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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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… 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 in the Tool Box Journal Newsletter, Issue 22-11-342 on November 23, 2022. It is reposted with permission from the author. Imagine you’re building a house. You’ve poured cement for the basement, you spent weeks constructing the walls, and just as you’re starting to work on the roof… you decide to remodel a shiny…
From the Next Level team: Do you remember the first few years of your career in the language industry? Was it smooth sailing, or did you sometimes wish for someone who could give you advice and point you in a new direction? If you’ve ever wanted or had someone to help you find your footing, consider doing the same for…
The summer before I entered fourth grade, I was invited to join a special summer program at a local community college. I had the opportunity to choose two classes from a range of offerings and, for reasons I no longer remember, I chose drama and touch typing. The drama class never did me much good; I learned mainly that I…
About a week from the time this post appears, the ATA 63rd Annual Conference will be in full swing. Like always, attendees will have opportunities to network with colleagues and potential clients, browse in the Exhibit Hall, exchange dictionaries, exercise, meet candidates for the Board of Directors, and of course, learn as much as they can in just three days.…
This post is a reblog, originally published on Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo’s blog. It is reposted with permission from the author. Testimonials are a great way to enrich your online marketing. Customers often read product reviews and testimonials before they make an important purchase. I heard someone say recently that other people’s words are 15 times more valuable than our own when…
MIRELLA lay still in her bed, though she felt every muscle twitching. She had tried tossing but could not get comfortable. Lying on her back, she scooted up to rest her head on the pillow. She had read somewhere that in colonial times, they used to sleep almost sitting up. The standby light on the computer stared at her accusingly.…
How much time do you spend each day looking at some type of screen? Do you work on a computer, use a tablet to look up terms while interpreting, or spend long amounts of time staring at your phone? Have you ever noticed a headache coming on while you work, or have your eyes started to feel dry and irritated?…
This post is a reblog, originally published in the Tool Box Journal Newsletter, Issue 22-6-338 on June 15, 2022. It is reposted with permission from the author. Our brains are wired to resort to tried-and-true recipes in times of uncertainty, but old approaches are not always the most productive choice. The work of Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman has helped us understand…
This post is a reblog, originally published by Zingword on November 5, 2020. It is reposted with permission from the author. I recently had a brief discussion on mental health with an acquaintance who also works as a freelance translator, and they said something that really stuck with me: “No one ever taught me that you can say no to…
Wherever you live and wherever you do business in the world, you will have noticed a major uptick in inflation in 2021 and especially in the recent months of 2022. In an industry with very high added value and with limited direct costs like translation and interpreting, it is not immediately self-evident that some of us may need or want…
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