Getting the most out of a conference

I am getting excited for American Translators Associations annual conference at the end of October and I hope to see some of you there. It is two months away but it is high time to start planning for it. Here are some tips on what to do to get the most out of a conference you are attending.



Before the conference:
- Make professional looking business cards so you can exchange them with all the people you meet.
- Polish up your resume and print out at least 50 ex to bring with you to the conference
- Contact the people you know and see if they will be attending so you can plan to meet
- Contact a few people that you would like to get to know better and suggest a meeting during the    conference
- Explore the conference schedule to see which sessions you cannot miss. Be selective and strategic about planning your schedule!
- Plan questions you would like to ask the people you want to get to know better, or potential clients
- For the ATA conference: see the insider tips provided by the Colorado Translators Association for great tips on exploring Denver and eating well.

At the conference:
- NETWORK!!! Engage others in conversation and ask for their business card
- Schedule time to meet with people you would like to speak to
- Take advantage of social events and breaks
- Attend valuable sessions and workshops (duh!)
- Distribute business cards and resumes to valuable colleagues and prospects
- Jot down a few descriptive points on the back of the business cards you receive to make it easier to follow up

After the conference:
- Review you notes and documents from the conference. Make a to do list to take action on valuable information from the conference, people to contact, business tips etc.
- Follow up with people within 1-2 weeks after the conference

Do you have any useful tips on how to make the most of a conference? Please share!

Creating a Marketing Plan for Freelance Translators

I am grateful to have a background in international marketing, both professionally and as an education. Now I would like to share this knowledge with other freelance translators and I get the opportunity to do so at the ATA:s annual Conference in Denver, CO on Saturday Oct. 30th.

Most of us know that we should have a marketing plan for our small (or one man) business. But how do we create one that is targeted specifically to our industry? The session will cover the elements of a marketing plan, such as objective, product/service, unique selling points or benefits, market and segmentation, competition, customers or prospects, what media to use and how to track, follow and adjust the marketing plan. Specific examples are given that are targeted and adapted to the translation industry from the standpoint of an independent contractor.

I hope to see you there, but if you miss this you can also watch/listen to a presentation on the subject at the ProZ Virtual Conference on Translator's Day, Sept, 30th, 2010.

Now you have a chance to also share your marketing tips for freelance translators by posting them as comments here. Do you have a marketing plan?

What a freelance translator can use from The 4-Hour Workweek

The latest book I read for my entrepreneurial pursuit was “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss. I can highly recommend it to all entrepreneurs, freelancers and business owners as an eye-opening and thought provoking reading experience.

The book in a nutshell: How to go from $40,000 per year and 80 hours per week to $40,000 per month and 4 hours per week, how to outsource your life and become an escape artist in travelling the world, how to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours and trade a lifelong career to short work periods and mini-retirements. The new version also includes more than 50 practical tips and case studies from readers and much more.

I was skeptical when picking up the book, and granted, not everything can be applied to freelance translating, but here is what I found useful:

1. Resetting my system, my goals and dreams and fulfilling them.
2. How to limit my work to the most important ones to shorten work time
3. How to decrease my information-diet
4. The option of using virtual assistants for web-research, website maintenance, SEO, maintaining and updating databases etc.
5. How to become an expert in 4 weeks
6. Understanding competition and analyzing your presence on the market
7. How to plan an affordable vacation, with family, for a long period of time, while still working some.
8. Tips for further reading material

Does it sound interesting? Pick it up if you have not read it. More info can be found at http://fourhourworkweek.com. What are your tips for working less and earning more?

The One Page Business Plan

I discovered the "MomBizCoach" on Twitter and love her audioblog "What Mom Entrepreneurs Need". One of the audio-seminars discussed the one page business plan, which seemed to be perfect for me. The one page business plan is a living document and seems made for all us entrepreneurs/solopreneurs working from home. I was one of those who thought that I did not really need a business plan, or that it would be incredibly hard and time consuming to create one. Now I know better. A business plan is something to bring focus to your business (yes freelance translators are also businesses), keep you on the right track and plan for the future. If you use "The one page business plan" it does not have to be very time consuming at all.

The one page business plan has five major areas:

1. Vision - What are you building?
2. Mission - Why does this business exist?
3. Objectives - What will you measure?
4. Strategies - What will make this business successful over time?
5. Action Plans - What is the work to be done?

More info, templates, coaching, work groups and books can be found at: www.onepagebusinessplan.com.
So now I have just eliminated all objections and hesitations for making a business plan for your freelance business (including freelance translators). Check it out, answer the questions, consult with a colleague or with an expert from this company and there you go. It’s time for me to do that in any case.

How to be a wealthy freelancer - book review

I just finished the book “The Wealthy Freelancer” by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage and Ed Gandia and I am glad I did. This book applies to anyone trying to make a good living as a freelancer, translators included. It contains 12 “secrets”, starting with changing your attitude and then proceeding to give you practical steps in how to attract clients, creating a sales pitch, or buzz piece, taking care of your existing clients, maintain good pricing for your services, bringing focus to your business, boosting productivity, achieving a good balance between work and the rest of your life, including a good letter to those around you to make them better understand and thrive with you in your freelancing efforts. As if that was not enough, the book also takes up alternative sources of income to add to your freelancing business, how to handle social media to your advantage and what to do when you get negative feedback.

One of the best insights the book provided me was about positioning yourself in your market. It goes as follow:

“When you’ve identified the market you’ll serve, the next step is to position yourself as the go-to resource in that market. Now before you begin to panic, allow me to tell you something, which I hope will have you breathing an enormous sigh of relief: You don’t have to be the best. All you need to do is to take the value you bring and articulate it in a way that positions you favorably in the eyes of your target prospects.” (Pete Savage, The Wealthy Freelancer)

I found the book very useful for my freelance translator business and will for sure use many of the tips in it. If you go to http://www.thewealthyfreelancer.com/, you can download three chapters for free and see for yourself.