Wednesday 30 January 2013

The pleasures of networking


Winter was still here for most of January, and more snow arrived in Rutland! In Bavaria, where I grew up, even the smallest roads were salted and gritted, and snow ploughs did the rounds regularly to ensure life could continue as normal. This being rural England, however, no such service seems available and our village transformed into a large ice rink. I feel very grateful to have a job I can do from home, instead of having to brave the icy conditions to commute into the office!



The pleasures of networking

Despite the poor weather, I have managed to get to three networking events so far this year. The first was a local business breakfast meeting held by the Rutland andStamford Business Network, the second was a get-together (or “fuddle”, to use the local term) of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting’s East Midlands regional network in Derby, and the third was a community networking event held in London by the ever-inspirational business coach Corrina Gordon-Barnes. This means networking has obviously been on my mind, and at one of these events a question arose that made me think about the reasons for and benefits of networking in more depth. In Derby, ITI Board member Anne de Freyman  mentioned that in the past she had attended meetings at her local Chamber of Commerce. One fellow translator, obviously somewhat bewildered by this, asked why you would go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting as a translator. Anne responded: “To make business contacts and get direct clients!” I agreed with her, but some other attendees seemed to find the idea of this kind of networking daunting. But does it have to be? And what are the advantages of the different kinds of networking we might engage in? I had a chat about this with local marketing expert Deborah King, a.k.a. “Mrs Marketing”, and here are our thoughts!



Networking with other translators
I love meeting up with other translators. They are such an interesting bunch of people – most of them have lived in different countries and cultures and have a wealth of interesting stories to share. If you work on your own and most of your work contact is via the internet (which is certainly true for most freelance translators I know), it can be wonderful to meet others who work in the same profession to reassure yourself that you are in fact not on your own. Furthermore, you can exchange industry news and tips and tricks for translation-specific problems. Last but not least, you may be lucky enough to pick up some referrals from colleagues, which can help you to gain business as Deborah King emphasises: “Think collaboration, not competition!”

Networking in your marketplace
If your niche or target market is fairly clearly defined, attending industry events in this field can be useful, too. Ideally, you’ll be interested in this industry and in the people who work in it, so networking means you get to spend time with interesting individuals discussing interesting subjects! This will help you to stay abreast of developments in the field, get to know some of the industry’s key players and connect with potential clients. You may be able to meet direct clients or people who are in a position to refer your services to others who need them. According to Deborah, one important thing to bear in mind is that at these events, many potential clients may not be in a buying mode, so a “hard sell” probably won’t be effective: “The best attitude to have is ‘What can I do for you?’ rather than ‘What can I get?’”

Networking outside your field
By taking part in business networking events outside of your field, you can help to promote the translation and language industries within the wider business community (aren’t we always complaining that translation has far too low a profile?). These events show you that you are not just a freelancer slogging away in her spare bedroom – you are part of a wider community of entrepreneurs, some of whom may be able to support you and your business (need a web designer? An accountant? You’re likely to find them here). Some of them might even need your services, or know of someone who does! Mrs Marketing’s advice is: “Connect with other entrepreneurs who can be a support network for you and your business – they are a bit like the ‘people you know at work’ when you have an office job!” From a personal perspective, these events help me to gain ideas and inspiration from beyond my “niche”, broadening my perspective and heightening my creativity. Best of all, explaining to other people what it is I do always reminds me how much I love my job, which means I return to my spare bedroom office full of enthusiasm.

Do you enjoy networking? If you do, what are the things you like the best? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s hoping you enjoy the last days of winter,



6 comments:

  1. To me it has proven highly important as a translator to do "networking", i.e. most of my translation jobs came via friends and acquaintances and were often based on seemingly 'good luck.'

    I haven't been to a network meeting as such, I just use book fairs and conventions in my field to have a couple of pints and a chat with people. Running around with business cards really never works as - to be honest - there are just a load of talented colleagues out there.

    What I can highly suggest (and I don't know about the UK) is to stay at one of the translation centers. They usually don't charge much, you can even get a stipend for a demanding translation and get to know colleagues from all over the world (see 'interesting stories' above.)

    The German translation center is the EÜK (http://euk-straelen.de/english-information/kollegium/index.html.) One of the coolest places ever!

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    1. Thaks, Marcel, this sounds fascinating! I must check out the EÜK - I remember you writing about your time there on your blog! What a great place. Does anyone know of similar places in the UK?

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  2. As an introvert, I take quite a relaxed approach to networking. For me, it's not about walking into a room of strangers and giving them the 'hard sell' (I don't think I could do that - and I doubt it would be effective anyway!) It's just about getting to know people in my industry or marketplace, which is not that different from socialising. Of course I'm careful to remain professional, and talking about what I do / what I can offer has to come into it somewhere, but I think networking should also be enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with talking about a shared interest that has nothing to do with translation or your subject field - sometimes, the fact that you also love Tudor music (for example) can make you stick in a project manager's mind so that they remember you next time they need a medical translator.

    I personally like to meet people at CPD events, because that feels less intimidating to me than a dedicated 'networking event', and also gives me something to talk about. I also network online through Twitter, blogs, e-groups and so on.

    I think Marcel is spot on about translation jobs that came via networking seeming to be based on 'good luck'. The results of networking can be unpredictable and you never know whether that enjoyable chat is going to result in work three months down the line. However, the more time and effort you put in, the more likely you are to reap the rewards.

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    1. Thanks, Marga! I think it's important to go to events that a) you enjoy and b) allow you to "be yourself", so you don't feel you have to pretend to be some hotshot businesswoman - that always comes across as forced and makes it less likely that people will connect with you. By contrast, if you feel comfortable and free to chat about things not directly related to work, but that make you "you", that makes you stick in people's minds more, as you quite rightly state.

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  3. Hi Margaret, congratulations on a great post (and blog)! I also started my adventure with networking by attending my local Chamber of Commerce events, and it was one of the best business decisions I have made. Apart from the contacts I made, it was generally an excellent experience and a big learning curve. This is when I started to seriously think about my freelancing as a business. A year later I started my own networking group which is steadily growing.
    The issue you covered in this post is something I am researching at the moment. If you are interested, I wrote a guest post on networking with people inside and outside of one's industry http://sharp-end-training.ru/are-you-networking-with-the-right-people
    Moreover, in 2 weeks time, I will be speaking at a virtual conference on the very same topic http://t.co/Out5BYNz

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    1. Hi Ewa, I'm really glad you liked the post - thanks! It's good to hear that attending CoC events worked well for you. I agree that besides gaining clients, it can help you get a good idea of the world of business (something I, for one, was pretty ignorant about when I set up my business). I really enjoyed reading your post, and thanks for the link to the conference - it looks great! A great line-up of speakers!

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