Freelance translators: finding reliable clients and agencies
A freelance translator, in common with any other freelance professional, will have one main business objective…ensuring an adequate supply of work in order to maintain a pre-determined acceptable level of income.
Now whether the preferred mode of working is to have a steady stream of continuous work, or to be able to take up a contract periodically; securing a source of work, although their first objective, might result in all their efforts coming to naught if it is not found to be reliable…so what steps should a freelance translator take in order to find reliable clients and agencies?
A freelancer will generally have two approaches to securing work; firstly by sourcing it entirely themselves usually via a website and secondly, by contracting with a translation agency.
Let us look at the first of these options and how a freelance translator might ensure the reliability of their clients. Before proceeding though, let us define our terms…by ‘reliability’, we of course mean the clients’ reliability in paying for the services, as invoiced, within the stipulated invoice period.
The first thing that a freelancer should have in place is a set of ‘terms and conditions’ on their website. This will, even before a client has proceeded to the commissioning stage, set the ground rules upon which both parties are to proceed. Now the exact methodology will differ between freelancers, but some follow this up with a signed contract before proceeding and others state on their website that by proceeding, the client is deemed to have accepted the T’s and C’s.
Another must, is talking to the client. By actually conversing, it is possible to get a ‘feel’ for the client and in addition, any unforeseen snags often become apparent such as; false expectations on both sides or requirements for purchase order numbers before proceeding etc.
A final step that is always well worth the effort is that of a cursory investigation of the client. This is only possible, of course, if the client is a company rather than an individual, however, a quick look at the clients’ website will, once again, give a feel for the client.
Let us now look at the second alternative that a freelancer has to securing business, that of going through an agency.
An agency is actually a very good option for any freelancer inasmuch as it takes away the need for most admin tasks and likewise credit control tasks, and allows freelancers to spend time doing what they do best…translating.
So how does a freelancer ensure that they are engaging with a reputable, reliable agency? Firstly, a quick check at Companies House will reveal how long a company has been trading and a slightly more detailed enquiry will yield a copy of the company’s accounts. This will give a very good indication of the size of the company and thus its reliability.
Another good indicator is the location of a company’s offices. If the company is located in a major city, this can be another good indicator that it is doing well enough to maintain this type of overhead, thus, a company offering
document translation services in London, for instance, could be deemed to be fairly reliable.
Possibly the best way, however, of identifying a quality translation company is their membership of an industry affiliated professional body. The main body that covers translation companies UK and worldwide is the ATC. The ATC or Association of Translation Companies has very strict entry criteria and by virtue of these, any member can be deemed to be reliable by any freelancer looking to start a business relationship with them.
Whatever option a freelancer chooses in order to secure work, either by attracting clients directly via the web or by working through an agency, by carrying out the suggestions above, there is a very good chance that the resultant clients will be reliable clients.
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