The beginning of the year is always a good opportunity to take stock: what went right in 2013, what needs to go better in 2014, and where do you want to be a year from now? Let’s look at some questions that every freelance translator should ask. I’ll kick things off with my own answers, and please add yours in the comments.
Think of where you were at this time last year and what your goals were; by comparison, how are things going now?
In January 2013, I made a major change and joined a co-working office, in which I’m sitting right now. This has made a huge and positive change in both my work and home lives, since I now rarely work at home and try to maintain a fairly rigid separation between the work day and the non-work day. I surmised (correctly, as it turns out) that at the office, I would get more done in less time and potentially earn more money. So, overall, this year was a very successful one.
If you’re stuck in a rut (in terms of income, clients, workflow), what needs to change?
I’m not currently stuck in a rut, but I was at this time last year. So here’s my advice: look for the root cause of the rut. At this time last year, I was feeling relatively blah about work in general: wanting to break through to the next level of income, find more direct clients, and earn a larger percentage of my income from teaching, consulting and writing. I realized that I really needed to shake things up, and that the root cause was that I needed an office outside the house. For you, maybe it’s something different. But it’s important to realize when you need a big revamp rather than some small tweaks. Also, accept your reasons for wanting a change, even if they seem weird or superficial. One thing I love about the co-working office: it’s an excuse to wear nice clothes. If I feel like wearing a new dress, or fun shoes, or a cute hair style that I saw in a magazine, I do. So there.
Did you earn what you wanted to earn?
It’s OK, and even positive, to admit/accept that you translate primarily for the money. I love the work that I do as a translator. I love getting paid to read and write all day, and I love learning about new subject areas. I even (mostly) love interacting with clients and colleagues. But I also love that I can earn a healthy income while working largely on my own schedule and living in a place where there are few, if any, in-house jobs for what I do. Over the years, I’ve seen that for me at least, earning a good living doesn’t make life better, but it does make it easier. So be honest with yourself: are you making as much as you want to? Or do you need to up your income in 2014?
Who did you work for?
This one is critical: what are your revenue streams? You can probably name your top two or three clients without looking at your accounting records, because they’re the ones you hear from all the time. But you might be surprised to see who your mid-level clients are. If you do work other than translation, you also might be surprised to see what percentage of your income the “other” work generates. For example this year, every session of my online course was full and I taught 7 sessions of the class, meaning that the class is now one of my top “clients.”
How much did you enjoy the work that you did?
If you’re earning what you want to earn, working for yourself is generally pretty great. But ask yourself this (and I know I’ve harped on this topic lately, so bear with me!): did you take what landed in the inbox, or go looking for work that really turns you on? Was it another day, another dollar/euro/yen, or did you really look forward to diving in to your work on Monday morning?
What are you getting sick of?
I’m generally a very positive person, almost to a fault. Meaning that I tend to ignore the negative until it’s staring me right in the face. But think about this: what aspects of your work are making you nuts, and what can you do about them? For example I’ve recently talked to a couple of translators who are retiring, and who said “I’m not sick of translating, but I’m sick of deadlines, and rush jobs, and clients who want a miracle for yesterday.” Now that I’m over 40, I hear that. I realize that in another, say, 10 years, I’d like to be focused on work that is really, really on my own schedule, such as teaching, writing books and translating books. I’m not really at the “had it” point yet, but I see it on the horizon.
Should you outsource anything?
A couple of years ago, I realized that doing my own accounting was counterproductive. Although my accountant charges more than I do, it takes me approximately 57 times as long to do payroll taxes as it takes her. So I decided to allocate about $1,000 a year to accounting fees and I now pay my accountant to do almost everything. I keep my own income and expense records, but other than that it’s all her, and it’s well worth it.
Where do you want to be at this time next year?
I’m not a big one for resolutions because they’re kind of a setup for failure (for me at least). Also I’m fairly disciplined, so I tend to follow through on long-term goals. So I think more in terms of goals for the new year rather than resolutions. Here are some of mine: I’m planning to launch a more advanced-level online course (Beyond the basics of freelancing) within the first quarter; then I’d like to do a third edition of How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator. I also really, really need to work on connecting in person with more direct clients. I work primarily with direct clients, but most of them have fallen into my lap; I need to make more of an effort to actively seek them out.
Now, over to you? How did 2013 go? What’s on tap for the new year?
Right on the button IMNSHO :)! I’m sharing this with my work-partner now. Though we are very well-treated and respected by our agencies – to the point where just today we were called on to rescue them from a potentially catastrophic situation created by another translator on the same project I am also determined to find our own end-clients. Perhaps that’s a topic that you might like to address in one of your seminars – or perhaps you do so already?! 🙂
Thanks Michal! If you’re interested in finding direct clients, I highly recommend our Speaking of Translation interview with Joanne Archambault: “Q&A: finding direct clients through industry conferences.” You can listen to it here:
http://speakingoftranslation.com/listen/
Thanks Corinne! I will definitely listen to it as soon as we’ve dug away the mountain of work that landed on us this week.
The major part of it is redoing an enormous and very “official” job that had been done for one of our agencies by a prior translator and that they had rejected because it didn’t pass muster. Needless to say that they need to have it redone on an even tighter deadline. We’ve already taken a good bite out of it but it definitely looks like an all-nighter :(. The teapot will be refilled many times over :).
My goals for January-March are to complete tasks that I have marked in “How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator” and “Thoughts on Translation”. These include: (1) browsing payment practices for highly rated agencies and applying to them, (2) asking prospective clients in my local area for an informational interview (I think that the municipal government may be a good place to start for this), (3) being part of my local chamber of commerce and making contacts and offering services and, (4) keeping up my participation on LinkedIn and Twitter in order to establish my brand. I would also like to investigate specializing in oil and gas and need to find out how I can do this, apart from my own reading and research.
My long-term goals for the year include a move toward ATA certification and more content on my website and a blog.
Thanks Jesse! Those goals sound great; definitely report back on how you’re progressing!
Not a direct response to your Q, but really, Corinne, your posts are so helpful, so clarifying. You cast light and simplify in areas that can be very angsty (because we are doing it all for ourselves). I probably won’t do your course because I’m primarily an editor who does some translation; but I have benefited very, very much from your calm, sane, wise insights and discussions. Well done you!
Thanks Lucy! Your comment made my day, thank you!! I agree that freelancing can be “angsty.” For better or worse, there’s no performance review at the end of the year, no one telling you if you’re doing it right or wrong, and so on. Glad you enjoyed the post!
Hi Corinne, last year my goal was to get my ATA certification and create a website in hopes of getting more direct clients. I did the first two, but found out that getting direct clients is not quite as easy as sending an email saying “I’m here, please hire me”. Listening to you and other experienced translators like Judy Jenner I learned you need to get yourself and your brand out there, so this year I’m focusing on that. New blog, check; twitter, check, ready to roll!
Hi Corinne. It’s always nice to hear how other translators work and make major changes. I loved your comment about dressing up for work – I often say I’ve got a wardrobe for a lifestyle I don’t have 🙂 I too took stock last year after my personal situation finally allowed me to invest some time and money in my business. Like yourself and the other respondents, I hope to get out there to find new clients. One challenge is to work out how best to do this while living in my target language country. I gained new customers last year and they all came via colleagues, which was a huge boon. Will definitely take advantage of my annual trip to France to arrange some meetings this year.