At some point in every freelance translator’s career they’ll experience a low point; perhaps due to an economic downturn or maybe due to the loss of direct clients, but they’ll experience a period of time where they’re concerned about their financial future. All self-employed people experience highs and lows in their careers and sometimes it’s handy to have a few useful strategies to help stay solvent and happy during difficult economic times. The experts advise that freelancers should continue networking, learn new skills, specialize, continue marketing, and cultivate existing client relationships.
So the question is: Is this good advice for freelance translators, or are there other strategies available for getting through difficult or lean times? Here’s some useful advice from other professionals on how they cope during these times -
Make Sure Your Regular Clients Are Happy
You can’t afford to lose any of your existing clients, so do everything in your power to ensure that they’re happy with your work and with your customer service. The best way to do this is to always deliver more than what’s expected. If your clients are happy they’re not going to look elsewhere for their translations because they have no reason to. Some freelancers email their regular clients every so often with any important information or updates that may be of interest to them, and at the same time, they ask if there’s anything they can do to help out. As we know, sometimes an email will arrive in our Inbox at precisely the right time!
Think Outside the Box!
When it comes to where you get your work from, change your thinking and start looking outside the box. Take any little translation jobs that are offered to you, and don’t let your ego get in the way. These small assignments offer some breathing room, and they could well see you through a difficult financial period. Every little bit counts and, who knows, one or more of these clients could well turn out to be loyal well-paying clients.
Consider How You’re Marketing Yourself
Subcontractors, or independent contractors, can often prosper during downtimes because many clients are not looking to add people to their payroll; but they still need their translation work completed. And even if a company is looking to hire a translator on a permanent basis, you should still approach the company with a view to offering yourself as a virtual employee. They could well change their mind and decide that using an independent contractor would suit their purposes best.
Check Out All the Freelance Job Boards
If you’re looking for work, then make sure you’re looking everywhere for work. There are job boards to check, and even websites like Craigslist can often reveal little surprises.
Don’t Measure Projects by Per-Word Rates
Sometimes freelancers are guilty of passing up work because they believe the per-word rate is too low when in fact, projects should not be judged solely on the per-word rate – each job should be judged on its merits. One of these merits is how familiar you are with the subject because the more familiar you are then the quicker you’ll be able to complete the project. The same length document which involves lots of reviewing back and forth and continuous research will take a lot longer, and may not be worth your while.
Change Your Description of Yourself
If you’re looking for new types of work, then you need to change how you think of yourself and start finding new ways to describe your knowledge and skills. Let’s say you’re actually a copywriter: consider rebranding yourself and stepping into an editor’s role. You may end up really enjoying your new role, but at the very least it will serve as a financial stopgap until you can find the work you’re really looking for.
