We like to think of ourselves as the original Entrepreneurial Linguists. Photo by Ulf Buchholz, shot in a Hispanic neighborhood in Vegas, 2009
You might ask yourself: what exactly is an Entrepreneurial Linguist and where did the term come from?
Well, we believe we started using the term frequently to describe ourselves a few years ago. We certainly didn’t create the term, but we like to say that we made it popular (at least we like to believe that). When Judy started developing a workshop based on what she learned in business school, we titled it “Entrepeneurial Linguist,” and it was well received. Now Judy writes the monthly — yes, you guessed it — Entrepreneurial Linguist column for the American Transalator Association’s Chronicle.
We would like to turn every single one of our colleagues around the world into an Entrepreneurial Linguist instead of “just” a linguist. It can be overwhelming to be both a languages professional and a businessperson, but there’s a lot of collective knowledge in the languages community. We are also happy to help. Visit our blog, where you can find (useful) information on tips and tricks for your business. Ah, and yes, the Entrepreneurial Linguist book is due to come out in the spring of 2010. E-mail us to add yourself to the ever-growing list of pre-orders.
Let’s start with a small paradigm shift that will benefit us all professionally. We understand that most of us are humanists, and as such, don’t have too much of a business background. Are “money” and “compensation” things we don’t feel comfortable discussing? Why? After all, we are running businesses that we want to be profitable. Linguists are very much in demand in these global markets, we have very specific skills that are of utmost importance for any corporation that does business on a global scale. Start thinking of yourself as an important part of the international communications chain, and price your services accordingly. Let’s collectively work on our Entpreneurial Linguist mindset!
We have listed a few of the most important Entrepreneurial Linguist characteristics below. Does this sound like you?
Entrepreneurial Linguists:
- are aware of many important lessons from economics, accounting, entrepreneurship
- love what they do
- are professional translators/interpreters who act like businesspersons
- are not necessarily content with the status quo
- rethink traditional work models
- analyze their industry and stay abreast of changes
- are at the forefront of new developments and new technologies
- never stop learning and questioning
- don’t think that being both a linguist and a successful entrepreneur is a contradiction (it’s not)
- sell their services to clients at a fair and adequate price and make a comfortable living
- maximize their resources – both time and money – and work mainly with direct clients
- build and grow professional relationships on a continuous basis
- constantly acquire new clients
- give back to their communities by doing volunteer work
