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Next Level supports translators and interpreters with five or more years of experience as they seek to achieve their business goals. We provide information for both freelancers and company owners to use in all aspects of their careers, from improving their privacy protections to planning for retirement.

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A Bid Too Far – On Reaching For and Losing Projects

By Next Level | June 28, 2023
A bid too far – On reaching for and losing projects

This post is a reblog, originally published on Tip of the Tongue. It is republished with permission from the author. The question of when a price proposal is too high is quite complex. Last week, I submitted a bid for a specialized service to an experienced professional. In my proposal, I took into account my investments in terms of time and energy as well as my assessment of his perception of value and ability to pay for and appreciate the result. I would like to say the negotiation ended in agreement but, alas, he wrote to me that I was…

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How’s Your English?

By Next Level | November 10, 2021
hows-your-english

Most of us have heard it before: To be a good translator, you have to be a good writer. Today this maxim is truer than ever. Successful translators have always sought to provide high-quality copy to their clients as a way to add value and stand apart from the rest, but the increasing popularity of machine translation gives us even…

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Enhanced Productivity with Text Expansion

By Next Level | October 27, 2021
Enhanced Productivity with Text Expansion

This post is a reblog, originally published in the Audiovisual Division Part of the American Translators Association’s Deep Focus Newsletter, Issue 7 in 2020. It is reposted with permission from the author. I haven’t typed my full name or email address in years. Instead, I type abbreviations that get expanded after I type a punctuation mark or press a trigger key,…

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How to Use Your Website to Get Translation Clients

By Next Level | October 13, 2021
How to Use Your Website to Get Translation Clients

This is a summary post from Tess Whitty’s ebook Quick Start Guide: 10 Steps to an Optimized Website, published in 2019. Having a website is one of the best ways to maximize your online presence. Your website serves as the hub for all your marketing activities and is a good place to store information about your products and services. When…

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Scams and Default to Truth

By Next Level | September 29, 2021
Scams and Default to Truth

This post is a reblog, originally published on the Austin Area Translators & Interpreters Association blog. It is reposted with permission from the author. If you’d walk into a major bookstore today, one of the first books you see on display will have Malcolm Gladwell’s name on it. In one of his books, Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know…

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Setting Goals for Your Freelance Business: An Important Job Satisfaction Tool

By Next Level | September 15, 2021
Setting Goals for Your Freelance Business

I have been teaching business classes for freelance translators for about 15 years, so I’ve seen “under the hood” of many freelancers’ businesses. The truth is, when we talk about goal-setting in our freelance businesses, many freelancers have amorphous goals (“earn more money,” “find better clients”) or no goals at all, because their business management strategy consists of two steps:…

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When School Comes Home: Making Room in the Day for Distance Learning

By Next Level | July 12, 2021
When School Comes Home: Making Room in the Day for Distance Learning

This article originally appeared in the ATA Chronicle-Online. Once upon a time, in a land that now seems very far away, many parents were able to work as freelancers from their homes. They did this in part by sending their children to another, much larger building five days a week. The children would gather with friends and adults called “teachers”…

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What the Business Practices Education Committee is Doing for ATA Members

By Next Level | June 9, 2021

An earlier version of this article appeared in The ATA Chronicle. Have you ever asked yourself: What’s the Business Practices Education Committee up to these days? Probably not. In fact, you are more likely wondering: What is the Business Practices Education Committee? For the uninitiated: The Business Practices Education Committee was established in 2005 to provide ATA members with information…

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What are ATA’s Mastermind Groups?

By Next Level | April 6, 2021

Mastermind groups are small peer-based groups formed to learn more about a specific topic. The members of Mastermind groups help each other solve problems and develop their professional objectives by sharing input and advice. The groups’ core value is the synergy of energy, motivation, and commitment, as well as everyone’s willingness to learn and grow together. The ATA Mentoring Committee…

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EIDL and PPP2: 2021 Edition, Part II

By Next Level | January 25, 2021

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute professional financial, tax, or legal advice, and neither the author nor the American Translators Association (ATA) assumes any warranty, implied or expressed, for the accuracy or applicability of any information contained therein. It should not be relied on to make financial or other decisions affecting your business or personal situation. Before taking any financial,…

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EIDL and PPP2: 2021 Edition, Part I

By Next Level | January 15, 2021

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute professional financial, tax, or legal advice, and neither the author nor the American Translators Association (ATA) assumes any warranty, implied or expressed, for the accuracy or applicability of any information contained therein. It should not be relied on to make financial or other decisions affecting your business or personal situation. Before taking any financial,…

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