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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…
From time to time we at The Savvy Newcomer receive questions from our readers that make for great blog post topics. This is one of them! Here’s a question from one of our readers who’s just starting to pursue an interest in languages and wants to know how to get started. Q: Is there any advice you could give for…
How to Create an Ideal T&I Client Profile to Market Your Services
This post was originally published on Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo’s blog. It is reposted with permission. It is incredibly important to know your ideal client if your marketing efforts are going to be effective. After all, we want to work with our ideal clients, and not just anyone who crosses our paths, right? I mentioned recently in a webinar that I…
The Secret Sauce for Building Cohesive Teams
Though it may seem paradoxical since many of us work independently, teamwork is a critical component of a freelance translator or interpreter’s professional life. Introverts and extroverts alike need collaboration and interaction in order to thrive, and oftentimes quality necessitates working together to resolve questions and agree on solutions. Whether you’re volunteering on a committee, working with a team of…
Freelance Beginner Tips: The Pitfalls to Avoid
Reblogged from Hongkiat, with permission If you’re still unsure whether or not to pursue freelancing, chances are you’ve contemplated what life is like as a full-time freelancer. You’ve probably heard of the many splendid perks of freelancing, but you’re still dying to know if it’s really all sunny and greener “on the other side”. Like most professions, freelancing has its…
As many states and entities seek to define standards for the translation and interpreting profession, the State of Oregon serves as a great example of a robust set of standards. In order to prepare to meet these standards, many take translation courses. Such courses can serve as proof to clients who require proof of having taken translation training or as…
This post was originally published on the dba Plan B blog. It is reposted with permission. When you have a translation project ready to go, here are some of the questions you’ll likely be asked — certainly by me, but also by other translators. In most cases, translators need to see the documents before giving you a quote, but even with…
Common Errors Found in the English>Spanish Certification Exam
Reblogged from The ATA Chronicle, with permission ATA certification continues to be a sought-after credential. As a way to prepare for this demanding exam, ATA has been offering practice tests for many years, which are real exam passages that have been “retired.” In addition to the practice test, ATA has been offering exam preparation workshops taught by ATA exam graders…
Freelance Translator Survey 2020
“Interesting & fun to complete”, “Most comprehensive and interesting survey so far”, “Loved it!”, “Very thorough and thought-provoking” are just a few of the comments left by people who completed this survey for translators, a survey that took two months to put together, a survey designed by translators for translators. The idea started to take shape a couple of months…
Free Training: Getting Started as a Freelance Translator
A four-week online course for beginning translators in any language combination, who want to launch and run a successful freelance business. Also for “experienced beginners” whose primary goal is to find more work. Because a lot of people have a lot of time on their hands right now, I’m offering a free session of Getting Started as a Freelance Translator.…
Why You Should Never Offer a “Free Quote” On Your Website (Or Elsewhere)
This post was originally published on Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo’s blog. It is reposted with permission from the author. Whether you’re a seasoned professional translator or a newbie who’s just getting your feet wet, your website should be the place where clients go to find out more about your services and to find out how they can work with you. Not…