For all those knights (translators) out there who are thinking about a career in translation (Well, actually for those who really consider to take the plunge...........)
By the way, my name is Laurens Landkroon, In short, I am a translator/interpretor and provide in-house language courses to companies; I manage my own little translation agency in The Netherlands. (and yes, that's me in the above picture -a picture I found alongside many other relics from one of my previous lives).
But seriously, with this blog I hope to answer the questions I seem to be getting more and more off late; I want to be a -freelance- translator, what should I do?
But seriously, with this blog I hope to answer the questions I seem to be getting more and more off late; I want to be a -freelance- translator, what should I do?
Before getting into a lot of things that might leave you mistified, there is a lot of valuable information to be found on these three sites:
Proz.com
Translatorscafe.com
Translationdirectory.com
On all of them, you can read articles, visit forums, ask questions to colleagues, and on the first two sites, you can quote on projects; next to that, they have an excellent search feature.
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Below you can read a couple of articles I read on Translationdirectory.com;
Working as a Freelancer
General Tips on Working as a Freelancer
General Tips on Working as a Freelancer
Successful professionals know skills and talent are not enough. It's all about visibility, credibility, strategic positioning, and self-marketing. In other words, in today's competitive workplace, it's a "brand you" day…Read the full article…
The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people…Read the full article…
When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I am a mother of a two year old child and have my own e-business. Living in an enviornment where the home business concept is very uncommon, I generally get these reactions; “that’s great”, “it’s nice to be your own boss and have time for the family at the same time” and “you must lead a great life”…
Choosing the ideal location for your home office isn't always as easy as some people may think. As a matter of fact it can be one of the toughest decisions to make in the early stages of your business. Most homes are already quite limited in the amount of space they have. Trying, then, to fit a home office into this limited space can make matters more complicated than you may have ever considered…Read the full article…
Every day, new and exciting ways of making money are emerging on the internet. Many create opportunities for you and I that didn't exist even a few years ago. With a bit of creativity and entrepreneurial enthusiasm, you can create many additional revenue streams to maximise the profit from your content website…Read the full article…
Why do you need to write a business plan? There are a number of reasons. Writing a plan dramatically increases your chances of success as an entrepreneur. Here are just a few reasons why you would want to write a business plan…Read the full article…
One of the most difficult things to establish when you’re setting up any kind of service business is how much to charge for your time. Get this right and you should have plenty of customers and a business that pays you well. Get this wrong and your new business may never get off the ground…Read the full article…
Outsourcing is when you hire outside professionals or services to take on part of your business workload. You may want to outsource part of your work because you don't have the room, you need an expert, you have periodic busy periods, or you need more production to get orders out on time, etc. The following are ten ways outsourcing can save your business time and money…Read the full article…
Are you struggling to make a profit? Are you challenged in reaching your next success level? Would just like to reach your desired business goals faster? Then “THE TOP 10 SECRETS OF OUTRAGEOUSLY SUCCESSFUL ENTERPRISES” is a *must* for you. These business secrets are the *BEST OF THE BEST.* These secrets were not gotten from a book or seminar…
Scammers are getting more creative every day, coming up with new schemes to get your money (or sensitive information). Knowledge is power! By educating yourself on the common scams and keeping aware about new ones, you can stop the scammers in their tracks. Remember, if no one fell for their tactics, they would be out of business…Read the full article…
Tired of working the nine-to-five job? Tired of your boss? Tired of working to make someone else rich? Want to work at home so you can be with your family more? Do you like the Internet?…Read the full article…
I am a huge fan of email. In fact, if you do business with me the bulk of our communication will not be through the telephone, but via email. Email is quick. Email is convenient. Email takes less time than long-winded telephone conversations…Read the full article…
Starting from the Fundamentals and doing it right, often builds confidence and motivates us to reach our goal much sooner and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Similarly as an Internet Home Based Business Entrepreneur, there are certain Fundamental steps you should take and organize your daily work schedule to succeed…Read the full article…
If you’ve done any inquiring about a viable home business, you’ve no doubt found your mailbox and email inbox overflowing with various offers. The numbers seem literally endless. A search for “home business” on Google alone will turn up about 2.44 billion (that’s “billion” with a “B”) hits…Read the full article…
In this Special Report you’ll learn how to negotiate more effectively so you can add hundreds of dollars — or even thousands — to your income this year.Most freelancers hate to negotiate. Some are even so bad at the money end that they don’t invoice, leaving the paper trail up to the client…Read the full article…
Running your own home based internet business is a piece of cake. Right? Well maybe, maybe not. It certainly can be. However, all too often the exact opposite is closer to the reality for many eager home based business owners…Read the full article…
I started my company (EMJ) from the trunk of my car (and it was a small trunk so that’s a small business). I grew EMJ to $375,000,000 in sales prior to selling it to SYNNEX. I am now CEO of a $1 billion business…Read the full article…
It's easy to think that any business can be successful if you work hard enough, but there are many situations where this just isn't so. Unless you do the math to prove or disprove your assumptions, you may be creating a business that can never succeed…Read the full article…
Studies have shown that successful entrepreneurs and home business owners possess the following characteristics. Do you?…Read the full article…
I warn you now, I am in 'rant-mode' for this article! :-) It all started earlier in the week when a colleague posted a message on my forum relating to a refund request that he had received. In a nutshell, his customer had purchased an eBook (a technical eBook - nothing to do with Internet marketing etc) for Ј9 (about $15) and then complained that he had already found much of the information contained within on my colleague's website and within his forum…
The internet is loaded with all sorts of ways for you to work from home. You will consider many options, finding the right fit for your personality and goals. But first, you have to take a look at yourself. Do you have what it takes to run a successful business from home? How do you know if YOU are cut-out to be "The Boss"?…Read the full article…
You know, starting an online home business is all about learning. It never ends, if you do it right. Things change, new and innovative ideas appear that replace old ones. You better get used to this now, if you want long-term success on the internet…Read the full article…
It goes without saying that having good work habits is essential for success in any business venture, whether online or offline. Online marketing presents a worldwide selling opportunity, but with it comes a sea of businesses competing for the same customers that you are. Successful people do what others aren't willing to do to make it happen. Don't you think that using excellent work habits might give you an edge over the competition?…Read the full article…
You have to be in the right frame-of-mind to work at home successfully. You must be able to "go with the flow" when the winds of business change. Keeping things fresh and different will help you stay ahead of your competition, and to prosper in the long run…Read the full article…
You can earn a steady income from the Internet running an online business, as long as you’re willing and able to put the time, effort, and money that is required. You have seen all the hype in regards to easy riches, fast money don’t be fooled. Yet these get rich schemes are hard to ignore…Read the full article…
Consider the lucrative opportunity open to you in earning finder's fees. A finder is someone who finds something for a person or business. The amount paid for this service is called a finder's fee. Here are seven tips to help you make your fortune in finder's fees…Read the full article…
Many readers just like yourself want to be able to quit their jobs and work for themselves instead. Some have seriously thought about it, but have not taken that big step to actually get started. Just imagine what you could accomplish in the next year if you started today…
So you want to work out of your home, and kiss that job goodbye. You want to use your computer and the internet to make your living. Before you decide what product or service to sell on the web, there must be a customer to sell it to. Pretty straight forward. But that customer must want what you are selling, and be willing to pay for it. That is the key, finding that "perfect customer" to be the target of all of your marketing efforts… Read the full article…
It amazes me how some people will ask for advice for their home-based business, and not take action and use the advice to solve their problem. These people don't have a problem with asking a busy online professional to take time away from their customers to give them some free advice. But then they don't use the advice, like they don't think it is worth their time to try it… Read the full article…
Is your head spinning from all of the work at home information on the internet? After you read this article, you WILL be able to make sense of it all. Soon you will be on your way to running a home-based business of your very own. To help you understand your options for an internet-based business, you need to realize one major thing… Read the full article…
Your business model is your plan for how you will generate sufficient revenue to meet your expenses and earn a profit. Unfortunately, many independent professionals don't actually have a profit-making plan. The real solution may be to choose a new business model…
After completing their translation training programmes at higher professional education or university level, many students can’t wait to set up as a freelance translator. However, gaining a foothold as a freelancer in a very competitive translation market may turn out to be a pretty complicated business. Translation agencies are not usually keen on contracting inexperienced translators, business clients are difficult to find without commercial tools, and the tax authorities won’t just accept anyone as a self-employed person… Read the full article…
At times it seems that Google releases more new products and services than we can keep track of. From Google Calendar and Google Video, to Google Base, Google Finance, and Google Trends, it can be overwhelming just to remember what each one does. One of the oft overlooked hidden gems in Google's enormous offering is Google Alerts… Read the full article…
