Comments on: It’s important to diversify

By: delightedscribbler

delightedscribbler — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:59:39 +0000

Diversification is definitely the better route. Kevin has a great formula. And I’m with Corinne on offering a variety of services. It gives you a broader base and keeps work days more interesting.

By: Judy Jenner

Judy Jenner — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:19:46 +0000

I completely agree – diversification really is key, and as Corinne mentioned, it can be in translation-related areas. For instance, we do a lot of copywriting and have gotten called upon to do a lot of multicultural marketing, which we love. It also keeps things fresh and interesting.

One of our largest — and favorite — clients got laid off from his company earlier this year. While it was very sad and we felt the impact immediately (plus we were sad he lost his position), he’s already indicated he want to work with us again in whatever new position he takes. Talk about repeat business! And we are giving him a generous discount for translating his résumé.

By: Corinne McKay

Corinne McKay — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:31:03 +0000

Great post! I also think that if you can do it, it’s helpful to diversify outside of directly doing translations. How about writing books, articles, glossaries, providing software training to other translators, etc? As long as you concentrate on what you’re good at, it can really help to have a couple of pots on the stove so that when one’s simmering, another is boiling (so to speak!).

By: Kate Lambert

Kate Lambert — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:24:18 +0000

Another thing that’s affected my agency client base is mergers and buy-outs within the industry. Over the years I’ve been working, some of my clients have bought each other out and others have been bought by bigger international agencies. What looks like a healthy portfolio of agency clients can suddenly shrink overnight. Often PMs leave in the process and their replacements may have their own pet translators they’re used to using rather than you.

I put all my sales in an Excel spreadsheet and create pretty bar charts and pie charts to keep an eye on the spread to make sure no one client is becoming overly important to my income, see Kevin’s good advice above. I’ve also had one client’s UK office close, one owner retire and another die. If you’re in it for the long haul, you can’t assume all your clients are going to keep going longer than you are.

By: Ryan Ginstrom

Ryan Ginstrom — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:55:51 +0000

I agree completely. I got burned once when a client providing the majority of my work went out of business. Luckily, some of the people I worked with at that company got new jobs, and started calling me with work from there.

After that experience, I always try to diversify my sources of income.

By: Olivia

Olivia — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:02:29 +0000

Anke, you are doing well! I’ve only been in business a few months but I’m struggling to get work with agencies, even though I get great feedback on the work I do. I won’t give up though because I believe that success boils down to one thing: persistance. Don’t let yourself be defeated when the going gets tough. Grab the bull by the horns – dare to talk to people you wouldn’t normally approach (e.g. top management), expect to contact potential clients at least 5 times before getting a contract (I used to work in sales…). Moreover, it is important to be patient (easier said than done). We want our efforts to pay off straight away, and it usually takes a lot longer than we expect (which is why most of us give up). You’re doing well. Keep up the good work!

Kevin: I agree. I think Jill implicitly meant an even share of work between the seven clients, but your breakdown is a useful indicator of what I should be aiming for and will be added to the business plan for 2010.

Right, I’ll take my own advice and get back to marketing…

By: Anke W.

Anke W. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:49:32 +0000

This is great advice, but much more easily said than done! *sigh*
I am still struggling to get more clients, especially direct ones (I haven’t got any), and I’m not really sure how to go about it. I’ve been attending business meetings, talking and handing out business cards, I spruced up my website… Considering I’ve only been self-employed a year, things are going fairly well, but still, I would love to really establish my business! Any tips/thoughts?

By: Kevin Lossner

Kevin Lossner — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:20:08 +0000

Seven clients won’t do you any good if the distribution of work is seriously lopsided. A rule of thumb I use is to let no client account for more than 20% of your volume, preferably 15% or less. And have the top ten constitute about 70% of your business with 30% coming from a pool that can be promoted if one of the ten select fall out. Work toward a client base structure like this with a reasonable mix of direct clients and intermediates and you’ll never see a quiet day unless you shut off the phones and stay off your e-mail client. At least in your pair that is the case.