The ATA Annual Conference as an Investment: How to Maximize Your ROI

By Liming Pals

Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash

As an entrepreneur in the language service industry, you might find yourself grappling with the decision of whether to attend the ATA Annual Conference. We all know it is a considerable investment for a freelancer or a small business owner. I, too, have experienced the struggle of wanting to go but feeling uncertain about the return on my investment. Now, as a long-time ATA Annual Conference attendee, I can honestly say that I’ve gradually learned how to maximize my ROI. Here are some tips for your reference. 

START WITH AN INVESTMENT MINDSET

When I first started out as a freelance translator in 2009, I viewed every expense as a mere cost due to my limited budget and was very frugal about spending anything in my translation business. Two years later, I challenged myself to treat attending the conference as an investment and incorporate it into my annual budget. This shift in mindset has totally transformed my business. 

I want to encourage you to do the same and recognize the many benefits the conference can bring: strengthening relationships with existing clients and gaining new ones, networking within the professional community, recharging your mind and spirit, and many more. With an investment mindset, you will:   

• Intentionally allocate funds for the ATA Annual Conference in your budget.
• Plan proactively and find ways to monitor the return on investment.
• Explore more ways to maximize your return.
• Strategically tailor the trip according to your business size or financial situation.  

BUDGETING AND SAVINGS

With the conference registration fee, hotel, transportation, meals, and other related expenses, the conference expenditure can easily add up to $3,000 to $4,000 depending on the location and comfort level you desire. If you plan to sign up for Advanced Skills and Training (AST) courses before the conference or take the certification exam, your investment will be even higher. 

Here are a few ways to save if you have a limited budget: 

• Rent a home with 3 or 4 colleagues if you don’t mind sharing a room with others or sacrificing some privacy. I once used an ATA Blogspot site similar to this one to find a roommate, who happened to be the administrator for one of the ATA divisions, and I learned so much from her. 
• Remember to keep all your receipts as these expenditures could be reported as business expenses when you file taxes. 
• Submit a proposal to present at the conference. If your submission is selected, you will get a $50 or $100 discount. 
• Explore different awards and scholarships, including: 
  • AFTI ATA Conference First-Time Attendee Scholarship
  • Marian S. Greenfield Financial Translation Presentation Award (If you submit a finance-related presentation at the conference, please do apply. )
  • Student Translation Award

MARKETING YOURSELF IN ADVANCE

To my knowledge, many colleagues have used various methods to start networking a couple of months before the conference. I have tried a few ways myself. Please pick the ones that best suit your schedule and life situations.  

• Find a mentor from your division or seek out respected colleagues in advance to discuss conference preparation. Please know that most people are more than willing to help if you reach out. I have received great advice from fellow CLD members who have attended the conference for several years.  
• Set up in-person appointments with your existing customers to catch up during the conference. I found that my clients were eager to meet linguists in person, which allowed me to get to know their business needs better and discover new growth opportunities for myself. 
• Reach out to people you want to meet via the conference app or email. I have tried to use the conference app but found it less effective since most people didn’t respond. LinkedIn or email will probably grab their attention more. 
• Boost your social media presence by updating your resume, website, or LinkedIn profile. Post regularly in the lead-up to the conference and expand your contacts by following more ATA-related LinkedIn groups. 
• Manage your time wisely by dedicating about one hour per week to set specific goals for the conference and create actionable plans. I remember spending two or three months preparing a website one year to showcase my specialization in legal translation. I also revised my resume, business card, and LinkedIn profile to convey the same message. Nowadays, paper resumes have become less popular, so including a QR code for your online resume might be a better idea, but it’s still wise to have some paper copies on hand just in case.

ASK QUESTIONS

I tend to consider many questions leading up to the conference. I write them down to think through them myself, ask my colleagues, or take them to the conference.  Those questions helped to shape my vision and direction for my career and business. 

You don’t need to have an answer right away, but I encourage you to spend some time asking yourself some questions, such as:

• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
• Do you want to be certified?
• Do you want to offer additional services, such as interpreting alongside translation?
• Do you want to grow into a small business to offer TEP or multi-language services?
• Do you want to find your niche in the market by specializing in a certain domain?
• What are the trends in the translation and interpretation industry?
• How can you prepare yourself to be adaptable in this ever-changing environment?

I enjoy sitting down with colleagues to discuss these questions and brainstorm. Those conversations have shaped many of my business plans and decisions. 

NETWORK BEYOND YOUR CIRCLE

I remember feeling a bit intimidated during my first ATA Annual Conference. I only sought out Chinese translators and interpreters and was scared to reach out to people outside my circle or beyond my known friends. Eventually, I learned to intentionally connect with people from other divisions, other language pairs, and other domains. 

This new approach has helped me to see beyond my little circle and understand others. I have even received business referrals from Spanish colleagues as a result because they know my expertise. More importantly, I have established connections with colleagues from other divisions to collaborate on cross-division events and activities. 

I like to borrow the financial term “synergy” to describe the impact I have experienced by stepping out of my comfort zone. When all of us start to work together and exchange knowledge and ideas across circles, divisions, languages, and domains at the annual conference, the impact is so much greater than the sum of individual efforts. 

So, be brave and invest in yourself, and you will harvest both short-term and long-term returns, including but not limited to knowledge, new business, fresh ideas, friendships, career development, professional confidence, trust, and connections. 

Liming Pals is a passionate, driven, and resilient translation and localization specialist with over 10 years of experience. A Localization Institute-certified localization project manager and ATA-certified Chinese<>English translator, she is currently working as a localization project manager at Workiva. She also serves as the Assistant Administrator of the ATA Chinese Language Division. If she ever gets free time, she enjoys learning guitar, exercising, and riding bikes with her three children.

Edited by Sijin Xian.