Poll: In terms of business, I consider myself:
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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May 29, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In terms of business, I consider myself:".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:25
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other May 29, 2020

Considering the difference between experienced and expert (experienced is someone who has experience and skill in a subject while expert is someone who is extraordinarily capable or knowledgeable), I'm between semi-experienced and expert, meaning that I'm more than semi-experienced but lack a lot to be an expert...

 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:25
Member (2008)
Italian to English
.... May 29, 2020

In terms of business, I consider myself:


..not Machiavellian enough. Insufficiently focussed on befriending other people in order to take advantage of them. Too ready to give away valuable information that I ought to keep for myself. Too generous with advice and support for others without asking for anything in return. Not greedy. Not in pursuit of success, fame, or money. Hopeless at making the most of my abilities. I've allowed myself to be used by others, for their advantage, more times than I care to remember. In short, I'm terrible at business. The very fact that I'm willing to admit this is probably further evidence that I'm no good at business. Admitting to vulnerability is definitely bad for business.

Fortunately there are other things in life than being good at business.



[Edited at 2020-05-29 09:48 GMT]


Alexandra Speirs
Pavle Perencevic
Paul Adie (X)
Philip Lees
neilmac
Elizabeth Tamblin
Jaime Oriard
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 23:25
French to English
. May 29, 2020

I hate the business side of freelancing which is why I stayed for so long at the agency. Yet I seem to manage to negotiate fairly well, I don't compromise on price because my quality is valuable. I seem to come up with telling arguments - like the time I just straight out said "well if you want your book written in Globish I'm afraid I'm not the right person to work with you" and the other time when I said "yes I could drop my price, but if I do, I'll be angry with myself. You want a translation... See more
I hate the business side of freelancing which is why I stayed for so long at the agency. Yet I seem to manage to negotiate fairly well, I don't compromise on price because my quality is valuable. I seem to come up with telling arguments - like the time I just straight out said "well if you want your book written in Globish I'm afraid I'm not the right person to work with you" and the other time when I said "yes I could drop my price, but if I do, I'll be angry with myself. You want a translation that'll sparkle, and I can't do sparkly when I'm feeling grumpy."
Apart from these rare moments I don't suppose I'm really all that efficient at business. But then, I'm not at all interested in getting rich.
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Tom in London
Igor Lee
Zibow Retailleau
Villő Ujvári
Mina Chen
Pavle Perencevic
Philip Lees
 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:25
French to English
Other May 29, 2020

Completely useless.

Tom in London
Philip Lees
 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 23:25
Member
English to French
An expert May 29, 2020

in an "industry" where juggernauts think that 20 euros/hour is what expertise costs.
That was is terms of experience and skills, in all modesty.

Retry: in terms of business, I'm a beginner trying to lure people into thinking that translators should earn very decent money provided they deliver very usable stuff aimed at conquering new territories and earning a lot more money.

Philippe

EDIT: I didn't read the question properly.

[Edited at 2020-05
... See more
in an "industry" where juggernauts think that 20 euros/hour is what expertise costs.
That was is terms of experience and skills, in all modesty.

Retry: in terms of business, I'm a beginner trying to lure people into thinking that translators should earn very decent money provided they deliver very usable stuff aimed at conquering new territories and earning a lot more money.

Philippe

EDIT: I didn't read the question properly.

[Edited at 2020-05-29 12:03 GMT]
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Chié_JP
Chié_JP
Japan
Local time: 07:25
Member (2013)
English to Japanese
+ ...
Awful May 29, 2020

If I had more business talent I would have been doing other jobs. I also read good people make less money (by selling good quality at small price, very understandable claim).

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 19:25
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
.... May 30, 2020

After 32 years...

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:25
Spanish to English
+ ...
Semi-experienced May 30, 2020

I consider myself experienced enough to know what kind of jobs I can take on and which I should refuse, and experienced enough to know that the admin side of things is not my strong point and that I don't really enjoy it.

 
amarpaul
amarpaul  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 03:55
English to Punjabi
+ ...
Being humane and trying to remain human is definitely a disadvantage in business ... May 30, 2020

Tom in London wrote:

In terms of business, I consider myself:

..not Machiavellian enough. Insufficiently focussed on befriending other people in order to take advantage of them. Too ready to give away valuable information that I ought to keep for myself. Too generous with advice and support for others without asking for anything in return. Not greedy. Not in pursuit of success, fame, or money. Hopeless at making the most of my abilities. I've allowed myself to be used by others, for their advantage, more times than I care to remember. In short, I'm terrible at business. The very fact that I'm willing to admit this is probably further evidence that I'm no good at business. Admitting to vulnerability is definitely bad for business.

Fortunately there are other things in life than being good at business.


... but we can't all be rapacious capitalists, can we Tom


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 15:25
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jun 4, 2020

Given the many decades that I've been in business, I'm doing as well as I ever will.

 


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Poll: In terms of business, I consider myself:






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