Business pretty quiet after "maternity leave" Thread poster: NiamhC
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NiamhC 
Ireland
Local time: 12:16
German to English
I've been back freelancing a few weeks after taking a long break of 6 months "maternity leave" with my first baby. I was worried about taking so long off but I'm not sorry I did as I think I really needed it. However, business is pretty quiet...
I gave my clients plenty of notice and stayed in touch all along, sent Christmas gifts, passed on details of other reliable translators as back-ups and said I would be available for mini-jobs or emergencies, let them know that Baby is now going to ... See more I've been back freelancing a few weeks after taking a long break of 6 months "maternity leave" with my first baby. I was worried about taking so long off but I'm not sorry I did as I think I really needed it. However, business is pretty quiet...
I gave my clients plenty of notice and stayed in touch all along, sent Christmas gifts, passed on details of other reliable translators as back-ups and said I would be available for mini-jobs or emergencies, let them know that Baby is now going to kindergarten.
All my customers have said they're glad I'm back and that they will be happy to send work my way but so far things are very quiet indeed. I've gotten great feedback on the few jobs I've done so far BUT I am starting to worry. If things stay this quiet then it actually won't make sense for me to work and I want to!
Would love to hear your thoughts on any of the following:
Was I naive in thinking that it wouldn't take long to get back into the swing of things?
Do you think customers have a different attitude to mothers of small children (or am I just being paranoid there?)
Is there anything else I could do to encourage a greater flow of work?
Should I try to get some new customers?
Is there a better way to manage having a baby and feelancing (should I have taken so long off)?
Would appreciate any advice and would love to hear what others have experienced. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Laura Gentili
Italy
Local time: 13:16
Member (2003)
English to Italian
+ ...
| My experience | Apr 15, 2008 |
Hi Niamh,
I would definitely look for new customers. The old ones will probably come back sooner or later, but things are not static, in 6 months they might have got used to some translators you recommended to them and might stick to them.
In any case a few weeks is not enough to evaluate the situation. It might take a few months for workflow to get back to normal.
After giving birth to my triplets I took 1 month off (while they were in the NICU), then resumed working pa... See more Hi Niamh,
I would definitely look for new customers. The old ones will probably come back sooner or later, but things are not static, in 6 months they might have got used to some translators you recommended to them and might stick to them.
In any case a few weeks is not enough to evaluate the situation. It might take a few months for workflow to get back to normal.
After giving birth to my triplets I took 1 month off (while they were in the NICU), then resumed working part-time for a couple of customers, and took "maternity leave" with the ones I knew would be more understanding. After 6 months I contacted all my customers and it took 2-3 months for things to get back to normal in terms of workflow.
All the best to you and your baby!
Laura ▲ Collapse
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Hi Niamh,
I can't actually answer your question but I am looking forward to hearing about other people's experiences, as I will be in the same boat in June.
I am planning to take as little time off as possible and start working again (part time initially) as soon as I can after the birth, but I don't know if I am being naive thinking I can combine motherhood and work right away.
So I share your concerns and look forward to this discussion.
Nico... See more Hi Niamh,
I can't actually answer your question but I am looking forward to hearing about other people's experiences, as I will be in the same boat in June.
I am planning to take as little time off as possible and start working again (part time initially) as soon as I can after the birth, but I don't know if I am being naive thinking I can combine motherhood and work right away.
So I share your concerns and look forward to this discussion.
Nicole ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It might take some time, but don't worry | Apr 15, 2008 |
I took maternity leave last year, but only six weeks, and when I got back to work, it did not take long before I received the same amount of work as before. But six months is obviously a different story and your clients might have found other translators... Still I am confident that most will come back after a while.
As for your question about letting clients know you are combining work with motherhood, I tend not to talk about that, unless I have too. You never know if they understand or ... See more I took maternity leave last year, but only six weeks, and when I got back to work, it did not take long before I received the same amount of work as before. But six months is obviously a different story and your clients might have found other translators... Still I am confident that most will come back after a while.
As for your question about letting clients know you are combining work with motherhood, I tend not to talk about that, unless I have too. You never know if they understand or not. I work parttime but I check my e-mails all day long (a Blackberry is handy if you want to go out with the baby and still be able to check your e-mails, it would be a good investment for all young mothers) and I don't think many of my clients know that I work only parttime. I have one client that sends me a lot of assignments and they know that I cannot always do urgent jobs - and they understand.
Aside from that all my clients were very enthusiastic when I told them I had given birth and one even sent me flowers, so I don't think clients see it as a disadvantage that you are combining work and motherhood - as long as it doesn't have too much impact on your work for them.
I send my two children to daycare three mornings per week so that I can work (now I feel four or even five mornings would have been better - they love it anyway). I also work during naps. I try not to work in the evenings, but it is always a possibility in case of emergencies. Combining work and motherhood can be stressful sometimes, but mostly it is great to be able to look after my children myself most of the time. ▲ Collapse
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Sonia Hill
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:16
Italian to English
| My experience | Apr 15, 2008 |
Hi Niamh,
I gave birth to my first child in September and started working again part-time in January. I took the opportunity to raise all my prices by quite a lot, as before I had Monty I was in a situation where I had more work than I could handle.
I have found that over half my original clients have stuck with me, and they are all aware that I am only working part time. It has tended to be the smaller agencies that have remained, whereas some of the bigger ones have not been... See more Hi Niamh,
I gave birth to my first child in September and started working again part-time in January. I took the opportunity to raise all my prices by quite a lot, as before I had Monty I was in a situation where I had more work than I could handle.
I have found that over half my original clients have stuck with me, and they are all aware that I am only working part time. It has tended to be the smaller agencies that have remained, whereas some of the bigger ones have not been so accommodating.
Are you working full time or part time at the moment? I still have my son at home with me and just can't manage full time. I may consider sending him to nursery a few mornings a week when he is a bit older. It is really hard at the moment, as I can really only work when he is sleeping. Luckily he does have quite long naps.
I'd be interested to hear how other mums deal with this. Does anyone else have their children at home while they're working?
If I were you, I would look for more clients in your free time if you are not getting enough work. I'm sure things will pick up for you soon.
Sonia
Hi Nicole,
In answer to your concerns, I would not count on being able to start work very soon after giving birth. I too thought I might be able to, but having a baby can be quite a shock to the system, especially if they don't sleep at night!
I also didn't realise quite how much of your time is taken up by feeding the baby for the first few months. I breastfed (am still breastfeeding now) and found that Monty would often stay attached for what felt like most of the day.
Hopefully you will have a smooth and easy labour, but this is another thing you can't be sure about until the time comes. You may need time to recover physically.
If it is financially viable, I would allow yourself at least 3-4 months to recover and get used to being a mum.
Good luck with everything
Sonia ▲ Collapse
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Sonia Atkinson wrote:
I also didn't realise quite how much of your time is taken up by feeding the baby for the first few months. I breastfed (am still breastfeeding now) and found that Monty would often stay attached for what felt like most of the day.
Sonia
So true! It was the same for me, although I wasn't freelancing yet when my son was born. I know of one mommy/translator who bought DNS in order to be able to work "hands free" while feeding the baby. The nice thing about breastfeeding is that the baby stays pretty quiet for long periods ...
For Niamh, yes - I think you should defnitely spend some time looking for new customers, it can't hurt, even if your previous customer base starts coming back with more regular work, you'll have more options. Give it some more time before you start to worry
| | | | Paola Dossan
Italy
Local time: 13:16
English to Italian
+ ...
| My experience | Apr 15, 2008 |
Hi there, dear girls and colleagues,
I just wanted to share my own experience after reading yours.
My son is now 19 months old. He was born on 11th Sept. 2006, two full weeks before his term was due. It was a Monday night and I had completed my last translation assignment that very day (sent e-mail at mid-morning). I started translating again exactly 10 days after my baby was born (first delivery: 25Th Sept.) and interpreting when he was one month. I can say I had no break and my wor... See more Hi there, dear girls and colleagues,
I just wanted to share my own experience after reading yours.
My son is now 19 months old. He was born on 11th Sept. 2006, two full weeks before his term was due. It was a Monday night and I had completed my last translation assignment that very day (sent e-mail at mid-morning). I started translating again exactly 10 days after my baby was born (first delivery: 25Th Sept.) and interpreting when he was one month. I can say I had no break and my workflow was definitely not impacted by my first son's birth.
I must admit it was a hell till Davide was about 8 months old, however I could not afford taking a longer maternity leave, since the Italian market (I leave near Milan, but I presume every market is like that) is terrible and once you are out, it is quite difficult to get back. Only a few colleagues in the area take longer periods to stay at home with their newborns...
Time helps, though, and definitely go for new clients because this is the right moment.
Enjoy your children!
Paola ▲ Collapse
| | | | NiamhC
Ireland
Local time: 12:16
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for the positivity - keep it coming | Apr 15, 2008 |
Thanks for all the reassuring comments - and keep them coming!
I am starting to think now that 6 months was probably a little long, but I was comparing it with friends (not freelancers) who took anything up to a year off for maternity. However, I don't think I would take so long again. Nicole, I would say I personally couldn't have managed to do any work for at least the first 6 weeks while he was waking at night (I had a C section so the physical recovery was tough in itself never ... See more Thanks for all the reassuring comments - and keep them coming!
I am starting to think now that 6 months was probably a little long, but I was comparing it with friends (not freelancers) who took anything up to a year off for maternity. However, I don't think I would take so long again. Nicole, I would say I personally couldn't have managed to do any work for at least the first 6 weeks while he was waking at night (I had a C section so the physical recovery was tough in itself never mind the very unsettled baby - now an angel I might add!). I probably could have started back part-time after two or three months but it would have been hard work and it would have been very part-time.
I'm now working 4 full days (9 to 5) a week plus have done some "overtime" in the evenings and weekends, which I don't mind doing at the start. When I say working, I mean I am available as Baby is either at the kindergarten or with his grandmother for those days. I would get very little done if he was here, even though he naps a lot - when he is awake he is really very awake and loud (happy shouting a lot at the moment).
I will push myself to try to get a couple of new customers - I suppose it's always a bad idea to be too reliant on too small a number, and hopefully the old ones will eventually come back. I don't think I could risk raising prices as I suspect they have probably sourced translators with lower rates while I've been away. I don't think lowering my rates would look too good either.
It's great to hear from all the freelancing mothers - it can get a bit lonely sometimes!
Laura you are a supermom if I ever heard of one - freelancing part-time with triplets - wow! I will think of you as inspiration to spur me on and get myself back into gear!
[Edited at 2008-04-15 14:18] ▲ Collapse
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| Please don't go back to work too soon! | Apr 15, 2008 |
I've translated with one hand with baby suckling, I've rocked the chair with my foot while trying to type accurately - I'm sure all of us mothers/freelancers have been there. I don't regret doing a very few very urgent jobs for very special clients, but I don't think I shall ever forgive the person who was supposed to substitute for me and who decided to renege on our agreement and abandon his commitment to covering for me a month before my maternity leave ended, forcing me back full time. (The ... See more I've translated with one hand with baby suckling, I've rocked the chair with my foot while trying to type accurately - I'm sure all of us mothers/freelancers have been there. I don't regret doing a very few very urgent jobs for very special clients, but I don't think I shall ever forgive the person who was supposed to substitute for me and who decided to renege on our agreement and abandon his commitment to covering for me a month before my maternity leave ended, forcing me back full time. (The following year he wanted a contract, and I knew that he was going to ask for paternity leave during the year - a very small amount of vengeance was wreaked...).
And once you start full time you find it so difficult to cut back again. Not many people can fight against arguments like "sorry I can't deal with this today because I'm in labour", but once you've put the child in the nursery you've lost the argument.
The purse strings are very demanding I know, but rather slow business = more time with the child so we have to look on the bright side - even if said child has howled all night for whatever reason and is currently making us have serious doubts about our sanity when deciding to have a baby.... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Claire Cox
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:16
French to English
+ ...
| Make the most of it... | Apr 15, 2008 |
aceavila - Noni wrote:
And once you start full time you find it so difficult to cut back again. Not many people can fight against arguments like "sorry I can't deal with this today because I'm in labour", but once you've put the child in the nursery you've lost the argument.
I agree wholeheartedly with Noni about not taking on too much too soon. I think you've done quite the right thing by giving yourself and your baby that first 6 months and easing yourself back in slowly is probably the best thing to do. My sons are now 19 and 16, so I know it's a long time ago, but I found clients to be very accommodating about my maternity leave and subsequent reduced availability. I only really reverted to working full-time when my second son went to secondary school, but I'm so glad I had that time with my boys. In many ways, translating is the perfect job to enable you to be an at-home, hands-on mum, whilst still keeping your brain ticking over at the same time.
I think a lot depends on the nature of your child, how much you can (or can't) get done with them around - I know my first son was an angel and slept a lot, so I was able to continue working on a small-scale whilst he slept, but my second son was a nightmare, sleeping for 20 minutes at a time - if I was lucky! As I'd worked in-house before I left on maternity leave, I was fortunate enough to have very understanding former colleagues who were aware that I couldn't handle urgent jobs and so only sent me lovely jobs with long lead times - do they exist any more?! As the boys got older, I've gradually increased my hours and acquired new clients over the years.
Looking at it from the viewpoint of an in-house translator using external freelancers, I didn't have any problem with working mums (even before I became one!), but I did hate it if people sent in sloppy work and then blamed pressures of childcare, as once happened to me. Needless to say, that particular translator didn't receive any more work from us.... As long as you're professional and keep people informed, I don't see why it should make any difference!
Good luck and hang on in there!
| | | | | Use you mummy skills at work ;) | Apr 16, 2008 |
I've just started freelancing, I left my old job while on maternity leave. The main thing that worries me now is what to do if your child is ill, therefore can't go to nursery / school and you have a deadline?
My clients at the moment are fine. They find it rather amusing if they ring me late in the day and the children are home and can be heard in the background
I usually tell myself that I have aquired n... See more I've just started freelancing, I left my old job while on maternity leave. The main thing that worries me now is what to do if your child is ill, therefore can't go to nursery / school and you have a deadline?
My clients at the moment are fine. They find it rather amusing if they ring me late in the day and the children are home and can be heard in the background
I usually tell myself that I have aquired new skills from motherhood - time management, multitasking, the ability to listen, the ability to communicate simply and clearly and understanding other people's needs - and I sincerly believe this is true!
There are plenty of books about how to use the experiences from becoming a mother in your working life - I read one (in Danish, so not relevant for you) - and it really boosted my confidence about not just returning to work, but also starting a new career. ▲ Collapse
| | | | NiamhC
Ireland
Local time: 12:16
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | Feeling very positive now | Apr 17, 2008 |
Very interesting post about using mummy skills. It's true - I've never been so organised in my life - you can't really be any other way with a baby and a job.
I also find that I am much more focussed and work more efficiently because I want to avoid working when I have him home. I also want to be 100% working when I am working and 100% mammy when I am mammy if you know what I mean!
I am also enjoying translating very much as it is exercising parts of my brain that had ... See more Very interesting post about using mummy skills. It's true - I've never been so organised in my life - you can't really be any other way with a baby and a job.
I also find that I am much more focussed and work more efficiently because I want to avoid working when I have him home. I also want to be 100% working when I am working and 100% mammy when I am mammy if you know what I mean!
I am also enjoying translating very much as it is exercising parts of my brain that had a nice rest for a while and I feel very energetic about work most of the time (compared to housework!).
Claire thank you again for making me think of the long-term view. I am feeling much more positive at the moment largely because I am thinking more long-term but also because the work is trickling back in at a steady pace these last few days and I have even started one large project that will keep me busy for a while.
So I hope I will be able to report back in a little while that business is booming again and give hope to the other mammies-to-be ▲ Collapse
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| I have been off for seven years.. | Dec 1, 2008 |
Hi Niahm,
I'm new at ProZ and I can't really say anything about the translation market, but I wanted to share my experience of "getting back in the saddle" after being at home for many years.
My second child was born 2001 (July) and I planned to do a normal, swedish 18 month long maternaty leave from my position as an automation engineer. When it was a month before I was due to go back my husband got an offer to come to England and work. I quit my job and came with him ... See more Hi Niahm,
I'm new at ProZ and I can't really say anything about the translation market, but I wanted to share my experience of "getting back in the saddle" after being at home for many years.
My second child was born 2001 (July) and I planned to do a normal, swedish 18 month long maternaty leave from my position as an automation engineer. When it was a month before I was due to go back my husband got an offer to come to England and work. I quit my job and came with him with our two children. I had planned to study english but found out I was pregnant after 3 weeks in our new country. Trying to cope with the move, the new environment and a new baby I decided to give up all my ambitions and just focus on my family.
This September my baby started Reception and I got back to work. I got a really nice part time job as an Office Administrator at an event catering company. All these years I had worried that I wouldn't be able to get a job after "only" staying at home. But managing three kids and a home is just like any project management - it's all in the planning. Also you get great negotiation skills! I have gained som much from being at home with the kids and it's not wasted from a career point of view. After 2 months in my new job a was approached by a recruiter who was offering a role as a Project Manager Assistant for a big company in the process industry. My ego is over the moon!
But the reason why I'm here on Proz is because however lovely it sounds to work for a big company, I desperatly miss my flexibility from being at home. I am a keen worker but I want it to be on my terms. Therefore I am trying to start up a translation business to become independent. It is inspiring to read about you and your fellow translators/mummies and your successes. Keep up the good work!
Maria (with a 10 year old, 7 year old and 5 year old) ▲ Collapse
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