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Poll: Do you plan on passing your contacts on when you retire?
Autor da sequência: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
STAFF DO SÍTIO
Dec 28, 2021

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you plan on passing your contacts on when you retire?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 20:26
Membro (2007)
Inglês para Português
+ ...
Other Dec 28, 2021

I don’t plan to retire for good! I have been freelancing for 15 years, since I retired from my full-time position as a staff translator in an EU Institution. One of my daughters is a translator (working in a biotechnological company) and the other one (a restaurateur) has been helping me with the administrative side of things, so I will keep on working as long as health permits and in the distant (?) future they will take the reins…

Josephine Cassar
Liviu-Lee Roth
Philip Lees
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
 
Liena V.
Liena V.  Identity Verified
Letónia
Local time: 22:26
Membro (2014)
Francês para Letão
+ ...
No Dec 28, 2021

I still have 20-30 years until retirement and at this point I would consider it a miracle if I could even stay in the business that long.
If I were to retire now, I would just stop working without passing on anything.


Baran Keki
Rui Domingues
Matthias Brombach
Philippe Etienne
 
Rita Utt
Rita Utt  Identity Verified
França
Local time: 21:26
Inglês para Alemão
+ ...
I will have to work Dec 28, 2021

10 more years (I don't mind working). If clients will ask me then, if I can recommend somebody, I will of course ...
But as Liena said, maybe there will be no more demand for well paid human translations by then.


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Dinamarca
Local time: 21:26
Membro (2003)
Dinamarquês para Inglês
+ ...
No Dec 28, 2021

I generally work with agencies, who find translators themselves, and I have not had very good experiences of recommending agencies to colleagues. While I have negotiated good rates myself, the agencies have not always been willing to pay the same rates to colleagues who join later.
I recommend colleagues to clients, but then they have to negotiate between themselves - I am out, as they say in the Dragon´s Den!

In fact I have partly retired, and only work for my best clients,
... See more
I generally work with agencies, who find translators themselves, and I have not had very good experiences of recommending agencies to colleagues. While I have negotiated good rates myself, the agencies have not always been willing to pay the same rates to colleagues who join later.
I recommend colleagues to clients, but then they have to negotiate between themselves - I am out, as they say in the Dragon´s Den!

In fact I have partly retired, and only work for my best clients, or very promising new ones, but when I stop entirely, I will not pass on any list to colleagues.

Working for direct clients is different. It is a question of finding the right translator to work with the people in question and in the right subject area. I have turned down at least one offer, because I simply could not fulfil the client's requirements - or did not want to commit myself to doing everything they wanted.
Compared with working for an agency, there will often be more administration, coordinating with other languages, and perhaps DTP work, which call for different skills besides translating. There is more teamwork, so the translator must have the right profile.

When I recommend colleagues to a client, it is often a colleague with a different profile from mine, who specialises in a different area, and will be able to do a job I cannot take on myself.
Collapse


LIZ LI
Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
 
Anna Herbst
Anna Herbst  Identity Verified
Austrália
Local time: 05:26
Inglês para Sueco
+ ...

MODERADOR
LOCALIZADOR DO WEBSITE
What does retire mean? Dec 28, 2021

Retirement is not a word in my vocabulary. I am well past the usual retirement age, but will continue freelancing as long as my brain allows, and at least until I have paid off my mortgage a month before I turn 86.
Work not only keeps a roof over my head, it also keeps me on the go, following my constantly evolving languages.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Liviu-Lee Roth
Philip Lees
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
sindy cremer
 
Barbara Villa
Barbara Villa  Identity Verified
Brasil
Local time: 16:26
Inglês para Português
+ ...
No retirement plan Dec 28, 2021

I don't think I will ever be able to retire...

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
sindy cremer
 
Siobhán Fulton
Siobhán Fulton
Estados Unidos da América
Local time: 15:26
Alemão para Inglês
No Dec 28, 2021

With luck I hope to retire at the end of 2022. I have been slowly winding down my business for the past two years, so I haven't taken on any new customers. Most of my trusted colleagues have the same agency and direct clients, so there's little to pass on.

Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us
Estados Unidos da América
Local time: 15:26
Membro (2005)
Inglês para Chinês
+ ...
Selling your business Dec 28, 2021

One of the potential responses listed is “I plan on selling my customer list.” Is that possible? Who will be the buyers? Will your clients work with the buyers?

Raphael Nti
 
Robert Rietvelt
Robert Rietvelt  Identity Verified
Local time: 21:26
Membro (2006)
Espanhol para Holandês
+ ...
Selling what? Dec 28, 2021

jyuan_us wrote:

One of the potential responses listed is “I plan on selling my customer list.” Is that possible? Who will be the buyers? Will your clients work with the buyers?


Our biggest (and only) asset is our knowledge of the trade, not our list with clients. They come and go. The rest is air!

[Edited at 2021-12-28 15:58 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-12-28 15:59 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-12-28 16:00 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-12-28 16:00 GMT]


Zyanya Ponce Torres
Rui Domingues
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Raphael Nti
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
Reino Unido
Local time: 20:26
Italiano para Inglês
No Dec 28, 2021

Retirement is for people who don't like their work.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Christine Andersen
Liviu-Lee Roth
Philip Lees
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
 
LIZ LI
LIZ LI  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 03:26
Francês para Chinês
+ ...
Newbies Dec 29, 2021

jyuan_us wrote:

One of the potential responses listed is “I plan on selling my customer list.” Is that possible? Who will be the buyers? Will your clients work with the buyers?

Unbelievable right?
But YES.

There are actually some paid members of this site who are selling their so-called customer list AND forward the job posts at Proz to others. Some of them have 10k+ followers in social networks.
They are translators/interpreters themselves, and they offer their buyers "in-field trainings" (playing the role of a mentor) as well as job infos.
So I suspect that their buyers are mainly young students, new graduates, or else who would love to get a side job from translation.
As for the sellers, they are able to have some extra income in subscription fees & streaming.


 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
Inglês para Francês
+ ...
- Dec 29, 2021

-

[Edited at 2021-12-29 06:33 GMT]


 
Robert Rietvelt
Robert Rietvelt  Identity Verified
Local time: 21:26
Membro (2006)
Espanhol para Holandês
+ ...
Live to work, or work to live? Dec 29, 2021

Tom in London wrote:

Retirement is for people who don't like their work.


When you are married to your job, your statement might be true.

Don't misunderstand me, I love being a translator, but in my book there is life after work!


Baran Keki
Jean Dimitriadis
Siobhán Fulton
 
Baran Keki
Baran Keki  Identity Verified
Turquia
Local time: 22:26
Membro
Inglês para Turco
Fair enough Dec 29, 2021

Tom in London wrote:

Retirement is for people who don't like their work.

That's often the case with footballers. But then, there are those like Zlatan Ibrahimovic...

[Edited at 2021-12-29 10:37 GMT]


 
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Poll: Do you plan on passing your contacts on when you retire?






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