Has the second half of 2020 been good for your business? Thread poster: Yasser El Helw
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Yasser El Helw Egypt Local time: 10:03 Member (2003) Arabic to English + ...
Is there currently a slump in the translation business? I work in the medical field and I am starting to feel it. Have you had to lower your rates recently? It is good to know the general picture to be able to take informed actions. | | |
Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 08:03 Member (2008) Italian to English
Better than the first half ! | | |
It has been good so far | Dec 6, 2020 |
To sum up my year has been as follows: January: good February: very good March: so, so April: regular May: terrible June: excellent July: excellent August: very good September: regular October: very good November: excellent This means that the road has been as bumpy as ever! I must say also that I have noticed, as one might expect, a big drop on translation demand from my consumer-goods clients. ... See more To sum up my year has been as follows: January: good February: very good March: so, so April: regular May: terrible June: excellent July: excellent August: very good September: regular October: very good November: excellent This means that the road has been as bumpy as ever! I must say also that I have noticed, as one might expect, a big drop on translation demand from my consumer-goods clients. Regarding my rates: for my regulars, I haven’t changed them since 2015 (my rates were already on the higher side); for new clients: I prefer quoting on a per-project basis rather than per word. All in all to my surprise (because of the coronavirus pandemic), my business has increased comparing to 2019. ▲ Collapse | | |
January: good February: good March: regular April: very good May: good June: good July: good August: very good September: regular October: regular November: terrible | |
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matt robinson Spain Local time: 09:03 Member (2010) Spanish to English Ups and downs | Dec 6, 2020 |
My work has increased in some areas, but I think there was a slight fall in new projects in some business sectors from March to September, which had an effect on translation volume. I suppose there has been a drop in some areas of medical translation. I imagine in the treatment of patients abroad and the subsequent translation of reports, etc. has fallen due to the fact that the international tourist industry has largely come to a standstill. I have no intention of lowering my rates... See more My work has increased in some areas, but I think there was a slight fall in new projects in some business sectors from March to September, which had an effect on translation volume. I suppose there has been a drop in some areas of medical translation. I imagine in the treatment of patients abroad and the subsequent translation of reports, etc. has fallen due to the fact that the international tourist industry has largely come to a standstill. I have no intention of lowering my rates, and I have not been asked to do so. ▲ Collapse | | |
María C Turri Argentina Local time: 04:03 Member (2019) English to Spanish Medical EN to ES just fine | Dec 7, 2020 |
I haven't noticed any decrease in work in the second semester of 2020, indeed, it was substantially better for me than the first (which was not terrible either, except for May). I mostly translate research on cancer medications and everything seems just fine in this area. I certainly haven't had to lower my rates, quite the opposite really. I hope it gets better for you soon, Jasser!
[Editado a las 2020-12-07 05:45 GMT] | | |
It’s been very quiet. But that’s been very good for my mental health. | | |
Quiet recently | Dec 7, 2020 |
I have had quiet patches this year coinciding with the more severe COVID restrictions but otherwise it's been normal. Things have been quiet over the past few weeks but that's OK as I am studying for a part-time Master's degree and it's been a relief not to have to juggle study with a heavy workload. | |
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Yasser El Helw Egypt Local time: 10:03 Member (2003) Arabic to English + ... TOPIC STARTER Thank you all for your input :-) | Dec 7, 2020 |
Thank you all for your input. Obviously, it is not the same for everyone and there is no general slump. I guess one should always be adding agencies to his/her list of clients. Many times, I suppose, our regular agencies themselves slow down because they get replaced by other younger and more energetic companies. So we have to be constantly expanding our client list! | | |