| Pagina's in het onderwerp: < [1 2 3] | Graduate: Stick to PM job, or start own agency? De persoon die dit onderwerp heeft geplaatst: Portia Tanner
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| Take the PM job | Jun 9, 2015 |
Portia Tanner wrote:
"I'm going to start translating freelance and see where that takes me"
Remember that building up a steady business as a freelance translator will take a few years (if you are lucky). In the beginning you are only interesting for agencies that are paying fees which won't pay your bills.
[Edited at 2015-06-09 15:51 GMT]
| | | | Angela Malik 
Verenigd Koninkrijk
Local time: 11:55
Duits naar Engels
+ ...
TalTranslations wrote: Angela Rimmer wrote:
That means that if you take the PM job...You'll gain practical experience and also gain useful contacts that you will need if you want to have your own translation company. In our business, having contacts is paramount. Don't know about the contacts. I don't think you can 'steal' contacts from your former employer ('competition clause'). Maybe it's even stated in the contract that she can't start an agency within X years.
Generally the contract will state that she can't start an agency within X miles of the employer within X years. The contract cannot forbid her from working everywhere. If she branches off and goes freelance for those X years, that would still be legal anyway, as she wouldn't be operating as an agency in direct competition with the employer.
But the main point is, if you're good, the contacts will follow you. I had a competition clause (which I upheld faithfully up until the day it ended). I had a few clients approach me when I left, I informed them of the clause timeframe, and they waited until the end of that to work with me. (And to be clear, when that timeframe ended, THEY approached me; I did not seek out clients from my previous employer even after the competition clause ended)
But more than that, I was talking about contacts in the form of translators. If you're going to run an agency you need suppliers you can trust. Of course it will depend on the phrasing in the contract, but most competition clauses focus on the clients, and make no stipulations concerning working with their suppliers. Gaining experience in the industry and networking are essential if you want a successful translation business and of course you are not going to just "forget" that so-and-so does excellent work and expressed a wish to keep in contact when you left your job at the agency to start your own business. I'm not suggesting going around and "stealing" suppliers or poaching clients, but people will naturally build relationships and wish to maintain these, so trust me when I say that if you're good at what you do, they will follow you. As long as you operate within the scope of the contract you signed, there's nothing wrong with that.
[Edited at 2015-06-09 23:47 GMT]
| | | | | Contract clause | Jun 10, 2015 |
I should change the title to Stick to PM job, or start freelancing? instead.
There is a clause in my contract which states that I cannot hold any other job or job title while working there, unless I have explicit permission from my line manager. I spoke with her today, and she simply smiled the whole way through with an irritating 'we'd rather you didn't, no'.
I pushed the issue, but she continued her smiling away and refused to allow me to freelance while working ther... See more I should change the title to Stick to PM job, or start freelancing? instead.
There is a clause in my contract which states that I cannot hold any other job or job title while working there, unless I have explicit permission from my line manager. I spoke with her today, and she simply smiled the whole way through with an irritating 'we'd rather you didn't, no'.
I pushed the issue, but she continued her smiling away and refused to allow me to freelance while working there, instead insisting that freelancing takes a long time to become established, that it would probably be unfulfilling and I'd regret throwing the job away, and that I'd ultimately be better off staying with them.
I'm sure I already know the answer, but is there nothing I can do except leave? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton
Verenigde Staten
Local time: 06:55
Duits naar Engels
| Go for the regular pay check | Jun 10, 2015 |
Portia Tanner wrote:
I'm sure I already know the answer, but is there nothing I can do except leave?
There's a lot to be said for being on salary, potentially with benefits such as paid vacation, etc. Stick with the PM job for a year, learn a little about the business before you consider freelancing. Project management skills can be applied to a variety of endeavors besides translating. It can never hurt to expand your skill set.
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| Start slowly | Jun 10, 2015 |
I started translating professionally by accident. At the time I was running a successful School of English, which kept me busy for at least 40 hours a week.
In 2008, I was asked to do my first professional translation and there was no going back; for the next six years I managed to combine both jobs. At the beginning of every academic year I stopped accepting certain students (very young children and beginner adults) as I knew there wouldn't be enough time for them to reach a decen... See more I started translating professionally by accident. At the time I was running a successful School of English, which kept me busy for at least 40 hours a week.
In 2008, I was asked to do my first professional translation and there was no going back; for the next six years I managed to combine both jobs. At the beginning of every academic year I stopped accepting certain students (very young children and beginner adults) as I knew there wouldn't be enough time for them to reach a decent level of English. Cutting down on my classes meant I had more time for translating (and for sleeping).
I closed my school at the end of June last year and I can honestly say that it was one of the best things I have done in my life.
If I were you, I would spend maybe a year getting experience and a salary, and I would start looking for work in my free time, not that PMs get that much!
Whatever you eventually decide to do, good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 18:55
Chinees naar Engels
Portia Tanner wrote:
There is a clause in my contract which states that I cannot hold any other job or job title while working there, unless I have explicit permission from my line manager. I spoke with her today, and she simply smiled the whole way through with an irritating 'we'd rather you didn't, no'.
I'm not at all sure that they can do that. It's worth nipping into a citizen's advice bureau (do they still exist?) or checking online. And if it is strictly legal, then you can say, in all strict legality, that being a freelancer is not a job with a title because you're not part of an organization.
More relevantly, your employer is never going to know if you do freelance work on the side. Don't poach their clients, that goes without saying. But if you can develop some of your own, so far as I can see it's really none of their business.
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 18:55
Chinees naar Engels
| | Combining the PM job with freelancing might be tricky | Jun 11, 2015 |
Phil Hand wrote:
More relevantly, your employer is never going to know if you do freelance work on the side. Don't poach their clients, that goes without saying. But if you can develop some of your own, so far as I can see it's really none of their business.
It's unlikely that Portia will have a chance to work on any freelance translation projects during her 9-to-5 routine, for legal reasons or otherwise. This means she will only be able to work in the evenings, in the night-time, on weekends and public holidays.
Understandably, this scenario increases the risk of either missed deadlines or disruptive all-nighters in an attempt to meet the required deadlines. On the other hand, having a full time job will be a major constraint in terms of acceptance of certain translation projects.
When I joined an international law firm as an in-house legal translator (2008-2013), it did not take much time to understand that I would not be in a position to keep all of my existing customers (about 30 of them at the time). I sent notices to that effect to all of them but a couple of my favorite clients. Even with two clients, I sometimes had to keep very late hours in order to meet the agreed deadlines.
Portia, it's not that having a full time job and moonlighting as a freelance translator are absolutely incompatible. Just be careful when accepting freelance assignments. As Helena said: "Whatever you eventually decide to do, good luck!"
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| Already given up on your dream of a boutique translation agency | Jun 11, 2015 |
Portia Tanner wrote:
I should change the title to Stick to PM job, or start freelancing? instead.
Why?
You already have giving up on your Dream of owning a boutique translation agency? That fast??
If one time you would like to start your own agency, I think you have to keep the PM job for at least a year to learn all tricks. This PM job is a great opportunity. Think about your long-term plan. One year is nothing.
If you choose for freedom, quit immediately, take a nice part-time job to pay your bills and start freelancing, and when you have enough clients quit the part-time job.
As Vladimir said, when you have a full-time PM job, there's little time and energy left for translating freelance, even if it's allowed.
| | | | | Non-compete clauses | Jun 12, 2015 |
If you take the PM job, read your contract carefully before signing, especially regarding non-compete clauses. If you do want to start an agency some day, a clause stating that you can't enter into competition with your current employer for a period of years (legal in some places I believe) might set you back greatly since any kind of translation agency you might start could be deemed a competitor with your current one.
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