Poll: How much do you invest (EUR/yr) in your translation business (hardware, software, marketing, etc.)? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How much do you invest (EUR/yr) in your translation business (hardware, software, marketing, etc.)?".
This poll was originally submitted by Rod LeQuerica
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more informatio... See more This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How much do you invest (EUR/yr) in your translation business (hardware, software, marketing, etc.)?".
This poll was originally submitted by Rod LeQuerica
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629 ▲ Collapse
| | | | LATAM Agent 
United States
Local time: 14:16
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Poll is worthless without indicating the period "in 2005" | Feb 14, 2006 |
ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How much do you invest (EUR/yr) in your translation business (hardware, software, marketing, etc.)?". This poll was originally submitted by Rod LeQuericaView the poll hereA forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629
| | | | Aurora Humarán (X)
Argentina
Local time: 18:16
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Interesting poll, Rod! | Feb 14, 2006 |
Judging from the numbers I see so far...we do not invest very much on our own business. It would be interesting to know if we don't invest on marketing/PC/software:
1) because we have no money left 'at the end of the month'
2) because we see advertising not as an investment but as an expenditure.
Au (strong supporter of investing in my own business: web page, advertising, etc.)
| | | | Latin_Hellas (X)
United States
Local time: 23:16
Italian to English
+ ...
| Capacity and/or profitability | Feb 14, 2006 |
My own experience so far is that investment in technology and advertising helps to increase capacity, but whether it helps to increase profitability in the medium/long-term I still have to determine. It certainly is worth a try in my view.
There is a fine line between investment and expense in qualitative terms. If such spending produces returns, then I suppose it is an investment, if not, then an expense.
Either way, to spend or not to spend, to pr... See more My own experience so far is that investment in technology and advertising helps to increase capacity, but whether it helps to increase profitability in the medium/long-term I still have to determine. It certainly is worth a try in my view.
There is a fine line between investment and expense in qualitative terms. If such spending produces returns, then I suppose it is an investment, if not, then an expense.
Either way, to spend or not to spend, to produce returns or not to produce returns, we all take our chances. ▲ Collapse
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Sandra C.
France
Local time: 23:16
English to French
+ ...
For those who answered +20k EUR/year, I would like to know what they chose to invest in. Is it really business-related? I don't mean to pry, but it sounds like such a large sum...
| | | | Pilar T. Bayle (X)
Local time: 23:16
English to Spanish
+ ...
For those who answered +20k EUR/year, I would like to know what they chose to invest in.
It could be a Master's degree or another university degree (or just credits in certain topics/fields). They are awfully expensive.
P.
www.pbayle.com/blogs
| | | | Dusica Cook
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 23:16
English to Bosnian
+ ...
it is difficult to answer... in 2005 i invested about 6k, but in 2003 and 2004 i invested nothing! so... should i have taken the average for three years? or should i have taken the average for all 15 years of my translation activity? hm...
| | | | Clare Barnes
Sweden
Local time: 23:16
Swedish to English
+ ...
| as a percentage... | Feb 14, 2006 |
It would be easier to make comparisons if this question was formulated as a percentage of your annual income... I suspect that business expenses in Europe are in a different league to those in some parts of Asia, but may have just the same effect.
I had a relatively high expenditure in 2005, but I also noticed that the advertising paid itself off at least ten times over, as did the membership of a local marketing association. So far most of my investments have been worth it - the on... See more It would be easier to make comparisons if this question was formulated as a percentage of your annual income... I suspect that business expenses in Europe are in a different league to those in some parts of Asia, but may have just the same effect.
I had a relatively high expenditure in 2005, but I also noticed that the advertising paid itself off at least ten times over, as did the membership of a local marketing association. So far most of my investments have been worth it - the one relatively expensive mistake I made was in 2004 with a listing in the Yellow Pages. You live and learn (I didn't get a single customer through them)!
[Edited at 2006-02-14 17:58] ▲ Collapse
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John Walsh
Italy
Local time: 23:16
Italian to English
Sandra Chiancone wrote: For those who answered +20k EUR/year, I would like to know what they chose to invest in. Is it really business-related? I don't mean to pry, but it sounds like such a large sum...
costs me about 1,000 a month.
| | | | | Expenditures as investments | Feb 15, 2006 |
I was amazed to see the preliminary results of this poll revealing that about 85% of ProZ.com translators spend no more that EUR 3K per year on their business. My question to all that answered in this range would be the following: do you want to continue as a freelance translator or do you want to grow and expand into a viable, profitable business? If you answer that you want to grow and expand into a viable business, then you must consider investing in your future.
My more than... See more I was amazed to see the preliminary results of this poll revealing that about 85% of ProZ.com translators spend no more that EUR 3K per year on their business. My question to all that answered in this range would be the following: do you want to continue as a freelance translator or do you want to grow and expand into a viable, profitable business? If you answer that you want to grow and expand into a viable business, then you must consider investing in your future.
My more than 20 years of experience in the business has shown that you must investment in your business to make it grow. I know that sometimes it is hard when you are first starting out but if you really want to stay in the business and your commitment is long-term (this point is important), you must invest. Especially in the areas of marketing and publicity.
If you want to continue as a freelance, well then maybe this is different. But if you want to attract new clients without having to go through a middle-man or company, then you must market your services.
Here in the U.S. (I'm not familiar with Europe or other parts of the world, sorry), one of the best ways of doing this is in the telephone directory, and now through the Internet. Through the phone book, you will attract local companies and businesses, as well as private individuals. But as your reputation grows, these companies and individuals will refer you to other companies and businesses. But it all starts out with a presence in the phone book. Most phone directory companies now offer advertising via the Internet. This greatly expands your coverage.
Here in the U.S., marketing through the phone book and Internet is expensive, especially if you want to expand your coverage and go beyond your local area or home town. But the bottom line is you must spend money - invest money - to grow.
Hope this helps and gives encouragement to those of you that are ready to make a commitment to your business. For me, it has been personally rewarding. Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | expenditures are much higher | Feb 15, 2006 |
The poll is about investing money it's not about expenditures.
In my particular case expenditures are much higher than investments.
BTW:
in the Netherlands, investing in telephone directory listings is like pouring your hard earned money down the drain. You will attract both private persons and those pathetic competitors that try to check out your business by posing as a potential.
Gloria Carranza wrote:
I was amazed to see the preliminary results of this poll revealing that about 85% of ProZ.com translators spend no more that EUR 3K per year on their business. --snip--
[Edited at 2006-02-15 09:02]
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