Barbara Blackburn the World's Fastest Typist

VA Tips & Tricks Blogging Challenge 2104

B is for Barbara Blackburn,

the World's Fastest Typist http://rcranger.mysite.syr.edu/famhist/blackburn.htm

 

Mrs. Barbara Blackburn of Salem, Oregon maintained a speed of 150 wpm for 50 min (37,500 key strokes) and attained a speed of 170 wpm using the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard (DSK) system. Her top speed was recorded at 212 wpm. Source: Norris McWhirter, ed. (1985), THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, 23rd US edition, New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

 

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What is the secret as to how Barbara Blackburn could type so fast? The key, so to speak, is in the keyboard design. Blackburn would type on nothing but the Dvorak keyboard, which has vowels on one side and consonants on the other, with the most frequently used letters on the center row. "It makes much more sense than the standard, so-called Qwerty keyboard (named after the first five letters on the top row)," Blackburn said. In fact, it was the Qwerty keyboard that was her undoing in high school typing class back in Pleasant Hill, Missouri.

"Typing was the bane of my existence." She remembered how her I-minus (I for Inferior) typing grade kept her from graduating at the top of her class. As it was, she graduated third in a class of 46 students. In 1938, as a freshman in business college, Blackburn first laid hands on a Dvorak keyboard. She took to it like a fish to water. In only a few years her speed was up to 138 words per minute.

Blackburn had been such a whiz in her other high school classes, it was no surprise that she would attempt to better her record as a typist, given a chance. The Dvorak keyboard was what gave her the chance. When a representative of the Royal Typewriter Co. came to her business college looking for someone to train as a demonstrator of the Dvorak keyboard, she decided to give it a try.

In no time at all she was as good a typist as she was a bookkeeper and stenographer. She had won statewide contests in the latter two fields as a high school student, but the woman who taught all three courses at Pleasant Hill "was ashamed to admit I was in her typing class," Blackburn remembered.

Carrying her own Dvorak typewriter with her wherever she worked after graduation from business college, Blackburn's extraordinary talents paved her way. From 1939 to 1945 she worked as a legal secretary, and when she decided she needed a change of pace and left the law firm, "I left with the reputation as the best legal secretary in Kansas City," she proudly recalled.

Suddenly there was a mad scramble of executives trying to nab her for their personal secretary.

Blackburn next worked at an electronics company, first as office manager and then as a sales engineer. She did speed typing demonstrations at the Canadian National Exposition and the Canadian Educational Conference. It was then that she was clocked for the the Guinness Book of World Records, in which she was listed for a decade as the world's fastest typist (the category has since been removed). Blackburn went to work at State Farm Insurance in Salem, where she was employed in the word processing department until she retired in 2002.

Also, she starred in a television commercial for Apple Computers, which offered a switchable Dvorak-Qwerty keyboard with its Apple IIc model. When she was in New York to tape the commercial, she appeared on the David Letterman Show. But Letterman made a comedy routine out of what she thought was to be a serious demonstration of her typing speed, and Blackburn felt hurt by the experience. In her own words:

"The show aired on Thursday night, after I had returned back to Salem. They had taken my PR photo and blown it up to gigantic size) with the typewriter sitting on a stand (covered with a Plexiglas cover) in front of me and a little to the side with three men seated at a table with a big copy of my Thursday night paper sitting on an easel at the side. My photo took up the entire area behind the men. Letterman was standing beside the typewriter - his opening remark was "No doubt Ms. Blackburn is a very nice lady, but she has to be the biggest fraud and con artist in the world." That he is still running it about every year completely astounds me! I have a complete tape of all of my TV appearances during my publicity reign, but I REFUSE TO WATCH THE LETTERMAN FIASCO."

 

In the intervening years, Letterman's comedy style has become better-understood and we've grown more accustomed to it. Nevertheless, anyone who has seen her whizzing fingers in action, as well as the flawless results on paper (her error frequency is two-tenths of one percent), can have no doubt that Barbara Blackburn will forever hold her place as the world's fastest typist. Mrs. Blackburn passed away in April, 2008.

 

-- End --

Source: http://rcranger.mysite.syr.edu/famhist/blackburn.htm

 

Permission granted to post Article about Barbara Blackburn by Sonya Pulvers (Barbara Blackburn's daughter)

From: Sam Sent: 07 January 2014 22:32 To: Alison Fourie Subject: Re: Feature article on website  Allison, Thank you so much for asking permission. Absolutely that would be fine, my mother was an incredible woman and an icon when it comes to the world of typing. Have a great day. Sincerely, Sonya Pulvers (Barbara Blackburn's daughter) -----Original Message----- From: Alison Fourie Sent: Jan 7, 2014 5:22 AM Subject: Feature article on website Hi I would like to ask your permission to place your article about Barbara Blackburn http://rcranger.mysite.syr.edu/famhist/blackburn.htm on my website http://www.amftyping.co.za. I run a typing company and I found your article very interesting, and would love to display it on my website. Looking forward to hearing from you.   Regards Alison,  AMF Typing Services©® Est 2001

 

VA Tips & Tricks Blogging Challenge 2104

 

A is for Advice

 

My email is busy nonstop, mostly with prospective VAs asking for advice. I can only offer advice using my own experiences as a Virtual Assistant. I started out knowing nothing about this business and I learnt the hard way by just jumping in and doing the work. Today I have learnt many things along the way and feel that I am now capable of passing on my knowledge and sharing what I know with other new VAs starting out.

Most VAs today need advice on how to prepare their business plans, how do they invoice, how do they work out the rates, how to deal with clients and the work etc. I have worked with clients all over the world, so feel I have a fair bit of knowledge to assist others with. If a VA is able to apply the advice that I give and get something from it then the advice that I gave was worth it to me. I love to be able to help and advice others, I find it very rewarding.

It is easy giving advice using my own experiences as this makes the problems more realistic to the other VA.

The one bit of advice I like to give is to be organised, be in control of your business, show you know what you are doing, what you are talking about. Know your business inside and out, clients will quickly pick up on it if you don’t know what you are talking about.

The best people to go to for advice are the people who have been in the industry a long time, the seasoned VAs, the experts in the industry.

The VA industry has to be the friendliest industry out there, VAs are always helping each other and sharing their knowledge.

Apply the advice that you are given, don’t just sit on it and do nothing as that is a waste, apply the advice and go back for more advice as you need it. Never be afraid to ask for advice, a little bit of help can take you a long way.

 

Written 7/1/2014. © Copyright 2014 AMF Typing Services. All rights reserved.

 

VA Tips and Tricks Blogging Challenge 2014

A is for Absentmindedness

What is Absentmindedness? It is not easy to explain and not too difficult I hope.

Absentmindedness is the ability to forget something simple that you should know or remember to do, work or other related things. As work is what I do mostly as a VA it is where I forget simple things to do.

Ah! Another day starts what am I going to forget today, with absentmindedness always around you never know what is next. Will I forget my favourite hard space or is it something new, never a dull moment. This phenomenon (Absentmindedness) can strike at any time morning, afternoon or night, it is not picky. Just when you think you have everything under control, it strikes. How to spell this word, do this graph, I just did this type of graph last week. It just doesn’t want to print today; I forgot to put the printer on. I need to fax this page but forgot to plug the fax line in. Simple but absentmindedness creates chaos.

An example for a specific client I need to use a hard space and keep on forgetting how to do it. Easy it is, easy to forget. Especially when you are busy and under pressure. I know it is control shift spacebar, but not at the time.

That small thing called absentmindedness creates this panic to get onto the Internet and ask a VA friend to assist, make me look silly at times, but part of work, maybe it is part of Alzheimer’s or not, who knows.

Solution, make a note and save it for your absentminded moments.

 

Written 30/12/2013. © Copyright 2014 AMF Typing Services. All rights reserved.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/vatipsblogging/ 

 

 

VA Tips and Tricks Blogging Challenge 2014

Looking forward to taking part in the VA Tips and Tricks Blogging Challenge for 2014. The aim of the challenge is to produce 2 articles a week starting from the letter A and invite other VAs to go and view our articles and leave comments. This will drive traffic to our blogs and therefore increase our marketing and advertising for our companies. It will also enable us to meet and network with our peers from our Industry.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vatipsblogging/ Thanks to everyone involved for setting this great challenge.

Virtual Assistant Rates

If you go to a Café and order a cup of coffee at R10 a cup, you simply pay for your coffee or you go to the Doctor for an appointment at a price of R180 per hour, you don’t tell the Doctor that you have only had 15 minutes and therefore would like the hourly rate deducted down, you simply accept the rate and leave when your appointment is over, you don’t quibble on the price, the same with your coffee you do not ask what it takes to get that coffee, you accept it as it is, coffee does not make itself, a person must use time and make a cup of coffee, boiling water, preparing the coffee, milk and sugar, you use electricity to boil the water it does not boil itself, but we accept the price of that cup of coffee with no complaint about the price. Time costs money.

But when it comes to typing and transcription, you certainly want to know exactly what you get for your money and you want it at the lowest price you can get.

Virtual Assistants and Transcriptionists are like every other business, we have our expenses. It is not just a case of doing your transcription for you, we need to use our listening skills, we have to type fast to keep up with the recording, our grammar and spelling skills need to be used, our sentence construction, punctuation, proofing skills, our concentration and time also costs us money, we use electricity to run our computers and to run our modem so that we have ADSL access to do the clients work. We need to pay for web hosting to have the website that you saw our details on when you were looking for a Virtual Assistant or Transcriptionist. We have costs so that is why we charge the rates that we do as we are like any other business, we have running costs. We cannot run for free or give of our services for free because it costs us to do the jobs we do. Our rates are based on what we need to earn to cover our costs, no business runs without having costs.

Working Hours and Deadlines

Before you open your doors to clients you need to know what hours you are going to be working and how you are going to approach urgent deadline jobs/tasks.
I do not run an 8 to 5 business. Not many VAs and Transcriptionist do, we find, we can't do this because we need to be available should our clients need us for urgent work and deadlines. I run my business and work to suite my clients needs. My clients are very important to me and without them I want have this job, so it is important that I work the hours I do.
Clients have deadlines and often these deadlines can impact you with working after hours, weekends, public holidays etc. Its a good idea to decide your working procedures in the beginning, state your business open times, contact times on your website, brochure, in your contract, t & c's. If these details are stated a client viewing your website can see you don't work weekends and if they require this, they can then look elsewhere.
Before you quote a client for a job, contact that client and ask for as much information as possible about the job this included the deadline date and time. Then you know ahead of putting in your quote if you can take this job on or not.
A VA/Transcriptionists working hours are so important to clients.
Sometimes VAs//Transcriptionists can only work specific hours due to maybe having young children, other commitments etc., state this on your advertising material, it is always wise to let your clients know ahead of time of your working arrangements.
Telephone calls are another important item. I don't mind within reason when a client contact me, other VAs/Transcriptionists may only work business hours and want take calls outside of those hours, just make sure you specific your availability as it does affect deadlines.

 

+270117685028, +270828713452

amftyping@mweb.co.za  alison@amftyping.co.za

http://www.amftyping.co.za  

Skype: amftyping

Linked In:   http://za.linkedin.com/in/amftyping

 

Have you been virtually butt kicking yet?

By Dee Matheson

Just last week I was feeling sorry for myself because my Virtual Assistant business had come to a grinding halt. My ever understanding husband said that these things happen and I must not be so hard on myself. All I could think of was ‘thank goodness he still believes in me’.

As per usual my marketing coach, Francis van Wyk, was scheduled for our marketing mentor session and I was not looking forward to it because I was feeling down in the dumps and I had not done everything on the list that I was supposed to do. Well lo and behold, she kicked my butt virtually (via Skype) and told me to do something that we are all so scared of: Be Proactive. It’s not rocket science but boy does it work.

As I had already identified my target market, I started looking for contact details and information and composed my email marketing letter. I was rather sceptical about sending  it out because I was wondering whether they would even bother reading it, put it in the trash or send me rude emails back because I was wasting their precious time. Well that did not happen. No hit squad came to my virtual door and told me off. Instead the feedback has been phenomenal. There are so many people out there just waiting for someone to help them further their business goals but don’t know how to get into connect with them. By just using this very simple initiative it has opened up doors that I did not know were even there. Those that were not quite ready for my services at this moment agreed to regular informative emails from me which means I’m developing a database of potential clients. Exactly what Francis encourages: build up a funnel system so that when one client moves on, you’ve got others waiting in line.

This week I signed up two new clients and I’m in the process of signing up my third which came from my website and not even from my marketing email campaign. When I spoke to these new clients and those potential clients, I asked them what made them want to connect with me and they all said, “Your pro-activeness, because if you do that for your business, imagine what you can do for mine?”

Once again this just shows that putting those positive vibes out there into the universe, and I’m not an airy fairy type of person, and stop wishing for things to happen when you don’t even try yourself only bodes disappointment and eventually failure. That is such a pity because we all have skills, knowledge and know how that someone else does not have and needs.

I hope that this has inspired some of you to become more proactive and get out there and kick butt or at least try. Don’t give up. All that hard work you’ve already put in should not go to waste.

If you would like more information or connect with me, you can reach me via email on dmatheson@worldonline.co.za or visit my website: www.dfm-virtualassistant.co.za

The bottom line, how do I work successfully with a Virtual Assistant and save money?

By Dee Matheson

Now at long last the decision has been made and you’ve found a Virtual Assistant to help you with all those tasks that you’ve had sleepless nights over but does this whole thing actually work? How are you going to save money?

Well think of it like this, what would you do if you hired an on-site employee? How would you start with them and what would you be paying them? Chances are you have a task list a mile long and you need someone to help you immediately and if you are looking for an experienced on-site person, you will very likely have to wait for them because they have a resignation period, you will have to pay an employment agency a percentage of that person’s annual salary and then there are all the overheads, such as medical aid, pension fund and office equipment, to name but a few. Just on this alone, a Virtual Assistant can save you a small fortune because she has already got all the office equipment in place and you don’t have to pay her for any additional overheads and she is very likely available immediately. These are the basics and one thing to remember when working with a Virtual Assistant, she also runs a business and that both of you should treat each other as equals striving for the same goal, to be successful.
All this is quite understandable but now how do you work with a Virtual Assistant? Here are some ideas that might help:

·       What is your budget for a Virtual Assistant? Determine how much time you can afford your Virtual Assistant for, keep in mind that a Virtual Assistant can get a lot more accomplished in an hour’s time than an on-site employee, however, do be realistic and don’t expect the impossible. 

·        Now that you have an idea on how much time you need your Virtual Assistant for, make a list of tasks you need completed in order of importance and allocate a realistic time to these tasks.

 

·        It is vital that you build a good relationship with your Virtual Assistant, she knows that you’re not made out of money, so be clear on what needs to be done and by when so that no time nor money is wasted.  Discuss all the main priorities with her so that she can understand what’s important to you and let her advise you on estimated time as she will very likely know best how long some tasks may take.  For example, if you need your Virtual Assistant to transcribe an interview or discussion, take into account how many people are talking, is there background noise which makes it hard to hear and are there any accents involved. All of this does take time and should be discussed and taken into account.

·        As a Virtual Assistant myself, I find it’s vital to keep my client’s updated all the time. Make arrangements with your Virtual Assistant to give you feedback on tasks as frequently as you would like to be briefed. Not only will you know how the tasks are progressing but you will see if there are any issues that need to be dealt with immediately or any room for improvement.

·        Once you have worked with your Virtual Assistant for a short period you will get a feel for how best to work together. So as time goes on, keep adding to your list of tasks and in no time at all your business will be running smoother and more efficiently than ever before.

·        As your Virtual Assistant is a business owner too, ask for her opinion on a topic or area you are looking for feedback on. Chances are that she will have some valuable information for you and if she does not, she might know someone who does. Virtual Assistants work with lots of other business owners in various industries giving them a wealth of information through their connections and at their fingertips, but remember the confidentiality clause. She might not always be able to give you direct links but can advise you on the way forward, tap into this resource, it’s waiting to help you.

 

·        As a business owner, the hardest thing for you will be to delegate tasks to someone you don’t know, that’s why it’s important to have a trial period with your Virtual Assistant to see if  you can work together and become a team.  I always work with my clients for a 2 month trial period at a fixed rate and negotiate a longer period on a retainer basis once the relationship has been established. It’s the same as employing someone on-site, they also have a trial period before they become permanent staff.

If you need help and are not sure what direction to go in, call me, Dee Matheson on +27 82 925 7757 or email me on dmatheson@worldonline.co.za , no obligation. I’m looking forward to helping you go to the next level with your business.

 

 

Tips

Here are some tips on how to be a Virtual Assistant/Business Owner:

 

Act professionally at all times

 

Have the determination to succeed.

Provide a Quality service to your clients at all times.

 

Speak to your clients on the same level; you are a business owner, not a PA speaking to a Boss. Be on the same level as your client’s; do not address them as Mr Jones etc address them as Peter etc. Use first names. This immediately brings you on the same level. If you address that client as Mr Jones, this is immediately putting the client on a level higher than you; they will assume that role and treat you as a PA/Secretary which you are not.

 

If you feel you can give the client good advice and ideas on the tasks they assign you, do so, there is no harm in doing this. Show the client you know what you are doing; you know what you are talking about. Be confident and assertive in your approach to your clients.

 

When you feel a deadline is not reachable, negotiate, you will be doing the work, you know how long it will take, give yourself plenty of time to do the work and be negotiable on a deadline that you can reach. It is up to you as a business owner to tell you client ‘this deadline is unreal’ explain what is involved within the job, a lot of clients have no idea how long a particular job will take. They will give you very unreasonable deadlines. Only you know what you are capable of and you know your limits. This is often a problem in Transcription, the clients do not know how long it actually takes to transcribe and often the deadlines are tight but its up to you, as you are doing the job to negotiate this with the client, not the client to set this deadline for you, simply explain what is involved.

 

Do not take on jobs you have no idea how to do, a client will quickly find out you can not do this job and they will not have confidence and trust in you again. Only take on the work that you have experience in doing, especially so when you are just starting out. If you take on a job that is new to you, let the client know it’s new to you, but that you are very willing to learn and try.

 

State your business hours, state if you want to be contacted after hours or weekends, have this visible on your website, in your brochure, part of your terms and conditions. If you do not do so, clients will and do take advantage and contact you out of hours; clients will expect the impossible from you. Be in charge; be in control of your business.

 

Have your prices/rates already set before you open your business. When a client contacts you, you need to be able to get back to them quickly with a quotation. Know how much you are going to charge for each service you are going to offer. You set the price, you can be negotiable if need be, but You, not the client sets the overall price of the job, after all you are a business owner.

 

It is not easy running a VA business but if you schedule your day and especially if you have small children things will be easier for you. This is an example of what I do, I start work around 7am when the kids/hubby leaves for school/work, I then work till around 1.30pm, have lunch, then its time for the kids to come home, I assist with homework, lunch for them and then return to work around 2:30/3pm and work till around 6pm. I will come back to work after the kids go to bed if I have urgent work. I work the hours I have to work, to get my work done. If you have a husband, get his support in helping with the children while you work.

 

Keeps logs of what you are doing, always know what work/tasks you have in at any one time, this is helpful when you need to priorities. Know how to prioritise your work. Know how long it will take you to complete tasks. I know I can type 20 to 30 pages of typing a day, but if that typing has in graphs, flow diagrams, then it will be less and I make sure my clients know this. Your clients must know what you are capable of so that they can judge when giving you work.

If you want to be a Virtual Assistant, most Vas are Business Owners around the world, take on this role. A lot of VA’s in South Africa are saying they are freelance contractors or independent contractors why I don’t know, if you are a VA and running a business, doing the work, doing your bookkeeping, marketing and networking etc, then surely that is running a business, not being an independent contractor, there is a difference as there is a difference between PA and VA, if you are working from a virtual location, running a business you are not a PA. A PA is someone who is employed and as far as I am aware a VA is not employed.  Know these differences before you open your business so that you do portray yourself as a business owner and your clients will pick up on this and treat you accordingly.

 

If you can use free software to do your job, there is no harm in doing this; Open Office is compatible with Microsoft Office.

 

Make sure you have good virus protection on your pc.

 

As a VA you need to keep regular backups of your work and keep each clients work separate in different folders so that the work is easy to find when required.

 Feel free to comment on any of these tips above, I am quite happy to discuss any issues further, if you need me to.

Written by Alison Fourie, AMF Typing Services cc, © Copyright 2001 Ck2001/083866/23.  All rights reserved.