Separating the personal and the professional January 5, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Marketing ideas, Tech tips.2 comments
As a freelancer it is sometimes hard to separate the personal and professional aspects of your life. A large majority of my clients and/or jobs are due to personal contact or word of mouth from colleagues who have seen my posts on professional listservs and recommend me to their clients when they cannot accept a job. I found a new client sitting next to me at a murder mystery dinner theater show and a good contact and potential future job source (you never know…) on the boat from Alcatraz. I think it is crucial for the marketing of our services to never go anywhere without business cards. There is no doubt in my mind that being a social person plays a huge role in my success as a translator.
In these days of social media it can sometimes be hard to separate the personal and professional personas. I am enjoying exploring the various benefits of social networking and am also researching for a presentation on social networking tools at the ATA conference. In addition to this blog, I joined social networking tools Twitter and LinkedIn last year. However, I sometimes find it hard to separate my personal life from my professional life. A lot of my friends are fellow translators. I enjoy chatting with them on Skype, talking on the phone, exchanging e-mails in a smaller listserv, meeting locally for lunch or coffee, cheerleading them in their efforts to make important changes in their lives, and even going so far as meeting some of them in Vegas for a “spring conference” a few years ago to just hang out. As a result, it can be hard to draw the line sometimes.
I made a conscious decision when I joined Facebook to keep Facebook strictly personal, although I have lots of translators and former students among my “friends” there. I also have lots of friends from high school and college. Those two sections of my life don’t necessarily blend real well. One of my colleagues recently “friended” me on Facebook. After checking out his profile I realized that a lot (if not most) of his friends were professional contacts (and a couple of my clients) and I felt uncomfortable having my personal status posts broadcast to them. I decided to remove him as a friend, and luckily he understood when I explained it to him. I had looked into limiting access, but decided I simply needed to stick to my guns. After all, separating the two aspects is extremely important to me. For those of you who are already on Facebook and do not want to remove friends or want to limit certain friends’ access, these posts might help:
I may just have to give these tips a try…
In these days of Internet access and 24/7 availability, it is becoming harder and harder to keep the personal and the professional separate. Clients and some translators I know think nothing of working over the weekend. In the past I have had agencies call in the evening or even on a Saturday or Sunday trying to place a translation. I always decline those jobs. I need a couple days off to recharge just like everyone else and not working on the weekend is the easiest solution. I am finally going to buy a new phone with e-mail capabilities, but I am extremely hesitant to do so because it will once again blur the line between when I am available to my clients and when I am not. I won’t give up though and will continue to fight the Good Fight against the encroachment on my personal time. I look forward to hearing how all of you deal with this issue in the comments below.
Back to business as usual January 4, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings.add a comment
Whew, I’m glad the holidays are over. I enjoyed them, but I’m ready to get back to work now. There’s only so much “relaxing” I can do before I start going stir crazy. I read a few books, watched a few DVDs from the library, did some cleaning, etc.
Things have been pretty slow here, but I have to keep reminding myself that it was my choice. After three really large translation jobs in the beginning of December I told my biggest client that I needed a break to let my arm heal, and they honored my request. My arm is finally starting to feel back to normal. It took a couple weeks though… I thoroughly enjoyed having some down time. I prepared for the holidays, sent out my holiday cards to friends and clients, and enjoyed spending time with my friends and family. But I am ready to get back to the old grind :-).
I thought this was a cute comic that illustrated how most of us probably felt over the holidays:
It’s a few days into 2009 already, but I hope 2009 brings all of you lots of health, happiness and most of all prosperity!
Surviving the holiday lull December 29, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Marketing ideas.3 comments
This is always the toughest few weeks for me, because most of my agency clients are closed between Christmas and New Year’s and checks simply don’t get sent out promptly in January (I think because companies are closing up their books). The only way to survive the holiday lull is to have a financial cushion you can use to pay your bills while your invoices are still outstanding. Most personal finance experts suggest setting aside a cushion of three months’ pay. I have worked my way up to one. I hope to achieve the three months’ cushion some time this year. At this point I have $2,300 in unpaid and overdue invoices.
I woke up early this morning from a dead sleep worrying about paying my bills, but realized that I had forgotten that I had the financial cushion to rely on and rolled over and went back to sleep. It doesn’t help that this is the month the expenses from the ATA conference come due on the credit card. It is so nice to no longer have trouble sleeping because you are worrying about paying your bills and buying groceries. I was in that situation six years ago, when my sister bought me a gift certificate at a grocery store so I could “treat [myself] to some meat.” I hadn’t had any work come in for the entire month of October back in 2002 and money was really tight. Once I realized that clients needed to know I was there in order to send me work, I started an e-mail marketing campaign and have been busy and overworked ever since.
But that doesn’t mean that things aren’t slow around the holidays for me either. I have been relaxing and allowing my tendonitis to heal, but I am now starting to get antsy and can’t wait until the work starts flooding in again. I hope you all had a relaxing holiday. Hopefully some of you newbies took advantage of the fact that most seasoned translators were on holiday and were swamped with potential new clients. I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2009. See you in the New Year!
TGIF: Santa Claus and His Old Lady December 27, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.add a comment
I know Christmas is over, but the local radio station is still playing Christmas songs and this was on tonight as I was driving home from the Akron Christkindlmarkt. It is without a doubt my favorite Christmas story. It wasn’t Christmas in our house without listening to this classic Cheech and Chong bit about “Santa Claus and his Old Lady.” This comedy routine was featured on the album “Where There’s Smoke.” Now my parents are and were not by any means ‘tokers’ (smokers of marijuana), but they found this comedy routine hilarious and shared their humor with my sister and me. When we were little we simply didn’t get the drug references. It never gets old for me.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Cheech and Chong, the comedy duo of Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong was popular in the 1970s and 80s. Their standup routines revolved around hippie speak and the drug culture. Tommy Chong later starred in “That 70s Show” playing a drugged out ex-hippie, but in real life he is quite well-educated. Chong’s California-based company, Chong’s Bongs, was raided by federal officials in 2003 as part of a federal crackdown on “drug-related paraphernalia” and Chong was sentenced to nine months in federal prison as a result. Cheech Marin distanced himself from drug-inspired comedy in the mid to late 80s and went on to star in “Nash Bridges.” He recently appeared in a reality show called “Celebrity Duets,” which is the only reality show I watched religiously. The two are rumored to be planning a comeback together.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little clip. The video is just pictures of them since it originates from an album.
Hanukkah song December 22, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.3 comments
Hanukkah (Chanukah) started at sundown last night. Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday that marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the enemy and commemorates the “miracle of the container of oil.” According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil. (Info quoted from Wikipedia)
I live in an area that is heavily Jewish, so it’s kind of neat to see Hanukkah flags and Christmas lights on different houses. When I was younger Hanukkah wasn’t that big a deal. It was a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar. My Jewish friends would complain about getting socks and underwear as Hanukkah gifts but, as the Plain Dealer reported in How Hanukkah has become hip, that all changed when Adam Sandler performed his Hanukkah song on Saturday Night Live in 1994. So in honor of Hanukkah, I would like to introduce my readers overseas to a young Adam Sandler. Most of you probably only know him from his goofy movies.
Susanne asked me to post this link to Phoebe singing Happy Hanukkah to Monica on Friends.
My favorite Christmas episode December 22, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.add a comment
I was watching TV last night, which was a treat because I don’t usually find time to do that. I even fell asleep on the couch! It was bliss… Anyway, one of my favorite TV shows from my childhood, WKRP in Cincinnati, was on WGN, and it happened to be my all-time favorite Christmas episode of any TV series I’ve ever watched. It was “retro night,” which made me feel old, but I realized that, even though it was thirty years ago, the humor still translated. WKRP was about a struggling radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio and had a bunch of fun characters in it, Johnny Fever the drugged out DJ, Venus Flytrap the smooth black DJ, Herb the smarmy ad salesman, Les Nessman the geeky and clueless newsman, Andy the programming director, Bailey the shy news assistant, Jennifer the hot secretary, and Mr. Carlson the bumbling but big-hearted radio station manager. Anyway, the premise of the Christmas episode was that everyone thought Jennifer, who was always super classy and had lots of rich admirers, would be alone for the holidays and so they all came over separately to surprise her on Christmas Eve. Hilarity ensued. Part 3 is my favorite part, but I have included all three parts in case you want to see the whole episode. Part 3 has a little foreign language, some hilarity, and lots of heart. I hope you find it as funny as I do.
If you want to see the episode from the beginning here are part 1:
and part 2:
But, as I said, my favorite part is part 3:
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Has anyone heard of Xelerity? December 19, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Tools.9 comments
I just received the following interesting e-mail and was wondering if anyone knew anything about it. I’ve been looking for a tool to share availability with my clients, but this almost sounds too good to be true.
Hello,
There is a new tool on the Internet which allows freelancers to share their availabilities (in terms of dates/volume) with all their know [sic] clients. To access this platform, just go to:
It’s only 2 or 3 euros for six months (payment with a telephone call or credit card).
For the translation buyers, it’s a free service: they can connect to their freelancers ‘agendas, invite others into the system, all this in a known-known basis.
Although not perfect, this is a useful and central tool for the translation community.
Please transfer this message! We will do our best to improve the system in the upcoming months!
Merry Christmas to all of you and your families.
Philippe
TGIF: My present for the ladies December 19, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.add a comment
I stumbled on this video while searching on Youtube for the phrase “Frohe Weihnachten.” I wish I could get a present like this this year. 🙂 This guy cracks me up. Just a little somethin’ for the ladies… Merry Christmas!
TGIF: Banned commercial December 19, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.add a comment
Do not click on this if you are one of those sensitive types. This video has crude language, but it is funny and the language is crucial to the video. It’s message is the importance of learning English. Enjoy!
Holiday greetings to clients December 18, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Marketing ideas.3 comments
I’m updating my Christmas card database in Access and thought it would be interesting to share how I thank my clients with whom I have worked in the last year. I made a list of all the clients I have worked with this year. There were 32 of them, many of them returning or long-term clients. I think it is important to send out a Christmas card thanking your clients, even if you only worked for them once or twice or decided to part ways during the year for one reason or another. They still played a role in your success and should be thanked. I then do a mail merge and print out address labels, sign the cards and seal up the envelopes. I always make sure to thank them for playing a role in my business and wish them a happy and prosperous new year.
I also had my favorite Cleveland chocolatier mail-order a big holiday gift of chocolate and peppermint-covered Oreos and assorted chocolates to my favorite client. I know it arrived today, because I got a lot of fun thank you messages from the company owner and several employees via e-mail and Skype. I earned $35,000.00 from that client alone this year, so a little Christmas basket is the least I can do to show my gratitude for their continued business.
If you don’t want to send out Christmas cards, you should pick a holiday to send out cards to your client. One of my clients sends a Thanksgiving card every year. I think that is a great idea, because that way the cards don’t get lost in the Christmas rush of holiday letters and cards. In my case, I am already sending out cards to friends and family, so an extra 30 cards isn’t that big a deal. They just don’t get my holiday letter 🙂
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have address labels to print and cards to stuff. I chose a multi-holiday card this year with a Christmas tree, menorah, etc. to cover all my bases. Happy Holidays!
Musings from an overworked translator 