Starting up the freelance business leanly

This week, I attended a short lecture and workshop given by Prof. Rami Gazit from the Braude College of Engineering.  The subject was the lean startup model, which was new to me.  In a few hours, he provided the background and main points of this business model.  As a freelancer translator for 15 years with a formal business background (MBA), I could not help but consider whether this knowledge would have helped me when I started and how much it is relevant now.  My conclusion is that while freelancing and startups are not identical situations, some of the basic concepts to which I was exposed would definitely apply to a startup and established freelance translator.

To begin with, I clearly see three important differences between technical startups and freelancing.  The first involves the environment in which the business begins. One of the definitions of a startup business provided us was an attempt to create a viable business model in an essentially uncertain world, i.e., to introduce a new product or service into the market.  By contrast, freelancing involves providing a known product or service in a relatively stable existing market, i.e. specific and complete business models already exist.  

Another important difference is the end goal of the activity.  Ultimately, the startup entrepreneur wants to succeed in creating a business that is sufficiently large and viable to sell for millions. By contrast, the more modest end goal of all freelancers is to make a living in the long term on their terms.  The money involved is in thousands, not millions. Granted, in the translation business, more and more successful freelance businesses are being bought in the recent of conglomeration.  Still, the vast majority of freelancers are in for the long term to make a living. Finally, new freelance translators, unlike a budding startup company, has nothing new to offer. Their service is superficially identical to that of countless others. The only changes in the service will be the product of outside technological change, such as machine translation, not any innovation they can bring.

That said, freelancers can learn from the lean startup model. First, in both, it is essential to focus on the customer, not on the product or service. This emphasis is vital both in the starting and later stages of the business. In the beginning, it is necessary to talk with companies and translation project managers to ascertain what they look for, i.e. the characteristics of a successful service provider. For example, in translation, on-time delivery and effective communication create the basis for a long-term customer.  As the business grows, these same customers can provide information regarding QA issues and other required services, i.e. areas to which the service provide can expand, such as transcreation or post-MT editing in the translation field today. Only after entrepreneurs understand their customers can they tailor their skills and knowledge to the market.

Proper scaling also applies to freelance businesses. Scaling applies to the speed of expansion of business activities.  The relevant key lesson from lean startup is that trial and error on a small scale is vital for long term success.  In other words, in the beginning, freelancers should focus on a single specialization within their repertoire of skills and knowledge. For example, translators should market one language pair in one direction in one specialization.  When translating or marketing errors occur, the lessons learned from this experience will significantly increase the efficiency in later stages. Not only that, a small controlled start will avoid burning customers for the later stages. Once the basic technical issues are clarified and resolved, it will be possible to expand to further niches (and higher income). Thus, while there is a tendency to throw out a wide net, a narrow focus in the beginning can better serve a new freelancer.

The third aspect is the need to be able to pivot, i.e. flexibility. Whether due to market changes or incorrect assumptions, some marketing ideas or potential niches do not produce results. After a certain point, it is pointless to invest more time and energy in them, at least for the meantime. A successful entrepreneur seeks another area in which the same set of skills and knowledge or an additional one will apply. For example, the knowledge of legal and financial accounting terminology is also a key in translating documents for international development marketing as I learned in a recent ATA webinar by Corinne Mckay. Since the business world is only relatively stable, the ability to pivot is relevant for the entire lifetime of a freelancing business. Change can be a curse or an opportunity. Flexibility is an important relative advantage of a successful freelancer.

I make no claim of being an expert of lean startup after a two-hour lecture/workshop.  Yet, I found many of its lessons relevant to both new and established freelancers, including but not limited to translators. The need to be customer focused by asking questions, walk before running and identify and react to changes applies to all businesses, freelancers, startups and even corporations. All entrepreneurs that start up a business can lean on these principles.

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