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Courthouses
exist in nearly every town, and arguably every county, in the United States.
Every day, thousands of court cases are heart across the country, and it is up
to the court reporter to be there and report on what is being said and who is
being convicted.
Newspapers, community newspapers in particular, do not always have the resources
to have someone at every court case that may happen, or be newsworthy. As a
result, the burden falls on the freelance court reporter, who has the
connections and the know-how to get the kind of information the newspaper needs
to make it happen. When you start a court reporter business, every day is
different and every case is a new experience for you to learn from, and write
about.
The Concept
Essentially, you are there to not only work
as a court reporter for the newspapers, you
are there to work as the court reporter for
the courthouse. You are there to document
what happens, who says what, and what the
verdicts are. It is similar to being a court
stenographer, but you do not write out
everything that is said, and you use your
own journalistic slant to make the story
informative and interesting to the public,
and anyone who may want to know about the
court case in the courthouse.
It is a very interesting job that allows you
to flex your literary muscle and it is often
the perfect job for the writer who is
fascinated by the court of law. For them,
they spend all day in a place they find
interesting, and they get to write about it.
The job is reasonably well paying, but as a
freelancer you are subject to what others
can afford, and that is not always a lot.
This makes a great job if you can expand
yourself to many different papers around the
area, and syndicate your stories to them. If
you only have one paper, and a small
courthouse, than it is just a supplement
business to your larger income.
Startup Costs
Costs for this are minimal. If you already
have a good laptop computer, then you are
set and you can actually start this business
for nothing. One of the few businesses that
has no overhead, except for gas and time,
yet can make you a lot of money if you are
kept busy enough for it.
How to Market It
Marketing this type of business isn’t always
easy, and you should focus on only a few key
industries to target. Obviously, go to the
local newspapers and show them why you are
qualified and why you should write for them,
try and have samples ready. As well, market
yourself to the radio and television
stations in the area, while at the same time
establishing connections within the
courthouse. You want to be the go-to person
whenever something is happening at the
courthouse, the one with all the connections
and all the knowledge. You have to really
establish network opportunities when you do
this.
The Concept
Startup Costs
How to Market It
