I started my career from scratch as a freelance translator, so I know from experience that is it difficult to know exactly how to get started in having the right freelance mindset to build a successful translation business. You have the ability to create how you want your business to run, because it is your own business in the end. In this post I am going to present a few powerful tools to remember and talk about a success mindset to have when building your freelance translation business!

It is hard to have a success mindset when building your own freelance translation business, especially when you are new to establishing your own business. These thoughts may be unnoticed at first, but play a big role in our day to day thought process and affect our daily decisions.

Here are a few freelance mindsets you want to stay away from when building your freelance translation business.

Not being good enough for prospective clients

If you start your career off with this mindset it will be detrimental to the progression of your business. You want to present yourself with endless possibilities for further development, and having this mindset will prevent you from looking for those possibilities.

As a freelancer, you want to learn new things as often as possible in every project you take. So staying away from this mindset will allow you to take on projects that may be out of your comfort zone but in the end, advance you farther along in your business.

You’re not an employee – You’re your own business

If you’ve worked jobs in the past that are structured in the sense of a boss/employee relationship or you are in a contract with a company and you have a manager that looks over you, you may be holding onto the mindset of being an employee and not as this being your own business. You essentially work for yourself, you just take on projects or tasks for clients to help them with their business. Tasks that they either need help with or don’t have the knowledge or experience in.

Don’t fall into the endless cycle of treating your client like a manager or boss. Remember they are utilizing you for your knowledge and experience, so don’t let the client treat you like a secondary employee, make sure you are treated as your own employer.

You have to compete on price to find work

This is completely untrue. As a freelancer, you have the ability to set your own rates, and raise your rates as you feel comfortable taking on larger tasks and jobs.

Clients do not buy your time, they buy short-term access to your notable skills. When your skills are needed, a client should be willing to pay the right price for what you have expertise in. Don’t sell yourself short just to acquire projects. Remember to set a reasonable rate for the knowledge and experience you have.

It is really important to keep the right success mindset for building your freelance translation business. Constantly remembering these key points as you build your business will provide you with strong tools to advance you in your freelance career!