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Are you an established translator or interpreter looking to take your business to the next level? You’re the reason we’re here!

Next Level supports translators and interpreters with five or more years of experience as they seek to achieve their business goals. We provide information for both freelancers and company owners to use in all aspects of their careers, from improving their privacy protections to planning for retirement.

Have a question or want to suggest an author or pitch an article? Drop us a note at atabizpractices@atanet.org!

Managing Your Freelance Client Portfolio

By Next Level | March 20, 2024
Managing Your Freelance Client Portfolio

This post is a reblog, originally published in the Slator Tool Box. It is reprinted here with permission of the author. An agency that occasionally gets in touch sends me an email with four image files attached. Taken with a phone, the pictures show separate pages of a medical patient record. No attempt has been made to redact personal data, and the text is blurry. Can you please prepare a word count and quote, then do the translation as quickly as possible? The sloppiness of the inquiry bothers me. What would patients say if they knew these medical records were…

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Oh BOI, oh BOI! New Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for Small (and Large) Businesses

By Next Level | March 6, 2024
Oh BOI Oh BOI New Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for Small (and Large) Businesses

BOI is short for Beneficial Ownership Information, meaning, information about who actually owns or controls a company. On January 1, 2024 a new Federal regulation went into effect in the US that requires many companies to report this information to FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury. This new regulation was devised…

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Recent Independent Contractor Classification Rule Changes and What They Mean for Translators and Interpreters

By Next Level | February 19, 2024
response-to-independent-contractor-rule-changes

Insights from the Advocacy and Business Practices Education Committees of the American Translators Association on the DOL’s final rule on worker classification under the FLSA. Employee or independent contractor? In recent years, many professions that include a high number of independent contractors, the language services industry included, have been rocked by the passage of oftentimes problematic legislation aimed at imposing…

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Resources For You: ATA’s New Model Contract for Translators

By Next Level | February 7, 2024
Resources For You: ATA’s New Model Contract for Translators

I’d like to say I’m fascinated by every aspect of my work as a freelance translator, but it wouldn’t be an honest statement. The translation part of the job is easy to love, but the administration and paperwork? Not so much. Still, we all know we need the paperwork to help us keep track of clients and jobs, bill appropriately,…

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All in One and One in All – Balancing Salaried and Freelance Work

By Next Level | November 15, 2023
All in one and one in all Balancing salaried and freelance work

This post is a reblog, originally published at Tip of the Tongue. It is republished with permission of the author. Many freelancers, including translators, hold two jobs, one salaried with regular hours and one as an independent. The benefits of such a dual existence are clear. However, the relative load is asymmetric and variable, creating stress not only in terms…

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ATA64 Conference Preview: Business Practices Education at ATA64

By Next Level | October 18, 2023

In about a week, ATA’s annual conference will begin, this year in sunny Miami, Florida. As always, attendees will have to choose how to split their time among networking opportunities, social activities, job-hunting, and educational sessions. With so many options and so little time, how do you choose? You could just wander the halls and drop in on any session…

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Understanding Worker Classification: The ABC Test, Misclassification, and Tips for Professionalizing Your Language Services Business

By Next Level | September 20, 2023
Understanding Worker Classification The ABC Test, Misclassification, and Tips for Professionalizing Your Language Services Business

Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes only. Consult a reputable professional for financial, legal, and tax advice related to your situation. Translators, Interpreters, and Worker Classification: Why Now? Translators and interpreters have existed ever since humans have spoken and written. The first recorded proof of language interpretation dates back to Ancient Egypt in 3000 B.C.E. If translators and interpreters…

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How to Make More Money Fast – the 80/20 Principle for Freelance Translators

By Next Level | August 9, 2023
How to Make More Money Fast – the 80/20 Principle for Freelance Translators

This post is a reblog, originally published on Marketing Tips for Translators. It is reposted with permission from the author. Do You Know the Easiest Way to Make More Money Right Now, With the Least Effort? I often listen to audiobooks through Audible on my phone when walking the dog, exercising or driving in the car. I recently started listening…

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A Bid Too Far – On Reaching For and Losing Projects

By Next Level | June 28, 2023
A bid too far – On reaching for and losing projects

This post is a reblog, originally published on Tip of the Tongue. It is republished with permission from the author. The question of when a price proposal is too high is quite complex. Last week, I submitted a bid for a specialized service to an experienced professional. In my proposal, I took into account my investments in terms of time…

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The Scammers’ New Clothes

By Next Level | June 14, 2023
The Scammers' New Clothes

I may be wrong, but scam activities seem to be inversely proportional to the economic cycle. Whenever there is the threat of an economic downturn, there seems to be an uptick in scam activities. At least that’s what I have noticed in my own business and in my capacity as webmaster of the Northern California Translators Association (NCTA). Therefore, I…

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Impressive Time Management for Translators: The Time Diet

By Next Level | May 24, 2023
Impressive Time Management for Translators: The Time Diet

This post is a reblog, originally published on Productivity Stacks. It is republished with permission from the author. Do you often feel like your business is running you instead of the other way around? Do you wonder why you constantly feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day? This is your chance to figure out where your time is…

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