I think what impressed me most about the event was the fantastic number of experts from the industry which gathered to share their expertise, knowledge and experiences with other freelance translators to try and help them build their business and develop their careers as language professionals.
There was such a wide range of sessions, most of which were jam-packed with translators! Topics ranged from ‘Networking for introverts’ and ‘How to price your work’ to a personal favorite of mine – ‘The rise of the emoji’! Colleagues here in our head office in Maidenhead will tell you that if I can help it, I will avoid words and opt for an emoji to help with communication.
You can see a summary of some of the great takeaways from this event in this blog post written by my colleague, Dan. When I first read this blog post and reflected on my first ATA event, I thought to myself – wouldn’t it be great if there was some way the knowledge and experience of these industry experts could be easily accessible to all freelance translators so they could draw inspiration and advice to help grow their business and develop as a language professional.
So, over the last few months, I have worked to gather some of the best localization professionals and business development coaches together to give us their expert opinions and tips to help develop the careers of freelance translators. We have created, what we would like to think of as, a resource library where there is a wide range of free resources to choose from including live and recorded webinars, articles and blogs on key topics such as:
- How to set your rates
- Tips on writing a great résumé
- Getting the most from networking
- Time management and productivity strategies
- Habits of highly successful translators
- Creating and optimizing your website
- Typing tips.
We have split these topics into three key areas:‘Practical tips’, ‘Marketing advice’ and ‘Client relationships.’
We understand that often, freelance translators are so time constrained that they feel they do not have time to even go and make a quick cup of tea or coffee, let alone sit and read an article or watch a webinar! Whilst there can be no doubts that working as a freelance translator can frequently be a real challenge of time, I have heard several highly successful translators say that, in order to move several steps forward with their freelance translation business (growing their client base, earning more money etc.), they had to take a few steps back from their day-to-day work in order to do some necessary learning, development and planning.
So please take the time to have a look at these great resources as hopefully, after digesting some of the expert advice available, you will also find yourself taking several steps forward in the development of your freelance translation business.
Click here for 30 free resources to help grow your freelance translation business >>
