Many popular publications sing praises of medical transcription as a home business, citing the potential for high income with little investment. Courses in medical transcription are proliferating, some offering quick fixes for students interested in becoming business owners. Failure to make the investment in quality education can result not only in business failure but also in shoddy documentation for the real client, the patient.

Most often rumors circulating about how much money is involved seem to be the driving force behind the desire to be an independent MT contractor. Experienced MTs are lured by the enhanced paycheck(s) every month, compared to someone working "in-house," but this is fallacy. If you are working with a MT service provider, in addition to workspace, equipment, and supplies, your employer is contributing to your salary in the form of perks and benefits. For most independents there is no sick or vacation time; or medical benefits, insurance or provident fund schemes. Also most employers invest in continued education and training, while providing for perks like conveyance, catering services and terminal benefits.

Performing medical transcription as a home-based business is not a "get rich quick scheme." If you are an enlightened person, you know there is really no way to get rich without a lot of hard work. Medical transcription is hard work but can be very rewarding both financially and personally. Make no mistake, however. If you think that having your own business is a way to sit back and let the money roll in, you could not be farther from the truth. The transcriptionist working from home must make a significant investment in equipment and reference material and be willing to make frequent updates to both equipment and library in order to keep up with rapidly changing technology and terminology.

Careful planning and the advice of legal and financial experts is essential to the success of a home-based business. If you are not willing to make personal sacrifices and work smart and/or hard, you are not the kind of person to have your own business. A significant factor is that small projects are not suitable for offshore outsourcing. This is because of the greater time involved in the initial communication, project specifications and other set up offsets the savings. Hence you have to have a business size over the "critical mass."