Have you ever heard of Stenographer's World?

[Janiece Young]

I just got an email from a friend about "Stenographer's World."  There is a charge to belong to this group.  Have you heard anything about it?  

[Quyen]

We are the masters of our own fate, not victims.

[Janiece Young]

Well said, Quyen!!!

[Amanda Leigh]

Like!

[Amanda Leigh]

Janiece, I prefer to tell them our full rates.  We charge X, Y, Z for A, B, C.  No, we do not give a 10% networking fee.  Also, our admin fee for the original is X; our admin per copy is Y.  We will let you bill it out and do production (very valuable, indeed--especially when you're talking full page rates for index pages and they retain name association).  You can pay us with a credit card, and we'll email you the job upon payment in full.  If you want exhibits shipped, the fee is X, for shipping and processing.  If you want to use your account, the price is reduced to just the processing.  

No need to walk away--and I'd hit "Like," too!

[Janiece Young]

Amanda, what I'm saying is, if they give me a price and it is not acceptable, I tell them I will work for X amount.  If they don't like my price, they can keep on looking.  Usually they will accept my rate.  If they don't, I have other things to do.  I do a nice job.  I'm worth my price.

[Amanda Leigh]

Gotcha, Janiece.  You have an agency, right? 

[Janiece Young]

I have my own shop, yes.  August 16th will be my one-year anniversary.  I can't believe it's almost been a year.  I do work for out-of-town agencies to fill in my calendar.

For the most part I have to say my experience working with out-of-town agencies has been positive.

[Amanda Leigh]

Congrats on upcoming anniversary!!  Being an agency, this is one reason we tell other agencies the cost is our full rates, no concessions.  Our rates are our rates--if they want to low-ball, have at it; and they may very well charge more.  The last thing I want to do is say to a reporter or videographer "The rate is lower on this one because the agency we're covering it for has lower rates," although when I've taken for agencies in the past, I heard that plenty (grrrrr).  We sometimes will not network at all with other agencies, depending upon the circumstances; but when we do, it's 100% page rate, admins, exhibit shipping/processing, electronic only, and they get the benefit of producing and billing, which is quite valuable in its own right.  But that's just us--and it took some time to come to the realization that that works, most times both ways.

[Janiece Young]

So, Amanda, are you telling me that you charge these agencies your full page rate as if it were your job.  Then you send them the depo and exhibits and they do the production and the invoicing and pay you?  

I've been working with them on a percentage basis.

[Patricia Babits]

From what I gather of the email, there are a lot of CEU units available on her site, 14.5. If you can get all your CEUs for $99, I think it's a great deal. But I have no idea if it's legit and if NCRA really does accept those units. I'll probably join if I can watch classes on there and get all my units. I hate spending a lot of money to keep my license because it's already $250 a year just to be a member.

[Janiece Young]

Usually you have to pay $40 NCRA to file the units.  Also, I wonder if the $99 is just for the membership and then each CEU costs more.  

I get my CEUs from www.ccrseminars.com.

They file if with NCRA for you for that price, so it only costs $99.  For $99 you get 8 CEUs.  You can do it from home.  It's easy.

[Patricia Babits]

Thanks, Janiece

It looks like there's only one seminar on there, though, and it's in September.