Love Your Work, Love Your Life: Make it Happen as a Freelance Translator (Part 5)

By Neil Maycock,
Tomedes Translation Services,
Sheffield, England
http://www.tomedes.com

Part 5: Your Clients

Clients are the lifeblood of your translation service. The fact is, without clients, you have no business. One of the most important aspects of your freelance translation service is to find clients and then to develop and maintain good relationships with them so they return to you again and again with projects.

It is always a pleasure to work with good clients, to establish a professional relationship built on mutual respect and trust. It is worth your time to market yourself and your translation services to attract the best. A first step in establishing trust is to reassure your clients that you have the skills and expertise to finish their job in a timely and professional manner.

Unfortunately, more clients do not necessarily mean more income. More translation jobs do!

More clients do mean more negotiations, more financial paper work and more headaches for most translators.

Too many translators spend too many resources getting new clients that will not bring them more jobs. We believe that translators should focus on translating and not marketing because that's what they are good at.

Try looking for a minimal number of clients that will bring you tons of new translation jobs each. Take www.Tomedes.com for example – one client (a single and secure payment source) that will let you work on many translation jobs at your time and your rates.

Chapter 5.1: What is the best way to get new clients?

When getting new clients you must set a goal. The best goal as we in www.Tomedes.com see it is getting the most profitable clients for the least resources spent.

There are many ways freelance translators get new clients. We will focus on the most common ones.

1. Good old advertising – Many translators' still use old-fashioned ways, like newspapers ads and postal flyers. These methods are relatively expensive and their return on investment is usually negative. We would advise you to focus your efforts on online marketing.

2. Online classified ads – this is a basic online method many translators use. Looking for job on websites like www.craiglist.org and www.monster.com or local jobs sites usually requires a lot of time without making a real advantage of the global nature of the translation.

3. Online advertising – This method is one of the most popular ones, particularly using Google AdSense or a similar tool. Advertising your services to people who looked for the exact same services using Google or other search engines is a great idea. The problem is, all the translation tycoons have already been doing it for a number of years. You will need a lot of money to compete with them and to get reasonable leads using this method.

4. Join a translation agency – joining a translation agency was a good option a few years ago but not anymore. Agencies spend a lot of money on marketing due to growing competition, and the freelance translator ends up paying their advertising expenses through high commissions.

5. Translation marketplaces – this is definitely the best option today and more and more freelance translators realize that. Working from home or a small office at your own time and your own rates is a privilege translators did not have just 5 years ago.
But even among the translation marketplaces, you have a few different options.
You should look for one that delivers you a single secure payment as opposed to many small transactions from clients from all around the world.
You should look for one that will handle the negotiations with the client for you. This will save you a lot of time and money. There is only one marketplace that fits all the above – www.Tomedes.com

Chapter 5.2: How should I negotiate with my clients?

Many translators ask us for negotiation guidelines. The best advice we give them is not to negotiate. One should do anything he can do avoid negotiation.

Your client is probably more experienced than you in negotiation and negotiation often leads to unbridgeable conflicts between a translator and a client.

Working with www.Tomedes.com you will never have to negotiate with the client. www.Tomedes.com will manage the marketplace for you.

If you are still interested in negotiation guidelines, here are a few tips that may be worth a fortune:

1. Decide on the thresholds you are not going to cross. For each negotiation parameter – money, time, revisions - define your limit. Then, decide on your starting point for each. You must leave a bargaining margin for each parameter

2. Put yourself in the place of the client – try to think as the client thinks. Analyze which parameters are more and less important to him and when talking to him, say what he wants to hear.

3. Don't make the first move – a basic negotiation guideline is always let the other side make the first offer. That also works for your case. Ask the client about his budget and his timetable - when he needs the translation job to be completed. You might be surprised by his answers, so don’t sell yourself short.

Chapter 5.3: How should I handle rude clients?

The best way to handle rude clients would be to avoid them. Unfortunately, we cannot always identify a rude client when we meet one, so here is a list of proper reactions for rude behaviors by clients:

1. Action – The client does not value my work. He does not appreciate the time, effort and thinking I devoted to translating his document.

Reaction – No action will compensate you for your feeling. Any reaction on your part will probably elicit a negative response from the client, and this chain of reactions will do no good for you or for your business. The best action would be to move on to working for a better client.

2. Action – The client expects me to work for free – he wants me to proofread, translate or fix revisions for free.

Reaction – In this case, you might ask a colleague if the task the client is asking you to do for free is reasonable. You cannot be objective at this point and free revisions and even free translations in some cases may be acceptable.

3. Action – The client requests endless revisions.

Reaction – You must always define the number of free revisions before starting the translation job. When you consider his revision requests, be honest. Does the client exaggerate or are these revisions essential due to your mistakes or misunderstanding. If you believe the client is exaggerating, talk to him and try to explain it to him with examples from the domain of his occupation.

4. Action – Payment issues – The client is willing to pay you only a partial amount, not willing to pay at all or wishes to postpone the payment.

Reaction – These cases are unfortunately more common that one would expect. You should explain to the client in a polite manner the importance of this payment for you before threatening him with legal issues (most of the time, he knows your threats have no actual meaning).

Every business has lost debts and in some cases it will be better to go on and work on other translation jobs instead of hiring a collection agency.

The best method to deal with rude clients is to avoid them in the first place. By working with as few clients as you can, you will be able to develop long-lasting relationships with your clients. When you work with www.Tomedes.com we will handle the client relationship for you - a great idea to avoid these difficult issues.

Chapter 5.4: How should I handle unexpected events

You probably have experienced some unexpected events that affected the quality of your work or made you miss a deadline for a translation job. Try managing your risks in advance – think of any event that may happen and incorporate it in the quote you give the client. For example, if you know you will be unable to work one day, add this day to your quote.

The best advice we can give you is to be honest with your client. The moment you learn of something that might affect your work, contact your clients and let them know. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that usually they understand completely and will not ask for any compensation.

Anastasia, A Russian translator registered with www.Tomedes.com , told us about a time when she accidentally sent a translated document to the wrong client. She immediately contacted both clients and surprisingly both understood her honest mistake and appreciated her being frank with them.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Love Your Work, Love Your Life: Make it Happen as a Freelance Translator (Part 4)

By Neil Maycock,
Tomedes Translation Services,
Sheffield, England
http://www.tomedes.com

Part 4: Growing your translation business

Success is a wonderful thing and quite often you’ll find that your successes breed more success. Of course, when you register with www.Tomedes.com , you can use their tools to streamline your business processes, giving you more time to handle the translation end, which will make it even easier for you to grow.

Once you get up and running, you may see your business growing whether you want it to or not. Start planning for growth early so you can stay on top of things as your workload increases.

Go through some what-if scenarios (What if I’m sick? What if my computer crashes? What if I take a holiday? What if I'm overloaded with jobs?), and start to plan so you’re ready to handle most anything that arises.

Eventually, you may start looking to add revenue streams to your little enterprise. If so, read on.

Chapter 4.1: Should I outsource my work?

You may have heard the word “outsource” before. It refers to a process through which you contract with another translation service provider for assistance with the jobs your clients have asked you to complete.

One day soon, you may find yourself completely overwhelmed with work, or a client may ask you to work in a language you don’t use. You hate to turn away jobs, yet you know you can’t handle these new requests.

You should not feel uncomfortable to outsource jobs. You might be surprised to find out that more than half of the freelance translators turn to outsourcing as a way to handle the work. Your client wants the job to be completed as early as possible and as long as you follow his guidelines and provide a high quality service, he may not care who actually translated each word in his document. Yes, an outside contractor will do the job for you, but you may face issues with quality control, especially if the job is in a language you are not familiar with.

Actually, many translators registered to Tomedes have also registered as buyers to outsource jobs through www.Tomedes.com . The quality assurance mechanism and the vast number of language pairs make www.Tomedes.com the first choice for outsourcing translation jobs by most translators.

If you do decide to outsource a project, establish guidelines up front:

• What amount will you pay for the work?
• When is it due?
• Who will be responsible to proof the work?
• Who will make revisions, if needed?
• Who will have rights to the translated document?

When you outsource a project to another person, you remain responsible for the project’s completion, so make sure you’re comfortable in that role.

If you’re squeamish about outsourced jobs, you can always tell your client, “No.” Almost every translator does it on occasion, and many of them say it hasn’t damaged their relationship with the client.

Chapter 4.2: Should I start a translation agency of my own?

No matter what made you consider starting your own translation agency, many of the reasons you list may lead to a wrong decision.

Most of the translation agencies are earning little if no revenue at all. Translation agencies are just another element in the translation food chain and in today's globalized market; they have trouble finding their place. Online marketplaces like www.Tomedes.com are getting their portion.

There are two possible reasons why you think of starting your own translation agency:

1. You are tired of translating documents on your own all day – if that is the case, you will get tired of managing translators very soon. You can't run a translation agency without having a passion for translation.

2. You receive more translation jobs than you can handle – if that is the case, the magic word is “outsource.” Outsource jobs and maximize your revenues. Use online marketplaces like www.Tomedes.com that will ensure you get a high quality job, as if you did it yourself.

Before you consider bringing more people into your small business, think about what that move means: you will become a personnel manager. If translation is your first love, you may not want to wrestle with bigger business issues.

If you do decide to start your own translation agency, begin with a solid foundation of research to make certain you are familiar with all the implications. You’ll need to know about

• Employment tax laws
• Human resources issues
• Budgeting
• Finance
• Accounting

Put together a detailed, written business plan that lays out all the essential information in an organized manner. Provide a description of your business, a marketing plan, an analysis of the competition, proposals for operations and personnel, financial data – everything an investor or client will want to know about this new enterprise.

You can find many examples of business plans online; follow them and create a strong plan to get started down the path to success.

Chapter 4.3: Should I teach language classes?

Most translators recognize that the ability to work with languages is special – it’s a gift, an art, a craft. It’s not surprising that many of them also teach language skills to others.

Teaching languages can add a new dimension to your business life that involves only independent work today.

Working with language is your life’s work, and there is no reason you cannot teach others to work with a second language. If you think you’d like to teach, go for it. For best results, prepare your course in a professional manner. First, you must choose if you will teach conversational language or help others to become literate in your language, as well as conversational. Either way, you’re going to need instructional materials – a course outline, a workbook, and language tapes.

Start in a friendly setting, perhaps a community recreation center or youth center. If you have completed college coursework in a second language, think about teaching in a community college.

Sign on for a single course; you’ll know soon enough if teaching is for you. If you love the experience, keep going and share your gift.

Before you start, you must make sure you are doing for the right reasons. If you want to add another dimension to your business life, that's makes sense. But, if you are looking for more revenue because you don't generate enough translating, teaching may be a wrong decision. If that is the case, you must focus on one business and make the most out of it.

Try to find out why you do not make enough income from translation. Learn how working for a marketplace like www.Tomedes.com can improve your financial status.

Chapter 4.4: Should I provide other language services?

Do some research, and you’ll discover that translators provide a variety of language services.

• Certified translation
• Notarized translation
• Audio and/or video translation
• Interpretation
• Proofreading and editing
• Research
• Consulting

If any of these tasks sound interesting to you, take some time to learn how you can get started.

You might consider focusing on doing what you love and what you are good at. You are good at translation and you probably love translating, so why should you add more services to your portfolio?

Analyze the reasons for that – Is it because you don't get enough income, is it because you're getting bored? Have you considered working with a translation marketplace like www.Tomedes.com where you will get a vast number of translation jobs on different domains?

Chapter 4.5: Should I learn additional languages?

Researchers believe that language acquisition is a natural phenomenon. That is, our brains pick up language without being asked to. Infants and toddlers provide perhaps the best example of language learning. They make it look easy.

You know from experience that it takes hard work and years of dedication to learn a second and a third language. Most people find it nearly impossible to get past the very early stages. So when you ask if you should learn another language, you must know that you’re really the only person who can answer that question. To do so, break the large question down into a series of simpler questions.

• What language should I learn?
• Why that one? What’s in it for me?
• Is it similar in any respect to a language I already know?
• If not, do I have time in my day to spend learning another language?

To be useful in your translation business, you need to develop a high level of comprehension and literacy in your new language. It will require quite a bit of serious study. We at www.Tomedes.com suggest you make sure you are making the most out of your current knowledge before acquiring more of the same.

Of course, you might want to learn a new language because it’s sweets for your brain. If that’s the case, get going!

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Love Your Work, Love Your Life: Make it Happen as a Freelance Translator (Part 3)

By Neil Maycock,
Tomedes Translation Services,
Sheffield, England
http://www.tomedes.com

Part 3: Managing the Financial End of the Business

It’s a lucky person who has an opportunity to work at what he/she loves. Love won’t pay the bills, though, so you need to develop a business mentality and manage your finances in a businesslike way. www.Tomedes.com will give you a secure source for payment, but it’s up to you to handle things after that.

Two pieces of advice regarding finances can go some way toward helping you keep the business on solid footing.

First, keep a separate invoice for each client. Make a note at the top of the fees you and your client agreed on for the job (for example, $.12 per word). Make a separate entry for every task you complete, along with its associated charges. And indicate payments you receive from the client.

And develop a bookkeeping system that will allow you to track your income and expenses. There are a number of good electronic systems, or you can get a ledger and keep your books by hand. The numbers work the same, either way.

At www.Tomedes.com we want to help you focus on translation and not on bureaucratic issues. You will get a single secure payment for all the jobs done in the same month. No payment delays, no partial payment and no need to chase after unreliable clients.

Chapter 3.1: What payment methods are available to my clients and which are best?

Any payment method would be applicable as long as you are compensated for commissions, late deliveries and so forth.

It’s very difficult to identify one best payment method. If you can wait for the post, your clients can mail you a check. They can wire money through Western Union. Or they can send payment to your PayPal or Moneybookers account.

There are some unscrupulous characters out there who will cancel payment on a check or a credit card transaction, even at PayPal. It’s nearly impossible to protect yourself from these types, although www.Tomedes.com can help. Fortunately, the bad ones are vastly outnumbered by your good clients, who want to treat you fairly.

In today's online business environment, most of the freelance translators prefer getting their payments through Paypal or Moneybookers. They have little or no commission at all and are consider secure (both are supported at www.Tomedes.com ).

Chapter 3.2: What payment terms should I ask?

It is a sad fact that there are people out there who are less than honest. There is always a risk that you won’t be paid for your work if you deliver copy before receiving payment, although registration with www.Tomedes.com reduces that risk dramatically.

You can protect yourself to a certain extent by asking for a retainer before you begin any job, coupled with a payment schedule tagged to your deliverables. It is not unreasonable to ask for 25 percent of the final fee at the project’s outset; 50 percent upon completion of a first draft; and 25 percent when you deliver a final, revised draft.

We believe that you should never reject a translation job because of payment terms. The standard in the translation market is full payment done after the job is completed and approved by the client. The chances are you will not find clients that will pay you before the job is completed. Many professional translators we meet report that their clients expect them to deliver revised copy without compensation; overcome this challenge by figuring the cost of revisions into your original bid/quote.

Remember, if you do a thorough proofread on your work before you deliver it, your client is less likely to ask for revisions. Most often, when there is an error in a translated document, it is a typo; look for typing mistakes, grammatical gaffes, and incorrectly translated text.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia