| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8] > | Your business is thriving in these awful times: tell us why! Thread poster: Kevin Lossner
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Speranza 
Local time: 14:04
Spanish to Russian
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| How about practical solutions? | Feb 16, 2009 |
Wow, five pages of revolutionary insights into how important it is to translate well and on time, generously spiced with "don't be so arrogant, admit you're starving, too" remarks . Folks, I suspect colleagues who are in trouble don't much benefit from finding out they should have acquired decent clients with on-going translation needs a decade ago and served them well ever since. Is nobody willing to come up with anything specif... See more Wow, five pages of revolutionary insights into how important it is to translate well and on time, generously spiced with "don't be so arrogant, admit you're starving, too" remarks. Folks, I suspect colleagues who are in trouble don't much benefit from finding out they should have acquired decent clients with on-going translation needs a decade ago and served them well ever since. Is nobody willing to come up with anything specific and usable? (Nobody except Nicole, that is, because standing out from the crowd is truly a solution in itself.)
Let me give it a try, very briefly (since I fortunately belong to the busy crowd and time is an issue). The first possibility that comes to my mind is this: If the services you are offering don't sell in sufficient amounts, try to think of other, related services you could provide with the knowledge and skills you already have. Set up a pay-per-minute telephone interpretation service for travelers visiting your city who don't speak the local language: They often need assistance when trying to communicate with doctors, police, receptionists at various facilities and so on. Team up with somebody offering tele-classes in your source language on a subject you are familiar with, help them market to your target language audience, then provide interpretation for the classes and split the profits. Make yourself available for immediate translation of short messages (say, up to 100 words) at a fixed price on a business-oriented social network. (Think everybody speaks English anyway? Think again. Just a few days ago a client of mine tried to make himself understood by a bank in the civilized France with a super-complex five-liner in English that went like "please use these payment details instead of those payment details," and failed.) Yes, I know, big boys don't do random tiny messages: They negotiate important projects, research terminologies and build glossaries instead; but if you are not getting the important projects anyway, this may be a more productive use of your time than whining around (or collecting business intelligence on how everybody else is doing workwise when you have already received an answer to that question from 2253 people).
Be creative! It's a crisis all right, but that's exactly why businesses across the world are desperate to reach new markets. If user manual translation is not the kind of help they need right now, think of innovative ways to make yourself a valuable asset.
P.S. Since I know you are wondering: No, I haven't implemented any of the above, but that's because I am busy as it is. Which, in turn, is because I translate a lot (and extremely well) into Russian, which means I work (extremely well, as you probably remember ) in a segment where translators able to produce texts that don't look like they were written by a 12-year-old junkie are so incredibly few that it doesn't really take an extravagant strategy to stay afloat. Unfortunately, unless you are already able to provide that kind of service in that kind of market, this information is useless in terms of figuring out an immediate solution, which is why it only constitutes a postscript. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | sorry for being repetitive and boring... | Feb 16, 2009 |
Nadejda Vega Cespedes wrote: Wow, five pages of revolutionary insights into how important it is to translate well and on time, generously spiced with "don't be so arrogant, admit you're starving, too" remarks . Folks, I suspect colleagues who are in trouble don't much benefit from finding out they should have acquired decent clients with on-going translation needs a decade ago and served them well ever since. Is nobody willing to come up with anything specific and usable?
tuliparola said:
reliable, extra mile blah, blah, blah.
We already read it here "gefühlte" 1000 times.
Well, I do beg your pardon for not providing an insightful and original account of all the unique things I do that keep my clients coming back to me. Fact is, we were asked to say why we think our own business is thriving - and as I don't offer anything particularly unusual, I can only assume my business is doing well because of all those dull, boring, heard-it-all-before qualities like reliability and going the extra mile. (It's certainly not down to marketing - I don't do any.)
| | | | Kevin Lossner
Portugal
Local time: 13:04
German to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Unusual for whom? | Feb 16, 2009 |
Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote:
Well, I do beg your pardon for not providing an insightful and original account of all the unique things I do ... we were asked to say why we think our own business is thriving - and as I don't offer anything particularly unusual, I can only assume my business is doing well because of all those dull, boring, heard-it-all-before qualities like reliability and going the extra mile.
To hear some of my agency clients talk, the boring, obvious stuff is quite possibly rare indeed.
Rodster wrote:
I put my success down to a number of factors...
I've tended to ignore sources of work outside of Japan due to the risk of not getting paid and due to a personal preference for the way of doing business here.
Minimal marketing and no networking
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This worked very well all through the Japanese 'recession' of the 90s and early 2000. In fact, I was turning down about 1/3 of all requests up to October last year. Then the global economic meltdown hit, and my workload is down to about 1/3 at times.
In Las Vegas, Monte Carlo and, it appears, Japan in the 1990s, there is such a thing as luck, dumb or otherwise. However, in the long run, statistical odds do tend to catch up with one.
Keep focusing on your kihon; I wish you continued success.
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 14:04
Spanish to English
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| Using the crisis | Feb 16, 2009 |
Since we're moving into that time of year again, and the 2008 annual accounts are now trickling out for translation - the chance for every company worth its salt to sing Don't-Worry-Be-Happy to nervous shareholders - I can't think of a better plan than being a specialist in finance, which luckily I've been working on in Spanish, French and Catalan for the last five years (I read the financial section of the only all-Basque newspaper here every day too, but nobody seems keen on publishing their a... See more Since we're moving into that time of year again, and the 2008 annual accounts are now trickling out for translation - the chance for every company worth its salt to sing Don't-Worry-Be-Happy to nervous shareholders - I can't think of a better plan than being a specialist in finance, which luckily I've been working on in Spanish, French and Catalan for the last five years (I read the financial section of the only all-Basque newspaper here every day too, but nobody seems keen on publishing their accounts in Basque as the original language ... yet). That way I can tippety-tappety all day long about other people's figures in order to increase my own. ▲ Collapse
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Kevin Lossner
Portugal
Local time: 13:04
German to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Got 'em where you want 'em | Feb 16, 2009 |
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
I can't think of a better plan than being a specialist in finance... That way I can tippety-tappety all day long about other people's figures in order to increase my own.
Ain't mandatory reporting a wonderful, recurring thing? Even better when the special vocabularies of IAS/IFRS are required
| | | | Rod Walters
Japan
Local time: 21:04
Japanese to English
Kevin Lossner wrote:
Keep focusing on your kihon; I wish you continued success.
Thank you Kevin. So do I. And you too.
Japan's economy contracted in the fourth quarter at the fastest pace in 35 years as a collapse in global demand continues to drain the life from the world's second-largest economy.
Japan's gross domestic product, or the total value of the nation's goods and services, dropped at an annual pace of 12.7 percent in the October-December period, the government said Monday. That's the steepest drop for Japan since the oil shock of 1974. It far outpaces declines of 3.8 percent in the U.S. and 1.2 percent in the euro zone.
My kihon is equanimity whatever happens, so glum we ain't. whatthehell, archy, toujours gai, toujours gai. We'll be like the lilies of the field for a while. I suppose the annual reports will be coming around soon again willy-nilly, and if I cast my web a little wider, I could certainly catch some more of them. Good point Mervyn.
Japan's finance minister was drunk and incoherent at the G7, so we're in safe hands.
[Edited at 2009-02-16 10:55 GMT]
| | | | | Insight vs cliché | Feb 16, 2009 |
Nadejda Vega Cespedes wrote:
Wow, five pages of revolutionary insights into how important it is to translate well and on time, generously spiced with "don't be so arrogant, admit you're starving, too" remarks . Folks, I suspect colleagues who are in trouble don't much benefit from finding out they should have acquired decent clients with on-going translation needs a decade ago and served them well ever since. Is nobody willing to come up with anything specific and usable?
tuliparola said:
reliable, extra mile blah, blah, blah.
We already read it here "gefühlte" 1000 times.
People have come up with lots of specific and usable advice. The problem, and this applies to all advice in every facet of life, is that there really is little new under the sun. Some people will read these contributions here and consider them all to be no more than clichés; others will draw insight from them.
For example, I could say that 'business is built on trust'. A huge number of readers will simply skim over the top of that statement and dismiss it as a tired cliché and something that they already know. The insight comes when you ask yourself what that statement actually means and how it applies to your own situation. Once you ask yourself how you can gain the trust of a law firm, children's publisher, translation agency, or any other client you want to work with, then you'll find that you can come up with a specific approach.
Interestingly, just about every 'thriving' translator has attributed their success to a handful of common attributes (as is also acknowledged in the quoted statements). As I said before, some will draw insight from this.
Andrew
| | | | | heard-it-all-before qualities | Feb 16, 2009 |
Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote: tuliparola said:
reliable, extra mile blah, blah, blah.
We already read it here "gefühlte" 1000 times.
I can only assume my business is doing well because of all those dull, boring, heard-it-all-before qualities like reliability and going the extra mile. (It's certainly not down to marketing - I don't do any.)
Reliability, meeting the deadline, being helpful I take it all for granted.
Kevin: this is rare for some agency clients? Gosh! But why? There are agencies with no bad experiences at all.
Marie-Hélène, I mean there a lot translators out there who have all the needed qualities and their business is not thriving. I guess that one reason could be that they are unknown to the good agencies/clients who are appreciating your qualities.
I risked my neck with this evil blah blah blah in order to shake up the invisible good fellows. Stand out, guys. What makes you special?
You already got your unique selling point, Marie-Hélène.
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Kevin Lossner
Portugal
Local time: 13:04
German to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Your guess is as good as mine | Feb 16, 2009 |
Tuliparola wrote:
Kevin: this is rare for some agency clients? Gosh! But why? There are agencies with no bad experiences at all.
It could be any one of a number of factors. I just report 'em as I hear 'em. Some "without bad experiences" may have had great luck or wisdom in choosing the right team, or they may be living under a falling piano and just don't see the impending impact. I recall one really horrible correction we were asked to do once for a translation from someone's second to third languages. There had never been any complaint about quality in the years before, but it turned out that this agency deals mostly with end clients unable to assess quality in English very well. This became abundantly clear in later incidents.
I'll choose the "right team" theory for now. There's enough other stuff to be pessimistic about.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 05:04
English to German
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In memoriam | Experiences and why "Don't worry - be happy" isn't so naive after all | Feb 16, 2009 |
I am tired of being accused of "naive" optimism.
Why?
I founded my company around September 11, 2001. The day when the Northern American continent literally froze. There was no mail. No phone calls went through. Air traffic was grounded. For months.
My company survived, and at least in the Pacific Northwest, such small business owners have been called "the bulldogs" ever since.
Right after the big dot.com crash. Then the Euro killed the Dollar. There came E... See more I am tired of being accused of "naive" optimism.
Why?
I founded my company around September 11, 2001. The day when the Northern American continent literally froze. There was no mail. No phone calls went through. Air traffic was grounded. For months.
My company survived, and at least in the Pacific Northwest, such small business owners have been called "the bulldogs" ever since.
Right after the big dot.com crash. Then the Euro killed the Dollar. There came Enron and consorts, the mortgage crash, the whatever-crash, gas prices were skyrocketing, the this-and-that-crash, my bank was sold out, now we have the big credit crash which will hopefully be followed by the big frozen dinosaur crash from outer space, hitting planet Earth in mass quantities to wipe out humanity in revenge.
Yes, the chronically disgruntled shall keep calling me naive. And tell me something about crises. Tell me more. Maybe I have been blind all the time.
I must have done something right. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Lossner
Portugal
Local time: 13:04
German to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Naive optimism | Feb 16, 2009 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
I am tired of being accused of "naive" optimism.
Auch wenn ich wüsste, dass morgen die Welt zugrunde geht, würde ich heute noch einen Apfelbaum pflanzen. (Martin Luther)
To that I would add my personal favorite:
Wer immer strebend sich bemüht, den können wir erlösen. (Goethe, Faust, Teil II)
Of course, just like my reference to Darwin's principles, I take all this out of context
| | | | Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
Germany
Local time: 14:04
English to German
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| Good to know! | Feb 16, 2009 |
Achte auf deine Gedanken, denn Sie werden zu Worten.
Achte auf deine Worte, denn Sie werden zu Handlungen.
Achte auf deine Handlungen, denn Sie werden zu Gewohnheiten.
Achte auf deine Gewohnheiten, denn Sie werden dein Charakter.
Achte auf deinen Charakter, denn er wird dein Schicksal.
Unknown author
Glaube ans Gelingen, und Du wirst wahrscheinlich recht behalten; glaube an dein Scheitern und Du wirst mit Sicherheit recht behalten.<... See more Achte auf deine Gedanken, denn Sie werden zu Worten.
Achte auf deine Worte, denn Sie werden zu Handlungen.
Achte auf deine Handlungen, denn Sie werden zu Gewohnheiten.
Achte auf deine Gewohnheiten, denn Sie werden dein Charakter.
Achte auf deinen Charakter, denn er wird dein Schicksal.
Unknown author
Glaube ans Gelingen, und Du wirst wahrscheinlich recht behalten; glaube an dein Scheitern und Du wirst mit Sicherheit recht behalten.
Henry Ford
Die wahren Optimisten sind nicht überzeugt, dass alles gut gehen wird, aber sie sind überzeugt, dass nicht alles schief gehen kann.
Friedrich Schiller
Please forgive me, I could not find the English versions. ▲ Collapse
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Kevin Lossner
Portugal
Local time: 13:04
German to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Got any Japanese versions of those? | Feb 16, 2009 |
Thanks, Aniello
I've seen the Ford quote before, so I'm sure it's easy enough to track down. I particularly like the one from Schiller, here in English:
True optimists are not convinced that all will go well, but rather that not everything can go wrong.
This thread is probably slowly approaching the end of its active, useful life, and I very much appreciate the contributions of ever... See more Thanks, Aniello
I've seen the Ford quote before, so I'm sure it's easy enough to track down. I particularly like the one from Schiller, here in English:
True optimists are not convinced that all will go well, but rather that not everything can go wrong.
This thread is probably slowly approaching the end of its active, useful life, and I very much appreciate the contributions of everyone involved in it, as I feel I have drawn some useful lessons even from the responses that left me shaking my head for various reasons. Quite seriously, I will be referring back to parts of it as I plan for this year, and I hope to draw just as much useful information from a few other threads I'll probably start to deal with specific stumbling blocks. Just because a business is thriving does not mean that there is not much room for improvement, and there are many potential threats beside the work drying up. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | In my humble opinion | Feb 16, 2009 |
Nadejda wrote:
...in a segment where translators able to produce texts that don't look like they were written by a 12-year-old junkie are so incredibly few that it doesn't really take an extravagant strategy to stay afloat.
My observations, at least in my segment, suggest that this is more or less true of any popular language pair. It certainly is with EN < > FR. I already mentioned somewhere on this forum that I am considering dropping reviewing off my list of services. And no, I don't think I am such an exceptional translator - just one that takes the client's needs as seriously as they should be taken. Unfortunately for a lot of people - and fortunately for me - the client's needs are in general taken rather lightly based on what I have been observing. Maybe this point should also be considered when people want to know what they can do to improve their business...
[Edited at 2009-02-16 19:19 GMT]
| | | | RobinB
United States
Local time: 07:04
German to English
| Still largely down to very hard work | Feb 16, 2009 |
Kevin Lossner wrote: Ain't mandatory reporting a wonderful, recurring thing? Even better when the special vocabularies of IAS/IFRS are required
Even more wonderful when you actually have an inside seat, believe me. But even then, it's 90% slog: it's not as if you can recycle much terminology across different customers, and then some brainless "I can English" wonder at the customer decides he (or she) knows it all better and you have to go to Defcon 4 just to get back to basics. And then there are the endless rounds of changes: not just to the figures (that's normal), but to the narrative disclosures as well. It really is "A Hard Way to Make Money" (c). But that's the downside of specialisation, I suppose: too much work, not enough time. And I'm too old to become a lumberjack...
Robin
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