I know, I know, financial planning – the very thought is enough to make you yawn… and yet, is it? It may sound as dull as ditchwater, but I firmly believe that careful financial planning underpins every successful business. I should perhaps confess that my father worked in finance and I started off as a graduate trainee for one of the major banks when I first left university, many, many moons ago – but never gave up hope of following my dream and becoming a translator, so only spent a year in the world of finance myself. Enough, perhaps, to give me a sense of organisation and a need for order in all things, but especially where money is concerned.

It’s hardly rocket science to regard finances as the basis for a business, but so many people don’t seem to plan accordingly. From matters as elementary as record-keeping and cashflow, to which bank you choose and how you provide for tax bills, holidays and ultimately retirement, there is a huge amount of scope for optimising the way you work. Inevitably, my methods will apply specifically to UK-based translators, as that’s the self-employment system I’m used to, but the general principles still apply wherever your business is based. More.

See: ClaireCoxTranslations ~ Lines from a linguist

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