Comments on: The Top Three Things I Wish Somebody Told Me When I First Started As a Freelance Translator

By: jamiehartztranslations

jamiehartztranslations — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 21:49:37 +0000

Daniela, It's great that you have an idea of what to work on as your business grows. Marketing yourself can be tough! Another of our guest authors actually wrote a post about this at the link below, in case you are interested. It's certainly worth a read! http://atasavvynewcomer.org/2014/02/19/a-translator-brand-is-a-personal-brand/ Thanks for your comment, Jamie

By: Daniela Helguera (@danihelguera_)

Daniela Helguera (@danihelguera_) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 21:43:53 +0000

Very useful post, thank you Pilar! I have a few clients I’d gotten by chance, too. But I sure need to grow my business. Problem is that I’m not good at selling myself, so I got stuck in the marketing phase. I guess I’ll have to learn how to market my services somehow then!

�䲹��ñ�ǲ�,

Daniela
(Another latinamerican working in the hispanic market)

By: Weekly favorites (Dec 27-Jan 2) | Adventures in Freelance Translation

Weekly favorites (Dec 27-Jan 2) | Adventures in Freelance Translation — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 19:18:40 +0000

[…] To Get Your Local Newspaper To Write A Human Interest Story About Your Translation Business The Top 3 Things I Wish Somebody Told Me When I First Started As a Freelance Translator When you receive instructions for a project and your boss tells you to do the exact opposite Top […]

By: Sids Advice to young translators | Sid's Corner

Sids Advice to young translators | Sid's Corner — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 07:15:16 +0000

[…] The Top Three Things I Wish Somebody Told Me When I First Started As a Freelance Translator (atasavvynewcomer.org) […]

By: mitineditor

mitineditor — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 22:26:52 +0000

In reply to Pilar. There was no "industry". These were direct clients. I did the work, and they handed me cash.

By: Pilar

Pilar — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:27:44 +0000

In reply to mitineditor. Wow. You were one of the lucky ones. How long ago was this? The translation industry has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years, but I agree due diligence is paramount.

By: Pilar

Pilar — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:25:43 +0000

In reply to heleneby. Thanks for your kind words, Eva. Yes, trying network daily is ideal. I try to have lunch with a colleague or client at least once a week, but sometimes even writing them a note or a phone call is all we can do. Maybe we should write more about networking in a future article.

By: Pilar

Pilar — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:22:50 +0000

In reply to Anamaria Thomas. Thanks for you kind words, Anamaria!

By: Pilar

Pilar — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:22:05 +0000

In reply to Maria Cecilia Lawinski. Thanks for your kind words, Cecilia.

By: mitineditor

mitineditor — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 05:13:47 +0000

When I began as a translator (I was drafted into it), I most definitely did not know my worth or even how much people normally charged. And do you know who taught me to charge what my work was really worth? MY CLIENTS! My initial clients were all in the same relatively small town I was living in, and when I’d tell them what I planned to charge them, they would act insulted. One man said, “I TOOK YOUR TIME AND YOU DESERVE TO BE ADEQUATELY COMPENSATED!” Another time, when a client started negotiating with me and found me to be too much of a cream puff, turned on his heel, told my manager at my teaching job, “Olga, you have to teach this guy how to do business!” They negotiated the job in the office — excluding me from the discussion — then came out and told me, “YOU WILL DO THIS JOB FOR…” The fee was 10 times what I’d originally asked for.

Most of us don’t live in friendly small towns, and our clients won’t be so considerate, so we have to take it upon ourselves to perform due diligence and find out what our work is worth.

By: Anamaria Thomas

Anamaria Thomas — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 02:19:57 +0000

Great article Pilar! And that is why you are doing so well!

By: heleneby

heleneby — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 00:51:53 +0000

In reply to Eva De Vallescar. Great idea! Emailing a colleague, going to a Chamber of Commerce event, calling a client to see how things are going... Those are all ways to reach out. Friday morning I'll be at the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce again.