015: “[My husband] works 12-hour days, sometimes 18-hour days, for four days straight, so I’m here alone with the kids,” Katie says. “So it was getting lonely, and I wanted to have something to do myself. I need something to do where I feel like I’m gaining a skill that, in the future, if something happened and my husband were to lose his job, that I could support our family,” she added.
My Most Skeptical Student Ever
Funny enough, Katie was probably my most skeptical student ever in the 7-day intro course.
But her skepticism turned to excitement when she realized I (Caitlin) was a real person who was actually answering her emails. During our chat, Katie said, “That was a big deal for me because you try all these different things and you get these automated responses like, ‘Oh, good job. Way to go. Keep going.’ Or, ‘Hey, I want to sell you something else now.’ And it wasn’t like that. I didn’t feel like it was a money grab at all.”
So Katie was ready to make a move and talked it out with her husband, Donnie. She asked him to invest in her becoming more for their family. He was on board, saying, “I want you to do this. I want you to be able to do it.” What a guy!
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Katie: “It was NOT a Light-Bulb Moment”
Surprisingly, deciding to make the leap into proofreading wasn’t a smack-you-in-the-face moment for Katie. “It wasn’t a light-bulb moment. It was like, you know what? I’m never gonna know unless I go through the door. It may not be for everyone, but for me it’s been incredibly fulfilling to meet so many people and work with so many talented professionals, and I love it,” she said in our interview.
From $0 to $2,000+ per Month — within 6 Months!
Katie graduated from PA in August 2015. She later added on legal transcription.
She went from earning $0 per month to more than $2,000 each month working part-time as a proofreader and transcriptionist. “I think that PA delivered exponentially,” Katie said. “Now I can save and really contribute to my family financially and to myself personally in my sense of accomplishment, and that, I think, is worth the tuition of both courses ten times over. You can’t really put a price on that, especially as a mom,” she added.
Other highlights of our conversation included:
- how Katie felt skeptical even as she began the course, and how that changed as she progressed through
- the fear many students experience before learning something new
- regaining confidence after you realize you don’t know it all
- how practice and training makes impressing that first client much less risky and stressful
- how taking shortcuts can ruin your reputation almost instantly
- why the market for highly skilled proofreaders will never be flooded
- how Katie took her marketing knowledge learned in Module 8 and built a “side-hustle empire”
Watch Our 41-Minute Conversation on Video
Unscripted and unrehearsed; raw and real. Two women talking about doing real work to make real money working at home.
Enjoy 🙂 (Post continues below video.)
Here’s a PDF of the transcript of our conversation (29 pages). Download and read along if you’d like, or just watch/listen to the video.
Full disclosure: I did not pay Katie to talk to me, but I did pay her to transcribe our conversation. I wanted to do three things: 1) see that Katie has, in fact, learned to transcribe properly, 2) provide an alternate way to enjoy this interview, and 3) I wanted to show proof to blog readers that even small-scale bloggers like me are willing to hire and pay transcriptionists.
Note: I mentioned “current” pricing in the video. Since the time of recording, course tuition has increased by $100.
Related reading: 4 Reasons I Use General Transcriptionists (and Why I’m Not Alone).
Links Mentioned in the Conversation:
The 3 Pillars of Success in Proofreading and in Life
How to Get Over Your Fear of Finding Clients as a Proofreader
Transcribe Anywhere’s Legal Transcription: Theory and Practice™ (link leads to free mini course)
Wall of Fame (see what Katie’s clients have said about her work)
Katie’s Unexpected Transition AWAY from Proofreading
Soon after the interview, Katie’s life changed again!
When we filmed this video back in February 2016, Katie (and I) thought she’d arrived at what she was meant to do. She was talented at proofreading and transcription and loved what she was doing.
Right after we filmed our conversation, Katie and I chatted on for a bit, and I mentioned super casually I had been looking for an assistant and how hard it was to find someone. I didn’t think anything of it because we’d just talked for 40 minutes about how much she loved her work as a proofreader and legal transcriptionist.
But I got an email from Katie later that day asking what exactly I was looking for in terms of help. I told her I was looking for someone to help me do more in my business by taking over the more time-consuming tasks with the blog — creating newsletters, blog posts, social media, etc. I wanted to be able to focus on the things only I could do.
In replying to her email, I suddenly realized Katie would be the perfect fit to work with me. She’s dedicated, friendly, motivated, and an astonishingly quick learner. So I asked her if she’d be up for it, and she was! (Even though she had already expressed her interest, I was nervous she’d tell me no — I liked her a lot and was very excited!)
I told her I’d need her for 5-10 hours per week… but as we got started and I realized how good Katie was at being my assistant, I gave her more and more responsibility. She grew right into her role of office manager and executive assistant. It was a perfect fit!
She’s since helped me hire on several other team members. Proofread Anywhere is growing its reach and helping more and more people find their fit in the work-at-home world (even people who aren’t a good fit for proofreading).
How to Contact Katie
You can contact Katie through her email at [email protected]
Katie also started her own blog about her journey in motherhood and transitioning into the work-at-home mom role. If you’re a mom looking to make a similar transition into working at home, then her blog will help you do that!
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(And we’ll answer your emails too!)
Very inspiring Katie! When you were proofreading, how many hours a week did you dedicate to it? Stay-at-home mom here as well, I just finished the course last month and am almost ready to start courting clients. Your journey has nudged me into checking out virtual assisting, too. Congrats on your success.
So sorry I didn’t see your comment sooner, Amyable! When I started, I really only dedicated about 10-20 hours per week to proofreading. Wishing you the best of luck on your journey into the work-at-home world! 🙂
This interview was so inspiring to read! I can definitely relate to a lot of the feelings discussed. I am currently a stay-at-home mom and it was never really in my plans to be one. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity, but the financial strain and loss of that “sense of accomplishment” that comes with not working have been very hard on me. I am preparing to take my Module 5 exams and this interview has given me a renewed determination that I can and will be successful in doing this. I’m sorry to say that I have recently searched job boards because I considered going back to work full time, but I just don’t think that it’s the right thing to do. I think Caitlin is exactly right when she talks about have a false sense of security with a typical job. I am so excited about starting this new journey and your interview also makes me want to learn more about the transcription industry as well. Thank you to both of you for being such an inspiration!
This was a great interview! I am so impressed with this program, from what I’ve seen so far. I have considered transcription over the past few years and actually did the 7 day free course that Janet offers over at Transcribe Anywhere and just didn’t pursue it at the time, but now I’ve found PA and I’m wondering which one to do or if maybe I should do both! Right now, my heart seems more into PA though so I would probably start with that. And I’m wondering — I’ll ask here since you’ve worked on the legal transcription course, if I would do the LT course would I be well-equipped to do general transcription as well?
Thanks again for providing so much great information — it makes it much less scary to take the leap since you so thoroughly explain things and include interviews with former students! And now I’m self-conscious about my grammar and punctuation 🙂 But I’m so excited to grow and learn and improve!
This was an awesome interview with you both, at just the right time. Thank you both for sharing your lives and your heart.
Merry CHRISTmas!!
So glad to share my story with you! Merry Christmas, Marie!! 🙂
I could really relate to your comments, Katie, of needing something for yourself as a stay home Mom. It is easy to get lost in our kids and although our kids do need some quality time from us and while they are little, more of it, I have personally found I have neglected myself in the process.
Your courage to step out has encouraged me in a time when I really needed it and I hope to have a similar success story as yours, be it through proofreading or any other type of virtual job that is out there for me, as I am still looking into if I am a good fit for proofreading or not.
Thanks again for the encouragement!
Leslie
Hi, Leslie!
I am SO happy to know that my story has encouraged you! Yes, keep pressing forward to find your sweet spot in the work-at-home world. If it’s not proofreading, that’s totally okay! Finding the niche that’s right for you is a wonderful journey — one that will leave you filled and feeling a great sense of accomplishment. What I do today is totally different from what I did when I started as a proofreading student. I am SO thankful for every step of the process to get me where I am. If you are willing to have the courage to step forward and invest in yourself, you’ll find yourself with a success story of your own very soon. I’m cheering for you!! 🙂
Ok. I am just realizing that I am more than a little confused about the opportunity you guys are offering. I had thought that the introductory quiz of ten questions was souly about Proofreading. To which a IPad with an IAnnotate app are the preferred hardware, Also, the proofreading course will run about $1100. After that is completely accomplished there is an additional course for transcription. With these accomplishments you will be able to solicit court reporters as clients to help them finish their duties to the courts. Is this correct. How can you transcribe that which has not been proofed.
Hi Andrew,
The general steps that a reporter takes to generate a transcript are:
1. The reporter takes the proceeding down in steno. We do not help with this.
2. The reporter converts his/her notes from steno to English using specialized software. As proofreaders, we do not help with this, either.
3. The rough draft is then scoped. There will be untranslated steno, rough patches in the translation, things that need to be researched and verified. This can be done by the reporter or by a hired scopist. There are classes you can take to become a trained scopist, but this isn’t what we teach at Proofread Anywhere.
4. Once the transcript has been scoped, then it is proofread. (Again, this is done either by the reporter or by a hired proofreader — THIS is where we come in!) Proofreading is the final white-glove test to get rid of any tricky little errors that still remain before the job is submitted to the attorney.
Transcription is the taking down of the spoken word, usually from a recording. Think of a doctor dictating notes or a board meeting where the conversation needs to be taken down in written form. You are NOT required to be a transcriptionist to be a proofreader. Many of our graduates do not offer transcription services to their clients, although some do. It’s one of the choices available to you as a freelancer, but it is definitely not required. You can learn more about transcription here: https://transcribeanywhere.com/
Let me know if you have any questions! 🙂
How do I sign up for level 2
Please send Caitlin an email at Caitlin @ proofreadanywhere.com. 🙂
Great interview! I have a lot in common with Katie–especially having intrinsic motivation to accomplish something for herself while still being a great mom! Very inspiring!
Thanks for showing us a success story!
Great interview! Great info! I am interested transcription. Which would you recommend to do first?
You mentioned in a previous comment that you started out working 10 to 20 hours a week. Do you usually just work when your kids are in bed? Or is it realistic to work during the day as well?
Great interview! Great info! I am interested in transcription as well. Which would you recommend to do first?
You mentioned in a previous comment that you started out working 10 to 20 hours a week. Do you usually just work when your kids are in bed? Or is it realistic to work during the day as well?
Hi Katie,
How many hours per week were you working at proofreading to make that $2000 per month?
Aloha Katie,
Thank you for sharing your inspiring story and congratulations on continuously developing new and interesting skills. In addition to sharing with us approximately how many hours a week you worked to earn $2000 a month, can you also tell us how long it took you to get yourself to the level of making $2000 a month working part-time?
I was just reading through just parts of the transcript to understand certain aspects of the video clearly and I noticed a mistake! 🙂 On page 22 and on the video at 32:06, Caitlyn says “So I take control of transcribing-” NOT “So I think control of transcribing-” the way Katie has it transcribed. I didn’t read the whole transcript but just noticed this one error.
Good catch! Even proofreaders need proofreaders! We’ll make sure it gets fixed.
I just wanted to say thanks for the video transcription. I don’t have the time to sit and watch a video, but I can read a transcription between family needs at home and customers at my day job. Just more proof that the need is out there. 🙂
You are very welcome! 🙂
I thank you both for the interview and I like what you have done, Katie, with your acquired skills. You are an inspiration as you have taken everything a step further. I am somewhat on the fence about taking the transcript proofreading class, because I am currently studying copywriting. I do not know if I can manage both at the same time. How many hours a day do I need to devote to proofreading? Learning the material will likely be easy for me, since I used to write court reports for a living, have good command of the English language, and have studied and practiced two foreign languages, one of which I taught myself how to read, write, and speak. Do you have a suggestion?
The time it takes to learn the skills varies for everyone. Depending on how much you can dedicate per day plays a part as well. Some students finish the course in 30-days, for some it takes longer.