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Poll: Has the pandemic changed the way you plan to do business in the future?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jun 13, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Has the pandemic changed the way you plan to do business in the future?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 15:00
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Not at all Jun 13, 2020

The pandemic meant that business was very slow for a while, but as far as I am concerned it picked up quite fast (I have been extremely busy this month). So, I see no reason to change the way I have been doing my business...

Kaisa I
Aline Amorim
Yaotl Altan
Philip Lees
Erik Freitag
 
Barbara Cochran, MFA
Barbara Cochran, MFA  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:00
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Jun 13, 2020

Prices on basic necessities, most notably, those on food, have seen a huge spike in the United States due to the pandemic.
This might end up having a trickle-down effect on what I pay at restaurants, where I often work on translations.

So I'm going to start charging more for my work.

[Edited at 2020-06-13 18:53 GMT]


 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 16:00
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Not at all Jun 13, 2020

And I am not going to let clients pressure me into lowering my prices.

Becca Resnik
Philip Lees
Elena Aclasto
Nathalie Bullen
Alexandra Speirs
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:00
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Jun 13, 2020

I have seen some slack. None of my main clients are back in full swing yet. Rather than accepting work at lower rates, I have used the time to get more organized and expand my horizons. I have overseen the translation of a book into one of my source languages (Portuguese) and edited and footnoted a second one for publication (now with the publisher!). I used to do desktop publishing and I have started to offer these services again. I am also a landscape designer and have done several designs dur... See more
I have seen some slack. None of my main clients are back in full swing yet. Rather than accepting work at lower rates, I have used the time to get more organized and expand my horizons. I have overseen the translation of a book into one of my source languages (Portuguese) and edited and footnoted a second one for publication (now with the publisher!). I used to do desktop publishing and I have started to offer these services again. I am also a landscape designer and have done several designs during the pandemic.Collapse


 
Yaotl Altan
Yaotl Altan  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 09:00
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Not at all Jun 13, 2020

My income is produced mainly in the translation field. I think interpreters will have to modifiy some of their processes because they work in booths and interact with many people, unlike freelance translators.

Romina Pérez Escorihuela
 
Yaotl Altan
Yaotl Altan  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 09:00
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Yes Jun 13, 2020

Teresa Borges wrote:

The pandemic meant that business was very slow for a while, but as far as I am concerned it picked up quite fast (I have been extremely busy this month). So, I see no reason to change the way I have been doing my business...


Yes, like a water channel blocked by a big stone. Now, the big stone is being removed, so be aware of the work stream!


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Jennifer Caisley
 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:00
German to English
No Jun 14, 2020

I've always used a combination of anti-virus programs on my computer
Although I haven't found a covid-19 virus definition, I refuse to wear a mask when I work.


 
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
English to Portuguese
+ ...
More digital nomad than ever Jun 14, 2020

I ran away (actually I flew) from my place in Milano Corona hotspot on March 12 and I have been working from Tajikistan, 50 deaths so far, 12 euros per night for a self-contained single room with aircon and cooking facilities, slow and not very cheap Internet, just like in Italy. This is my sixth time as a digital nomad in Central Asia, and I will keep coming back for more.

Augusto Rochadel
 
Anastasia Kingsley Kinkusic
Anastasia Kingsley Kinkusic  Identity Verified
Member (2011)
Croatian to English
+ ...
Yes to an extent Jun 14, 2020

I decided to expand a bit and offer services in other languages. My colleagues, who are all native speakers, have agreed that o find them work and we will share the profits, ie project management along with high end translation. I personally love larger projects. Like Muriel (above) I used the free time for self-development including honing my writing skills, writing is a long cherished dream of mine. I took two online classes (B-school and the Copy Cure). Meanwhile I have begun dabbling with re... See more
I decided to expand a bit and offer services in other languages. My colleagues, who are all native speakers, have agreed that o find them work and we will share the profits, ie project management along with high end translation. I personally love larger projects. Like Muriel (above) I used the free time for self-development including honing my writing skills, writing is a long cherished dream of mine. I took two online classes (B-school and the Copy Cure). Meanwhile I have begun dabbling with relocation to the Balkans for location independent “wanna be” expats. There seems to be a real interest in this service, and as a 21 year expat, I do know the ropes! So corona wasn’t all bad for me 🤩🙋‍♀️Collapse


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Additional safety measures Jun 15, 2020

From now on there will be absolutely no French kissing without full PPE when clients come to the office.

We owe this much to the community.


Nikolay Novitskiy
Mervyn Henderson (X)
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 16:00
Spanish to English
+ ...
@Chris Jun 15, 2020

And presumably fully disinfected falukorv, too ...

Christopher Schröder
 
Romina Pérez Escorihuela
Romina Pérez Escorihuela  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 12:00
Member (2010)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Yes Jun 15, 2020

Yaotl Altan wrote:

My income is produced mainly in the translation field. I think interpreters will have to modifiy some of their processes because they work in booths and interact with many people, unlike freelance translators.


Long tome no see, colleague! I fully agree with you. As an interpreter, I teamed up with experienced colleagues in town and we are conducting tests with different remote simultaneous interpreting software providers to see which option best suits our clients and be able to offer them a global solution, so that they can organize their business meetings, lectures or conferences while we continue to offer simultaneous interpreting services for them.

I also started to work with transcription - an activity I never enjoyed that much- and, fortunately, translations keep coming as usual.

As regards cost of life, we are used to that here in Argentina, with 40% average annual inflation rates, so... an increase in our rates is a must.


 
Marlene Blanshay
Marlene Blanshay  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 11:00
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
not that much Jun 15, 2020

There was a slow period at the start, mostly March/April. Since then, work has picked up but not all of my clients have returned as yet.
I used some of the slack time to upgrade some of my CAT tool skills and look for new clients...when things return to "normal" I'll hopefully have some new ones.


 
Yalin Zheng
Yalin Zheng
Australia
Yes Jun 16, 2020

From my point of view, it has definitely changed. A lot of business has set to work from home, and work can be completed via virtual meeting, office is not that important. It also teaches me that business contingency plans are also very important and need to be set up and act quickly to reduce possible loss.

 
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Poll: Has the pandemic changed the way you plan to do business in the future?






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