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… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes Ben Franklin, in a letter written in 1789 How can we prepare to get through the storms of life? My mother-in-law, my husband and my mom died in the last six years. While I was deeply saddened by this, I still had to take care of most administrative issues for them and keep looking to the future. I wanted to have work and clients after this was over. As freelancers, our clients disappear when we disappear. How did I keep clients through these crises? Years…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Odds are you’ve heard the hype around the futuristic artificial intelligence-based tool currently taking the world by storm. But what is it and what can it really do for translators? The answers may surprise you. What is ChatGPT? ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) designed and developed by OpenAI to generate human-like responses to prompts. LLMs are a type…
This post is a reblog, originally published in the Tool Box Journal on September 16, 2022. It is republished with permission from the author. Large work projects can be a boon and a bane for a freelance business. It’s exciting to have a large chunk of income to look forward to, but accommodating parallel work volumes from other clients can…
This post is a reblog, originally published on Marketing Tips for Translators. It is republished with permission of the author. Scheduling and planning are fundamentally important things to consider if you hope to build an effective freelance career. In any field, time management is of the utmost importance. If you are a freelance translator, your productivity – and therefore your…
You have been freelancing as a translator for a few years now, and you have settled into a good rhythm. You have some steady clients and are feeling confident in your abilities. You start to wonder: should I be starting my own translation agency? Is that the next step? You might notice colleagues going this route: incorporating as a business,…
This post is a reblog, originally published on Carlie Sitzman’s blog. It is republished with permission of the author. As they venture off into unknown realms of the internet, some language learners may become overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of offerings out there. What works? What doesn’t? Where am I likely to run into personages with dubious motives? This week,…
Many of you know Ted Wozniak quite well from his many years of dedicated service to ATA…but did you know he essentially worked undercover as a liaison officer for the US Army in Germany? I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ted, and I enjoyed hearing about his colorful professional life as much as I valued his advice for…
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