I've been tossing a business idea around for a while now, and I'm finally considering moving on it.
Right now I'm only offering services in one language pair, and essentially in one direction (G>E). That's the area where I'm good at what I do and where I can provide good translations.
There are lots of languages out there, though, and lots of translators looking for work. Some of them I know fairly well. I think consolidating our efforts a bit and partnering up would be a good way to get more work flowing in.
I guess it would be sort of like a language agency, but I am thinking of more of a partnership of freelance translators, who are in it to promote themselves and get more work rather than to work for an agency. I think that would encourage better work, to be honest, because it would be more in line with the kind of business that freelance translators like to run for themselves. There could be an agreement of mutual "finder's fees" - if a French translator in the group landed a job for the German partner and passed it on, they would take a small percentage off the top perhaps. And the same in the other direction. That way we could have a whole group of translators on the lookout for work for everyone involved, which would potentially be more successful than individual efforts. It would also allow for the sharing of proofreading and editing duties (and might even facilitate that when it wouldn't otherwise be possible due to time and workload constraints).
My website could be tailored to this idea pretty easily, just by altering content a bit and adding some information. I would just need to get some committed partners who are interested in the idea...
I have finally taken the plunge and joined the ranks of those whose pockets vibrate, whose briefcases sing funny songs and whose attention spans while driving are slightly less focused than everyone else's.
That's right, I got a cellular phone.
How could someone take this long to get around to it you ask, especially when they work for themselves? The answer is: I live in Vermont. Some of you may not have heard that the entire state of Vermont has been placed on the National Register of Historical Places. Having a cell phone here is a decided luxury.
However, since my wife and I do travel a bit and since coverage improves here day by day (and is actually quite good in the area around my house), I think it makes a lot of sense. Now, armed with my laptop and my cell phone, I can go anywhere (mostly) and do the work that I want, where I want. That's a good feeling.
As I mentioned yesterday, one of the goals of my recent trip to Germany was to establish a bank account overseas.
There are a couple of reasons why I think this is important. For one, it makes it easier for my European clients to pay me. This makes them happy, and it makes me happy. Also, it contributes to efforts in making my business appear larger. I have a verifiable presence in Germany now, which I think will help to put potential new clients more at ease, especially those who aren't as familliar with Paypal and other such things, or simply with working with someone from the States.
Thanks to the nice folks at the Volksbank in Ochtrup, I have realized this goal.
It was much easier than I thought it would be. I inquired about this at Translator's Cafe before I left, and it sparked an interesting discussion. The upshot of that was that most people didn't expect it to be easy without a German address.
Turns out it was. I was there with a friend, but he didn't say a word. I showed my passport, asked for an account with online access, and I was all set.
Perhaps this info may be of use to other translators who are considering doing the same thing. I've already received a few transfers to my new account and it is a great help to me.
Nope, not dead.
I went to Germany for two and a half weeks. I got some things done for the business over there (including opening a bank account, which was surprisingly easy. More on that later perhaps.) Unfortunately my visit coincided with some regrettable family problems, which meant the trip wasn't quite as happy and joyful as it might have otherwise been. But it was meaningful and significant and I learned quite a bit.
After being back Stateside for only a week, I went on the road again to Boston to attend the NETA conference. A mostly worthwhile experience; more on that later as well, perhaps.
In between I've been working on several different and varied projects, including the finalization of my new website and business identity.
The working version of the site is here already:
On-Time Translations
It's a little buggy still, so wear bugspray.
How badly things have been neglected around here...
That is going to change very soon. My trip to Germany will hopefully be a big, translatlantic "Reset" button.
My new site is nearly live; when I return, it will go completely live and I will switch the business over to its new identity.
In the meantime, a million things to do....
Right, so an update:
1.) I'm not dead.
2.) Work on the new business website is progressing -- quickly when I actually work on it, very slowly when I don't. Obviously.
3.) Jobs are in abundance. I can't seem to get my queue to drop. That is a good thing.
4.) My wife got a coveted internship at UVM, which means that there will likely be some major job changes coming up, at least for her. 20 hours of unpaid internship per week for nine months throws a bit of a wrench in the gears. We'll figure it out though.
Yesterday I made two investments in my business by purchasing a new, more ergonomic chair and a flat-screen, LCD monitor. Both are proving to be extremely wise decisions, recommendable to anyone who sits in front of a screen for most of the day.
It is amazing the difference that an LCD monitor makes. I went from a 21" CRT monitor to a 19" LCD, but I am now working at a higher resolution than I was before and I can already tell that it's easier on my eyes. The colors are more consistent and I have tons more workspace on my desktop - both my actual desktop and my virtual one. Plus, it uses less energy and puts out less heat (which is an advantage in the Summer, when my office gets very warm).
The ironic thing about my chair is that it cost a fraction of what my old chair cost, yet it is many times better. My old chair was a high-backed, leather executive chair which basically forced me to slump and wreaked havoc on my back after extended periods. My new chair is a simple, no-arm, fabric-covered workstation chair. It's key benefit is lumbar support, which works wonders and encourages good posture.
It sounds a bit silly to go on about posture and chairs like this, but anyone who spends 50+ hours a week working at a computer will understand how important these things can become.
As you can see, I have decided on the name of "On-Time Updates" for this weblog. Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions.
At the moment this name seems a little out of place since I haven't been posting very frequently in the last couple of weeks. It's intended to tie in with my business name, though -- the trade name that is going to go live with my completely revamped business website, hopefully within the next two weeks or so.
So far the only two suggestions I've received for the title of my blog are:
"'Missing Preposition" and
"Noitalsnart"
I'm tempted to go with the latter just for the pure comic value, but it just doesn't fit.
I need more suggestions, people!
Things are more or less set up around here now. The design is still generic, but I've got enough of the skeleton set up so that I can post entries without feeling silly about it. The design will be updated in the future along with my company homepage.
The company, currently Maas International LLC, is going to begin operating under a new trade name that will more accurately reflect the business I'm actually in. I am looking forward to that change - once a few things get taken care of, it'll be a big step for me.