3D marketing – the importance of physically meeting potential clients

 

[conversation between three businesspeople*]

In the age of digital tools, Covid and high transportation costs, not to mention some wars in certain parts of the world, the norm, at least in business circles, has become to search and meet potential customers online. It is clearly more convenient in terms of time and personal exposure. Despite these advantages, in terms of making a lasting impression, physical contact remains more effective in creating business contacts. Admittedly, it does require some personal effort and time investment, which are the precise reasons for its impact. Not only is this type of contact effective, it is not difficult to find opportunities to meet both potential customers and colleagues both near and far.

The strength of personal physical contact, as compared to online venues, is that people can size each other up and create a strong impression of each other. While Internet interactions require less time and involve less personal risk , they are also far more forgettable. It difficult to obtain and retain an impression of a person on the basis of text or spoken conversation only. Personal meetings add the vital element of body language and face recognition. The name, face, body, personality and professional aspects of a person combine and form a strong image. That person may not need your service today but will likely remember the person with whom they had a conversation at a marketing event. Human beings still prefer to hire professionals that they have a basis to trust, however intuitive that trust may be.

It is true that to create such contacts, it is necessary to commit time and energy to leaving the comfort of one’s office. Business meetings can easily take up half of a day or take from precious evening time at home. Furthermore, unlike online communication, real conversation requires putting energy into a conversation, searching for positive questions and comments and putting effort to create a positive impression. For many freelancers, this task is quite intimidating. However, it is important to remember that social interaction can include not only conversation leadership but also asking questions and suggesting solutions, which are easier roles for quieter folk. Both potential customers and colleagues admire the skill of listening well and asking relevant questions. It makes the speaker feel important, an important part of creating a positive impression. Thus, even the less social skilled can successfully make business contacts in person.

The main focus of marketing activities of all kinds should be meeting potential customers. Most towns of even small size have various business groups of the BNI/Rotary Club type or other more focused forums. By participating in them, entrepreneurs gains contacts with numerous business customers they would not otherwise meet. On a regional basis, many banks and digital organizations, such as Easy in Israel, have periodical gatherings of participating business. It is worthwhile investing several hours in meeting other business owners, who have no problem with direct marketing as they are doing the same. The participant often receives a free meal for the small price of having to listen to some marketing speech. Another ideal venue are group meetings, notably conventions buisness fairs, whose partipants are our target audience, whether providers of a specific services, such as financial or service services, or share a common background, such as immigrants from certain countries and users of a certain service. A time investment in meeting these groups can produce great fruits. The best advice that I did not take when I started as a translator was “go to your customers”. It is still relevant.

Do not neglect your colleagues. While occasionally they are competitors, they are far more often sources of knowledge and jobs. No entrepreneur or even company knows and does everything. Thus, it is quite possible that these entities may need the service you provide at some time or another. Make the effort to make an impression before they require such a service. You will be first in their minds. Ideal venues include professional events such as conferences and lectures. One extremely effective way of making connections is to host a small get-together of similar professions. It is surprising how much knowledge and business can be attained over a cake and coffee. As the song goes, I get by with a little help of a friend. It is important to go out and make one from among your colleagues.

Digital marketing is here to stay.  At the same time, maybe because of the decline in use, personal marketing is not only more effective in creating positive impression but also far more efficient in creating business. It mainly requires investment of time and energy. To quote Oscar Wilde, the only thing worst then being talked about is not being talked about. Go out and try it.

P.S. I am practicing what I preach. I recently attended an event hosted by my bank for its business customers and made at least three meaningful contacts. I am also giving in-person lectures at the KTLC and ATA translation conferences in September and October, respectively.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit

On seizing opportunity -the sometimes long and windy road to success

 

[path through mouintains*]

Warren Buffett is famous for emphasizing the importance of seeking and seizing opportunities. For service, providers, the best opportunities occur when the potential buyer has already decided to seek the services or products a business has to offer. Under those circumstances, the customer will properly consider any reasonable offer. However, despite the increased probability, there is no guarantee of an immediate deal. Curiously, the lack of immediate success does not necessarily mean failure as the act of making an offer often creates its momentum, which leads to later, sometimes unforeseen opportunities as I recently experienced.

The best opportunities for service providers is when potential customers publicize their needs for a specific service whether in a forum or service hub or other source. At this point, if the matter is relevant in terms of material and rate,  the provider merely needs to send an initial contact either with a full proposal or a request for more details. The customer has an interest to examine each proposal but generally has several options if the notice was public. For example, when an individual or business posts a request for translation on proz.com or a Facebook forum, unless the subject matter or deadline is extreme, a large number of freelancers may respond. These responses vary in relevance and skill, with the certain providers having an advantage in attaining the job due to their professional background, price and/or communication skills. Clearly, better proposals have a higher chance of winning but there is no guarantee of success as the provider knows neither the level of competition nor the mindset of the customer. These service requests are easiest way to market as the customers themselves opened the door.

Yet, even if the potential customer does not accept the proposal, the freelancer, including translators, editors and writers, may eventually gain a client. Occasionally, the initial provider fails to provide a suitable product or any prodcut at all. Sometimes, the customer is highly impressed with the skills of the service provider but already had awarded that job. However, when another opportunity arises, the customer, often agencies in the case of translation, contact that service provider. The additional opportunity may in the same week or even in the next year. The key point is that the freelancer made a positive impression without even being aware of that fact. The initial proposal eventually bears fruit.

To demonstrate, in the last few weeks, I have gained a new customer and also conducted a paid webinar. Neither was expected but both were results of taking the initiative. In the first case, I had submitted a proposal for a translation in response to a notice in a forum but never received any response, an extremely common pattern in the translation industry. Out of the blue, that same agency contacted last week and requested a quote for another translation, which was immediately accepted. My first bid, unknown to me, had created the opportunity to begin collaboration with that agency. On a more surprising note, I submitted a proposal for a lecture on plain English for legal writing at the American Translators Association conference a year ago. The organizers did not accept the proposal as it receives far more proposals than it has lecture hours. However, to my joy, I just gave that lecture in teh form of a paid webinar. The administrators chose it among the unaccepted proposals. In other words, if I had not submitted that proposal, they would not have contacted me.

To succeed in the long term, freelancers must seek opportunities. Therefore, it is advisable to apply for every relevant project on condition the service provider has the skills to properly complete it.  That technique involves consistent and significant effort. Even under the best circumstances, it does not guarantee immediate success. Still, the fruit of that effort often only arises long after the initial proposal in ways that are unforeseen. The way to success is often rather long and windy.

* Pictures enable the blind to fully access the Internet.

Picture credits

Entrepreneurial vision and uncertainty

 

[eyes in glasses*]

It is said that business success requires vision. While essentially true, the statement is more complex than it appears because, as in intelligence, multiple types of vision exist. Since no single person is born with the perfect multifocal to have ideal sight in all matters, sole entrepreneurs are at a disadvantage as compared to companies or partnerships. Consequently, freelancers need to harness their special vision and take into account their blind spots.

[man with magnifying glass]

One type of practical vision is the ability to quickly and intuitively identify immediate solutions for short-term problems. People with this talent identify the essential elements and ignore distractors. Clearly, careful analysis can provide solutions but requires more time. To demonstrate, Israel television (sorry, I cannot remember which channel and which time) interviewed an engineering student at Ben Gurion University in the Negev in Beer Sheva with a special talent for solving problems. Disturbed by pigeons on his balcony, he created a raven robot with visual sensors and combined it with a small water pistol. Whenever, a pigeon landed on the balcony, it received a wet welcome. This is one of countless robotic solutions he had invented. None of them were technologically complicated but all were imaginative and out of the box. Thus, this vision involves intuitively creating effective solutions to defined problems.

[eye glasses in dark clouds]

While less positive in both point of view and appreciation, some individuals have the ability to foresee issues that will cause problems in the future. There was an episode in the program The Twilight Zone in 1960 entitled The Purple Testament about a soldier that suddenly received the terrible ability to identify who would die in the next battle. In his case, this sixth sense was of no use even in preventing his own death but in business it is often quite important to identify and avoid negative and expensive issues in the future by applying simple means in the present. Most people find it difficult to distinguish exaggerated fears from reasonable assessments but a few truly know how to avoid minefields.

[boy with binonculars]

Finally, some people have the incredible ability to envision the future before others. In 1950, Ray Bradbury wrote the short story There will come soft rains in which the star is an automated house in which all functions are programmed, from cleaning the house to preparing food. The irony of the story is that its residents had been incinerated by a nuclear bomb and were no longer alive. More than 70 years later, this level of automation is not only practical but also already in existence. Inventors and startups depend on this ability to imagine a completely different future. Many claim to be prophets but only a few truly have the ability to see the future.

[cat with one eye]

Clearly, a special ability to focus on any of these three types of visions (or any other) involves a certain blindness in others, putting sole entrepreneurs at a disadvantage. Companies can hire as many talented personnel as their budget allows. Partnerships create synergy as in the musical partnership of Rogers and Hammerstein (Sound of Music and King and I, et al). Freelancers may have special talent in any single area but tend to be rather less skilled in others. For example, a person may be an excellent problem solver but lack any ability to even imagine what will be in five years. Thus, the lack of multifocal vision limits the potential of freelancers.

[Mr. Magoo cartoon image]

The partial solution is to recognize weaknesses, use outsiders, strive to improve and accept imperfection. The first step in solving in any problem is recognizing its existence. For example, there is no shame for a person to admit that long-term planning is not a forte. Once a person understands that there is an issue, two solutions, not exclusive to each other, are to enlist the assistance of another person either through outsourcing or community building, and work to improve the skills by reading, listening and studying experts. While maybe the skill not become  a strength, the freelancer will then be able to better decisions on those matters. Of course,  human beings always reserve the right of resignation, i.e., emotional acceptance of the inability and its consequences. If a person lacks the ability to foresee problems and is not willing to somehow overcome it for whatever reasons, the resulting waste of time, energy and money are acceptable prices, unavoidable if you will. While not ideal, this last option is the choice of many if not most people in the face of their incompetencies.

[see-no-evil kermit threesome]

Werner Heisenberg’s theory of uncertainty postulates that it is impossible to fully focus on position and speed at the same time, i.e., one certainty is at the expense of the other. Individuals may have perfect vision in one matter but often suffer from a certain degree of blindness in other matters. For companies and partnership, synergy is the solution. For freelancers, the solution is to strive to the best possible, get help if necessary and maybe accept one’s limitations. There is always a level of uncertainty in any business vision.

* Picture captions allow the blind to fully access the Internet.

All pictures via Pixabay except for the Mr. Magoo image

Being there – the importance of writing it as they read it

 

[Karmiel storefront*]

One of most important pieces of advice I received when I opened my business as a translator, which I regret I was slow to take, was the need to be where my customers are. In simple terms, it is impossible to attain customers if they don’t know you exist. This obvious fact is applicable to both freelancers and retailers for both services and goods. Potential customers need to be able to gather information about a business, taking into account, especially today, a short attention time. In the current market, this communication occurs far less through physical presence and speaking but instead mainly in online forums in written language.

It is specifically that mode of communication that poses a hidden challenge to businesses. It is true that there over one billion people that speak English as a first or second language. However, by contrast, only around 40% of those write and read English as a first language, with most of those concentrated in a few countries. This discrepancy implies that while English may be the lingua franca of international speech, the reality is far different when it comes to written texts for the general public. It is important to keep in mind that first language reading skills significantly reduce the effort required to read, scan, decipher and identify text. By contrast, for the vast majority, reading is second language demands far more concentration with much less success, especially in quickly navigating websites. Given the people prefer to work less hard, readers will almost always prefer text in their native language unless the translation is of noticeably poor quality. Thus, when it comes creating a successful presence, having text written in the local language, not English, is vital.

One domain of ever-increasing importance is websites. As commerce becomes more global and business reach out to customers worldwide, it is vital to make sure that at minimum the vital sections of an informational or sales website  are available in the language of the intended audience. Businesses strive to streamline purchase processes to reduce the number of uncompleted sales. Since reading a foreign language significantly lower comprehension speed, having localized sites increases sales and creates a competitive advantage over monolingual sites. While customer use of Google Translate can help bridge this gap, it tends to add additional time and often creates a lack of clarity and, even worse, expensive misunderstandings.

In many countries, store signs should reflect the linguistic variety of the potential customers. For example, in the picture at the head of the post, the seamstress describes her services in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and English, ensuring that all the by passers can quickly identify her services and make a note of them for immediate or future use. Where tourists represent an important part of the customer base, it is vital to label items in several languages, especially when the local alphabet is not Latin based. Likewise, restaurants in non-English speaking countries should cater to potential foreign diners by having the menu translated into at least one relevant foreign language. This convenience, maybe even respect, provide that business with a competitive advantage.

On a business-to-business level, as I learned from an excellent webinar by Miriam Burley, LinkedIn allows and facilitates multilingual profiles. With a click of a button, it is possible to add a profile in several other languages (not Hebrew, unfortunately). Moreover, it is possible to only have specific sections in the additional languages, with the other sections imported from the primary language. Thus, the account holder can manage the translation process gradually and incrementally. Clearly, non-native English readers can and will find it much easier and faster to scan a profile in their native language and with far greater accuracy. Utilizing this feature can increase the effectiveness of LinkedIn activity.

Of course, there is a proviso to the expansion to other languages. As my late father used to say, anything worth doing is worth doing well. While easily available and time efficient, Google Translate and similar applications are not the correct tools for producing business text of any kind. The resulting inaccuracy and inappropriateness far outweigh their advantages of speed and convenience. Natives are almost always protective, read judgmental, of their mother tongue. They find it absurd and disrespectful for a business to publish text with linguistic and stylistic errors. This negligence somehow stains the reputation of a business. How many times have you laughed at poorly translated menus? Thus, it is highly recommended to have the foreign text written by an educated native or translated by a professional translator and then checked by a native speaker. While this process may add expense, the failure to do so may render a business infamous, not famous.

So, if the goal is to reach potential customers where they are present, which is quite often the Internet today, it is important to remember that most communication is through text today. As a result, their ease in speaking English has no relevance to their ability to efficiently read English. To overcome this difficulty, text in their native tongue is much more effective and adds to the brand image. Write it as they read it.

* Picture captions allow the blind to fully access the Internet.

Render unto freelancers what is freelancers' or the importance of being paid

 

[magnet attracing coins*]

Freelancers wear a wide variety of hats ranging from computer technician to CEO with signatory powers. Some of these roles are more pleasant than others but all are important in their own way. One of the key tasks that freelancers must perform but frequently avoid is bill collecting. A business is not a hobby but instead a way to make a living. Thus, collecting unpaid invoices is vital for economic survival. Granted, as simple as it sounds, requesting payment can be rather complicated. However, with proper bookkeeping procedures, a directed mind set and effective communication, the check or wire transfer actually arrives in the account.

While lack of business kills many enterprises, the failure to collect unpaid invoices bankrupts at least as many. Beyond the issue of the moral justice of being paid the agreed compensation for the work, freelancers are expected to pay their own bills just like everybody else. Given the effect of the law of opportunity cost, i.e., you can only perform one task in a given period of time (unless you outsource), not being paid is lost time regardless of the reason. In other words, a person that does not care about payment should either work pro bono, which is legitimate, or seek a salaried position, in which case the employer handles the payroll. The midway position, ignoring unpaid invoices, is economically untenable in the long term.

For freelancers, this task can become complicated due to varying payment procedures, concern over customer reaction and emotional impact. Payment terms in a global market range from prepayment with some end clients to 90 days for some institutional clients. As small players, it is difficult, if not impossible, to impose any payment specific regime on customers, however reasonable it may be. Even 30 days is far from universal. Moreover, communication regarding unpaid invoices has the potential to create tension between the service providers and customer. Finally, putting aside scammers from whom payment is clearly irrelevant, it is emotionally disturbing when customers do not do “what they are supposed to do” and fail to pay their invoice on time. Freelancer often prefer to wait another month before raising the issue on the hope of avoiding an unpleasant situation. One of the common sources of this discomfort is the embedded belief that bill collecting is a dirty task to be assigned to undesirable types, like tanning in India. While it is not rational given that a person chooses to become a freelancer, this prejudice provides further fuel to procrastinate on this task.

The first key to financial success for any business, big or small, is proper bookkeeping. Regardless of the means, a designated accounting program or Excel, a freelancers must make it policy to immediately enter all relevant information on a project, including billing date and, if possible, expected payment date. Of course, once payment is received, it is wise not to procrastinate in marking payment information, including the date and receipt number, as it is easy to forget to do so later. With this information, it is quite simple for a freelancer to glance at the three previous months and identify which customers have failed to pay. Payment review ideally is a monthly task concomitant with monthly invoicing  The easier is to identify late payments, the more likely a freelancer will make it a policy to check for them.

When turning attention to unpaid invoices, freelancers must make a mind switch. They need to pretend that they are a clerk objectively and unemotionally checking the books of another business. As Detective Friday from Dragnet would say, just the facts. Given that vast majority  of customers, in my experience at least, fail to pay on time due to inefficient accounting procedures, it is important they remember that they also find these errors unpleasant. With that thought in mind, the freelancer needs to coldly create a list of unpaid invoices with all the required information, i.e., number, date, amount and project, if relevant. With list in hand, it is then the time to proceed to the next stage, actual collection. Procrastination, like fear, is an expensive habit.

It is important to remember that most payment delays are unintentional. Of course, if you believe that a customer has a policy of payment delay, it would be advisable to drop it as soon as possible. Therefore, requests for payment must non-accusative and provide sufficient information to allow a quick search by the party in arrears. In simple terms, it is important to allow the customer to climb down the tree in relative dignity and efficiency. Of course, before suggesting any payment in arrears, it is necessary to conduct a thorough search of the bank records to confirm it. My letter of collection states that I have no record of payment, not that that the customer did not pay. Furthermore, I actually apologize for the inconvenience, which makes it easier for the other side to apologize for not paying. I express no anger or frustration, merely the request to resolve the matter either by immediate payment or specifics of the actual payment that was made. My record is close to 100% on collection issues without any loss of customers. We both treat the matter as an objective business issue, not a personal dispute.

Fear is a great paralyzer. Choosing to become a freelancer requires taking on tasks that are less comfortable in terms of skill and mindset. However, good accounting, like good fences, makes for good relations. By practicing proper bookkeeping, treating unpaid invoices as an objective business issue and firmly but politely demanding payment, freelancers can receive the due compensation for their work. After, it is a vital to render unto freelancers what is freelancers.

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* Picture captions help the blind access the Internet. 

Picture credit: Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/pithonius-301639/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=2972568">pithonius</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=2972568">Pixabay</a>

Render unto Caesar – A businesslike approach to freelance business

 

[Roman coin*]

Max Weber, the great German sociologist, discussed the transition from status-based state management in which bureaucratic relations are keyed to the status of the petitioner, to modern citizen-based bureaucracies in which everybody receives the same treatment based on set procedures, at least ideally. He linked the transition, which occurred over the 19^th century in Europe, to the increase in State power and efficiency. Freelancers and small business owners often face the same situation, i.e., personal vs objective, when running their business. While natural when people work outside their house for strangers, it is difficult to create a divide between personal and business when the distance between the kitchen and office is only a handful of meters. Yet, in practice, great success as an entrepreneur is dependent on this differentiation in that it determines our approaches to people, tasks and money.

[Anonymous people]

Effective business practices require entrepreneurs to ignore the “person” with whom they deal. B2B and B2C relations involve the exchange of goods and services, not friendship. While it is a pleasure to meet like-minded clients and even befriend them, that relationship is rare, unnecessary and sometimes even undesirable. Both purchasers and providers both essentially desire to complete the transaction as efficiently as possible, i.e., with as little effort and time as the matter allows.  It is clear that certain businesspeople and consumers are argumentative, overly suspicious or even antagonistic. Like modern government employees, business people need to provide the same level of service as they would to pleasant people, sometime even better. Often these challenging customers, once they are satisfied, provide the best source of references as they believe that if we satisfy them, we can satisfy anybody. By contrast, emotional reaction to obnoxious behavior only fuels the flames and loses the customer. Business is not personal.

[Donkey with load]

In business, to quote my father, anything task worth doing is worth doing well. Freelancers are obliged to wear many hats regardless of their initial ability and inclination. These essential tasks include accounting, marketing, bill collection and putting out fires. Without proper execution of these tasks, a business cannot fulfill its potential. Unfortunately, few of us are born with the natural skill for some or all of these nor truly wish to achieve mastery in them. Successful entrepreneurs perform these tasks as if someone else were paying them well to do them, like a clerk at the bank. Once of the tricks is to do them first so that you can go onto to more enjoyable tasks. Avoidance and half-measures directly lead to failure, including bankruptcy. Freelancers must prpoerly execute the tasks while suppressing their emotional reaction to them.

[Currency symbols]

As Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli sang in Cabaret, money makes the world go round. Furthermore, as accountants remind us, income and costs have to balance. Complicating the picture, nobody can predict the future in terms of economics and technology. Combining the three, a sustainable business invests in itself, controls its spending and provides for changes in fortune. Unlike personal finance, which is often a matter of individual whim, business financial decisions must be rationally based even if they are also intuitive. To paraphrase the song, “it’s my business; I can do what I want to” may be technically true but success is governed by hard (or not so hard) reality. A good technique for distinguishing intuition from whim is to consult trusted and knowledgeable outsiders. The entrepreneur may not like their answers but they can prevent much sorrow. The main purpose of any serious business is to make money for its owners, which of course does not preclude enjoying one’s work. Therefore, it is vital for entrepreneurs to astutely manage their business finances.

In Mathews 22:21, it is written "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's”. The quote is in reference to the issue whether paying taxes with coins with the head of Caesar stamped on them (no credit cards then) is a form of worshipping other gods. The answer is that every obligation has its manner of payment. Even if the office is only across the hallway, entrepreneurs need to render unto it the respect it deserves and separate it emotionally, as much as possible, from personal life. Granted, it is easier said than done but it remains one of the keystones for freelancer success.

* Picture captions help the blind access the Internet. Pictures via Pixibay.

Successful persona – I have got that feeling

 

[Success*]

At the 2019 American Translators Association conference in Palm Springs, I had an illuminating conversation with a young translator. After I asked how he was doing, he said that he felt that he didn’t belong there. My response was that I had felt the same way for many years. His remark touched on an issue that is not openly discussed. Clearly, the sense of not being a real professional is a difficult matter to be shared with your peers. The difficulty in feeling successful is the lack of a universal or even accepted definition although it is possible to note some measures of aspects. Even worse, it is a chicken-egg problem since self-belief in success serves as a precondition to it.

[Income chart]

The most common measure of success is income, however that is defined. The vast majority of people wish to be financially secure. The ambiguity arises from the definition of that concept. For some, just knowing that all bills will be paid this month provides great security while others require large sums in the bank, maybe millions, to provide that same sense of security. Most people are somewhere in between and aim to have some blend of flexibility on the monthly budget as well as sufficient bank reserves. This subjectivity creates a situation where the identical income can create a feeling of great security or insecurity, depending on the person and circumstances. The scene at the end of Dumas’ the Count of Monte Cristo where Baroness Danglers and Mercedes end the books with the identical fortunes and opposite conclusions demonstrates the subjective definition of wealth. Thus, it is impossible to say how much income is required to make a person feel successful, rendering irrelevant any attempt to equate success with income.

[Blue ribbon]

Another measure of success is professional skill, including recognition by peers and  by customers. Clearly, having pride in one’s work and belief in its proficiency create confidence. Yet, despite countless efforts to quantify good work, running a business is as much an art as a science. While there may be clear benchmarks, there are countless ways to achieve those goals. Furthermore, people rarely actually see their colleagues at work to allow them to compare craftsmanship. Not only that, these few peers that observe your work often feel constrained to express their true opinion or so it seems. So, it is generally difficult to objectively determine whether our work is professional or not. At best, it is possible to state that there are many more colleagues whose products are worse than ours than those whose products are better than ours. Even customer feedback can be misleading in that not all customers are capable of accurately assessing the work nor do they report results representatively. Thus, even the sense of professionalism is ultimately subjective.

The easiest basis in searching for a basis of feeling successful is creating and appreciating vectors. The unrelenting commitment to doing the best job possible and making constant improvement, whether in terms of income or skill, often leads to a feeling of being professional. In other words, while there may be those that are better than me at this point in time due to their experience, I strive for the best and am building a better future. Thus, in these fully objective and controllable goals, I am a professional, no less than my peers that are more experienced or more skillful than me.

[Brain with muscles]

This issue is not merely philosophical but instrumental for selling a service. Most customers are insufficiently familiar with a given product or service to properly evaluate it even if they had sufficient time and energy. Even more than recommendations, customers judge us as we judge ourselves. When business people project real confidence in themselves, customers pick it up, whether the communication is oral or written. Most customers can identify bluffing, rendering it is a poor long-term strategy. Instead, all entrepreneurs must understand and properly value their skills. A justifiably confident “I can do this” is the key for project approval. So, all business people must cultivate their belief in their skills to be able to apply those skills.

This belief creates the reality. Putting politics aside, millions of American believe that Trump is a successful businessman despite the fact that he has gone bankrupt 6 times because he believes that he is successful. Granted his self-confidence is a statistical outlier, his example highlights the requirement to have faith in one’s skill regardless of the current objective circumstances. To that young translator at the conference, I would say that you are a professional in that you have studied the craft, are working and striving for greater skill by having attended that translation conference. To all entrepreneurs, I would say that the persona of success is created by accentuating your true positives first to yourselves and then to others.

* Captions are important to the sight impaired. All pictures via Pixabay.

The Generation Gap –Social media and business mentality

                                                         [Old-style clock with pendulum*]

On a recent episode of Kobi and Lital, a docucomedy series in Israel examining various life issues, the two comedians, each around the age of 40, were given expert advice how to increase the number of their followers on Instagram. These experts were half their age or less. It was quite striking and entertaining to see not only how unfamiliar and incompetent the hosts were with new media forms such as TikTok and Instagram, but also note the gap in mentality between the two generations. This difference is also increasingly evident in the business world.

“Facebook is for old people” was a phrase repeated several times during the show. It is apparent that many younger people consider raising and responding to an issue in a written text, even a single picture, passé. The under-20 group values 30-second clips. For those that, to paraphrase the Genesis song, can’t dance and can’t sing and can’t invent a story every day, these media forms are very uncomfortable and almost inaccessible. Posting a daily story with trivial pictures with captions seems much ado about nothing for older people. The generation gap is clearly evident in the use of media.

This discrepancy in technology is partly a reflection of a difference in worldview. Almost 60, I grew up in a United States where the “I” was subordinated to the “we”. While children had individual needs, they were part of a class, family or team. This distancing from the ego was even reflected in writing where the use of the first-person singular form was discouraged, even forbidden in formal writing. As adults, it was generally we or the company that sold the product or provided a service even if it was a sole proprietorship. Even in autobiographies for conference program, it was accepted practice to use the 3^rd person singular form: John Doe has more than 30 years’ experience. By contrast, at least in Israel in 2020, children and young adults are encouraged to promote themselves. What is more shocking than the number of people that film themselves doing banal tasks is the number of people that watch them, to the tune of the hundreds of thousands, if not more. What my generation considered egocentric, even crass, is now proper self-esteem.

This change has already affected the business world. First, younger executives tend to feel less need to learn the ropes from older workers and wish to become entrepreneurs at an early age. Moreover, these business people under the age of 25 are native to most if not all of the current mass media forms and therefore comfortable with their use. By contrast, employees aged 40+ often struggle with the how and why of these same forms. Furthermore, many older workers find the blatant personal approach a bit too much and beyond their personal comfort zone. Age is becoming like East and West as Kipling would say.

The clock keeps on ticking, creating natural generation gaps. One omnipresent form of this change involves media use, not only in the technical details but also the raison d’etre of their use. In this sense, the world, including the business world, belongs to the youth.

* Always add a caption to pictures to allow full access to blind people. Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/hrohmann-848687/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=700874">Hans Rohmann</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=700874">Pixabay</a>

Why (and Z Generation) English

The changes in the geopolitical map since the beginning of the 21^st century have not changed the fact that English is the lingua franca of the world. English continues to serve as the primary international language of communication. What is interesting is that of the 7.5 billion people that speak English in the world, some 20% of the total population, only 360 million speak it as native language. Therefore, the primary learners of English are people living outside the Anglo-Saxon world.

While the need for English has not changed, its purpose has changed radically. Once, the motivation for learning English was to be to travel to England and the United States and order something on the menu or talk with tourists. Only the elite few required better English to conduct business or give lectures in these countries. Today, the economy is global and requires even the smallest business people, such as an E-bay supplier, to work with people all over the world. To do so, they must communicate in English. This requirement is so vital that English is the language of communication within countries and companies whose native language is not English even if that language is a major language. For example, many German multinationals function in English while Israeli high tech-tech companies often write all their first drafts of technical material in English.

On a wider front, consumers in Europe or Asia that do not understand advanced English may find it difficult to understand vital explanations or even realize what they are buying or read the name of the store. Companies assume that buyers can read English. On the more controversial level, an increasing number of ordinary people worldwide find it natural to speak English to each other even though they are native speakers of same non-English language. Chatting in English is often considered more sophisticated. On a linguistic front for some, English words are flooding other languages and “wiping out native species”. For example, Israeli chefs love saying crispy instead of the Hebrew word פריך [parich]. Woe to the television viewer or parent that does not English.

The education systems, as usual, are generations behind.  Nomenclature in teaching English has included English as Foreign Language (EFL), English as a Second Language (ESL) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP), to name just a few. Even the latter is no longer sufficient as non-native speakers also require English for business purposes to be able to integrate into and profit from the global economy. Alas, most programs and books seem to focus on visiting London and New York and enjoying the tourist sites. The new European CEFR, a series of can-do statements for various levels of English, does provide a transitional tool but fails to define the dominant context of the English use. Furthermore, the European love of precision and accuracy ignore the fact that non-native speakers need to be able to express their ideas clearly and concisely above all, i.e., grammar is much less important than fluency and accuracy. The sad fact is that too many learners must invest significant amounts of their own money to attain their required level of English.  Worldwide, the schools are failing in the task of properly preparing them for the 21^st century.

The X, Y and Z of the situation is that all generations worldwide require advanced English to fully function in the global economy and even understand simple conversations in their own country. “The Queen lives in Buckingham Palace” may still be interesting but is no longer sufficient.

Intuit

I have been a freelancer for some 15 years now.  I began my translating career knowing next to nothing about translation and very little in practice about running my own business. To explain, my MBA did provide me with some macro understanding but very little guidance on how to run a one-person business. My tools were trial and error, analysis and, most importantly, intuition.

To be clear, I have made plenty of mistakes and still do occasionally.  After every “disaster”, I analyze what went wrong and how to avoid a repeat incident.  In this manner, I have managed to learn what my business education did not teach me: how to run a translation business. Aside from countless small technical tricks, my main conclusion of all my analysis is that the key for me on both a macro and micro level is not accounting or vision, which have their place, but but instead intution, 

Intuition is the “gut feeling” before any decision, big or small, that it feels right.  It is not necessarily rational and logical within the framework of the facts known at the time. Nor does it emotionally reflect our desires and/or fears. Intuition often leads us to take actions that have negative short term consequence or arouse fear.  In fact, our intuition both encompasses these elements and surpasses them in understanding. It is the feeling that a given plan of action is correct regardless of whether the brain or heart endorses it. Of course, it should not be confused with wishful thinking, a dangerous cousin, infamous for causing impulsive and foolish actions. The difference between them is similar to that between happy and contented, with the former describing the state of mind at any given time, subject to immediate change, while the latter describing a general state of mind regardless of immediate events. In fact, the key in known what a potential decision is intuitive or wishful is if it still feels correct after some time has passed.

I can say that I could have avoided close to 95% of my mistakes if I had noticed and heeded my intuition. On a macro level, I would have avoided several scammers since I sensed that something was wrong but did not investigate.  I would have avoided certain texts that were beyond my understanding and ability, which I immediately knew deep down. I would have pursued certain marketing media much earlier because I understood that they had good potential. On a micro level,  I would have insisted on longer deadlines since I had a strong feeling that the document was more complicated than it seemed at first glance but I did not insist. I would have rechecked and reedited phrases that lit up a red light before the client had to read it. In other words, as a translator, I “knew” what I needed to do but did not follow my intuition.

On a positive note, my intuitive decision to break out of the gilded cage of a salary and become independent has transformed my life and thinking.  I cannot imagine my life only as a teacher. Armed with intuition, I have found a long-term niche, developed practical operating procedures and pursued effective marketing strategies not only relying on my rational analysis but also my intuitive feeling. I have had almost no payment issues in a situation where most of my customers are far away. Without being an expert on any specific country, I have been able to communicate with people from a wide variety of cultures and expectations. In an uncertain future, I can rely on my intuition, with guidance from others as required, to overcome challenges.

To clarify, every business person, large and small, must be keep track and be aware of the key numbers: income, expenses, change, etc. Not only that, a vision of the business in five years is vital for long term planning. However, these two tools are not sufficient to guarantee success. At least for freelancers, intuition is an important key.

The advice is deceivingly simple. The voice of our intuition is much quieter than that of our desires, fear and cold logic.  Not only that, outside voices, both family and colleagues, can impact our decisions, many times but not always for the best. Consequently, it is important to consult people that truly understand, not primarily want to control. Ultimately, the success of freelancer is in the hands of the freelancer. You don’t need an MBA to succeed but it is vital to listen to the quiet but wise voice of intuition.