1. BUSINESS PLAN FOR INTERPRETERS
TIPS & STRATEGIES

2. INTRODUCTION
 Working as a Freelancer
 Pros & Cons
 How to Work from Home
 Writing a Business Plan
 Business Profile
 Marketing Research
 Marketing Plan
 Finances
 How to Find Clients
 Agencies
 Direct Clients

3.  Flexibility
 Implement your own
ideas
 Create your own brand
 Motivation
 Work-life balance
WORKING AS A FREELANCER
Pros Cons
No fixed salary
High liability
Distraction
Working 24/7

4. HOW TO WORK FROM HOME
 Have a dedicated workspace
 Establish a business routine
 Be disciplined with your time
 Keep away from distractions
 Invest in a good desk and chair

5. BUSINESS PLAN: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
PLANNING, PLANNING & PLANNING!
 It’s your business route map
 It reflects your business vision
 It helps you to achieve targets
 Can be used as a ‘military strategy’
 It motivates you and helps you to focus
 It will help you to project your business to future clients

6. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
Business
Profile
Marketing
Research
Marketing
Plan
Finances

7. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
BUSINESS PROFILE
Your vision
 What are you going to achieve?
 Where do you see yourself in the
next 2-5 years?
You as a main point
 Why are you unique to this
business?
Your product
 What are you going to offer?
 Methods of trading
 How are you going to sell
your product?
 Start-up costs
 How much would you need to
start the business?

8. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING RESEARCH
Gaining information on your target market
Understanding key factors that influence buying decisions
 Market Knowledge
 Understand how your industry works
 Google as your main ally
 Narrow your research (location, language combination)

9. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING RESEARCH
 Competition
 Identify your main competitors
 Put yourself in the client’s shoes
 Assess each area (quality, service, marketing strategy, business structure
etc.)
 Perform SWOT analysis
 Strengths and weaknesses
 Networking, events, social media opportunities
 Potential threats

10. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING RESEARCH

11. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING RESEARCH
 Potential clients
 Identify your clients (agencies, direct clients)
 Identify your clients’ needs
 How do they reach your industry?

12. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING RESEARCH
… And now what?
 Organise gained data
 Identify potential gaps
 Determine how you want to run your
business
 Establish the level of business you expect
to achieve

13. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
It helps you to define the right service to offer to clients at the right price
The P+
 Product
 Price
 U.S.P
 Promotion
 Preparation (equipment & material)

14. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
 Product
Define your service
Language combination
Interpreting, translation etc.
Think about your previous experience & your skills

15. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
 Price
Identify your position in the market
Value your skills
Take all expenses into consideration
Create your own price list
Define any special promotions (Free
quote, referral discount etc.)
Find the right balance
Refer to ITI/CIOL 2011 Rates &
Salaries Survey

16. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
 Unique Selling Point
What sets you apart from the rest?
Ask your peers, lecturers, friends & family or existing clients
Outline benefits for your clients
Projected through the way you communicate
Always be loyal to your U.S.P.

17. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
 Promotion
Set your targets when promoting
Outline your promotional mix
Set out a monthly timetable to promote your business

18. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
 Preparation (equipment & material)
 Be organised
 Prepare folder structure
 Have a simple and clear structure
 Keep your work folder separate from the rest
 Organise your work folder (client, service etc.)
 Choose & assign codes to projects
 Create a specific ‘glossaries & terminology’ folder for each client

19. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
 Preparation (equipment & material)
 PC & Tablet
 Smartphone
 Terminology management solutions
 Dropbox & TeamViewer
 Hard disk
 Nitro Professional/ BCL

20. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
 Preparation (equipment and material)
 Prepare all templates
 Create them in all your working languages
 Don’t forget to spell check them!

21. WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
FINANCES
 Finances
 Set a personal monthly budget
 Plan for slow months
 Regularly review your business activity
 Keep a record of all projects, costs &
expenses
 Produce a strategy to chase payments
It will help you to define your financial requirements and your financial structure

22. HOW TO FIND CLIENTS
 Be proactive when researching
 Use LinkedIn actively
Exchange ‘introductions’ with your connections
Send a message to new viewers (potential clients)
 Collaborate with your peers

23. HOW TO FIND CLIENTS
Agencies
 Consult ‘The top 100 Language Service Providers’ document by N. Kelly & D. DePalma
 Use an introduction email
Keep it short and to the point
Use bold characters to highlight key words
Avoid ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ or ‘To whom it may concern’
Attach CV
Specify services, areas of expertise, qualifications, memberships
Include links to your website/LinkedIn profile/Twitter or FB page
Proofread it
 Follow up with an email
 Remind them of your availability
 Attend agencies’ open days and let PMs know you

24. HOW TO FIND CLIENTS
Direct Clients
 Identify international businesses
 Speak to the right person
 Contact PR, event and marketing consulting companies
 Attend networking events
Events arranged by the Chamber of Commerce
Meet up (http://www.meetup.com/)
Check the schedule of events for exhibition centres
 Use a marketing email
Present your service as a solution
List your service and your U.S.P.
Offer a free quote

25. RESOURCES
 The Prosperous Translator. Advice from Fire Ant & Worker Bee
by Chris Durban
 The Entrepreneurial Linguist. The business-school approach to
freelance translation by Judy A. Jenner & Dagmar V. Jenner
 How to start your own business by Robert Ashton
 Business Launchpad (http://www.businesslaunchpad.org.uk/)

26. CONTACTS
Email: yleniagoffredo@hotmail.com
Twitter: @ileniagoffredo
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ileniagoffredo