Goal-setting is a critical element of running a freelance business, but many translators ignore it. Not surprisingly, this type of passive attitude can lead to job stress and low job satisfaction, because instead of feeling that you're actively progressing toward your ideal freelance business, you … [Read more...] about Some thoughts on setting goals
Marketing
Supplier or demander?
When it comes to raising your translation rates, what's the correct strategy: ask or tell? A colleague and I talked about this at length today, and it struck me as good food for thought. In one sense, other professional service providers don't phone you up and ask if it's OK with you if they raise … [Read more...] about Supplier or demander?
Think like the clients you wish you had
Amybeth Hale, a Sourcing Strategist (one of those jobs your high school guidance counselor didn't know existed!) who writes the blog Research Goddess, offers some excellent advice in her post Where do I go to find people?. We translators could replace "people" with "clients" and her advice is … [Read more...] about Think like the clients you wish you had
The basics of cold contacting
For beginning and experienced translators alike, there is often no way around the need to cold contact potential clients. Beginners need to find those crucial first few clients, and those of us who are established in the industry may want to look for better-paying work, work with direct clients or … [Read more...] about The basics of cold contacting
Break on through: some more tips
People posted such great suggestions in the Comments section for Break on Through that I think they deserve their own post. Jill Sommer made a number of really helpful points. First, I should have clarified in the post that although working as an FBI Contract Linguist was the job that allowed me to … [Read more...] about Break on through: some more tips