No translator is an island

Freelance translators are used to starting up their business and running it all on their own, and are usually doing a good job with it too. But once you reach a certain point, you find that you spend more time on marketing and administration and less time on income generating work and have less free time. To me, the work-life balance is very important and part of the reason I started freelancing. My family comes first, then my work. However, I would not be happy if I did not have a thriving business to occupy my brain and energy with. This is when I come to the point of this blog post. I cannot do all the work myself, and still have a happy balance in life.

How do you do to not end up working on your own? Here are some of my suggestions:

1. Outsource what you do not enjoy doing or what does not grow the business. I outsource house cleaning, accounting on a regular basis. On top of this I also hire other valuable freelancers to do things they are experts on and that I do not really have time to work very hard on, such as ad copy and SEO for my website.
2. Find trusted colleagues to collaborate with. I use colleagues for proofreading services and as backup for when I am on vacation.
3. Socialize with colleagues or clients. Attend conferences and local get-togethers (also to build your business) and use social media to exchange ideas, ask and answer question and learn useful things.
4. Spend time with your nearest and dearest to rejuvenate, reenergize and have a happy, well balanced life.

Do you have any other ideas on connecting and collaborating? Please share!

Originally posted by Tess on Swedish Translation Services