| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Next step for a successful freelancer? Thread poster: Roberta Anderson
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| How do you see yourself? | Sep 10, 2004 |
Roberta,
As you can see from the variety of the replies, there are a range of options open to you.
I would suggest asking yourself how you see yourself and what your ultimate goal is.
From my experience, I would say that at any given moment most freelancers fall into 1 of the 3 roughly defined categories below. Of course people's views and circumstances change and freelancers naturally shift from one category to another over time.
1. Translator... See more Roberta,
As you can see from the variety of the replies, there are a range of options open to you.
I would suggest asking yourself how you see yourself and what your ultimate goal is.
From my experience, I would say that at any given moment most freelancers fall into 1 of the 3 roughly defined categories below. Of course people's views and circumstances change and freelancers naturally shift from one category to another over time.
1. Translator A: loves translating and linguistics and is happy to find a way of being paid for it. Job satisfaction is key, which comes from the work, and pay is secondary (within reasonable parameters).
2. Translator B: sees translation as a market with huge potential and spends free time looking at ways of making process more efficient, gaining new clients, etc. Job satisfaction and pay closely linked, won't accept work if not profitable.
3. Translator C: translation is a convenient profession to combine with childcare or other major commitment. Job more satisfying than most other part-time work available and main advantage is flexibility.
How would you describe your situation? Or do you have another definition that fits better?
Once we know we might be able to give you a few tips.
Good luck,
Andrew ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ruxi
German to Romanian
+ ...
1. Elvira
I didn't miss the point.It was not very clear, but I understood both sides: she is saturated and she wants to have a higher income.Saturated means she is sick and tired of the same work and she has too much to work she can not manage to do it all.
I gave her a lot of solutions which can also use.
To invest the money? Do you both have so much money from translating? It would be good and I wouldn't worry. There are so many things to do with money...Yes, I also ga... See more 1. Elvira
I didn't miss the point.It was not very clear, but I understood both sides: she is saturated and she wants to have a higher income.Saturated means she is sick and tired of the same work and she has too much to work she can not manage to do it all.
I gave her a lot of solutions which can also use.
To invest the money? Do you both have so much money from translating? It would be good and I wouldn't worry. There are so many things to do with money...Yes, I also gave you ideas of fields where you could start another job and invest money.
2. Monica
I did not mean "in house" translators. I was talking about some job in a company or an institution where she can do anything else than translation, or if she wants to be related to translations and languages there are jobs too to be done in companies:secretary, public relations, marketing, export-import, a.s.o
I don't know how much a freelance translator can achieve, as an income.
I think you are right, "in house" translators do not have a high income (but regular and secure) and those jobs are rare. Translations are mostly outsourced as far as I have noticed. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sonja Tomaskovic (X) 
Germany
Local time: 22:35
English to German
+ ...
| Not the same | Sep 10, 2004 |
Ruxi wrote:
I didn't miss the point.It was not very clear, but I understood both sides: she is saturated and she wants to have a higher income.Saturated means she is sick and tired of the same work and she has too much to work she can not manage to do it all.
I don't think that being saturated is the same as being sick and tired. What I think Roberta refers to is the fact that one cannot go on to do the exactly same thing forever and ever. Every human being has to make some changes to his/her life once in a while. While some people go to live in other countries or change career, other people have children or get married, or they start having a new hobby, learn a new language, or collect stamps. But they still live the lives they have lived before.
She pointed out that she has already found ways to improve the way she works, that she has clients who pay good rates and that she specialized in a area which allows her to work more efficiently. It seems that she has reached a point in which further growth is not possible. And growth itself is the motor of our economies and our lives. If we don't grow - not only in terms of money - we experience a standstill or even unsatisfaction in our lives.
@Roberta: Maybe there is no need for deep changes. Some people who have reached the same point in their lives have decided to leave their home office to open an office in the middle of a city, or to form a team of different translators (as you already pointed out). A friend of mine is a journalist and teamed up with people from different professions (such as dtp-specialist, marketing people, a printing&publishing house). She is very satisfied with her work and is not complaining about too much organisational or administrative work.
Just my 2 cents.
Sonja
| | | | | Money, money, money | Sep 10, 2004 |
Dear all,
I have been a translator for some years and I like this job because I love translating (I got a degree on Translating&Interpreting)and I can raise a child at the same time. For me there are more important things in life. But this depends on each one's values. So as Andrew described above, I belong to group C. As concerns to money, I have always been paid, because I always try to work only with reliable agencies and customers. But let's touch wood!
Sometimes we spend ... See more Dear all,
I have been a translator for some years and I like this job because I love translating (I got a degree on Translating&Interpreting)and I can raise a child at the same time. For me there are more important things in life. But this depends on each one's values. So as Andrew described above, I belong to group C. As concerns to money, I have always been paid, because I always try to work only with reliable agencies and customers. But let's touch wood!
Sometimes we spend a lot of time, energy and efforts trying to increase our bank accounts, and unfortunately we overlook incredible things on the way.
A big hug,
Bernadette
Ruxi wrote:
1. Elvira
I didn't miss the point.It was not very clear, but I understood both sides: she is saturated and she wants to have a higher income.Saturated means she is sick and tired of the same work and she has too much to work she can not manage to do it all.
I gave her a lot of solutions which can also use.
To invest the money? Do you both have so much money from translating? It would be good and I wouldn't worry. There are so many things to do with money...Yes, I also gave you ideas of fields where you could start another job and invest money.
2. Monica
I did not mean "in house" translators. I was talking about some job in a company or an institution where she can do anything else than translation, or if she wants to be related to translations and languages there are jobs too to be done in companies:secretary, public relations, marketing, export-import, a.s.o
I don't know how much a freelance translator can achieve, as an income.
I think you are right, "in house" translators do not have a high income (but regular and secure) and those jobs are rare. Translations are mostly outsourced as far as I have noticed. ▲ Collapse
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Hynek Palatin
Czech Republic
Local time: 22:35
Member (2003)
English to Czech
+ ...
| Saturated, not fed up | Sep 10, 2004 |
Ruxi wrote:
I didn't miss the point.It was not very clear, but I understood both sides: she is saturated and she wants to have a higher income.Saturated means she is sick and tired of the same work and she has too much to work she can not manage to do it all.
I think you are wrong, Ruxi. There's a difference between being saturated and fed up. As far as I understand, Roberta cannot accept any more clients or jobs, because her capacity is full. She would probably like to get more work and earn more money, but day has only 24 hours and she has only two hands (I guess ).
I find this thread very interesting, because I have been asking myself the same question and haven't found the answer yet.
| | | | Roberta Anderson
Italy
Local time: 22:35
Member (2001)
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | thank you all for your input, + some answers to your questions | Sep 10, 2004 |
I'm really grateful for all the interest and input this is generating - that's the great thing about brainstorming in this community!
I'd like to answer some of the questions raised by different people.
First of all, Ruxi, it is not just a matter of income. It's really a matter of "next step".
I love my work, I'm 100% dedicated to it and do not find it boring. I view each project as a challenge and as a way to gain recognition. It also allows me to support my fam... See more I'm really grateful for all the interest and input this is generating - that's the great thing about brainstorming in this community!
I'd like to answer some of the questions raised by different people.
First of all, Ruxi, it is not just a matter of income. It's really a matter of "next step".
I love my work, I'm 100% dedicated to it and do not find it boring. I view each project as a challenge and as a way to gain recognition. It also allows me to support my family which, like for any work, is essential. (and I also have and educate my children - that's why I became a freelancer, so that I could arrange my working hrs around my family needs and fit in being a full-time translator as well as a full-time mother). I'm not really looking for another "job", but for the next logical step in my career.
By "saturation" I mean that following my corrent model I can neither increase the volume of work nor its generated income. When I started off as a freelancer, when translation volume was not enough to keep me working full-time all year round I also did other activities (teaching and training), which gradually petered out as the translation volume increased.
Katja hits the nail by mentioning "promotion": an employee has certain prospects for promotion or moving into other areas of interest. A freelancer has to find his own "prospects", setting for himself goals to reach and work towards achieving them.
My question at present (I'd like to stress that I do not see this as a "problem", and it does not really require an immediate solution either) is what could be my next goal? In what direction could I grow as a professional?
I have thought about the suggestions put forward by Henry, and in fact, had I not left Milan to move to a smaller place (the move was made for the benefit of the children ), I would probably be doing more in terms of consulting and training and less in terms of translations. That's definitely something I'll work towards in background mode, especially since the children are getting older and my level of mobility is increasing again.
Andrea, your reasoning is exactly what I was mulling over, when thinking about setting up a specialised team of professionals. I'll need to find out how clients would receive this.
Andrew: interesting question... I view myself as a mixture of 2 and 3.
Sonja, you summarised very well. I am interested in hearing more about your friend's experience, as that is pretty close to what I had in mind!
As for the B&B... not a serious consideration, really - I have no extra room and no money to invest so that will also remain on the back burner. I just thought that could be a side activity compatible with working as a home-based freelance translator. Also, as Henry points out I do live in a very beautiful area but the downside is that property prices are overly inflated... But should I ever have one, I'll make sure there will be special rates for Proz members! (in fact... how about a special retreat resort for translators looking for stimulating courses? )
It would be interesting to hear from colleagues who have found and taken the next step... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Brandis (X)
Local time: 22:35
English to German
+ ...
| I think Localisation consultant´s position is the best for you | Sep 10, 2004 |
Roberta Anderson wrote: I'm really grateful for all the interest and input this is generating - that's the great thing about brainstorming in this community! I'd like to answer some of the questions raised by different people. First of all, Ruxi, it is not just a matter of income. It's really a matter of "next step". I love my work, I'm 100% dedicated to it and do not find it boring. I view each project as a challenge and as a way to gain recognition. It also allows me to support my family which, like for any work, is essential. (and I also have and educate my children - that's why I became a freelancer, so that I could arrange my working hrs around my family needs and fit in being a full-time translator as well as a full-time mother). I'm not really looking for another "job", but for the next logical step in my career. By "saturation" I mean that following my corrent model I can neither increase the volume of work nor its generated income. When I started off as a freelancer, when translation volume was not enough to keep me working full-time all year round I also did other activities (teaching and training), which gradually petered out as the translation volume increased. Katja hits the nail by mentioning "promotion": an employee has certain prospects for promotion or moving into other areas of interest. A freelancer has to find his own "prospects", setting for himself goals to reach and work towards achieving them. My question at present (I'd like to stress that I do not see this as a "problem", and it does not really require an immediate solution either) is what could be my next goal? In what direction could I grow as a professional? I have thought about the suggestions put forward by Henry, and in fact, had I not left Milan to move to a smaller place (the move was made for the benefit of the children ), I would probably be doing more in terms of consulting and training and less in terms of translations. That's definitely something I'll work towards in background mode, especially since the children are getting older and my level of mobility is increasing again. Andrea, your reasoning is exactly what I was mulling over, when thinking about setting up a specialised team of professionals. I'll need to find out how clients would receive this. Andrew: interesting question... I view myself as a mixture of 2 and 3. Sonja, you summarised very well. I am interested in hearing more about your friend's experience, as that is pretty close to what I had in mind! As for the B&B... not a serious consideration, really - I have no extra room and no money to invest so that will also remain on the back burner. I just thought that could be a side activity compatible with working as a home-based freelance translator. Also, as Henry points out I do live in a very beautiful area but the downside is that property prices are overly inflated... But should I ever have one, I'll make sure there will be special rates for Proz members! (in fact... how about a special retreat resort for translators looking for stimulating courses? ) It would be interesting to hear from colleagues who have found and taken the next step...
Best Regards,
brandis
Giving it s second thought, I would plan a range of activities that would release me of this stress. In my case I have been lucky sofar, I don´t only live on translation, despite being online all the while. As latest I took up gliding and it is just relaxing, the air the ambience and the challenge just about everything. I wouldn´t have managed this, if I hadn´t a situaion that would lead me to draw all the possible newer solutions which I am trying to integrate into myself over permanence. It is just that I am different in many things I do just like we all are different from many others around us. So either I would take an advantange of my situation or get into a situation to take the advantage that suits me. It´s all about life and existence and etc, but one couldn´t continue along these lines forever, which would make one an expert but an old one. The industry demands, not since today but since I was very small, young, dynamic all knowing super player an achiever, performer may be a director!! But a person like you with all that knowledge in things is certainly not lacking this kind of dependency. You could do, but I think today (it was different a year back) you should seriously consider something very different (become a student in an unthought of faculty) That is my best guess. Brandis
[Edited at 2006-03-25 17:14]
| | | | Ron Peek
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:35
German to English
+ ...
| Thank you for posting this! | Sep 10, 2004 |
Dear Roberta,
Thank you for posting your questions and thoughts on this. I really enjoyed reading them, a useful reminder for the future, and would like to thank the others for their stimulating contributions as well. I think Henry's suggestion of bundling all of your experiences into a small (e)book is a great idea.
Hope things work out (and I think they will ).
Kind regards,
Ron
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Aleksandr Okunev (X)
Local time: 23:35
English to Russian
Roberta Anderson wrote: I would probably be doing more in terms of consulting and training and less in terms of translations.
Hi, Roberta and folks,
I printed entire thread and read it attentively over a cup of coffee. I would say the answer which I wanted to suggest is already there. If you have a slightest doubt whether you should form an agency and fulfil administrative tasks or not, please, do not do it. It is demanding, challenging and even interesting when you are successful and become addicted to it, but, speaking a bit drastically, it sort of reduces you from a fully independent individual to a gearwheel in a clockwork. I've had my fair share of 'leading' in the Soviet Air Defence, where I was a sergeant and commanded a bunch of unruly gangsters who, at the same time, were my good buddies – it's a hard task if you want to remain more or less 'human' if you know what I mean.
Nice to hear that some nice person has plenty of work she likes. I would join Henry in advising you to share your experience in getting established in freelance business and developing it. You might well write a book, even a series of unrelated career episodes that you remember or consider valuable and publish it. If you include some general advice on business ethics, 'tele-work' this book will also attract the attention of a huge army of web-designers, PHP-programmers and folks who go to work 'via Web'.
You are saying that you used to teach. I guess these were private lessons of English. One of my Uni qualifications is a teacher of English and French as a foreign language, and I like teaching, however, I must remind you of one point you might have forgotten: I can translate at 2 A.M., in my good old slippers, unshaven, taking breaks to smoke when I like it, but when a pupil comes to a lesson I must be available, no matter what happened to me, look well and be in a good mood, because teaching a language is a bit different from, say, maths. I only have a couple of pupils every season, just to keep myself in check, because the rates are laughable too.
Oddly enough, my advice still is: devote some time to teaching people. Although I do not insist that you should follow the examples I supply, they are quite specific.
At present there are very many people who suffer from a 'dog syndrome' (= understand everything but cannot speak). These are normally very busy people, who cannot find an hour to study with a teacher, at the same time they have basic knowledge of a foreign language, but their vocabulary is quite small (probably just over the 1-st thousand) and specialised (professional terminology makes a half of it). A good way to help them is to supply some language aid they can digest at the time convenient to them.
Collect English jokes, review them, add grammar comments and a short vocabulary and publish them either in a newspaper or wait until you have enough to publish a book. As a linguist and a teacher you are well aware of the difficulties that arise when a native Italian learns English: sometimes the mother tongue is helpful, sometimes not. Help them, do it nicely and you will have satisfaction and income. The good thing about books is that they get reprinted over and over again. Jokes are generally not copyrighted and there are plenty of them on the Net. I have a small Web page where I publish such free materials: http://unfe.narod.ru. Please, check it, and you will have an idea of what I mean. I am not thinking about publishing a book yet, but, even by more than modest Russian standards and with very cautious estimates, if I published a joke daily (no sweat) that would make 7 books a year 50 jokes in each, roughly 15000 US dollars.
If you have not forgotten about the target audience yet, please check www.english-to-go.com. The site contains quite nice lessons (won't discuss their drawbacks because Reuters might sue me). They sell the lessons via membership (3 types), I guess on the average it makes about 2 dollars a month per average member. The good thing in such lessons is that they are very affordable and quite a number of people are really buying them, my rough guess is from 10 to 15 thousand. The problem thing about the lessons is that they are really time consuming, require vaster research, graphic design, DTP. Of course, it's hard to achieve Reuters' results, but that is not your target, is it?
Publish a dictionary. Undoubtedly you have more than enough terminology in your glossary vault.
And, above all, do not tell me that thousands of people are publishing books of jokes and lessons and glossaries... Do not forget that thousands of people are trying to be freelance translators and you are among the most successful ones, I do not know you at all, but judging from your approach to things I dare say you are doomed to success in whatever undertaking you opt for.
Good luck!
Aleksandr
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ÄÛÚÔÝßÙÞ~~>
| | | | | Looks like being a big step | Sep 13, 2004 |
Roberta,
My understanding is that you want a) a new challenge, b) higher, or at least potentially higher, income, c) to keep your flexibility.
I think that changing the mix of work you do, i.e. giving classes on localisation at a local university, consulting work with clients wanting to localise their products, etc., will fulfil a) and c) but you will eventually end up in a similar position to the one in which you currently find yourself.
This is because th... See more Roberta,
My understanding is that you want a) a new challenge, b) higher, or at least potentially higher, income, c) to keep your flexibility.
I think that changing the mix of work you do, i.e. giving classes on localisation at a local university, consulting work with clients wanting to localise their products, etc., will fulfil a) and c) but you will eventually end up in a similar position to the one in which you currently find yourself.
This is because there is a limit to the amount of work you can do on your own per hour.
You are already thinking about setting up a specialised team, and my feeling is that this should be a first step towards establishing a localisation company (note that I distinguish between a company and an agency).
In terms of models, it is worth looking at lawyers'/doctors'/architects' practices.
The practice would need to offer the client the full service - translation, testing, software engineering, QA, etc. and your role would be that of partner responsible for a specific area. The aim would be for the practice to employ in-house translators/engineers/etc. to do the majority of production whilst the partners spent a considerable amount of time working to secure new projects from clients.
However, this option is likely to affect your flexibility to combine work with childcare and obviously involves significant risk. Nevertheless, from my experience, problems related to organising your own time, especially when in a position of power such as partner, can always be solved eventually.
Finding like-minded localisation professionals, interested in setting up a practice, with who you can work and who you trust, is the biggest hurdle.
Setting up temporary teams for specific projects could be a relatively low-risk way of getting started.
Just some thoughts. I would be interested to hear others.
Andrew ▲ Collapse
| | | | Pablo Roufogalis (X)
Colombia
Local time: 15:35
English to Spanish
| Additional Services | Sep 13, 2004 |
You may try to prvide additional services.
Two that come immediately to mind are XML and desktop publishing.
Both imply lots of learning, some harware and software, and also developing capabilities to manage others. But it probably can be done at your own pace.
I also second the idea of growing a second business, perhaps totally unrelated to translations.
I suggest you keep your radar active at the very first signs of burning out. Might take ye... See more You may try to prvide additional services.
Two that come immediately to mind are XML and desktop publishing.
Both imply lots of learning, some harware and software, and also developing capabilities to manage others. But it probably can be done at your own pace.
I also second the idea of growing a second business, perhaps totally unrelated to translations.
I suggest you keep your radar active at the very first signs of burning out. Might take years for you to find a lucrative and stable new source of income. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | On the outisde looking in | Sep 16, 2004 |
I've been in the business since April 1994, the first three years spent lecturing part-time, the next three building up the translation business having dropped the lecturing and finally since then just translating full-time.
Certain readjustments can be made, but there is of course a limit to the amount of work you can do. Do you enjoy what you do? Do you have a preference for particular types of work and particular clients ? Do you like the way you work ?
This is a pu... See more I've been in the business since April 1994, the first three years spent lecturing part-time, the next three building up the translation business having dropped the lecturing and finally since then just translating full-time.
Certain readjustments can be made, but there is of course a limit to the amount of work you can do. Do you enjoy what you do? Do you have a preference for particular types of work and particular clients ? Do you like the way you work ?
This is a purely subjective thing, of course, I like to feel that I am progressing all the time, overall. On the whole, I love the work I do, have (generally) faithful and reliable clients with whom I enjoy working. I read up on my chosen subjects. My income potential is levelling off, but gives me a decent income - again purely subjective ! Och, you can always earn more, but so what ?! ▲ Collapse
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Roberta Anderson
Italy
Local time: 22:35
Member (2001)
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for all your input | Sep 24, 2004 |
Thank you all again for your precious input!
Andrew, thank you for suggesting I look into the way practices work.
Ideas are there, in background mode, surfacing in between deadlines...
A few days ago I attended a sales management & strategies workshop for small/medium translation companies; great experience and investment, particularly useful as it forced me to emerge from the typical freelancer's island and look around from a different perspective, and get... See more Thank you all again for your precious input!
Andrew, thank you for suggesting I look into the way practices work.
Ideas are there, in background mode, surfacing in between deadlines...
A few days ago I attended a sales management & strategies workshop for small/medium translation companies; great experience and investment, particularly useful as it forced me to emerge from the typical freelancer's island and look around from a different perspective, and getting an idea of what challenges LSPs are facing in their day-to-day business.
Thank you!
Roberta
[Edited at 2004-09-24 06:41] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Roberta Anderson
Italy
Local time: 22:35
Member (2001)
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | 18 months later... | Mar 25, 2006 |
...how time flies!...
I've just been going through this whole thread again, and really appreciate all your insights.
Still uptodate and relevant, still rich and stimulating.
I'm still here. Recently started to work in team with a 2 other translators on a couple of projects, and that worked very well.
I'm very slow at taking big steps, and great at keeping things simmering in the background - stirring every now and again to avoid it sticking to... See more ...how time flies!...
I've just been going through this whole thread again, and really appreciate all your insights.
Still uptodate and relevant, still rich and stimulating.
I'm still here. Recently started to work in team with a 2 other translators on a couple of projects, and that worked very well.
I'm very slow at taking big steps, and great at keeping things simmering in the background - stirring every now and again to avoid it sticking to the pan, though.
Plus a family of 4 to support means no rash decisions, of course (that's my excuse, no procrastination here )
Elvira, Hynek - you mentioned having similar thoughts, back then... how are you doing now?
Cheers,
Roberta ▲ Collapse
| | | | miking
Chinese to English
+ ...
| good question and good point | May 15, 2006 |
Heinrich Pesch wrote:
1. Increase your speed by learning new technics, CAT etc.
2. Get higher paying customers and drop the low-paying
3. Outsourcing, working as an agency
You have in mind point 3, I guess. Outsourcing has always its risks. If your translate and the client does not pay; well, you lost some time. If you outsource and the client does not pay: you loose money too.
If all works well and the undertakers perform well, its easy earned money, but often it involves a lot of hazzle, mailing to and fro, watching over time-tables and other worry.
Just my point of view.
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