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Poll: Are most of your clients translation agencies?
论题张贴者: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
网站工作人员
May 13, 2011

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Are most of your clients translation agencies?".

This poll was originally submitted by Woodstock. View the poll results »



 
Interlangue (X)
Interlangue (X)
安哥拉
Local time: 18:23
English英语译成French法语
+ ...
Yes May 13, 2011

Most yes, but not all...
Some years, the main part of my turnover comes from agencies, other years, the bulk comes from direct clients.

[Modifié le 2011-05-13 08:21 GMT]


 
Mary Worby
Mary Worby  Identity Verified
英国
Local time: 17:23
German德语译成English英语
+ ...
Yes May 13, 2011

I voted yes. In truth, I've had a couple of direct clients over the years, but they have been so insignificant that they do not really make an impact on the figures.

 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
德国
Local time: 18:23
正式会员 (自2009)
English英语译成German德语
+ ...
Yes May 13, 2011

Thus far, most of my work has come from agencies.

There have been a few direct clients, and I'm working on increasing their number.


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
塞浦路斯
Local time: 19:23
Turkish土耳其语译成English英语
+ ...
Yes May 13, 2011

I have issued 35 invoices this year so far, and 34 of these have been to agencies.

 
Giles Watson
Giles Watson  Identity Verified
意大利
Local time: 18:23
Italian意大利语译成English英语
纪念
No May 13, 2011

I've only issued one invoice - at my usual rate - to an agency in the past two years.

Most of my customers are publishers or companies involved in the production or distribution of wine.


 
neilmac
neilmac
西班牙
Local time: 18:23
Spanish西班牙语译成English英语
+ ...
No May 13, 2011

Thank goodness.

 
m_temmer
m_temmer  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:23
English英语译成Dutch荷兰语
+ ...
yes May 13, 2011

I only work for agencies. I guess I was lucky to find a couple of really good, professional agencies that are willing to pay for quality.

Working for agencies has lots of advantages (you take time off whenever you want, without risking that your direct client runs off to other translators because you're not available for two weeks, etc.).


 
Giles Watson
Giles Watson  Identity Verified
意大利
Local time: 18:23
Italian意大利语译成English英语
纪念
No risk May 13, 2011

Michaël Temmerman wrote:

Working for agencies has lots of advantages (you take time off whenever you want, without risking that your direct client runs off to other translators because you're not available for two weeks, etc.).



The way to get round this is to suggest the substitutes yourself. This keeps customers loyal and builds up goodwill with colleagues.


 
Simon Bruni
Simon Bruni  Identity Verified
英国
Local time: 17:23
正式会员 (自2009)
Spanish西班牙语译成English英语
Sadly, yes May 13, 2011

I'd like to break away from the "habit" for obvious reasons, but it's easy to get work through agencies and it takes away a lot of the hassle.

 
Henry Hinds
Henry Hinds  Identity Verified
美国
Local time: 10:23
English英语译成Spanish西班牙语
+ ...
纪念
No May 13, 2011

Thank goodness also. The vast majority of my work is from direct clients with whom I have an excellent relationship. On occasion I also do some work for agencies, but only a few good ones. It would be a much better world, I think, if we could all really become independent, which would mean not being dependent on intermediaries. Otherwise, what's the use of being freelance if you are not truly free?

 
Maria Drangel
Maria Drangel  Identity Verified
瑞典
Local time: 18:23
English英语译成Swedish瑞典语
+ ...
Luckily, yes May 13, 2011

Most of my clients, although not all, are agencies and I love working with them. They offer me flexibility, I know them well as we communicate several times per week and I feel that I can trust them 100 %. They give me no hassle and if there is some work that I do not feel comfortable doing, they do not try to convince me to do it anyway. I have made sure to always prioritise the agencies and I appreciate the administration they do. I am very, very pleased that most of my clients are agencies.

 
ChrisGT
ChrisGT  Identity Verified
加拿大
Local time: 12:23
正式会员 (自2008)
English英语译成French法语
+ ...
Amen to that! May 13, 2011

neilmac wrote:

Thank goodness.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
葡萄牙
Local time: 17:23
正式会员 (自2007)
English英语译成Portuguese葡萄牙语
+ ...
Me too! May 13, 2011

Maria Drangel wrote:

Most of my clients, although not all, are agencies and I love working with them. They offer me flexibility, I know them well as we communicate several times per week and I feel that I can trust them 100 %. They give me no hassle and if there is some work that I do not feel comfortable doing, they do not try to convince me to do it anyway. I have made sure to always prioritise the agencies and I appreciate the administration they do. I am very, very pleased that most of my clients are agencies.


 
m_temmer
m_temmer  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:23
English英语译成Dutch荷兰语
+ ...
we're all business people May 13, 2011

Henry Hinds wrote:

Thank goodness also. The vast majority of my work is from direct clients with whom I have an excellent relationship. On occasion I also do some work for agencies, but only a few good ones. It would be a much better world, I think, if we could all really become independent, which would mean not being dependent on intermediaries. Otherwise, what's the use of being freelance if you are not truly free?


It doesn't matter whether we work as a subcontractor or as a contractor, we are all business people. It's not because some freelancers work exclusively for agencies that they aren't truly free (whatever that may mean).

As the posts suggest, people can be very happy working for just agencies or for just direct clients. We all have to do what we feel most comfortable with, without forgetting that we are running a business.

There are decent, professional agencies out there and it's a pleasure working with them, just like it's a pleasure working with knowledgeable, professional direct clients. It's as simple as that. It's not because freelancers have different business models, that they aren't independent businesses anymore.


 
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Poll: Are most of your clients translation agencies?






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