Poll: To make my business more resilient I have mostly...
Autor da sequência: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
STAFF DO SÍTIO
Feb 16, 2025

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "To make my business more resilient I have mostly...".

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Fu Xinkuan
 
neilmac
neilmac
Espanha
Local time: 17:12
Espanhol para Inglês
+ ...
N/A Feb 16, 2025

I reached official retirement age a few years ago, but just kept working. That's about as "resilient" as my "business" gets, So the industry decline affects me less than it will younger translatoirs.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Peter Simon
Tom in London
Yaotl Altan
Andrus Lauringson
Fu Xinkuan
Philip Lees
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:12
Membro (2007)
Inglês para Português
+ ...
N/A Feb 16, 2025

I try to be prepared, adaptable, collaborative and trustworthy but risks are inherent to any business activity and some are out of our control…

Peter Simon
Fu Xinkuan
Angie Garbarino
Maria Laura Curzi
 
Mario Chávez
Mario Chávez
Estados Unidos da América
Local time: 11:12
Inglês para Espanhol
+ ...
Business or profession sides Feb 16, 2025

In a country like the United States, with a patchwork of health care plans that are always dependent on a geographically fixed job, it's not just maintaining savings for emergency situations (car repair, fixing a roof or HVAC problem, a toothache that becomes a crown repair) but also saving money for health needs. As we age, most of us acquire some chronic condition that may or may not be expensive to manage (it IS expensive here). Never mind setting aside money to “grow your business.�... See more
In a country like the United States, with a patchwork of health care plans that are always dependent on a geographically fixed job, it's not just maintaining savings for emergency situations (car repair, fixing a roof or HVAC problem, a toothache that becomes a crown repair) but also saving money for health needs. As we age, most of us acquire some chronic condition that may or may not be expensive to manage (it IS expensive here). Never mind setting aside money to “grow your business.”

Unfortunately, some of us may realize we don't have much room to grow, given the paltry per-word rates being offered across the board. If we have been successful in a position as employees (translators, localization or project managers) and lose our jobs...in America, that is, unemployment will not be of much help, it's a joke, an insult to anyone who has held a decent job in any field. So, savings are even more important.

I see a problem that will further limit us translators: to remain in the “business” mindset. Being a business owner, a CEO, your own boss, etc., is always touted as the best social status, the prosperity goal that is dangled in front of our eyes. It is a false sense of freedom (whatever “freedom” means to the average American) that you can achieve anything if you are your own boss, if you can dictate your own working hours. It is a mirage for the majority of people, not just for translators.

Clients come and go, even the best direct clients. U.S.-based translators are faced with a dilemma: to continue to own a business or to work for someone else (which the average American is brainwashed into thinking of as unworthy, or at least, not very profit-generating as an activity). Different professionals embrace different strategies, so there's not a universal right answer.
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Tom in London
Rachel Waddington
Fu Xinkuan
Jorge Payan
Lieven Malaise
David GAY
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise  Identity Verified
Bélgica
Local time: 17:12
Membro (2020)
Francês para Holandês
+ ...
Resilience Feb 17, 2025

Can a fulltime freelancer working alone have a resilient business? Hardly, I think.

I have still not a single reason to complain (besides the unpleasant feeling I'm having the last few years due to the constant stream of doom and gloom on these and other forums), but I would be finished (as a fulltimer, that is) after a few months of no work at all or hardly any.


Angie Garbarino
Chris Spurgin
MassimoA
 
Chris Spurgin
Chris Spurgin  Identity Verified
Reino Unido
Local time: 16:12
Russo para Inglês
+ ...
Some of the options have nothing to do with business resilience Feb 17, 2025

Setting aside emergency funds and cutting expenses related to personal finances, not business resilience.

I think that fitting in training and marketing is a real challenge.


Rachel Waddington
Dan Lucas
Maria Laura Curzi
 
IrinaN (X)
IrinaN (X)
Estados Unidos da América
Local time: 10:12
Inglês para Russo
+ ...
Other Feb 17, 2025

Did my best to do a good job.

Daryo
neilmac
 


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