Hello everyone!
Today I want to talk about financial success for translators. I’ve just completed a Summit about it, organized by translator Moira Monney, and I found all the sessions remarkably interesting. I learned so much from colleagues in the industry and also from financial experts.
The speakers’ goal was to help you find more clients, increase your income, and master your money.
The Summit lasted a whole week and had speakers like Nicole König, Virginia Katsimpiri, Tess Whitty, Yayi Samaké, Martina Russo, Dr. Jonathan Downie, and Moira Monney herself!
As freelance translators, we don’t often think about what financial success means to us and how exactly to get there.
I’d like to share some of the tips that I learned during the Summit, which I think can help us all!
Your beliefs around money also reflect your beliefs about yourself, who you are, and what you deserve for your work. This is so true! We tend not to be aware of the worth of our work.
In most cases, more money will not solve the problem. Your current need for more money, your cash flow problem, is a symptom. You need to dig deeper to find the root cause.
You need to work with your end goal in mind. Start with your annual target income, then break that down to monthly and even weekly income, so you can immediately see whether you’re on the right track, or if you need to ramp up your marketing efforts. You might even discover that you can take some additional vacation time! We all need vacation time, so let’s start working on our financial goal!
You need to make sure that what you spend your money on actually pays off. If it doesn’t, you need to stop those expenses and invest in things that will help you get more work.
Budgets are your friends. If you set your budget based on past expenses, it doesn’t have to feel restrictive, and you’ll actually create a realistic and reasonable spending plan for what you’ll need.
It’s recommended to have separate bank accounts for different purposes, e.g., profit, regular expenses, savings. This is a particularly good and helpful tip!
Make sure that you have the relevant insurance in place (e.g., health insurance, disability insurance) in case something happens to you and your ability to work. I know that, especially in the beginning, it can be challenging to have insurance if your income is not enough for that. But as soon as you start making more money, make sure to get one, you’ll be grateful for that!
They talked about how it’s a good idea to record your newly identified, empowered money beliefs and listen to that recording every morning. Then choose one action that you’ll take that day to show yourself that those beliefs are true.
If bookkeeping is not for you, make sure to use an accountant to save time and money. This depends on whether you are an entrepreneur or a company, and also on the financial and tax laws in your country. Also, an accountant can be expensive, so make sure you can afford it.
Pay yourself a “salary.” Transfer the same amount of money from your business account to your personal account every month. I’ve been doing that, and it really works!
Identify your needs vs. your wants to decide what expenses to limit. Be grateful for what you already have. The pandemic and the lockdown can make us believe that we need more things than we already have, but most of the time, this is just a trick. Be careful not to spend on things you don’t need!
Remember, there is no such thing as financial security. Your house could burn down, the company you invested in could go bust, your bank could collapse. But you can plan. Be financially independent, have a plan for your money, and diversify your revenue. Invest in yourself. Education pays huge dividends. No one can take away your knowledge!
Gamify! If you have a certain amount of money allocated to groceries, for example, and you don’t spend it all, put the remainder in a jar or an account earmarked for your next vacation or some other goal or dream you have.
Keep track of your finances. Know exactly how much you have and how much you can spend. When you buy something with your credit card, immediately consider it gone from your bank account (write it down/enter it in an app!). That way, you won’t go into debt. That being said, also try to use your credit card just for emergency expenses.
Set up and automatic monthly transfer to your savings account. Don’t touch the savings account. I am also doing this; we truly never know what can happen next, and having savings can help you get through a rough time.
Which of these tips can you apply straight away?
Let me know what you think about these tips and what it means for you to have or reach financial success in your career! I cannot wait to read your comments and remember to subscribe to my blog to get the latest posts directly in your inbox!
Until next time, take care and be safe!
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Translation Expert 