Corona's Not to Blame

It's not corona's fault.

If you've lost customers in 2020, it's gonna be easy for you to point the finger at Covid-19.

And if you've tried talking to your now ex-customers, they've probably also told you that it's all because of the new coronavirus - reinforcing your perception of yourself as a helpless victim of circumstances.

But remember this: Customers rarely dump suppliers overnight.

Ending a transactional relationship creates an awkward situation for the former buyer, and human beings instinctively try to avoid awkward situations.

Here's what goes through their minds:

"If I tell them straight out, will they kick up a fuss and go and flame me online?"

"If I try to let them down gently, fob them off by telling them I'll keep them in mind in the future, or just stop sending them work, will they fail to get the message and keep 'reaching out' to me for months?"

So buyers will often continue doing business with a vendor they're no longer happy with.

This happens more frequently than you might think, and it can go on for months, even years!

Until a convenient excuse for cutting ties pops up.

Enter Covid-19!

So if you want to get better results in the future, you should at least be open to the possibility that your orders drying up isn't solely down to the coronavirus.

Corona may be nothing more than the straw that broke the camel's back - or just a convenient excuse.

Keep in mind that your ex-customers might have been delighted to have found you when they sent you that first job.

Back when airline passengers weren't worried whether the guy next to them was carrying a deadly disease - but whether he had Semtex in his shoe.

And they might have been super-satisfied when they received your flawless translations, even showering you with accolades and endorsements.

But that was then.

And this is now.

Things change.

Day by day without most of us even noticing.

What did your city look like in medieval times?

Pretty different from now, I'd guess, but since then, people have been going to bed, waking up, and getting out and about every day without seeing any real change in their environment.

"Oh, look at that, they're covering the street with pebbles so the carts don't get stuck when it rains."

"These new gaslights are pretty cool!"

"Wow! Is that one of those motor cars I've been reading about?"

The changes day to day are subtle, but over time they add up to make the new almost unrecognizable from the old.

It's the same with the world of freelance translation.

Just because you were the dog's bollocks once, it doesn't mean you are anymore.

The world around you has been moving on.

Have you kept pace?

Ask yourselves questions like these to dig deeper:

• Are my rates still competitive?
• Am I still highly qualified compared with other operators in my field and pair?
• Are the deadlines I demand still realistic given the fast-paced world we now live in?

And if you discover a potential issue, take advantage of the free time that getting dumped has generated for you to address it.

Don't be tempted to waste this time by adding to the growing library of online blog posts and articles commiserating about what a terrible time this is to be a freelance translator.

Because you're not Chicken Little and the sky isn't falling.

If you're willing to adapt and apply yourself, you can still make 2020 your best year ever.

We're not even halfway through it, so you still have plenty of time!

Note: I don't want to make you paranoid here. If you're still flooded with work, there's no need to start panicking that you're about to get the shove. Most customers that appear satisfied ARE actually satisfied. But customers that aren't satisfied often APPEAR to be satisfied. Just be aware of this difference and don't have any sleepless nights!

For more insights on freelance translation and how to make a real go of it, check out my ebooks on Amazon/Kindle:

88 WAYS TO BE SUCCESSFUL AS A FREELANCE TRANSLATOR

SUCCESSFUL TRANSLATOR VS. UNSUCCESSFUL FREELANCE TRANSLATOR (SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON)

(Links are for amazon.com, but you will need to purchase from your country's Amazon/Kindle site.)

Also follow me on Instagram (mattstanton_translation) for twice-weekly success tips straight out of the pages of 88WAYS, photoquotes from me, pics from my life here in central Japan, and more!

Best of luck on your journey.

Matt