让你的自由职业事业为夏季放缓做好准备
This post is a reblog, originally published in the Slator Tool Box. It is reprinted here with permission of the author.
My translation clients are primarily based in Europe, 所以我的项目流程在每年的7月和8月往往会慢一些. 事实证明,欧洲人比美国人更重视暑假. With decision-makers out of the office, 只有最紧急的翻译项目才会发出,而正在进行的工作则被搁置.
我很欣赏这种减少的项目量带来的灵活性, 但我知道我需要在预算中包括相关的收入下降.
如果你的自由职业者业务受到类似季节性波动的影响, you may find it helpful to prepare for them now. 如果你预计今年夏天商业活动会减少,你可以做以下几件事:
Check Your Project Data
大多数财务软件产品都带有有用的报告功能,可以帮助您分析业务状况. For example, QuickBooks有一个“快照”部分,可以自定义比较信息. 当我对多年的月收入进行比较时, July and August are consistently the slowest months, followed by a spike in September.
虽然这样的模式可能不被一个新成立的自由职业者辨认, they emerge clearly after three to five years. 了解自己公司的季节性趋势可以减轻压力,帮助你做出明智的决定.
Run an Expense Forecast
Being financially prepared for an income drop is key. 列出你在夏季需要支付的所有商业/家庭开支. Again, 你前几个月或前几年的财务数据可以为你的典型支出提供有用的见解. 决定如何用从可能减少的项目流程中获得的收入来支付夏季费用.
因为你可能无法指望同样的收入水平, 你的预测也应该考虑到你正在计划的主要购买(新笔记本电脑, etc.) to avoid unnecessary credit card debt.
Manage Your Accounts Receivable
Review what your clients owe you for recent projects, 并采取行动,在暑假前把钱收好. 定期开票和其他行政工作有时会让位于自由职业, but don’t let your accounts payable slide now. If you haven’t already done so, 把你已经完成的所有工作的发票寄出去,并跟进逾期付款.
Tip: I recently asked ChatGPT 帮我写一封友好的提醒邮件给客户. 程序建议的草稿文本帮助我在几分钟内起草了一份礼貌的便条.
Determine Your Summer Work Schedule
Next, think through your own summer plans. If the choice was completely yours, how much time would you like to spend working, and which other activities would you enjoy?
If your data indicates, for instance, 8月中旬往往是一个财政年度中最慢的时候, 与其担心办公室里空空的收件箱,不如休一周假.
On the other hand, 如果你整个夏天都想忙于自由职业的话, 现在就开始联系你的客户,让他们知道你仍然有空. 大型机构的项目经理会很感激,因为他们知道,当许多常规供应商不在办公室时,他们可以联系到你.
经常沟通你的假期计划
当你在度假时,客户给你发工作请求是很正常的, 尤其是当你与某家公司有直接的工作关系时. For optimal communication, mention your vacation plans repeatedly, include OoO time in your email signature, 并礼貌地提醒我你即将回来.
休息后别忘了和客户联系. 度假归来是一个很容易伸出援手的机会. 这取决于你和客户的关系, 给他们写几句话,让他们知道你可以参与新项目.
That can simply look like this:
“Hello, I hope you are doing well. 这封信是想告诉你我从……度假回来了。. We had a lovely time and I especially enjoyed […]. 我现在回到了办公室,准备接受新的项目. 请记住我的新任务在我的语言对.(人工智能可能会想出一个更吸引人的版本.)
As always, 采取行动是摆脱压力或难以控制的局面的最好方法. 您对季节波动和其他影响项目流程的因素了解得越多, 你就越有能力根据自己的商业数据做出合理的决定.
This article first appeared in the Slator ToolBox monthly newsletter. Register here.
About the Author
Dorothee Racette, CT has been a full-time freelance GER < > EN translator for over 25 years. She served as ATA President from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, she established her own coaching business, Take Back My Day, 帮助个人和组织解决与工作流程和时间管理相关的问题. 作为一名永利登录网址的生产力教练(CPC),她现在的工作主要是翻译和指导. Her book Complete What You Started (2020)为完成大型项目提供了蓝图. You can read her blog at takebackmyday.com/blog.
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