How To Start Your Own Language Translation & Interpreter Business

Technology & the Industry Memory Software An area of growing importance and assistance in the linguistics industry is the development and constant improvement in the Memory Software Program market. This will be of great aid to translators in the industry. Memory software programs can cut down on a great deal of time and work for translators when they are typing up a translation project. What the software does is assist in the translation by suggesting words that you’ve used in other projects. Being fluent in two languages can be just as confusing as it sounds and many things can get lost in translation. Double checking the accuracy of words and their meanings are imperative but with memory software, you only have to do that once. Obviously it’s a good idea to double check things every so often to make sure terminology hasn’t changed, but with memory software, you cut down on the never-ending dictionary look-ups, which takes up a majority of your time. Success Factors Niche & Value Propositions in obtaining Business for Translators and Interpreters……In business there are commonly 3 things you can be good at- services, price, quality. However, it is almost impossible to be all three, so you must pick 1-2. Here are a few ideas and areas to focus on to help you stand out from your competitor’s: • Specializing in a particular area/industry. Whether it is law, medical, business or a technical field, it is critical to have an understanding within the areas of business you are providing services. • Specializing in particular languages. While some of the larger language services providers can offer all things to all people. Most firm owners say they have found more success by offering services in a set number of languages. (ex. Specializing in German & Russian) • Strictly adhering to quality-control standards. Repeat business and regular clients are the lifeblood of the industry. Without high-quality, reliable service, firms have little hope of attracting either. • Understanding client expectations. Study up on the subject matter of the project, be discreet about engagements, do not overpromise, and ask for help if a project is overwhelming. Refer the project to another interpreter or company if you are not comfortable with the subject matter or the environment (ex. Simultaneous court interpreting, interpreting in a prison or surgery room, child abuse counseling appointment, etc.) • Strong Project Management skills. Like any product or service, language services must be managed: estimating costs and profits; scheduling appointments and deadlines for the various stages of the project; coordinating the process of translation and editing the deliverables; communicating with clients; closing the project, and following up to ensure the clients expectations and deliverables were met. • Create a marketing plan and business plan. Unless a business owner writes down business & financial goals and a guide detailing how to reach them, he or she likely to fall behind the competition. • Contracting and outsourcing with experts. Enlisting the help of experts to assist on projects that need layout and design assistance, website professionals to help with inserting translated text into the website environment if you are not familiar with computer code and marketing experts to help your develop a professional image or brand for your company. This is very important as competition enters your market or area. Instead of doing this type of work on your own (and nowhere near as professional or as fast on most occasions), business owners and freelancers should spend their time doing what they do best, providing language services, managing language projects and looking for new business. • Marketing and advertising continually. Once a few new clients are engaged, some firms stop their marketing and advertising efforts. This can be a costly mistake, because as soon as contracts are fulfilled, if they have not properly executed their business-development plans, a serious “dry spell” can occur in which no projects are schedule. Years of Experience Member, ATA Specialty- Asian, Legal, etc. Certified Interpreters All Native Speakers No. of Languages Offered Accurate/Smooth Translation “Fortune 100 clients” Confidentiality Assured Independent Freelance Hours/Days Available Rush Service Invitation to Visit Website Global Locations (Specified) Competitive Prices Free Estimates Quotations by Email/Fax/Phone 24-Hour Emergency Interpretation 7 Days a Week Quick Turnaround Phrases & Terms Used in marketing & adverting material that has been used successfully by companies in the language industry Proceed With Caution Translation Websites & Computer Translation Software There will be times when you may be tempted to use computer assisted translation software programs & websites to help speed up the translation process only to regret it later. These software programs and websites were designed for small sentences and paragraph translations not for the exact translation of major documents on a large scale. The accuracy of these site ranks very low for projects that are more than a few words in length. For instance, a translation of 300 words (approximately one-page of text) that is only 75%-80% accurate means that every 3rd or 4th word is incorrect. It will take you longer to figure which word is wrong and why (context, misspelled, tense, etc.) than if you had done the translation without the software or website “assistance” on your own. My advice, stay away from these sites. You will read more about quality, accuracy and translation teams later in this book. Omitting the Proofreading Process I have known agencies and freelancers that in an effort to save money and time skip the proofreading process all together. You may get away with this a few times, but your mistakes will eventually show themselves at a time and place you least