Afraid of trying new things in your business? Ask yourself these four questions!

Corinne McKay (classes@trainingfortranslators.com) is the founder of Training for Translators, and has been a full-time freelancer since 2002. An ATA-certified French to English translator and Colorado court-certified interpreter, she also holds a Master of Conference Interpreting from Glendon College. For more tips and insights, join the Training for Translators mailing list!

Trying new things can be intimidating, especially if you’re trying new things under pressure (realizing that you need more work NOW), or if you’ve been running your business in the same way for a long time. As I wrote about in 2024’s final newsletter, I honestly think that most people never even know what they’re capable of, because they lack the courage to try. But how do we muster the courage to try?? We’re all on that path (I include myself in that effort), but here are four questions that might help you move in that direction:

1. What’s the worst thing that can happen if I try something new? As translators and interpreters, our work is important, but we’re not organ transplant surgeons or fighter jet pilots. If you go to your first-ever client-side event and it’s a disaster, I promise you that no one will die. If potential clients don’t respond to your e-mail outreach, the world will continue turning. It’s really OK to try and to not have it go perfectly. 
2. What’s the best thing that can happen? We tend to dwell on the negatives. But what benefits could you derive from trying new things in your business? More fulfilling work? Higher income? Clients who appreciate you more? A service you’re interested in (interpreting, subtitling, copywriting, voiceover) but have never tried? 
3. What skills or experience do I already have, that could help me with this? It’s in our nature to look at the parts of the “new thing” that we’ve never done before. But if you’ve worked with even one client, you’ve sold your services. If you’ve done editing for agencies for a long time, why not look for business executives who have to write articles in their non-native language and need that same service? Focus on the transferable skills that you already have and that you can apply in a different way. 
4. What’s the consequence of not trying something new? I’m a risk-averse person, and I think that risk aversion is generally a good thing. Risk aversion got me and my husband to live debt-free, and it’s saved me from a lot of bad decisions. But in our businesses, we often underestimate the impact of staying stuck. As the saying goes, if you do what you’ve always done, you’re going to get what you’ve always gotten, and if you want different results in your business, you probably have to try at least a tiny new thing!
   
   I hope these tips are helpful! Have a great week!

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