If you’re thinking about quitting freelancing, try these strategies first

Happy September, Training for Translators subscribers! For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s back-to-school/rentrée time, with all the new beginnings that this time of year entails!

Write a book review?

If you’ve read my new book, Getting Started as a Freelance Interpreter, I’d love a review of it, to help other people find and learn about the book! You can do that on my website (link above; download a free sample there if you’re curious!) or on Amazon.

September classes

Speaking of back-to-school! Join us on September 24 for a two-hour master class with guest instructor Ana Sofia Correia, Marketing with purpose: How medical translators and interpreters can attract the right clients ($75 including the recording), or sign up for my Direct client research lab, combining personalized direct client marketing recommendations with a group session to learn my research techniques ($160, registration limited to 20 people, 12 spots left right now).

This week’s topic: Before you blow it all up, try these strategies

Last week, I wrote a post on LinkedIn that then sparked a podcast episode, focusing on the (large) number of freelancers who’ve been working for a small number of agencies and calling it a freelance business. No shame in this; “two agencies and an e-mail address” once described my business too. But here’s what I found more surprising: the number of freelancers saying (explicitly or implicitly), “…and I really have no desire to market, network, or be more visible, I just want to translate, which no longer seems viable, so I’m looking for another career.”

If that’s you, and you really want to move on, do it. Not that you need my approval (you definitely don’t), but I’m a big fan of evolving. Given the choice between stagnation and a major change, I’d pick the major change any day. But if you’re considering “blowing it all up” because you believe:

• “Pure” translation work no longer exists
• Running a “real” business isn’t for you
• There’s no way forward

…then I have a few other suggestions for you.

Unless Esperanto really takes off…

My take? Unless Esperanto really makes a run for it, in a way that Esperanto historically has not, the world will always need multilingual communicators. The need for our services isn’t going anywhere. And what the job looks like is changing, and in some cases (translating for agencies) changing fast, in ways that you may not agree with. And I personally think that the real shift isn’t so much AI, it’s the end of the “two agencies and an e-mail address” business model, where many people who called themselves freelancers were actually more like fractional employees. I know; it’s a lot to absorb and a lot to deal with. And yet, I firmly believe that there’s a solid future for us.

If you’re considering “blowing it all up,” here’s what I’d recommend trying. Let’s say that right now, you have some regular agency clients but the work isn’t that great: MTPE (machine translation post-editing, such an unfortunate name, kind of like post-consumer waste, but we’re stuck with it now) at low rates, minimum charge jobs (25 words that their MT system can’t read) and similar work. Here’s what I’d do:

• For the moment, stick with the agency work that you’ve got, even if it’s not great. Let that keep you afloat while you look for better stuff.
• Right this red-hot second, start a full-on marketing sprint to agencies (yes, you read that correctly, agencies). Why? Because marketing to agencies is simple, and you’re less likely to get stuck in a doom loop (“But first, I have to create/update my website, then I have to pick some more targeted specializations, then I have to figure out who needs me, then I have to figure out who to contact within those companies, then I have to have a panic attack”). By the time you get to step 1.5, you’ve likely given up. Instead, push the easy button: look for some better or different agency work so that at least, you’re not clinging to your same two agency clients. Set a goal of applying to 50 agencies in the next month, and just start cranking out the applications. I honestly think that James Clear’s mantra, Action Relieves Anxiety, will prove to be true for you pretty quickly. Maybe these agencies don’t have better work, or different kinds of work than what you’re doing now (but maybe they do!); the point is to make you less dependent on the handful of agencies you work with, and to get the marketing mojo flowing.
• Then, think of the least intimidating way to start marketing to direct clients. Something like: marketing to agencies that aren’t translation agencies. Why? Because they definitely need you. You’re not convincing them that an Esperanto website could really pump their business. You’re an English to Spanish translator, sending a simple e-mail (“Came across your website while researching international marketing agencies in Madrid; I can imagine that there might be a need for an English to Spanish translator with marketing expertise”) to international marketing agencies in Spanish-speaking countries. You’re a court interpreter, sending your CV to legal services agencies. You’re an official document translator, asking credentials evaluation agencies how to get on the list of translators they give referrals to. Start there. Set the goal of finding one new direct client before the end of the year, and start with “entry-level” clients who definitely need translation or interpreting services. Only then do you think about “scaling up,” and I’m guessing you’ll be feeling a lot more positive about your prospects.
• Let me know how it goes! For all the negativity about the future of the language professions, I’ve been hearing from a good number of freelancers who are trying new things and succeeding!

I hope these tips are helpful! Have a great week!

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