As a freelancer, how do you keep from falling prey to the “piranha pit” of price pressures? As a company owner, how do you maintain your profit margins and keep your freelancers happy? The issues are real and so is the conversation on ATA’s Business Practices Listserv. Questions, answers, suggestions, recommendations, why I do it, why I don’t do it, why I disagree—it’s all there and available to ATA members. Go here and click the “Join Group” button.
Take a look at this year’s discussions—many passionate, all interesting, and none too hot to handle.
Translator and interpreter business practices: fact-checking translations, dealing with negative feedback, subcontracting, negotiating rates with new clients, opportunities for improving writing skills, creating a business plan, retirement accounts, and investment options for translators
Translator training: what T&I students need to learn about the business, how to supplement that education, programs that offer courses for translators and interpreters of languages of limited diffusion
Technical issues: end of system support for the Microsoft XP operating system, CAT tool preferences, word counts, Mac vs. PC
Agency practices: background check requirements, quality control, who translates and who proofreads, promises agencies make to their clients, spotting “bait and switch” offers
ATA’s Business Practices Listserv is open to all association members, including students. Once you register to join your request will be screened to confirm ATA membership, so be sure to provide your full name, as listed in your membership record.