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Poll: Do you have a written business plan for your translation/interpreting business? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you have a written business plan for your translation/interpreting business?".
View the poll results »
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Michael Harris 
Germany
Local time: 08:19
Member (2006)
German to English
Yes, of course when I started.
Now I do not need one because the plan is up and running.
But most definately for when you start up though - this poll was also made recently, or was it?
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EvaVer (X)
Local time: 08:19
Czech to French
+ ...
| No point writing it when you work alone, | Apr 28, 2014 |
but I do have one in my head and I follow a number of indicators.
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I can't imagine what it would contain. Translation is a quintessentially passive business; we depend on what comes in over the transom. If we expect a lull, we remind our best clients that we will soon be available.
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DianeGM
Local time: 09:19
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
+ ...
I self-funded, so I never needed one, so I never wrote one.
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Helen Hagon
Local time: 07:19
Member (2011)
Russian to English
+ ...
If I was running a larger business which involved other people as employees, investors etc, then I would probably have one. However, I'm not planning to expand my business - there is only me, and as long as I have a reasonably steady flow of work, that is all I need.
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Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 09:19
Turkish to English
+ ...
You need a business plan if you are trying to attract outside financial support. I am self-financing and have a pretty good idea of how my business works, so I do not need one.
[Edited at 2014-04-28 09:58 GMT]
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 08:19
Spanish to English
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 08:19
Spanish to English
+ ...
Michael Harris wrote:
Yes, of course when I started.
Now I do not need one because the plan is up and running.
But most definately for when you start up though - this poll was also made recently, or was it?
Definitely...
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| It is somewhere on my old computer | Apr 28, 2014 |
... incomplete and waiting for when I have time.
I have discovered that plans are something you have until you get hit by reality.
Or as John Lennon said, life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
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I just feel more organized with it. Since we're trying to expand and make more money, it helps to have an idea of what we want to do and a guide on how to do it.
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 08:19
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Christine Andersen wrote:
... incomplete and waiting for when I have time.
I have discovered that plans are something you have until you get hit by reality.
Or as John Lennon said, life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
Yes, at the beginning I did make a business plan and discovered that, when one works alone, it doesn't really work out. All the best plans I've made regarding my career(s) depended too much on others to be reasonably stable. This, however and by all means, is nothing negative.
[Edited at 2014-04-28 15:40 GMT]
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 02:19
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Sound advice | Apr 28, 2014 |
Tim Drayton wrote:
You need a business plan if you are trying to attract outside financial support. I am self-financing and have a pretty good idea of how my business works, so I do not need one.
[Edited at 2014-04-28 09:58 GMT]
Of course, if a self-employed translator wanted to answer yes to the poll question, here are a few follow-up questions to consider:
a) Do you have a mission statement?
b) Do you have a vision statement?
c) Do you have workers' comp or similar compensation plan for your workers in place?
d) What are your plans to branch out and expand to other markets?
e) Are you going to franchise your operations?
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Gabriela Hebin
United States
Local time: 02:19
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Here's my business plan: | Apr 28, 2014 |
1. Deliver a good translation.
2. Get paid.
3. Pay my suppliers.
4. Keep the difference.
There. Now it's written. Now I have to go back and change my answer to "yes" on this survey.
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