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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.
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This was the topic of a Deep Dive Networking session hosted in June 2025 by ATA’s Business Practices Education Committee. The participants were given a set of loose questions as a starting point. The following is a summary of these discussions. This article focuses on retirement in the United States, although some attendees also talked about retirement abroad, which has its own challenges that warrant a separate article. But before we dive in, a necessary disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice and does not claim to cover every possible aspect of financial retirement planning. When…
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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