16 years in business

What has changed in my 16 years as a solopreneur?

Today marks my 16th year in business. Time flies when you’re freelance!

Time has certainly flown, but a lot has changed since I first sat down in my home office desk on a grey February morning in 2008, having left my secure(ish) in-house translation job.

I’m sure that version of me would have felt proud to have made it to 16 years. The translation industry itself has changed enormously since 2008, but that’s a story for another day.

Things that have not changed:

❌ I’m still deliberate in my approach to my business planning.

❌ I still love what I do.

❌ I still love languages and fervently believe in the power of words.

❌ It’s still just me – I wear all the hats (except for accountancy).

Things that have changed:

✅ Most of my work is no longer in legal translation. I decided a few years ago that life was too short, and I should move into doing more of the work I enjoy most.

✅ I’ve discovered my niche. Within international development translation, food security, food policy and food systems are the sub-specialisms that interest me most.

✅ I have two children who are growing up far too fast and challenge me every day (in good and bad ways).

✅I’m more sociable. I’ve joined accountability and marketing groups, plus revision clubs with colleagues, and I’m much more proactive about getting out to events. This is great progress for a committed introvert.

✅ I’m more knowledgeable – I’ve done more CPD in the past 5 years than ever before. Most of that CPD has focused on deepening my knowledge of my specialist fields.

✅ I have started doing actual marketing. It sounds ridiculous, but back in 2008 my unstructured marketing strategy can be best described as ‘wishful’.

✅ I’m now also a copy-editor. I have taken multiple training courses through the CIEP to get formal accreditation in this service, and editing now makes up around 40-50% of my workload.

✅ I now also offer plain English services. Having done editing work for a few years, I’ve branched out into plain English editing and writing (and translation!) services.

What has changed in your business since you first started?

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Hi, I’m Philippa and I’m a translator and copy-editor.

I take Spanish, French and Portuguese (and English!) content and transform it into snappy and 100% engaging English.

I love to bring clarity to other people's writing and helping to share it with the world.

I love to work with people who are making the world a better place.

Why not book a call with me to see how I can help you.