Freelancing Tips

A freelancing service that is quick and inexpensive to implement, and that people rarely think of is offering services as a freelance translator. Of course you must have the skills to translate documents from one language to another first. Usually, you can start out as a freelance translator for several translation services agencies, and as your broaden your reach and expertise, you can launch out independently and build a client base.

Here are some points to consider if you want to offer translations as one of the services of your home based business:

Create a translator Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV). In the translator profession, you will see the CV mentioned quite a bit. A CV is like a resume except that it is not targeted for a specific goal or position. A CV will list all the credentials and translator experience you have and there will usually be no gaps in your overall history. A resume of course will omit information not required of the specific position. There are many more minor differences but you need one for your translator home based business as translation agencies will require it for their database when it comes to assigning you work.

Register your home based business profile on Proz.com and TranslatorsCafe.com. This article is not meant to be an endorsement of either one of these sites but they are a good place to start for the translator home based business. These are free directory services for translators. You can also purchase premium memberships that will help you get more job leads. It depends on what your budget is for your home based business and how you feel about paying to find work. Otherwise, listing your profile with each of them is free.

Always advertise as a translator into your native language and not the other way around. The translator in most cases can only translate into his or her target language. It is very rare that a translator can produce quality work in both the original and target languages yet you will see so many home based business translator ads that make these claims. The agencies (where you will get most of your work initially) know that the translator is usually best in the native language and that is the way you should advertise. This point refers to the individual translator and not the agency. The translation agency can of course advertise this way because it uses many home based business translators for each type of language it services.

Get a computer aided translator (CAT) tool for your freelancing business. These can be very expensive but in the long run you will be glad you did. Again, this is not an endorsement for any one product but TRADOS is a popular CAT tool. However if a CAT tool is going to throw your translator home based business budget into the red, you can use a free web-based translation tool like www.freetranslation.com to do an initial translation of your text. Realize that the free tools have limits like how much text at once you can translate.

Never deliver a translation completed by a CAT tool only. The translator is really like a writer too. This means that the translator must take the translation produced by a CAT tool and work it again to make it flow smoothly and be grammatically/technically correct. Nothing will give you a bad reputation faster for your translator home based business than delivering a translation done by computer only.
Pick a specialty area as a translator in your freelancing business. Just as writers cannot write everything about any subject, the translator should have a specialized area too. And this specialized area for the translator will of course be based on his or her education and experience.

Have a future plan for your freelance translating business to be a translation agency. When you first start out in your business as a freelance translator, the majority of your work will come from translation agencies who are the ones that get jobs from the primary clients (the customers). That means that the translation agency gets their cut of the fees paid and you get your cut but at a much lower percentage. As you get to know the field, investigate what it would take for you to convert your home based business into a translation agency down the road. You will make more money as a translator when you also become an agency.

One of the most frequent questions asked by freelancers is “How do I save more time and be more productive? How do I get some time to rest?”. Since it doesn’t make sense to be making money without having the time to enjoy it, I’d say managing time is of the essence in the home and freelancing business. Because there is abundant job for freelancers, it is only natural to take and accept so many jobs. But when it gets too much, it becomes hazardous not only to the freelancer but to the freelancer’s family and loved ones.

The novelty of working for ourselves and determining how much time we have to ourselves is an appealing concept. The interesting thing about freelancing is you get to determine how much time you spend by yourself, your working hours, and most importantly, your income. However, the novelty of working for just a few hours wears off after you start getting jobs as a freelancer. If your work and reputation is good, you are bound to get more jobs and consequently, less time to relax.

Unfortunately, so many freelancers just keep working. The time to relax and spend more time with the family is suddenly not just there anymore. So, how do you manage your time to not only afford you enough time to spend with your kids, but also to maximize your productivity

1. Don’t bite more off than you can chew.

Activity does not necessarily mean progress. Accepting every job that comes your way is not only dangerous, it is suicidal. You’ll end up working yourself to death for just a few extra bucks. Choose your jobs wisely as you do not want to be swamped. If you have a specified target, go for jobs that will help you achieve that target. If not, you’ll end up leaving the really important things like family, relationships and love behind while thinking “I’ll soon have time for them”. If you have to say “No” to an offer, say it. It doesn’t matter how juicy the offer is. The single biggest reason people opt for freelancing is to be able to spend more time with their loved ones. Imagine the disappointment your son would feel if you failed in your promise to help him build that tree house he’s been asking for over the weekend all because of a project you had to attend to.

2. Outsource.

If you have a huge workload and cant seem to meet the deadline, outsource your work. There are other freelancers that are willing to take the work off your hands. Develop networks and partnerships with other freelancers that you trust.  For example, you can write the article and find someone else to type or proofread it, thus freeing up some of your time.

3. Map out time for every activity.

There’s no need working in your business when you should be growing it. Spending the whole day sending and replying emails, making and taking phone calls can be frustrating when you have a target to meet. Set out time for each of these and do not exceed it. If you have to turn off your phone, avoid checking your mails, lock the door, retreat to the basement, hire a nanny, do it. If on the other hand, you feel the phone calls and emails are important, hire an assistant to help with those. It won’t cost you much and gives your job a touch of professionalism. If you are second-guessing this, think when you get burned out, how long will you be in the hospital for the needed rest? That should help make up your mind.

4. Try Dictation

One important method that has helped me a lot is dictating. It works like magic and it doesn’t cost you anything extra except if you want to buy a Dictaphone. All you need do is connect a microphone to your computer. I have been able to as a result, churn out over 15 articles in a day all within 6 hours, each of which took me about 15 minutes to dictate and an extra five minutes to edit. Not bad eh? This article was produced using that method.

Note: The time you spend depends on how many words you are writing, and your speed of dictation.

The good thing about it is with frequent use, you become adept at it. The above-mentioned example was for 600 word articles. Imagine doing that six days a week. That’s 90 articles. If you sold each for just $10-which is cheap- that’s $900 a week and $3600 a month. If you can’t spare six hours a day, you can choose your time. I spend that much. For the dictating technique, please follow carefully the instructions here. Most PCs are enabled to use a microphone. This can be done using Microsoft word which comes with the Microsoft Office package. To do this effectively, use the following tips:

Requirements:

• A high quality close-talk (headset) microphone with gain adjustment (gain adjustment: A microphone feature that allows your input to be amplified so that it is made louder for use by the system.) support. (A universal serial bus (USB) microphone is recommended.)
• A 400 megahertz (MHz) or faster computer. If you don’t know how to check this, click Start tab, then Control Panel – this can be seen on the right side of the two divides, then double-click System. When this loads, you should be able to see it towards the lower right corner of the page.
• 128 MB or more of memory
• At least Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or Windows XP or later
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later

Positioning the speech recognition microphone.

Position the microphone so that:

• It is about an inch, or a thumb’s width, to the side of your mouth
• It is not directly in front of your mouth, and you are not breathing directly into it.
• Note If you inadvertently move the microphone as you speak, remember to bring it back to the correct position.

Speech recognition capability is built into all Office programs by initially using the feature in Microsoft Word or by doing a custom installation.  fter speech recognition is installed, you can increase speech recognition accuracy by taking a few minutes to train the computer to recognize how you speak.

If you need more help on this, to learn more about this click the Help tab in Microsoft word and type in the keyword ”using microphone” or “speech recognition. You’ll find quite a number of topics like how to speak to a computer; things you can do or say with speech recognition etc.   Take your time to get familiar with this incredible tool. If you have to spend one to two hours learning this so you can hasten your work, do it. That’s it. Use this tip and you are on your way to making lots of money, working effectively, and saving lots of time.

Follow these tips and you’ll have a well-balanced life, enough time for yourself, your loved ones, and time to enjoy the money you’re working so hard for.

Happy Freelancing!

There are thousands of people that are combing through online guides about how to start this and that type of online business. While they are taking in all this information, doubts about their potential business being a success begin to creep into their minds. Do not fear as there is a great way to earn money working online and that is offering ghostwriting or other freelancing services.

While you can very easily start your own business offering ghostwriting or other freelancing services it is not necessary to do so in order to make money. In fact there are many people that make a nice part time income (some make a full time income) just by bidding for work on bidding websites like GetaFreelancer, ODesk and Scriptlance.

If you have a talent for writing this is a great avenue for making money online. Quality content for online businesses is a very in demand service so why not make great use of your talents.

If you are just breaking into the world of providing ghostwriting services to online business people it is a smart idea to get your name out there on freelance bidding sites. These types of sites work very similar to online auction websites except instead of the highest bid winning it is more likely that the lowest bid will win the project. You will have a plethora of projects to choose from. You could end up writing a set of articles on organic gardening, a report on how to properly potty train your dog or even an ebook on how to start your own online business. While bidding lower than you would like to might not seem like something you would want to do it is an easy way to win projects. After you have gotten several good ratings from the clients you have worked with then you can work on raising your rates so that you begin to make the kind of income you really want to be making.

So what are you waiting for? Get a portfolio put together and start making money from freelancing online today!