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Poll: What is your greatest business challenge as a freelancer?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
All of the above, yet in particular ...... Nov 18, 2008

John Cutler wrote:

Now they can hassle each other instead of me.


Ha, ha, ha .... that's a solution I will implement next time I come across bad payer.
Fortunately though, throughout my career such is less than 1% in overall ratio.
Shall I consider myself lucky or what?

I have one domestic client who is always tardy. I have to threat her, against my will, that I will take the matter into correction agency. It always works.
Problem is she brings job to me in such a wide span of time, I forgot what happened last time


 
Marlene Blanshay
Marlene Blanshay  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 08:57
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
most of them! Nov 18, 2008

right now, it's a slow period- nothing since last week! which of course, is part of ERRATIC INCOME FLOW. Which is also a result of trying to maintain a CUSTOMER BASE...all are linked.

Slow payers are an annoyance but not a huge problem.My work load is usually manageable because I have no kids and live alone, so I can work undistracted.

So it's mutable....right now it's the slow period. I start getting a bit nutty if i don't get enough work, but OTOH, that's when I catch
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right now, it's a slow period- nothing since last week! which of course, is part of ERRATIC INCOME FLOW. Which is also a result of trying to maintain a CUSTOMER BASE...all are linked.

Slow payers are an annoyance but not a huge problem.My work load is usually manageable because I have no kids and live alone, so I can work undistracted.

So it's mutable....right now it's the slow period. I start getting a bit nutty if i don't get enough work, but OTOH, that's when I catch up on stuff I haven't had a chance to do during the past weeks when I was totally overbooked. I got a huge check and went shopping and of course, applied for a couple of new agencies. I know eventually something else will come up and I won't have time to do anything.
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R. Alex Jenkins
R. Alex Jenkins  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 09:57
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
+ ...
All of the possibilities (and then some) Nov 18, 2008

I'd like to compliment Todd on a great post. Very imaginative.

Probably the hardest thing to deal with is trying to fill in those spare moments between jobs but at the same time trying not to get too stressed when there's simply too much work on. Sometimes I get a little bit depressed when there's no work, but I also get a little bit depressed when I'm just too overworked. You know how it goes.

Getting that overall balance is the real key. Over time, as self-believing
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I'd like to compliment Todd on a great post. Very imaginative.

Probably the hardest thing to deal with is trying to fill in those spare moments between jobs but at the same time trying not to get too stressed when there's simply too much work on. Sometimes I get a little bit depressed when there's no work, but I also get a little bit depressed when I'm just too overworked. You know how it goes.

Getting that overall balance is the real key. Over time, as self-believing professionals, we learn to master our emotions and the way we handle ourselves during these extreme moments instead of trying to predict the market itself.
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Helena Genel
Helena Genel
United States
Local time: 05:57
English to Spanish
+ ...
Late payers! Nov 18, 2008

Having/dealing with late payers is the part I like the least (read: really hate) about my job.

 
Laureana Pavon
Laureana Pavon  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 09:57
Member (2007)
English to Spanish
+ ...

MODERATOR
Organizing my time Nov 18, 2008

I also agree with those of you who find it difficult to balance work and private life.

My husband had to wait more than 10 days before I found time to go to the cinema with him last week!!!

Of course, I think the problem is not that I really did not have a couple of free hours during those two weeks, but the fact that I may not not be the most organized person around.

So, come to think of it, perhaps my greatest challenge is overcoming my poor organization
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I also agree with those of you who find it difficult to balance work and private life.

My husband had to wait more than 10 days before I found time to go to the cinema with him last week!!!

Of course, I think the problem is not that I really did not have a couple of free hours during those two weeks, but the fact that I may not not be the most organized person around.

So, come to think of it, perhaps my greatest challenge is overcoming my poor organization skills, trying to find some method to the translation madness so that I can still meet every deadline and continue to have a life

I always make a new year's resolution to try to organize my time so that I can have more free time; hopefully in 2009 I can make it come true.

Cheers!

Laurena
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Marlene Blanshay
Marlene Blanshay  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 08:57
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
i have to admit that organization Nov 18, 2008

was never my strong suit and that is a challenge sometimes...trying to keep track of everything. I hate bureaucratic stuff!

and there are times when I get so busy that I can't keep up on family obligations and it makes me feel a tad guilty.


 
Theo Bernards (X)
Theo Bernards (X)  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:57
English to Dutch
+ ...
They are all tough but... Nov 18, 2008

I would have to say that competing with extremely low rates as the most difficult, especially when you see the job you missed out on farmed out via other websites, slightly altered but definitely the same job, for a ridiculously low fee. I always try to find out who posted the original job, but that is a time consuming work. Worst case I ever ran into was being rejected for a translation job because "a more cost-effective bid was elected" and I was then asked at a later stage to proof the result... See more
I would have to say that competing with extremely low rates as the most difficult, especially when you see the job you missed out on farmed out via other websites, slightly altered but definitely the same job, for a ridiculously low fee. I always try to find out who posted the original job, but that is a time consuming work. Worst case I ever ran into was being rejected for a translation job because "a more cost-effective bid was elected" and I was then asked at a later stage to proof the result. Didn't make me fool too good and when I saw the translation result I seriously wondered if somebody hat taught a monkey how to turn on a computer. Made good on the money though, because I could succesfully argue it would be cheaper to re-translate the original file

Of course, nothing is simple when you are running your own one man (or woman) show and work your but off to maske a living, but if anybody can develop a solid way of ridiculising these low rate bucchaneers I would be eternally grateful...
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Alexander Kondorsky
Alexander Kondorsky  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 15:57
English to Russian
+ ...
Maintaining a dependable customer base Nov 19, 2008

All offered choices boil down to the first one. If you succeed in maintaining a dependable customer base you automatically resolve all other issues.

 
Nadja Balogh
Nadja Balogh  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:57
Member (2007)
Japanese to German
+ ...
Paperwork, literally Nov 19, 2008

As long as I'm allowed to do things paperless in front of my PC, I'm quite happy no matter what task.

But as I'm rather messy, I get very irritable as soon as I have to handle anything in paper-form - and I'm constantly worried about misplacing/misfiling important documents, or even throwing them away by mistake.


 
Ricardo Pereira
Ricardo Pereira  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:57
Member (2006)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
All of the above Nov 19, 2008

and managing my time with my family and friends when I have huge workloads. I tend to "neglect" them all a bit during those periods but that is surely not a good thing to do. But if I'm not at the office working, I simply can't forget that I have some work to do...

 
diana bb
diana bb  Identity Verified
Lithuania
Local time: 14:57
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
I voted 'other' Nov 19, 2008

My answer is not listed among the choices. The answer that immediately crossed my mind was 'top quality translation'. You might object to it, saying 'oh, but it goes without saying'. However, as we all are well aware, it is not always so. So first and foremost - top quality translation.

 
Simon Cole
Simon Cole  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:57
Member (2008)
French to English
late payers but ... no payers Nov 19, 2008

I agree that all these things are an issue, but they're all issues to ssome extent in any business. By "dependable customer base", do we really mean agencies that treat us as professionally as we treat them?

I voted late payers because money seems to be why we do it (a conclusion based on many comments to other recent polls), and when they don't pay, it "sucks". Here in France, late payment is a national sport - here invoices are generally paid at 60-90 days, and worse. I've one
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I agree that all these things are an issue, but they're all issues to ssome extent in any business. By "dependable customer base", do we really mean agencies that treat us as professionally as we treat them?

I voted late payers because money seems to be why we do it (a conclusion based on many comments to other recent polls), and when they don't pay, it "sucks". Here in France, late payment is a national sport - here invoices are generally paid at 60-90 days, and worse. I've one "client" with invoices going back to March who is now seeking bankrupcy in order to keep my 7000 euros and lots of other translators' money too. The owner has transferred his clients to another agency (under the same owner), where I have also been getting work and now I'm starting to get payments of 50% of an invoice with the rest promised soon because (quote) "there isn't the money".

I feel this is made worse by the fact that I can't just STOP working for them, because while they need me, they try to pay; if I refuse to work for them at all, then my chances of seeing the outstanding debts (another 6000 euros) getting paid will also disappear, since keeping me sweet will no longer be necessary.
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R. Alex Jenkins
R. Alex Jenkins  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 09:57
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
+ ...
A note on Simon's 'late payers' Nov 19, 2008

Simon Cole wrote:


Hi Simon,
You need to be really firm and simply not accept any more jobs from this customer until they clear up their debts. I sympathise with you, as this is a really tough situation, especially if you're good friends with this service provider, but I can't see how you're doing yourself any long-term favours in continuing to work for this customer.

Best Regards,
Richard.


 
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