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1) Read some fantastic
books that will answer most
of your questions about the world of translation. These books weren't around 15
years ago, so you are in luck if you are getting started now. Our all-time
favorite is Corinne McKay's How
to succeed as a freelance translator, and we hear our book The
Entrepreneurial Linguist: The Business-School Approach to Freelance Translation isn't bad, either. These
two books should help solve 90% of your initial questions.
2) Invest in your education. There
are many fantastic courses available for translators, and many are even online.
For the Spanish/English pair, may we suggest UCSD-Extension,
where Judy teaches?
3) Become a member of a
professional association. Or
two. Or three. The ATA has a great membership directory that clients can use to
find vendors (read: translators).
4) Read the 650+
entries on this blog to get
some good insight into the joys and challenges of translation. Then discover
other fantastic blogs. We've listed them on our blog roll on the right-hand
side of this blog.
5) Build your website and get an associated professional
e-mail address. Don't tinker with it too long--it will never be perfect, and
you can always change it later. Done is better than perfect.
6) Attend industry conferences and
meet your peers. There just
is no substitute, and translators need a network of colleagues to succeed. So
go out and build it. Be sure to also join e-mail lists (listservs) that many
associations offer.
7) Invest in your set-up. We are in the lucky position that
starting a translation services business requires minimal investment, but there
will be some (a few thousand, perhaps) you need to buy a great computer,
dictionaries, CAT tools, etc.
8) Keep in mind that starting a translation
business is no different than
starting out any other business, but perhaps with less risk because the
investment you need to make is low and you have no overhead. Remember that it
will take time to build a business. It's never instantaneous.
8) Go to where the clients are. You need to get out of the house
and network. If you are a legal translator, go to events where there will be
lots of lawyers, such as bar association meetings, etc.
9) Create a good pricing structure. Don't underprice everyone just because
you are getting started, as that will affect you and everyone else in both the
short and the long run. Do the math to see how much you need to make to have a
thriving business, and charge the rate that gets you there. Not everyone will
want to work with you, but you don't need thousands of clients.
10) Dedicate
time to administrative and promotional work. Unless you work only with translation
agencies, which essentially do all the client acquisition work for you, you
must do the sales and marketing functions yourself. In the beginning, this will
take up a big part of your time, but as you progress in your career it will be
less so.
What would you like to add, dear
colleagues?
7 comments:
Good points. I would add picking a specialization and getting a mentor.
Great tips! Probably the price structure is the one that most translators starting up in the industry fail to do. Do you really think that being part of an association is a priority? Sometimes it requires experience and a considerable investment for translators starting up. This article reminds me of one I posted last week: 12 tips for first time freelancers.
Thanks for these tips!
Generally speaking, in most endeavors, people give up too easily. So keep hanging in there.
Good judgement comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgement. None of us know everything we need to know when we start out, but we figure it out over time.
Trust your gut. If something doesn't feel legit, it probably isn't.
@David: Many thanks--excellent points. They sure are key. We love mentoring new colleagues and agree that it is an important recipe for success.
@David: Thanks for reading and for commenting. In the US, membership in T&I associations requires no prior experience (except AIIC). We know that's not the case in Europe, but we think that getting involved in the profession and learning from others is best accomplished by joining an association. Of course there are always many different ways to get involved.
@Josh: Thanks for sharing your valuable advice. We couldn't have said it any better. And we all make bad decisions--and try to avoid making the same one twice. And yes, trusting your gut is key! We like to call this our "very scientific method": gut feeling. It works quite well most of the time. Thanks for reading!
Very good points! I am not a beginner, but I still need to work om item 8 from the list - get away from my computer, SEO things and website rankings and actually go where potential clients are. I believe this is the only way to obtain more local translation clients!
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