| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Marketing yourself as a freelancer or as a translation agency? Thread poster: Manuel Domínguez
|
|---|
| Middle ground | Jan 9, 2023 |
Baran Keki wrote:
I don't understand. If you 'form an agency' you serve 70 odd different languages and deal with 'direct clients', whom you can charge upwards of 30 cents per word! If you can do that, by all means go for it! Never mind 'having to stop what you're doing'!
There is a middle ground, of course.
Translation agencies don't all offer 'all languages, all subjects'. There is definitely room for small, specialised agencies working with a few fellow translators whose work they know and trust.
I work for a few such niche agencies and they are among my best clients.
I've also worked for one-man-band translator-turned-agency operations who haven't thought things through and it can be a bit of a nightmare. These tend to be the ones who tell you they can't pay you yet because the end client hasn't paid them. If you outsource, you need to have enough money in reserve to pay your translators before you get paid yourself. Just one of the many things you'll need to think about.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:37
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Rachel Waddington wrote:
..... the ones who tell you they can't pay you yet because the end client hasn't paid them....
I believe that is illegal !
| | | | | Just bad practice | Jan 9, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote: Rachel Waddington wrote:
..... the ones who tell you they can't pay you yet because the end client hasn't paid them....
I believe that is illegal !
No, it isn't.
| | | | | I would hope so | Jan 9, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote: Rachel Waddington wrote:
..... the ones who tell you they can't pay you yet because the end client hasn't paid them....
I believe that is illegal !
It's not uncommon though - I imagine plenty of translators will be familiar with this kind of nonsense.
| | |
|
|
|
| Not illegal until proven | Jan 9, 2023 |
it would be illegal if you take it as far as the court and prove it there, which isn't always possible. On the other hand, a little intimidation works well in some cases. Developing a client base always has a risk of running into payment delays, but that's part of the job, as due diligence and homework is key to minimizing that risk. "Them not being paid on their end" is one of the most insulting and infuriating reasons for payment delay.
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 12:37
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Not necessarily illegal | Jan 9, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote: Rachel Waddington wrote:
...the ones who tell you they can't pay you yet because the end client hasn't paid them... I believe that is illegal!
If the translator had agreed to this beforehand, then it's okay. If the translator had not agreed to it beforehand, then the translator should decide whether to allow it at that time, but the translator would be within his rights to consider the payment "late" and continue with his usual late-payment procedures. Either way, if it's a situation where the translator never gets paid if the end-client never pays (or if the translator gets paid less if the end-client ends up paying less), then obviously this can only happen if the translator had agreed to those terms beforehand. An agency that operates on this principle should be upfront about it with their translator.
I don't think it's illegal to sell something to someone who is going to resell it, and agree beforehand to forfeit the first sale's payment if the second sale should fall through.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:37
Member (2008)
Italian to English
If a client says they can't pay you until they get paid by the end user, this raises two concerns;
1. They may be lying. Many businesses have an (unstated) policy of delaying all payments for as long as possible. There is no time limit to how long the delay may continue. It could be months. The onus is on *you* to chase payment. That should not happen.
2. They are on the verge of bankruptcy and have no liquidity. You may *never* get paid.
You have no way o... See more If a client says they can't pay you until they get paid by the end user, this raises two concerns;
1. They may be lying. Many businesses have an (unstated) policy of delaying all payments for as long as possible. There is no time limit to how long the delay may continue. It could be months. The onus is on *you* to chase payment. That should not happen.
2. They are on the verge of bankruptcy and have no liquidity. You may *never* get paid.
You have no way of knowing whether the situation is (1) or (2).
Nobody should ever work for people like that. Always ensure your invoice specifies a date by which it must be paid. Then you will be in a strong position to take recovery action, if you need to.
It is important that you always have a plan of what you will do, if you need to *force* someone to pay you. A plan that *works*.
[Edited at 2023-01-09 18:03 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Manuel Domínguez
El Salvador
Local time: 04:37
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Doubt clarified, thanks for your help! | Jan 10, 2023 |
Good day colleagues,
Thank you very much for your responses! They have helped me to figure out the flaws of my initial idea. To clarify what it was, here you have some details:
1. I was thinking of creating a brand name and logo to advertise translation services but in reality it would be initially only me. After the "agency" would be known and more clients requested its services, then it would be expanded to offer jobs to freelancers.
2. The reason for usi... See more Good day colleagues,
Thank you very much for your responses! They have helped me to figure out the flaws of my initial idea. To clarify what it was, here you have some details:
1. I was thinking of creating a brand name and logo to advertise translation services but in reality it would be initially only me. After the "agency" would be known and more clients requested its services, then it would be expanded to offer jobs to freelancers.
2. The reason for using a brand name and logo in the beginning is that, apparently, those would call the attention of potential clients. In addition, they would take translation services more seriously if advertised by a "company". It seems that doing this would be justified for two reasons:
A) It seems that, at least from my perception, the translation profession is not so visible in my country. In fact, there are only three or four main translation agencies here which (curiously) do not hire, or barely hire, freelance or full-time translators to expand their pool. Despite of lacking visibility, an agency would have more possibilities to catch clients' attention rather than for an individual even though agencies are just a few.
B) Clients usually struggle to find a translator when they need one, so it would be easier for them to think about a company name and logo that solves their issues rather than to think about the name of a single person.
Nonetheless, my own perceptions can be challenged by two things. First, the experiences I have learned from three different colleagues on three different countries seem to follow a common trend: a translator started to promote himself/herself as a freelancer and some years later he/she would start an agency. That is what I learned from a colleague in Argentina during an online translation event; in Mexico, from a colleague on a video, and from Maria Teresa who shared her own experience in Belgium and Portugal in this thread.
Second, there are other professionals here in my country that have advertised their services as individuals: doctors, lawyers, and financial advisors, just to name a few. If they have done it, why wouldn't I be able to do the same as a freelance translator?
With all these written, it seems that I was mixing two perspectives as Rachel pointed out. I should ponder whether to start as an individual freelance translator or as an agency (taking into account all the difficulties this alternative may imply). And I should also not leave aside the business ethics when advertising my services. Thus, it would be better to present my clients what there is: a freelance translator promoting his services.
Thanks again for your valuable feedback!
[Editado a las 2023-01-10 02:27 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 12:37
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Manuel Domínguez wrote:
I was thinking of creating a brand name and logo to advertise translation services but in reality it would be initially only me. After the "agency" would be known and more clients requested its services, then it would be expanded to offer jobs to freelancers.
Aaah, okay, so you were wondering whether to brand yourself as a business or as a person.
Well, there is nothing wrong with branding yourself as a business -- many freelancers do that. It does indeed, as you say, create a more professional impression with some clients, and it would make it easier to get the benefit from a known brand when you transition into a company with employees (or freelance co-workers).
Whether it would be a good idea to refer to yourself as an "agency" depends on what "translation agency" generally means in your country. In my country, the word for "translation agency" simply means "translation office", and at many such offices the bulk of the translation work is done by full-time employees working at the business' physical location. In the English-speaking world, "agency" usually means a company where most or all of the translation work is done by freelancers who live and work elsewhere (e.g. from home) who are not employees of the agency, and the agency's own employees' jobs involve mainly finding and maintaining clients, finding and maintaining translators, and doing administrative things related to translation jobs.
The reason for using a brand name and logo in the beginning is that, apparently, those would call the attention of potential clients. In addition, they would take translation services more seriously if advertised by a "company".
Yes, translators who do this usually justify their decision like this.
However, one down-side of this approach is that clients may feel cheated once they discover that you're just one person, or might consider it disingenuous (thinking that you're trying to appear to be larger than or different from what you actually are) if they discover that you're only one person. What a translator wants above all else is for their clients to consider them reliable and trustworthy.
That said, you should be able to get away with this if you just consistently make it clear in your advertising and e.g. on your website that you are a single person.
Second, there are other professionals here in my country that have advertised their services as individuals: doctors, lawyers, and financial advisors, just to name a few.
That is the flipside, yes. In certain types of professions, clients prefer to work with a specific person who will give them a specific, personal[ized] service, and not with a faceless company. But whether this is the case in your country, is something you would have to determine yourself.
[Edited at 2023-01-10 06:40 GMT]
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Marketing yourself as a freelancer or as a translation agency? | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
| | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
