I decided to talk about case studies because someone asked for it in questions for #WantWordsTV, but I thought a post could be even better. So, here it goes.

Why would you want to have a case study?

As freelance translators, we usually have a range of marketing materials to promote our businesses, such as our CVs, portfolios, websites, and that’s all fine. The only problem is that they usually talk about us, not the benefit that the client gets from using our services. Case studies turn it all around, and that’s why so many businesses in other industries use them. A case study is a document that communicates tangible results and real benefits of using your translation services. And nothing works better with clients than telling them: look, I can do that for you and this is how it works.

For example, if you do website localisation, you could send a case study to your potential clients showing Google Analytics results regarding the localised version. Or if you want to target clients with your marketing translation services, you may want to show them the effectiveness of a piece of marketing text you’ve translated. It makes sense, doesn’t it?

Where to use case studies?

Once you get it, you can put it up on your website, send to your prospects, or host somewhere online (Behance.net, or seelio.com). In my experience, case studies are particularly effective with direct clients.

How to create your own case study?

1. Pick the right client to turn into a case study

I know this is going to be the most frightening part of the whole game. Very often we’re not even contacting end clients, and now I’m telling you to reach out to them AND invite them to become your case study. Right.

There are no shortcuts here, but I have a couple of tips on how to pick the right client to do it. First of all, think strategically of your case study: which sorts of clients do you want to convince to buy more translations from you? To use an example, if you do medical translation, create a case study with a client who has something to do with this field. Write down a handful of potential case study material clients.

Then just write to them explaining what you want to do and what they’re going to get in return, which takes us to…

2. Make a deal with the client

A case study of your services will be of course mostly your marketing material, but you want to make it look appealing to the client you’re pitching the idea to. So you need to come up with a good deal, offering something in return. Here are a few ideas:

-          You’ll help the client promote the translated material in the target language

-          You’ll offer a discount on your services

-          You’ll do some market research in the target language country for them

If the client sees the benefit in taking part in your case study, they’re more likely to agree to do it. You’re more likely to be successful if you’re really genuinely willing to help the client out, for example you’ve noticed a great offer they have and you think that people in your target language may be likely to buy it, or be interested in reading it.

3. Structure your case study

Ok, I’m sure that by know you’ve already started wondering what to put in your own case study. What I think is very important is to present it from your client’s perspective, so rather than talking about what you’ve done, show the impact on the client’s business. In your case study, you also want to present a specific problem or a challenge, for example: how to increase exposure in your target language country. One of the good strategies to do it is to use before, during and after snapshots.

Before: use client testimonials or data (such as Google Analytics) to present the situation in their business before using your services.

During: describe the process of translation/localisation/interpreting from the client’s perspective

After: present the proof and real data on how translation impacted their business (for example, Google Analytics data related to their localised website or article).

You also want to add some screenshots, or an infographic of the process of translating and mention all the additional services you’ve provided. Don’t forget about a call to action inviting your prospects to try it out themselves.

4. Learn from other industries

I do suggest having a look at how others prepare their case studies, for example in web design or development, or in copywriting. I also wanted to share a few links to some resources I found useful:

http://www.marketingscoop.com/great-case-study.htm
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/creating-a-great-case-study/
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33282/The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Creating-Compelling-Case-Studies.aspx

BONUS: I hope that I inspired a handful of you to think of coming up with your own case study. I know it may be daunting and off-putting, so I thought I’ll help you out. If you do marketing translation, transcreation, website localisation or business translation, you may want to write to me (yes, to me) and ask me to be your case study. How does that sound?

Dear Nick, Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. So, tell us about yourself: what were the turning points in your career? We can read on your LinkedIn profile that you started working in the industry back in 1986!

I first wanted to become a translator when I was about 14. I enjoyed languages, and I enjoyed technology. But the careers teachers told me I couldn’t be a translator because my parents weren’t foreign, and because there were very few openings. So my first lesson, at 14, was to never let people put you off!

I studied languages at Salford University, which was a “practical” languages course. That gave me an opportunity to spend six months working as an intern at Intertext in East Germany ¬– a fascinating environment to be thrown into, very challenging, but hugely rewarding. Working closely with more experienced translators on a daily basis was an ideal way to learn. I sound like an old codger, because I realise that such opportunities are few and far between for young translators today. But the central point remains – you can learn a lot from experienced professionals, so I guess the trick is to go out of your way to put yourself in situations where you can do just that. Things like translation workshops run by professional bodies would be one example.

When I left university I worked for Unilever for a while, as one of their management trainees. I was also qualifying as a management accountant at the same time, so it involved a lot of hard work, but taught me a lot about the business world.

In 1986, I became a freelance translator, working from German and French into English. It coincided with the introduction of the first personal computers, and my curiosity and desire to simply understand how computers worked quickly put me in a position where I became known for being a translator specialising in computing. I didn’t actually set out to go there, it just sort of happened. 25 years later, I still enjoy the challenges of learning new stuff, of staying up to date in my specialist field. I spent two years as a freelance translator, and then set up my own translation company (Salford Translations Ltd), which specialises in software localisation and in translations for the high-tech sector. But no matter what area we specialise in, all translators need the same core skillset of excellent writing skills and good subject understanding.

You’ve been the Chairman of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting Council for the last 2 years. What is the mission statement of the Institute?

I’m not really a corporate sort of person. I never bought into the whole “mission statement” thing when it first came out in the 1980’s – and I still haven’t!

What is ITI about? As a professional body for practicing translators and interpreters, it should be about quality, and about the recognition of that quality. Everything else follows on from there. If we ensure that our qualified members (that is, MITIs and FITIs) all work to the same high, As a professional body for practicing translators and interpreters, it should be about quality, and about the recognition of that quality.demonstrable standard, then that helps both the individual members and the profession as a whole. Of course, you can’t ask people to demonstrate that they are of a certain standard without also providing help in getting to that standard, which is why ITI offers a range of training courses. And it shouldn’t stop there. Once people are fully qualified, whether they are translators, lawyers, accountants or paramedics, the good ones will always carry on investing in themselves, learning new skills, updating existing knowledge. As a professional body, ITI should be there to support people in that.

Then we must represent the industry to the outside world. This might mean explaining the difference between a qualified professional translator and someone who speaks a foreign language. Or it might mean engaging in protracted discussions with civil servants and government ministers when we see the sort of short-sighted changes that have been made to police and court interpreting (and translation!) in the UK over the past 18 months.

It must have been a very busy period for you. What were the main challenges for you as a Chair?

I think the main challenge has simply been related to driving change, in order to up our game. Change is not something that most people are comfortable with, so it has been quite a challenging process – particularly because we’ve wanted to introduce change by consent, to bring our members with us on a journey of improvement. As an organisation, we’d coasted a bit in the previous few years, so we’ve had to invest a lot of energy in reaching out to our membership, in engaging people again.

The other area that has needed a lot of energy has been trying to communicate with government about the changes to court and police interpreting that were introduced by the Ministry of Justice. In that respect, I’m particularly pleased with the way that the various professional bodies and campaign groups have come together in order to represent the profession.

ITI is very active in promoting professionalism to newly qualified or aspiring translators. What forms of support do you offer?

I first joined ITI when I was 24, and a new translator at the start of my career. And I remember being touched by the warm welcome from older, more experienced translators at ITI events. They were supportive and encouraging. That set a tone.
ITI has always offered a range of training courses for newcomers to the profession. Back in the late 1980s and 1990s that meant running weekend training courses on business skills, or computer skills for translators. These days, far more of the training is

When we met Nick, he had the badge printed!

The annual ITI Conference will be held at the Hilton Hotel at Gatwick in a few weeks’ time, and we already have over 160 delegates booked to attend for the weekend. Again, it is a great way for new translators and interpreters to meet other professionals, to get to know ITI’s management team, and to build their skillset.

For me, one of the best opportunities that ITI offers is the weekend workshop, when we sit down in groups and translate together. It is a wonderful confidence-builder, a great opportunity to confirm to yourself that you have what it takes, and a lovely way to meet fellow professionals and build lasting relationships with them.

Last but not least, ITI offers a post-experience membership exam, which leads to the MITI qualification. This differs from an academic exam in that it is marked by experienced professional translators, in the same way as a commercial translation. And you sit the exam in your normal working environment, using your normal production resources. You can read about the ITI exam here.

Nick, you rock the industry!

What piece of advice would you give someone starting out in the industry?

I’d offer two pieces of advice.

Firstly, don’t be put off. Like anything worth doing, translation and interpreting are hard professions to break into. Persevere. Be determined.

Secondly, I’d encourage people to take an honest look at their skillsets. For a translator, for example, there are three key ingredients that you need: Understanding of the foreign language, the ability to write really good, clear, incisive text in your own language, and understanding of the subject matter. Most people put a lot of effort into learning the foreign language – and let’s face it, that is no mean achievement in itself! But I’d encourage people to also look at their own writing skills, to invest in developing them. How many translators have been on technical writing courses, for example? Or to creative writing workshops? And then to think about subject understanding, about how to build their skills in those areas.

what is your personal take on machine translation and post-editing?

That’s not an area that I know a great deal about. I’ve used various CAT tools since 1997, and we currently run MemoQ server version at my company. But I’ve not yet had much to do with machine translation. That may well change in the next few years.

In your opinion, what does the future of our profession look like?

We live in an era of great change. But I am convinced that there will still be demand for qualified professional translators.

Thank you, Nick! You’ve been awarded our You Rock the Translation Industry Badge! Well deserved. Do you have any comments or follow up questions to Nick? Use the space below!

Now that the introductions are done, here’s the reason for this post: instinctively we know that if we’ve graduated in translation or have a translation-related education we’re offering something more to our clients. But it’s often very difficult to describe this “more” and use it to convince the clients why they should choose us (and pay more). And honestly speaking, sometimes it’s even hard to understand what the whole translation theory has to do with our professional lives. That’s why I decided to share this collection of benefits linked directly with translation modules covered at universities. The headlines below correspond to the modules that I came across when doing my degree and how I talk about them now with my clients.

Translation theory

Understanding different translation theories helps me grasp the variety of approaches to source and target texts. I can also better understand the expectations translation users had throughout the ages and I can identify which broader cultural trends have impact on your text.

Characteristics of non-literary texts

As a translator, I also study the way texts are written and what makes them achieve specific purposes. It means that I not only know which words and phrases are used in legal texts, but I also understand what makes them be legal. This is very important for your texts, because they have to have the same effect on your readers when translated into another language.

Translation tools

Contrary to the popular belief, translators need much more than just pen, paper and dictionary. Studying translation tools makes me better equipped to do the job for you, and as a result, I can translate better, faster and more consistently.

Translation research project

As a part of my degree, I was asked to look at existing translations and compare them with the original text. I found this exercise very helpful because it made me wonder why certain things have been translated this way and not another and I had to find explanations to these problems. It means that whenever you have any questions regarding your project, I’ll be able to tell you why I translated it like that.

Intercultural communication

I was also lucky enough to study the basics of intercultural communication. I know the cultural dimensions and main differences between the cultures I translate. It means that your texts are not only correct from the linguistic point of view, but my translation also covers cultural differences.

Translation process

Of course, I also studied the process of translating, from the first reading, through research, to polishing the final text. It means that I am competent enough to handle your translation because I know what’s involved in producing the final text.

Translation procedures

I am aware of different translation problems and I also have the right tools to solve them. It means that if your text contains words of phrases without direct equivalents in the target language, I will be able to use the correct translation procedure to find the best solution.

I hope you now feel more confident talking about what you know. Think about your education and see if you can turn it into benefits for your clients.

1. Translation and localisation handled by the parent company

A number of companies I talked to are subsidiaries (or local branches) of bigger American parent companies. A fair proportion of them told me they get their translations and localisations done in America and local branches have access to the files prepared for them. In such cases, the big American parent company usually works with an agency to handle the various multilingual projects. The results, according to the exhibitors I talked to, are not always satisfactory and they end up amending texts in-house using people without any linguistic background.

2. Translation and localisation outsourced locally

These exhibitors said they receive texts in English from their parent companies and then they look for people to translate documents into their local languages. These companies usually use translation agencies without putting much thought into their choices and often end up dissatisfied with end results.

3. Marketing department handling translation and localisation

For some companies, translation and localisation are part of marketing. I think it’s important to find out who handles translation and localisation at a potential client’s company, because the approach we’d take to pitch to a marketing person would be slightly different from trying to convince a CEO. Another positive side to dealing with the marketing department is that we can offer more services.

4. Bilingual in-house staff does the translation

What struck me most was the fact that plenty of companies were so dissatisfied with the quality of translation provided by agencies that they resorted to using their in-house bilingual staff UNTRAINED in translation or localisation. These companies are not usually happy about that, because their staff “should be doing something else”, but they feel they have no other choice.

5. In-house professional translator does the translation

Finally, some companies appreciate the value of translation so much that they hire in-house translators to cope with the workload and ensure quality. Exhibitors working with in-house translators emphasise that they are happy with the quality and are ready to reward their professional translators accordingly.

What does it mean to us?

I can see plenty of ways we can broaden our offering or tailor our marketing to appeal to different direct clients. It’s important, though, to find out more about their modes of operation. One way of doing that is attending trade fairs. Here’s a video I recorded with Rose to help you out a bit:

Hello Lucy! Thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed. Can you tell us a bit about you, your personal and professional background? 

I come from a monolingual family where no language other than English was spoken. My great aunt, also called Lucinda, studied modern languages at Queens Belfast, and was in Germany studying in August 1914. Apparently she had some adventures getting home to Ireland as war broke out over Europe. My love of language must have come from her as no-one else in my family ever excelled at any language, apart from my grandfather who was a Latin scholar. I remember that he loved Winnie ille Pu when it was published in Latin, and used to get me to read it to him.

I learned all three of my languages (French, German and Spanish, plus Latin) at school and later at college, where I studied law, French and German translation, and commerce. My first secretarial job was with a firm of solicitors. It was, and still is, the Royal Family’s firm of solicitors, but as a very junior member of the staff I was barely aware of our royal clients. I did my first legal translations there – probably very badly – without supervision and without the proper resources.

I took further secretarial jobs with a news agency and then in the dizzy world of advertising, before setting off on my travels to Spain, where I spent seven years in travel and tourism.

Later, I returned to the UK with my toddler son and started a word processing business in the days when computing and word processing were completely new. That developed into provision of computer training, consultancy work with an industrial PR company, and a part-time job in local government. So you see I was, unknown to me, preparing myself for my future career as a translator by working in many different fields.

I had always wanted to be a freelance translator but frankly the need to earn a living made me very nervous of branching out on my own.

But when I met my husband Bob in 1990 things changed. Suddenly I had the security he offered to go freelance. But I needn’t have worried! I had my first major job within a couple of weeks and have been busy more or less ever since.

What were the turning points in your career that got you where you are now?

There has really been a series of turning points as I explain above. Perhaps the first was the word processing business, which meant I had a head Belonging to, and serving with, the Chartered Institute of Linguists provided another boost to my career. I became a Chartered Linguist in 2008, in fact I was the first to obtain that credential.start over many of my age group regarding computers. Then there was the day I made that all-important decision to go freelance, although I kept the part-time job as CEO of a busy Parish Council for a few years before going full-time. Belonging to, and serving with, the Chartered Institute of Linguists provided another boost to my career. I became a Chartered Linguist in 2008, in fact I was the first to obtain that credential. Sadly I can no longer use the CL accreditation because the criteria stipulate that I must translate more than I do at present. (The scheme is currently under review, so perhaps I might revive it in the future.)

I would also say that the coming of the Internet was the main thing that guided the steps of my career. Before the Internet was available to everyone, offering communication by email and networking, I had felt isolated, unsure and alone.

Your website and LinkedIn profile say you have been a freelance translator for 22 years and 3 months. That’s impressive and inspirational! Could you tell us what were the most important lessons that you’ve learned?

Proofread on paper, leave work overnight if possible and have the confidence to change sentence structures to suit the language and target audience. Learn not to stick blindly to the original structure. Identify problem areas and ask questions. Add translator notes if something remains unclear, but sparingly. Have confidence in your own writing ability. Keep learning new skills and developing the ones you have.

On your website you state that you have not missed a deadline. How does one achieve that? Do you have any organisation or productivity tips?

To keep organised I use Post-it notes (electronic ones), I make lists, diary and calendar notes, I have a job tracking system and also many piles of paper about my desk. I am quite untidy, like my father before me, but I know where all the piles are and what they are.

In April 2010 you founded eCPD Webinars, a company providing high-quality online webinars and training for translators and interpreters. Where did the idea come from?

The idea came from the time I was serving on the translating division committee for the Chartered Institute of Linguists. People were asking us to arrange less London-centric events, but it was hard for volunteers to organise face-to-face seminars at venues outside their own region. So we ran a few trial webinars and the take-up and feed-back was good. But it took up a lot of my time – maybe because I was so enthusiastic about the venture – and it became too much for a single volunteer. I also found it difficult to run an online (and therefore fast-moving) venture through a committee, so it was agreed with the CIoL that I should run webinars as a commercial venture.

You are speaking about Continuing Professional Development at the next ITI Conference in May 2013. Why do you think CPD matters for translators and interpreters?

I believe that CPD is the key to translators being – and being viewed as – professionals, experts in their field, just as, for example, accountants or dentists are viewed by the outside world. But we also owe it to the world to BE professional. It is essential to keep up with developments, to learn new skills, to diversify into new areas. Only by undertaking a structured programme of CPD will we even start to convince our customers that we I believe that CPD is the key to translators being – and being viewed as – professionals, experts in their field, just as, for example, accountants or dentists are viewed by the outside world. But we also owe it to the world to BE professional. are not selling a commodity, but providing a professional service. We have to differentiate between the professionals and the charlatans. I believe that CPD must become compulsory and that the professional bodies need to do more to present their members as professionals to the outside world.

Running such a business alongside being a translator is an interesting way of diversifying your sources of income. Does it work for you?

Many people of my age have already retired. I am still working hard and want to do so for quite a few years to come, although perhaps less intensively. eCPD takes up a good amount of my time, so I am doing less translation work these days and tend to pick and choose. But sometimes when more than one client comes at me at the same time with work I choose to do I get a little stressed. But I enjoy pressure and I love both sides of my work.

What piece of advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?

Join a professional association, take up a mentoring scheme if the association offers one, and participate in egroups and forums. As your career progresses, you should start a structured programme of CPD so that you can develop your career as you discover where your strengths lie.

Lucy, you rock the industry!

I also recommend the Marta Stelmaszak Business School for Translators (Marta: Thanks, Lucy!) which we are running so successfully at eCPD. In just five lessons, trainees receive a ton of great common sense advice on how to make the best of their qualities, how to gain and retain clients, negotiate with them, and enter the world of freelance translating with confidence.

In your opinion, what does the future of our profession look like?

I think the future is bright for the high end, the very professional end of our profession. But it is still a dismal outlook for the low end, where the bottom-feeders lurk, dare I say, and where cheap holds sway over quality and professionalism.

Thank you, Lucy! You’ve been awarded our You Rock the Translation Industry Badge! Well deserved. Do you have any comments or follow up questions to Lucy? Use the space below!

The biggest advantage of having a visual CV is that you can highlight your experience and achievements much easier. They also have the benefit of being innovative and are much more personalised. You don’t need much more to stand out! So have a look at a few options of getting a visual CV.

1. Get it designed

It’s the most expensive and time-consuming option, but hey, have a look here: http://pinterest.com/webrecruit/visual-cv-gallery/. Aren’t they just amazing? And you don’t have to be a graphic designer to use one. Copywriters and editors use them, too.

(One of our colleagues on the Facebook page, Fátima López Sevilla, brought this post – Thanks, Leon – to my attention, where a great example of a translator using a visual CV is used. In Spanish, though)

2. Turn it into an infographic

The more adventurous translators and interpreters may want to try turning their CV into an infographic. In here: http://visual.ly/nurses-how-do-they-do-it you can have a look at what I’m talking about. This one talks about nurses, but why not come up with something similar about your own translation business? If you like one of their designs, you can get in touch with the author and work on visualising your CV.

3. Vizualize.me

This tool is free and allows you to turn your LinkedIn data into a visual CV. Like mine in here: http://vizualize.me/mstelmaszak?r=mstelmaszak (and you can even add a badge to your website!). What I like about it is that I can customise the background and the colours, and I think experience looks much better, too. And the map of languages you cover is brilliant in our profession!

4. Seelio.com

This is a startup for “student builders and doers”, but I’m currently looking at its potential to showcase our experience. Seelio.com allows you to put up projects you’ve worked on online and add some details about them. I think it would be great to put some projects up there and link to them from my CV.

5. About.me

Here’s another useful tool, and you may appreciate it even more if you don’t have your own website (yet). About.me allows you to upload some details about you and keep them online. Here’s how Valeria Aliperta uses it: http://about.me/RainyLondon. Looks cool!

What do you think? Are you going to try getting some new clients with a visual CV?

Hi Valeria! To start with, tell us a bit about your personal and professional background.What were the turning points in your career that got you where you are now?

While at uni, I was accepted for a EU-funded Leonardo work placement both in Spain and in the UK and I opted for the London-based – even though at the time the pound was ridiculously high compared to the Euro and it was a real struggle to live in the Big Smoke for 6 months. Penniless but happy, I have to say as that’s where I re-discovered the passion for my other work language – before that, I was practically a Spaniard – and I learnt a lot of my soon-to-be profession.

Valeria knows how to rock!

It did help that later on my fiancé started working in the UK so moving here with him seemed an easy bet. Graduating from an Italian university can give you the advantage of a wide-range and varied training – the learning approach is knowledge-based, even though it’s often quantity over quality so the notions you pile up are many. On the other hand, that approach – at least in my experience – is very poor on a practical side, something that especially Northern countries are instead very good at. I decided to give myself 6 months to become a freelance and considering there was the most terrible recession ever just round the corner, I am proud I did make it through that 6-month goal. So after my practical, hands-on training in a translation agency, I put my back into it and to sharpen my edge, I worked on the practical side. I decided to give myself 6 months to become a freelance and considering there was the most terrible recession ever just round the corner, I am proud I did make it through that 6-month goal. The biggest turning point was certainly networking and writing articles: the more contacts you have, the more chances to find work, it’s as easy as that. But also a good mix of expertise, right language combination and luck is essential.

You’re standing for elections to the Institute of Translation and Interpreting Board this year. Why do you think we should get involved with professional organisations?

When I graduated, I immediately felt the need to ‘belong’ to an organisation of professionals who could share my views, my goals and of course – and especially – my worries or fears. As architects or nurses join a register, I believe that being part of a group of peers can enlighten you on how the industry worked, how to be part of it proudly and how to improve yourself – also on a personal level, because you never stop learning. These are also the reasons I’ve mentioned in my candidature proposal and I hope that soon I could be your ITI Associates Representative! Fingers crossed

You’re sharing your knowledge on branding with colleagues around the world. How did you discover it was something you are good at?

Well, I’m not too sure how it started and it’s funny, because even though as a kid I always liked drawing, I was very good at ‘reproducing’ rather than inventing stunning illustrations from scratch. Creativeness, though, can be expressed in so many ways and translation is certainly one – especially when it’s transcreation, one of my favourite fields of expertise. As a simultaneous interpreter, as well, I need to choose the best solution in a split second most of the time and with branding, it’s kind of the same: you try and choose what is the best image to convey a given message. Of course, it does help that my other half is a visual designer: I am constantly overwhelmed by design-related things and products and books, or exhibitions to see and websites to discover. Playing with all this inspiration, coming from different sources, is fun and if it makes sense for business, well, even better. Not to mention I like gadgets and technology, too….

Would you recommend others to look for their hidden talents, other than translation, and to explore the opportunities?

I could not recommend anything more than ‘finding your direction’. As in branding – those who attended one of my talks will find a thread here – you always tend to have a ‘penchant’ for something. Mine is brands and communication in general, but for others it may be cupcakes. Mine is brands and communication in general, but for others it may be cupcakes. So why don’t you turn your skill into something viable, like translating for the food sector?So why don’t you turn your skill into something viable, like translating for the food sector? Interpreting for Jamie on one of his trip to the Bel Paese may be a long shot but who knows! My other passion is – alas for my finances – fashion and beauty so when I was hired for a recent hairdressing interpreting assignment I didn’t even have to prepare… it was like being at the playground! So, once again, if you can make your passion work – a little bit, at least – for you, that’s certainly a plus. And when you’re loving what you do, it shows.

Your own brand, Rainy London Translations, is a great success. How did you come up with the logo and identity? How do you raise awareness of your brand? What do you do to share it?

Well, thanks, I’m flattered! Something that really made the difference for Rainy London was first of all ‘being’ in London. It’s unbelievable how many contacts and how many more opportunities I could tap into since I relocated in 2011. And it’s priceless when someone you meet then goes ‘Oh, so it’s you behind the famous Rainy London! I’ve read all about you and I follow you on social media’. (I always blush).

Rainy London Translations logo

The logo and identity came up after a 3-day brainstorming – the hardest part of all for everyone who is thinking about going into business and do not want to trade under their own name. I asked anyone I know and after sieving carefully between the bad and the ugly, the good came to the rescue, as in a true spaghetti Western story. By accident: rainy London was a nickname I used in the now-gone MSN Messenger chat back in 2006. In my talks I always say that you should find a direction for your business, and from there start brainstorming, to eventually come up with a suitable option. Read, watch TV, discover signs on the street, browse magazines. Inspiration can come from anything.

Brand awareness can be built by joining an association, by putting yourself forward to do things for the community of your industry or even by a savvy use of social media – you have to make sure you work towards a brand that is easily associated with you and you only. I’m still working on it but I hope we could one day use the verb ‘to rainylondon something’ as we do for Google.

You obviously spend plenty of time and energy on promoting your brand. Are you happy with your return on investment, or simply put: does it pay back?

I think that a very tricky question as it’s hard to ‘quantify’ but I will give it a go. Having a strong identity puts you ‘out there’: online, on print, etc. And when you’re good, it does give you an advantage because potentially clients can ‘find’ you before they find your competitorsHaving a strong identity puts you ‘out there’: online, on print, etc. And when you’re good, it does give you an advantage because potentially clients can ‘find’ you before they find your competitors – it’s all about the trust in the brand. It does take time, but I never said it was easy, did I? Visibility can come in the form of blogging, article writing or even referrals and it’s a combo of those that can really work wonders. I probably got more return from social media word-of-mouth and being a part of a professional body than from just showing my qualifications. Of course, without those you don’t go far: no quality, no gain.

The next big thing you’re involved in is The Freelance Box. Can you tell us a bit more about the project?

The project came to mind because I really love people and as it happens, I love giving talks. The main underlying reason may also be that the more colleagues and aspiring translators I met over the years, the more questions I was asked about how I started or how I handled files or even But it took a second for me to think ‘why not sharing my experience with a wider audience and show them it’s not so hard or complicated?’organise work load. Not that I am a know-it-all so I was surprised. But it took a second for me to think ‘why not sharing my experience with a wider audience and show them it’s not so hard or complicated?’ I knew that with the right partner I could do much more, so that’s where Marta from Wantwords (thank you Val! – Marta) popped to mind. A driven, business-savvy colleague who can complement my knowledge was spot-on so in front of an espresso, we came up with The Freelance Box. TFB is a virtual space (a box) where many other small boxes can fit in the form of short courses, seminars, workshops designed for the translation and interpreting industry but not only. From basic to more advanced, we are looking into offering short or even 1-day long in-person affordable workshops to tackle every freelancers’ doubt or need for CPD, mainly focusing on the practical side of the business ie. admin, workflow, technology, finances, software. And with Fabio from Artscode and Websites for Translators also on board, we were halfway already towards a proper identity and site. The project is to be introduced today and a website is going to be live in March… so stay tuned.

What piece of advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?

The usual: never give up, and make ‘yes, I can’ your mantra. You should be the first person who believes in you. Of course gloomy days do occur – and in Rainy London the sun is something of a gift! But try harder. It sounds like a cliché, but never underestimate the power of:

Valeria, you rock the industry!

• -contacts – give your card to anyone, who knows who they’re married to or whether they need translations and didn’t know it yet;
• -politeness – because I still believe that being kind can open doors. Well, kind, not naive, but you know what I mean;
• and favours – which kind of goes hand in hand with the previous point. Something that means nothing for you can mean a lot to someone else and if you’re remembered as a problem-solver, you’ll gain immediate advantage.

In your opinion, what does the future of our profession look like?

Despite the crisis, machine translation advances and the typical feast-or-famine concept that every one of us freelancers is very familiar with, I believe there is still a huge market for translation and interpreting. It’s a question of niche and availability – and above all of recognition. It’s a question of niche and availability – and above all of recognition. Costs are a huge factor for businesses, of course; but while many companies are forced to cut down expenses, there are still many who do give value to quality translation. I’ve read somewhere that there’s in fact no (good or bad) quality translation but only different translation style choices, price thresholds and opportunities for different freelancers – it’s up to us to tap into them and I see how it is hard to do it. I am a convinced advocate of fair pay and professional recognition – I am an Associate member of ITI, a member of IoL, Asetrad, IAPTI – as well as a fan of being able to say ‘no’ – especially to slavery-like offers so I see a bright future in this profession provided there is recognition for the importance of what we do and how we do it. Of course, I always recommend to adopt a humble, anti-snob, ‘I-can-help’ approach because what goes around comes around.

Thank you, Valeria! You’ve been awarded our You Rock the Translation Industry Badge! Well deserved. Do you have any comments or follow up questions to Valeria? Use the space below!

I decided to give the Business School for Translators the space and framework it deserves, and here it is. I’d like to talk you through the changes.

First of all, the School is now available at www.wantwords.co.uk/school, and I’m no longer going to write new posts at www.wantwords.co.uk directly. I’ve changed the RSS for you, so no matter how you’ve been subscribed so far, you’re going to receive all updates. I’ve also added this awesome prezi to the School’s home page:

Instead of a simple email notification when a new post is published, you’ll now start receiving newsletters every two weeks. The format’s going to change, too. Each newsletter will direct you to a new lesson and new interview, but it will also contain some business tips and resources.

Lessons stay the same, but it will be easier to navigate around, for example to find “People who rock the industry” interviews. It’s also much easier to find events.

But the main reason for the Business School to grow was this online training that it’s now starting again for the second time. The success of it, and very encouraging feedback, gave me motivation to work even harder. There are still some places left, so have a look!

I’d love to hear your feedback on the changes. Why don’t you tell me what you think in comments below?

Read the previous interviews:

People who rock the industry – Erik Hansson
People who rock the industry – Corinne McKay
People who rock the industry – Aurora Humarán
People who rock the industry – Kevin Lossner
People who rock the industry – Geoffrey Buckingham
People who rock the industry – Marta Stelmaszak

LESSON 50: 2013 – THE YEAR OF TRANSLATORS
LESSON 49: DO WE USE RIGHT WORDS ON OUR WEBSITES? PART 3: COPYWRITING TIPS FOR TRANSLATORS
LESSON 48: DO WE USE RIGHT WORDS ON OUR WEBSITES TO OFFER TRANSLATION SERVICES? PART 2: TRANSLATORS
LESSON 47: DO WE USE RIGHT WORDS ON OUR WEBSITES TO OFFER TRANSLATION SERVICES? PART 1: AGENCIES
LESSON 46: 10 THINGS A FREELANCE TRANSLATOR SHOULD DO AT LEAST ONCE TO BE NOTICED
LESSON 45: SLIDES AND HANDOUTS ON ONLINE MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR TRANSLATORS
LESSON 44: TRANSLATORS, DO YOU KNOW HOW TO NETWORK?
LESSON 43: GIVE ME YOUR BUSINESS CARD…
LESSON 42: WHAT’S THE EASIEST WAY TO MAKE MONEY IN TRANSLATION?
LESSON 41: MUST-HAVES OF A TRANSLATOR’S CV
LESSON 40: NEW IDEAS, NEW BRANDING

Phew, these are just 10 of them.