Forming your own Spanish translation company: Don't let others get you downI've wanted to have my own Spanish translation company ever since I got back from spending some time in Ecuador and really learning about the Spanish culture down there. When I started at the university, I did everything I could to make that dream a reality and after some hard work, I was able to form my own freelance Spanish translation company that I enjoy right now. But it wasn't necessarily easy. There were definitely a fair share of people who either directly or indirectly told me that it wasn't possible, that there were too many translators flooding the market, my skills weren't good enough, etc. But somehow I was able to get through all that negative clutter and start to have some success. The same thing happened when I wanted to build a website to help other translators succeed in their translation businesses. People questioned my motives, said that it was a waste of time, and said that I would never be able to make it successful. But I have made it a success and didn't let others bring me down. The reason I bring this up is because as many of you know (or might not), I made a video and posted it on YouTube which illustrates how I was able to create this site. (You can watch the video "Building your client base" if you haven't seen it.) Well, a couple of days ago I received some comments on the video by someone who obviously is the cynical type that can't be happy for the success of anyone else. Here's what the person wrote initially: "So Site Builder gives regular hippy stoners that can't figure out HTML and basic internet marketing the to chance to be real Certified Translators, that would normally rely on good old fashioned honest reputation and industry word of mouth, the chance to drive traffic to their translation website and gain clients thanks to a massive marketing machine. Cool man! I just hope you don't land a contract to translate the tech documents of the hydro electric dam that is just up the valley from me."So not only was this guy trashing on my website, but he decides who I am and what I'm capable of just because of how I look. I've been accused of being a lot of things, but "hippy stoner" hasn't been one of those. I felt more sad than angry at this post because these types of people are always trying to cut others down. The funny thing was, though, that I received another comment from the same person not three minutes later. Check it out: "Hey, I was a bit harsh to you in the post LOL, I'm just in a cynical mood. I've had a look at your site and you do have some good content. Keep up the good work and best of luck."So he never looked at my site when he wrote the first comment, and then admitted that the site was helpful. So what makes people act this way? Why are there people that insist on trying to make others feel inadequate or incompetent. Their criticism is never constructive and their negativity is unbelievable. So what's my point? Well, as a translator, you will encounter these types of people throughout your career, especially if you're interested in forming your own Spanish translation company or building your own website or whatever. The trick is to not listen to them. That can sometimes be easier said than done, especially when people are constantly getting you down, but remember that it's your life, your dream, and nobody can take that away from you. Back from Spanish translation company. |