Anabel Martínez Spain Local time: 14:23 Member (2005) English to Spanish + ...
Nov 5, 2010
Hello everyone,
I find myself in the situation where I have been working for one client as a freelancer for two years and a half, in an office, in a position much closer to that of an employee than a freelancer. For a variety of reasons I decided to go back to working from home. This was a somewhat rush decision, so of course now that I have a little bit of time for myself I am beginning to wonder if anyone else out there did that, and how they went about it.
Of course, looking for new clients and all that is common sense I was actually beginning to feel a bit weird about the change, and I am pretty sure many of you will have some practical advice or experiences on how to aproach this new challenge. I love being a freelancer, I'm going back to pure freelancing out of choice, but I must admit that I have not looked for clients in a few years and might be having a bit of a block in that area at this particular moment...
Thanks everyone in advance!
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Dassé Théodore Cameroon Local time: 14:23 Member (2011) English to French
No stress
Nov 5, 2010
Hello Anabel,
Returning to freelancing is not a bad option. You just need to actively look for outsousers and start freelancing from your home. I suggest you start right away as it may take sometimes before you get regular clients. Start networing now and try to update your knowledge of the functionning of the global translation industry in case your previous "almost in-house" job prevented you from doing so.
No stress.
Good luck
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David Turnbull United Kingdom Local time: 13:23 Member (2009) Italian to English
Similar
Nov 5, 2010
I spent a year in an "employed freelance" position in Italy (which seemed to me to combine all the worst bits of both lifestyles) before heading back to freelancing proper.
If you have any old clients, re-establish contact with them and say that you are available. I offered a small re-introductory discount to get them to switch back to me (I knew they were decent people and not going to take advantage and ask for the discount from then onwards, so I returned to my usual rate for the following jobs).
Can you do any work at home for your recent employers? If that door is at all open you can offer to take on some of your old responsibilities from home. Try pitching it to them or maybe they can outsource some work to you.
I see you have worked quite widely, why don't you try specialising (perhaps in the area you were recently "employed" in) and marketing yourself as such?
Good luck!
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Oleg Rudavin Ukraine Local time: 15:23 Member (2003) English to Ukrainian + ...
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Tomás Cano Binder, CT Spain Local time: 14:23 Member (2005) English to Spanish + ...
"Pas de panique!"
Nov 7, 2010
This is what a fellow traveller said to a French teenager when she returned to her coach to find that her school group had left her behind at the previous station.
"Pas de panique!" I think you will be working nicely in no time. I just wanted to say this, since the colleagues have already shared very good advice. Good luck!
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Jenny Forbes United Kingdom Local time: 13:23 Member (2006) French to English + ...
Dedicated space
Nov 7, 2010
Hello Anabel,
Well, I did it about 20 years ago and have never regretted it. I found clients surprisingly quickly and was soon busy full time.
I think it's important, if at all possible, to have a room (or at least a space) dedicated entirely to your work - a proper office with everything easily to hand, a large, ergonomically arranged desk, a really good office chair and good lighting, rather than trying to work at a kitchen or dining-room table and having to clear everything away all the time. A window with a pleasant view is also a great help, which I am lucky enough to have.
Best wishes,
Jenny
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Tomás Cano Binder, CT Spain Local time: 14:23 Member (2005) English to Spanish + ...
Working hours
Nov 7, 2010
Some people are the most productive under random conditions, but being rather old school I think it makes sense to recommend the following:
1. Set yourself a fixed working time and do your best to respect it. If you have little work for the moment, you could set yourself a "peak time" in which you can:
- Work in jobs you get
- Look for more work
- Download, evaluate, and learn as many CAT tools you can
- Polish your CV and online materials
- Prepare nice samples of past work to be shared with potential customers
- Read that book about translation you hadn't finished
During this "peak time", five days a week, make sure your email client checks for new email (and warns you about it with a sound; most email clients have these options) every 5-10 minutes, so that you can immediately react to job proposals.
2. Set yourself a professional off-peak time (a couple of hours, several days in the week) in which you can do things out of your working place:
- Visit the local library to read about topics in which you would like to specialise
- Go to bookshops to find interesting books (dictionaries, specialised spelling books, style guides...) you could start buying as cash starts to roll in
- Visit that friend of yours who owns a business and let him/her explain to you what they do (take notes about terminology)...
This "off-peak time" can be used for anything you feel related to your long-term development and just to widen your knowledge. The limit is your imagination.
3. Try hard to be accessible for contacts: if you give potential customers your home phone and see that you go out frequently (or just want to), make sure the phone it gets redirected to your mobile phone if you don't take the call at home. A quick reaction (be it an email or a quick call showing your availability) can be the key to getting a job or not. Another possibility is to have a professional mobile phone and carry it with you, at the cost of the extra weight of course.
4. Keep training! Look for translation or linguistic training centres in your area, or universities offering seminars you could attend, now or in the future. It is also a good idea to check what translator associations (local to your region or on a national scale) are doing, like congresses or fora you could attend to get in touch with fellow translators and learn more about specialised topics or future trends.
5. And... try not to work in your pijamas!
Good luck!
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The translation workplace 
I was actually beginning to feel a bit weird about the change, and I am pretty sure many of you will have some practical advice or experiences on how to aproach this new challenge. I love being a freelancer, I'm going back to pure freelancing out of choice, but I must admit that I have not looked for clients in a few years and might be having a bit of a block in that area at this particular moment...
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