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Demographics & Pricing of the Scoping Industry produced by Brenner Information Group Released May 2004 
"It is fantastic. Thank you so much for doing such a wonderful job. I am very impressed. I especially liked your input re: job outsourcing. It really made me think about diversifying my services." – L. Tutt, Scoping It Out, Trophy Club, TX Here's How to Make Your Company Profits Shine The survey results show that scopists CAN EARN over $80,000 a year! We found that 6% of the scopists in our survey earned over $50,000 last year! Over 27% earned over $30,000. Yet 52% earned less than $20,000 in 2003. This can be improved. The average 2003 income of full time scopists was $23,638. But many are earning MUCH HIGHER than this! So what are they doing that's different? What do the top scopists do that makes them more successful? We found out by analyzing the survey responses. This study was the first significant attempt to define and describe the scoping industry in detail. We wanted to learn where they are located, how they organize, where they operate, when they started their business, where they got their training, how many clients they support, how long they work, and even how much they earn. We also wanted to know what benefits they provide, what hardware and software they use, what publications they read, what associations they join, how they find clients, what they charge for their services, how long jobs take, the typical job value, and how many jobs they do each month. So we asked them. The survey was conducted in three phases starting with a checklist of services. This was followed by a demographic profile survey and then by a detailed pricing and job value survey. We analyzed the results and produced a comprehensive report. We knew that we were dealing with full-time and part-time scopists, so we partitioned the responses accordingly. The report grew to 193 pages of value-packed information. It contains over 275 charts and tables that clearly show who scopists are and where the money is being made in this industry. We found that over 98% of scopists are women owner-operators. Most of them are located on the east and west coast with a sizable number in Texas. Over half of them started their business after December 1999. And 91% of them operate as a sole proprietorship. We learned that almost all of them work from home offices. Just over 26% have websites, but many others are considering an Internet presence. All would like to use their sites to increase visibility and sales. Almost 87% offer scoping without audio, and over 78% provide scoping with audio verification. Over 69% offer 24-hour service, and 63% are wiling to work on holidays. About 80% will work weekends. Some of these professionals also do court reporting and transcription for clients. Just over 16% are involved in training court reporters and other scopists. Overall they work an average of 40.5 hours a week. Full-time scopists average 46.2 hours a week. They support between one and 12 clients each month with the full time scopists averaging 4.2 clients. They offer few, if any company-paid benefits, but 62% count flextime and 36% count telecommuting as company-provided benefits. They prefer Windows-based computers, and they primarily use Microsoft software. More of them use inkjet printers than laser printers, and Eclipse and Case Catalyst are the preferred CAT programs. Prices vary based on a number of factors, primarily the experience of the owners and their confidence in asking for more. For example, scoping without audio goes for between $0.65 and $3 a page depending on the complexity. Scoping with audiotape is priced between $0.70 and $3 a page. And scoping on site averages $1.98 a page. The individual price responses for all of these services (and many other price categories) are included in the Appendix so you can generate custom charts to show price distribution. This lets you conduct price segment marketing analysis on any data set you choose. We also listed the typical time to perform each job, the typical turnaround, and typical job value so you can see how long projects take and much projects are worth. Wherever possible we listed the number of pages per hour that scopists can complete. The performance time gives you a good idea how long it should take to do work. By charting these, you can easily determine what you could earn if you decide to expand into these markets. When we looked at where the money was made, we found that the highest gross revenue was earned in real-time scoping. Typical scoping jobs generated $14 to $400 in revenue. The maximum reported income for a real-time scoping job was $2,500. We wanted to compare apples with apples when analyzing the scopists in the survey population. So we developed an economic model of profitability using the average dollars earned by each full-time equivalent employee ($/FTE). For example, a 40-hour-a-week scopist is one full-time employee. A 20-hour scopist is half of a full-time equivalent employee. If you work 60 hours each week, your business has 1.5 FTE workers. And if working 60 hours a week (1.5 FTE) brings in $45,000 a year, your $/FTE is $30,000. The $/FTE economic model of profitability gives you a common reference for comparing your earnings with that of other scopists doing the same work. We looked at the gross revenue and the $/FTE of each of the scopists in the survey to find the cream of the crop. The average $/FTE of the overall survey population was $21,475 per employee. Twenty-nine scopists earned over $30,000 last year and achieved an average $/FTE of $37,364. Ten of these scopists not only generated high revenue, but also exhibited an even higher $/FTE. These are the top performers in the industry. We studied these 10 scopists to determine what makes them so successful when compared with their contemporaries. The findings were eye-opening! And the secrets to their success are shared in the Special Report on the Scoping Services Industry. - What are scoping companies REALLY like? - Where are they located? - When did they start their business? - How are they structured? - Where are their clients located? - How many clients do they support? - How many operate from home offices? - How long do owners work each week? - How many are women? - How many have employees? - What benefits do their company provide? - What hardware do they use? - What software do they use? - What publications do they read? - What clubs and associations do they join? - How much do they earn? - How profitable are these companies? - How much do they earn with experience? - Which geographic location has the most revenue? - What services do they sell? - How many offer each particular service? - How do they find their customers? - How many have web sites? - How good are these sites for generating leads? - How long does a typical job take? - What's a typical job worth? - How many of each job are sold each month? - What do the top scoping businesses look like? - What services do top scopists offer? - What makes them stand out above the rest? - How much do they charge? - How do they find their clients? - What hardware and software do they use? - What publications do they read? - How can you use this report to greatly increase your own profit? Here is an opportunity to get a 193-page document that can make a significant and positive change in your bottom line this year. It not only gives you the demographics of your colleagues, it also shows you what they charge, how many jobs they do a month, and the typical job value for each of the services they sell. The keys to the success of the best scopists are described in this book. Avoid business potholes; stop wasting money on useless marketing and advertising; and act today to position your company for more sales and greater profits than you have ever experienced before. Get your copy of the Scoping Special Report today. This valuable report is available for $40 in PDF ($90 printed and bound). The PDF version is sent as an email attachment and arrives shortly after our receiving your paid order. We'll pay the shipping for the printed and bound version! Owners of this report will soon be raving about it. You will, too. Don't let the day go by without getting your own copy of this information-packed document. It truly is your PASSPORT TO PROFIT. Sincerely, Robert Brenner, MSEE, MSSM Director of Research Brenner Information Group PRINTED & BOUND SPECIAL REPORT: Product #888 - Retail Price $90. (We pay for shipping. California buyers pay sales tax) PDF SPECIAL REPORT: Product #888P - E-Book Price $40. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORDER ONLINE <Click Here> or ORDER BY TELEPHONE: toll free (800) 811-4337 Introduction - History of Court Reporting & Scoping - How the Survey Project Began Methodology - About the Process - About the Data General Comments Executive Summary Detailed Survey Findings - Distribution of Part Time & Full Time Scopists - Gender - Geographic Location --- Distribution of Scopists by State - Month/Year Business Began - Legal Structure - Operating Location -Web Sites - Services Offered --- By order of popularity --- Top 10 services by business profile --- Services by part time & full time owners --- Services by legal structure - Number of Clients Served Each Month - Gross Revenue --- Gross revenue 2002, 2003, and 2004 --- Percent change in gross revenue - Where Scoping Clients are Located - Number of Days Open Each Week - Typical Hours Worked Each Week - Number of Employees - Company Benefits Provided --- Company paid benefits ------ Paid vacations ------ Paid holidays ------ Paid personal days ------ Paid sick days ------ Paid insurance --- Financial benefits --- Other benefits - Equipment Used in the Business - Software Used in the Business - How Clients Are Found --- Responses (all participants) --- Methods mentioned most often --- Responses (part time) --- Responses (full time) --- Other methods to consider --- Most successful Internet forum marketing --- Most successful Internet forum advertising - Favorite Internet Forums Visited by Scopists - Publications Read at Least Monthly - Clubs & Associations Joined Financial Analysis - Gross Revenue --- Revenue (part time) --- Revenue (full time) --- Midpoint of gross revenue responses --- Change in average gross revenue --- Noted shifts in gross revenue --- Revenue by gender --- Revenue by geographic location --- Revenue by year business started --- Revenue by hours worked --- Revenue by number of services sold --- Net income - $/FTE Economic Model of Profitability --- $/FTE analysis by full-time & part-time owners --- Effect of subcontractors on $/FTE Pricing & Job Value Analysis - Price Responses by Process --- 24-hour service --- Audio services --- Binding --- Certifications --- Collating --- Collection services --- Consulting --- Contact deponent or lawyer for spellings --- Coordinate arrangements --- Copying --- Court reporting --- Create job dictionary --- Create cover page & index templates --- Create page layout files --- Create include files --- Critiquing --- Data entry --- Dictation --- Digital audio --- Disk duplication --- Editing --- E-mail services --- Fax services --- File conversion --- File transfer --- Formatting page layout --- FTP services --- Holiday services --- Indexing --- Interactive training --- Internet research --- List maintenance --- Modem transfer services --- Notary services --- Packaging & shipping --- Pickup & delivery --- Printing (inkjet) --- Printing (laser) --- Proofreading --- Read steno notes --- Research services --- Scoping services ------ without audio ------ with digital audio file verification ------ with audiotape verification ------ on site ------ real time --- Spell check --- Statements & billing to reporter --- Statements & billing to agency of reporter --- Stenography --- Telephone (live) answering service --- Training --- Transcription ------ general ------ legal ------ medical --- Translation --- Typing --- Video services --- Video editing --- Web site hosting --- Weekend services --- Word processing --- Rush rates Best Business Practices - Analysis of the Top Performing Scopists --- By revenue --- By $/FTE --- Demographic analysis --- Services offered by the best ------ % who offer service ------ Notables --- Number of clients served by top scopists --- Rating how clients are found --- Comparing top methods for finding clients --- Benefits provided by the best --- Equipment used by the top scopists --- Software used by the top scopists --- How the top scopists were trained --- Favorite Internet forums --- Publications read by the top scopists --- Club & association memberships --- Pricing my the top scopists Comparing Prices with Other Industries Suggestions & Recommendations Summary Appendix - Pricing & Job Value Raw Data --- Rush rate responses - The Real Risk of Outsourced Scoping Services --- Technology changes how work is performed --- Where have the jobs gone? --- What's happening to service prices? --- Will jobs return? --- The risk of using offshore workers --- How to Survive Offshore Outsourcing - Internet Forums Listed - Publications Listed - Clubs & Associations Listed - Description of Survey Package --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Between November 2003 and April 2004, Brenner Information Group conducted a comprehensive survey of the scoping industry. The study was endorsed by the Scopists Support Group (SSG) and the Court Reporters Forum (CRForum). The purpose of this survey was to develop a profile of the scoping industry and to determine the operating characteristics of part-time and full-time scopists. Brenner Information Group conducted the survey and produced a Special Report based on the survey results. This document is the first industry-wide comprehensive survey to be conducted on the scoping profession. We at Brenner Information Group wish to express our sincere appreciation for the endorsements of CRForum and SSG. We also thank the many professionals who participated in this survey and who took the time to provide the information requested. Without them, this study could not have been done. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <Click Here To Order>
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©Copyright 2004, Brenner Information Group, All rights reserved.
revised on December 9, 2004
