From Backlogged to Building Bigger: Celebrating 100 Episodes

Today we're recording.

Episode 100.

The Court Reporter podcast has officially reached episode 100.This is a huge milestone.

You looked at everything I was trying to build and somehow saw the same thing.You saw the vision soon.

So here we are, three years after the launch of the Court Reporter Podcast.We have the keys too.And it's not a physical key.It's actually a more modern version of a key.It's a fingerprint.Because we are the owners of the Court Reporter podcast studio.It's so much bigger than a closet.

Yes.

That changed everything.You didn't just say, I believe in you.

So to make a long story short, the way to maximize our value as court reporters is to spend more time on the record and less time admining.Yeah.The administrative part of it.Today we're recording episode 100.The Court Reporter podcast has officially reached episode 100.This is a huge milestone.

Congratulation.

Thanks.And the reason why I brought Harina on here as a special guest because.Okay, VTM stands for Virtual Transcript Manager.But, like, look at us sitting here in person together.Yeah, it's not virtual at all.Karina, how did we start working together?

2015 Is when we first met, and I don't know, the relationship just expanded to, like, we just became instantly friends.And then there was a day, there was a few days, but there was a day specifically where I was like, oh, it's so hard to find, like, people that you can actually be around and.

True friends.

Yeah, a true friend.And have things in common.And then I told her, I said, you are my amazing, trusted friend.I love you with all my heart, but you're so busy.And because you're so busy, how can I ask you to go on walks with me and spend all this time with me?I sound really needy, but I promise you I'm not.

No, it's a human need.

Yeah.I was like.But at that.At that time, I didn't really have this, I don't know, support system or very close knit, and neither did I.And that's why I was, like, dying.Yes.So both of us.She's struggling, I'm struggling, But it's, like, presenting differently because hers was surrounding her work and how busy she was, and mine was more like personal feelings.And then I sent her this voice recording.It was.It was like 10 minutes long.And I'm explaining to her all these things.I just want to be able to be around someone, but someone that I actually like to be around and like.But feel helpful, but, like, not be like you know, too much.So I'm explaining this whole thing and then at the end of it, I'm like, you know what?Don't even listen to this.Like, you know, and then I think maybe I sent a follow up message.

Or oh, my gosh, I felt so bad because maybe two days had passed.

Yeah.

And you didn't get a response from.

Me even though you had poured your.

Heart into that message.So I felt so bad when I actually, you know, when I got that message from you where you were like, oh, if you didn't listen to, it's okay.

Like, yeah, I tried to.I was like, don't even listen to it.It's all right.

When you send someone a really heartfelt message and then they don't respond, and then you feel like you start overthinking what said and you're like, oh, my gosh, it was probably too intense.

I do that.Yes, that was.That was literally me.And because she didn't respond on it,.

I'm like, but it was only 17.

But in my heart, I actually knew that that was the reason.So I was like, you know what?Don't even read it if you haven't heard it, if you haven't read the transcription of it, if you don't worry about it.But then she ended up reading it and then she says, she sends me a message and she says, oh, my gosh, I have an idea.We can basically be each other's people.And I was like, you know what?Let's do it.And then that was how it started.And honestly, since then, it's been amazing because I no longer have those feelings of like, oh, I need, like, people, or, you know, and she's at a point where it's becoming more, you know, manageable.And it's true.You need people.

Yeah.

Doing it by yourself is so sad, actually.

Like being next to someone physically working together on something that's meaningful and so someone who isn't like all the other people.Because I. I'm telling you, and everybody that listens to this podcast knows that I have tried so many people systems, like, always searching for the right thing and the right person.But when someone shows up, that is not just counting hours or counting miles, as the song says.I don't know why it says miles, but someone who really shows up and doesn't just look at the task or ask tell me what to do, but, like, assesses the whole picture, sees the struggle, understands it, and somehow sees the same vision, understands the vision and just, like, hears me say something.And the next thing I know, like, she's actually taking action on what she understood was the most important thing, which actually was the most important.Like, it just.I don't know, it just.It changes everything.So this is a really big turning point because now that I have the support that.So.I don't even know.Like, priceless.Like, so.So important and so special to me, at least, because I couldn't do it alone.I'm just so thankful for you.

Oh, I'm thankful for you.

And she even brought her sister in.

You.Yeah.

Is another.Another friend of ours.Another sister friend.

Yeah.And so Kat's my actual sister.And the reason why I find it so awesome is because she's kind of a balance.

She.

So Bryn and I have very similar brains, and we're very, like, you know, but my sister kind of, like, balances us out, so that's also very helpful.I'm kind of sad that I didn't get to be there from the beginning because, I mean, I see the progress from the past few months, but I guess it would have been nice to see, like, what's the progress?The progress from then to now is that we are no longer in the red.

In the red.

But in the red means that there are transcripts that are overdue.So.

So, like, there was what, like, 18 in the red?Probably was more.

There maybe was more.But 18 is the number that stands out.

It's horrifying.

It was because it was almost like we didn't know where to start.

Yeah.

I think that was the hardest part, is, like, what do we tackle first?Because when you're so overwhelmed with things, it's kind of like, what do we do?What do we need?So I think a lot of it was planning, like, strategy, what.What to do, where to start.But I can say proudly that Brynn has gotten through all of them and that there are none in the red.

So we're in a really good place compared to where we were one month ago.

Yeah, I agree.

And honestly, it's a miracle.

The biggest part is that final piece, that proofreading, because you can have everything ready.But, like, to proofread that last final part, that's what's getting everything together.I feel like that's what takes the longest.

That's what's currently holding me up.And you coming in have been so helpful and you onboard.I'm trying to, like, get you to the point where we can both be proofreading and everything, but, like, that takes time because back when I had Natalie, she I was able to get to a point where, I mean, you're not like, the.You're not scoping.We have.So we have a team of scopists.You, actually, she knows how to scope because she's helped me, but we both feel like her role is more like operational management, overseeing everything, because she just is so good at, like, seeing what's the most important right now in the moment and doing it rather than.And also helping to create systems that rather than just, like, staying in the hamster, play well in the hamster.

I try.

Me neither.But sometimes, like, sometimes I just can't escape it because the work falls back on me if nobody else is doing it or if, like, I don't have a second person to do it, so.So it falls back on me to be the one to.At least at this point, we've gotten the scoping completely taken care of.We have two solid scopists taking all of the work and, like, they're really good, thankfully, and it was not easy to get there.

Shout out to Natalie, because I never met you, but I heard you were an amazing vtm.So shout out to Natalie.

She was so awesome.And now she's full time in cybersecurity now with Karina here, we are setting up systems, scalable systems.And don't worry everybody, all the court reporters that are out there suffering and struggling, we have something coming for you.Yeah, we're building something that can be implemented in other people's businesses as well.Because I know how hard it is.I know how when you have other meaningful things and people in your life that you want to spend time with and you can't.For a lot of us who are entrepreneurial, spirited, we don't want to turn down work, but we'd rather increase our capacity to take more by becoming leaders, by building a team, by getting that support that we really need.But the process, I will say, is, as you know, as you can see, it's so difficult.It's not easy at all.And it takes years of trial and error and just, like, dedication.So finally we have arrived and it's coming.So stay tuned for that and let's talk about the studio.

Yes.

Wait, did you tell them?No, I did not.Well, unless they follow me on TikTok, they might have seen.Seen that video that I posted.I posted the tour.

Oh, you did?

Which you were in for a second.My hair was there, so.

Studio is amazing.

Yeah.

I was so excited to get into this episode 100 because I want to know what your thoughts are and what.What has evolved?

Well, that's.What.That's a lot.

Yes, we were.

This is something I wasn't expecting, like, not at all whatsoever, because I'm totally cool with comfort, with comforters and closets.Like, that's totally my jam.I love it.I love being able to record wherever I am on the fly.And I still do.That's.That's just my style.I like to just record if I have something to say.And back then, oh, my gosh, I. I was just a court reporter with something to say, and I needed to say it.So here we are, three years after the launch of the Court Reporter podcast.We have the keys to.And.And it's not a physical key.It's actually a more modern version of a key.It's a fingerprint.Because we are the owners of the Court Reporter podcast studio.It's so much bigger than a closet.

Yes.And it's beautiful.

It's so beautiful.But.But here's the thing.We have to show the before and after, because, yes, this was just.It's a commercial building in.In Astoria.And the room.The studio on the floor above us is an exact replica.Like, it's just exactly the same blueprint as, like, each floor of the room is the same, so we can see what it looked like before by looking at the room above us.It's all cement floors.Very echoey.

Very.This is white.Everything from.From top to bottom, it is just.Everything is painted white.There's no color.

Cement.

Yeah.Or cement.But the cement is also painted white.It's just.You walk in and it's this white room of just echoes.

Yeah.Echo is so echoey.It would be great to sing in there, actually.

Yeah.

But you just.It's just an empty, commercially, like, industrial room that feels industrial.It feels like a garage.

Yeah.

Or like a warehouse room.

Yeah.

But when you go down to the second floor, you see the.The studio that was built by Harold.

Yeah.

He completely transformed that place just four years ago.

Yeah.

And it's.So what he did is he installed wooden floors above, like, 6 inches above the actual floor with the wires underneath and a whole.Like a whole tech system underneath the floor.And then he wired it through the walls and then ceilings to put studio lights into the ceiling so that there's not lights all over the place that you have to move around and you're tripping over them.They're clunky, they're wiry.Everything is already in place.And then he even built rooms, a.

Recording studio type of thing.Yeah, it's soundproof.Like, everything is soundproof.

Even the ceiling has.Has these amazing acoustic panels.And one acoustic panel costs, like, $500.If you see it on Facebook Marketplace, people are selling used acoustic panels.They're pretty extensive.And there's the entire ceiling and walls are lined with acoustic panels.And those doors to the recording room.

Oh, yeah, it's amazing.And I think what's more amazing and I. I'm sure Bryn can agree, is the way that we stumbled upon this studio.

Whenever there's something, a big project that takes, like, so many different pieces to invest.For years, I've been looking into putting the pieces together to building a studio.Even if it's just, like, in my own house, like a room, the amount of, like, moving pieces and different, like, putting that together is a lot of research, a lot of time and a lot of money.And I've realized that over three years of searching and searching and pretty much getting nowhere.So I've searched for pieces to put it together.I've searched for actual studios that I could just rent out by the hour.Never did I ever expect to have my own.So, on Facebook Marketplace, I.One day I was looking.I don't even remember what I was looking for, but somehow I saw a podcast table that had the microphones kind of like branches out to each person.So it's four microphones at the table.And I've wanted to get one custom made, and I've wanted to buy one.When I saw that for $300, I sent him a message immediately.

But funny enough, at this moment, where she's saying, oh, I have to pick up this table.I told him I'd be there.I'm looking at a studio.The rental place.Remember?That's very worse.I was actually looking at a studio that she was hoping to rent out to make it the Court Reporter podcast studio.

No.

But also the reason why we needed a space was just because of our work that we're doing together.

Oh, yes.

So that was why we were looking to rent a place we didn't know where.We just knew we needed a space and if it could be a studio, great.But that wasn't even the goal.

Oh, that's right.

We literally just wanted, like, a room that would be away from all the distractions, away from anything, because we.We were working in the car sometimes.

Yeah.Remember 18 in the red?So we were desperate.

Just like, okay, if we were at an event or a gathering or something, we'd go to the parking lot and be like, we can't really get anything done in, you know, anywhere else.So.

Yeah, I forgot about that.

So, yeah, she was looking at a place nearby and I had planned to meet her there.And then I'm all stressed out because I'm like, I have to be at this place in an hour.I promised I'd be there.And he's holding it for me.

But mind you, she also is 18 in the red.So then what do I do?Okay.

Oh my gosh.

Yes.I'll drive.You work on the transcript.

Exactly.

Oh my gosh.

How many times have we done that?Like we, we're so.We've become very good at multitasking and finding ways to get these transcripts done.

Yes.

Because she will drive and I'll be working on the transcripts.We've done that so many times.

We have.So we started driving.She's working on the transcript.We get there and this place is amazing.

We walk in and we're like, wow.

Yeah, we were wowed.It was instantly wowed.She asked him like, oh, what's, you know, what's your reason for selling all these things?And it's because he was moving out.

Yeah.Like, I was like, why are you getting rid of this?What?I really, I was like hoping that the studio wasn't shutting down or something because I was like, this is the studio I've been looking for.This is perfect.I've been looking for this forever.And I was like, I really hope he's not shutting this down and getting rid of all this.It even has like a cyclorama.Is that what it's called?Where the white, the white curved wall thingy in the corner of the room, like a huge one that could be turned into a green screen.It has everything that you would ever possibly need.And I got it before they even put it on the market.So it just was like we were in the right place at the right time.God blessed us and moved everything.And now we have this studio and like thinking about transforming it into a hybrid co working and content creation specifically for legal professionals like court reporters, lawyers and judges.Oh, and we're also going to do like workouts to the court reporting songs.Really exciting, upbeat songs that we have.

I think that was that.We definitely want to make it a place where we can hold events for court reporters and anyone in the legal industry because we want to be able to provide, I don't know, the same support that we provide to each other.I think the shared vision, and I got this from her is that she wants to provide that support as much as she can to all of you and to anybody else that that's looking for that support or doesn't know that they need it.And whether that's through conversation, through podcasts, like she's going to be recording in there, or through virtual events, through de.

Stressing events, but it's going to.So we're going to do like a grand opening episode in the studio we've come from.I'm going to just try to summarize the timeline.So episode one was January 1st of 2023.Where was I?I was living in Maine, and it was a pretty slow year because it was like, Maine is slower than New York and Covid in Maine.But.But I did have the time to become a certified life coach and to launch this podcast.So at that time, I was freelancing.And then, like, I wanted to.I've always wanted to try working full time in court, so that's what I did next.When I moved back to New York, I worked full time in family court in New York State and then shortly thereafter was promoted to Supreme Court.But eventually, after two years of working in the court system full time nine to five, I felt this doesn't really fit my lifestyle.Like, I just don't.I feel so restricted.I kind of prefer the flexibility and the freedom of freelancing, making a pretty good, you know, solid salary, stability, prestige, being New York State.But it still just wasn't like, overall, this whole time, I'm trying to find a way to have good life balance, to fit this career into my life, rather than build my life, like, around transcripts and deadlines and, like, being so busy and overwhelmed and scattered.And eventually I started looking for other jobs.Like, I literally just.I came to a point where I was just done with court reporting and I just wanted.Just.I just wanted to escape.What it felt like at that time was giving up.

Yeah.

On something that I really believed in.

It wasn't an option.

I wasn't an option.

At least you tried it.Because now if anybody else has that feeling, I mean, which they do.Yeah.

I've seen it on Facebook.You know, people are struggling.

Yeah.

But because you went through it and ultimately that wasn't what you wanted.Even when she was looking for these other jobs, like, it was not like, excitement to apply was like.Because that wasn't her passion.That wasn't what she wanted to do.

Yeah.It was like, if I have to spend more than 10 minutes on this application, like, I don't think I'm the right Fit and like just.But I just realized that the skills that we've built as a court reporter are so specialized that trying to apply it to any regular job, like, I mean, for me, I wanted something exciting like entertainment, like broadcast TV and that kind of thing.Like, I even applied for a $50,000 year digital reporting job at one of those big agencies.So I didn't give up.I decided to put my foot down just like I did in 2018 when I hired Natalie.I just knew I had to like, decide and just like put my all into it and really just go all out.The amount that I'm making now is more than three times the amount I've ever made as a court reporter.So we will get more into.I mean, if you want to join the community, we're going to have a private community where we're going to help all court reporters implement the same thing so that you can be the CEOs of your life and decide how you want to spend your time.

Well, I feel like that's so empowering because it's one thing that I think separates Bryn from a lot of people that I know is that she knows her value.And I think court reporters are first of all, not even well known that it is a profession that is amazing.But also you guys should know your value.You guys are amazing and the things that you do and everything.And I'm excited.Even I'm not a court reporter, but I'm excited to tune in and see how is it that you can maximize your value and make sure that you're really.That other people are also realizing your value and your worth.

So to make a long story short, the way to maximize our value as core reporters is to spend more time on the record and less time admining.Yeah.The administrative part of it.Yeah.Less time on the process of scoping and what is it?What else?There's so much exhibit management.

Just making sure that everything is there.

Yeah.

Like reaching out.Yeah, like you're not always able to reach out.Email people.You don't have that time to go that back and forth following up.

So some of that admin stuff that it just like we need to create a system that ensures that that stuff is never missing and that we have support that we need.And we're not the ones personally scoping every single transcript.I personally do not scope any of my transcripts unless it's like an expedite that they need the next day and I'm available.I finish early and I just like that's What I do with that kind of work.But my regular rule is that I just don't scope, even though I like it.I like scoping.But if I truly want to maximize the value that I bring as a court reporter, More time on the record, less time on the admin.Oh, and then one update about the real time.Don't worry.I haven't forgotten about that.I'm still working on it.Everything has its time, right?I can't do everything at once.So once we get this fully streamlined and set up, I will put my attention back on that goal of real time.So don't worry.I'm not forgetting about that.We love you all.Thank you so much for listening.

Thank you for having me.

It was great for you guys coming, Karina.And thank you for everything that you do.

I love.

Congratulations on 100.I love you so much.Hugged in case you weren't watching the video.

Thank you, guys.

You saw the vision, too.I got so used to carrying it.Every detail, every plan.Holding all the moving pieces, trying to keep them in my hands.I could see what it could become even when it wasn't clear.I kept building, kept believing, Kept the bigger picture near.And people helped along the way.

Some stayed for just a while, but.

There's a difference when somebody sees beyond the task in front of them.You didn't ask me to make it smaller.You didn't need me to explain.

You looked at everything I was trying to build and somehow saw the same thing.You saw the vision, too, and that changed everything.You didn't just say, I believe in youn said, tell me what you need.You saw the weight I carried.Reached out for some, too.For the first time, I could look beside me and see someone building, too.He said, you don't have to do this alone.I see what you're trying to do.

I believe this can become something beautiful.And I want to build it with you.You saw the vision, too.

It wasn't about watching from the sidelines,.

Cheering when things went right.

It was showing up inside the messy.

Parts when there was still so much to figure out.

The systems and the questions, the things nobody else could see.All the little pieces that have to.

Work before a dream can breathe.

And slowly I started realizing I didn't have to touch it all.I could hand something over over completely.

And trust that it wouldn't fall.You weren't trying to make it yours.You were helping me make it real.

And there's something powerful about somebody who cares about the thing you feel.You saw the vision too.And that changed everything.Everything.You didn't just say I believe in you.You said, tell me what you need.You saw the weight I carry and reached out for some too.For the first time, I could look beside me and see someone building to said, you don't have to do this alone.I see what you're trying to do.

I believe this can become something beautiful.And I want to build it with you.You saw the vision too.Maybe the answer wasn't another system.Maybe it wasn't one more plan.

Maybe after all these years of trying,.

I needed another pair of hands.

Not someone waiting for directions.

Not someone counting every mile.

But someone who could see where we were going before we'd even arrived.

Someone who could look at all the chaos and somehow still see through to the thing I've been imagining all along.And say.

I see it too.You saw the vision too.And I don't take that lightly.Cuz dreams feel different when somebody starts carrying them.Besides, you gave me room to breathe again.Room to build it.Room to move.And suddenly the future doesn't feel like something I have to drag myself through.I don't have to do this alone.You see what I trying to do?You believe that this can become something beautiful.

And you're helping make it true.A hundred episodes brought me here.But this chapter feels brand new.Because somewhere along the journey, I found someone who saw the vision too.For every time you showed up.For every piece you helped me carry.For believing in what this could become before we could fully see it.Thank you.You saw the vision.