Article End-of-year review for translators

Another year is almost past its sell-by date, which means it’s time for a spot of reflection.

Perhaps this was the year you went freelance and bravely launched your business into the world. Or perhaps you’ve got quite a few years of this freelancing lark under your belt by now.

Whatever stage you’re at, it’s so important to regularly take the time to reflect on how things have been going, and then make plans for the future.

Because with our busy lives, time can just slip by without us ever taking stock of how things are going. And if we allow that to happen, then before we know it we lose all direction and are just bumbling along, improvising from day to day with no idea why we’re doing what we’re doing, or making the decisions we’re making.

Which can get very wearing and disorientating, very quickly.

If you want your freelance business to stand the test of time, you’ve got to take proper care of it, and of yourself. You’ve got to make conscious decisions based on your overall goals and on the things that are important to you, which can change far more quickly than you might expect!

After all, the things that seemed to matter most this time last year may no longer seem relevant at all.

So, are we all in agreement that regular business reviews are a good idea?

Marvellous.

You might not be sure, however, how to actually go about doing one.

So here we are with a whole host of tips for an end-of-year review that will be super helpful, tying up the last

12 months with a bow, giving you the perspective and clarity you need to start the next trip around the sun off on the right foot.

Set aside a dedicated chunk of time

The first thing to do is decide when you’re going to dig into your business.

Decide on a day for the review, and block it out in your diary. A morning or afternoon should be enough, but you might want to take the whole day so you’re not rushing and can really sit with it. That way, you should even have time to go for a walk or do some exercise in the middle of the day and let all the information percolate.

Make a commitment to yourself, and don’t flake out. Treat it like a client job you’ve agreed to deliver by that date, otherwise you’ll just keep putting it off.

Schedule it for a time you know there won’t be any distractions, and for a time or day of the week (or time of the month if you have a monthly cycle) when you’re pretty sure you’ll be in the right frame of mind.

Time tracking

Before we get started, just a quick note: for a properly in-depth year review, you’ll need time tracking data.

Tracking the time you spend on your client work can tell you so much about your business, giving you solid data to base your decisions on, rather than just feeling in the dark, with estimates based on vague memories from months ago.

If you’re not tracking your time yet, what are you waiting for?

Make the year ahead the year you start, so in 12 months’ time you’ll have cold, hard numbers to crunch to get a totally accurate picture of how things are going.

Looking back

Now, it’s time to dig into the actual review. There’s no one right way to reflect on your business, but our favourite approach is to treat it like a journaling exercise.

Grab a pen and paper and write out the answers to some or all of the questions you’ll find below.

Some will be yes/no questions. Some will ask for facts and figures, which you might need a spreadsheet to work out (or just let LSP.expert do the work for you, if you use the platform). Some will invite you to dig a little deeper.

And remember, this is by no means an exhaustive list. Every business is unique and there might be other things that you want to focus on in your review!

Reviewing your clients

• How many clients did you work with over the course of the year?
• How many new clients did you get this year?
• How did those clients find you?
• How many were one-off clients, and how many did you work with repeatedly?
• Have you asked all of your clients for a testimonial?
• Which of your clients is the most profitable (works out at the highest hourly rate)?
• Which of your clients is the least profitable?
• Do you need to raise your rates with any of your clients?
• Is it time to break up with any of your clients?
• Which of your clients do you enjoy working with the most? How might you find more clients like them?
• Do you have a negative relationship with any of your clients? What is it about the relationship that bothers you, and how can you move forwards?

Reviewing your income

• Did you earn enough this year to cover all your needs or living expenses?
• What about your wants?
• What was your average monthly income over the course of the year?
• Was one client responsible for a large percentage of your income? If so, how can you diversify so that you’re less financially dependent on them?

Reviewing your services

• Which was your most profitable service or specialism this year?
• Which service did you most enjoy providing?
• Have you introduced any new services?

Reviewing your CPD

• How many hours of CPD have you done?
• Was all of that CPD useful?
• Were there any courses you signed up for/paid for but never got around to doing?
• Did you at any point bite off more than you can chew in terms of CPD?
• Has any of the CPD you’ve done helped you adapt your business to a world in which AI can no longer be ignored?

Reviewing your marketing

• How did you approach your marketing this year, and how did it go for you?
• Did you have a solid strategy in place or did you take it day by day?
• Did you try anything new?
• What aspect of your marketing did you most enjoy?
• Did you attend any online networking events? How have they benefited your business?
• How about in-person networking events?

Reviewing the highs and lows

• What have you enjoyed most about your business this year?
• What do you want more of?
• What kind of projects made you happy?
• What did you really not enjoy at all?
• What kind of clients did you find tricky?
• Were there any projects you regretted accepting?
• When were you busiest, and when were you quietest? Have you been able to identify any patterns so you can plan CPD or time off accordingly?

Reviewing your self-care

• How many days of holiday did you take?
• How many hours of client work did you average in a week or month?
• How do you feel about the number of hours you worked?
• Do you feel like you’ve made time for other important things in your life?
• Did you embrace any hobbies?
• Have you exercised enough, and nourished your body and mind with good food?

Looking forwards

A year review isn’t just about looking to the past. It’s about using what you’ve learned in the past year to set goals for the future.

Your business goals for the year need to strike the right balance between being achievable and ambitious.

Because if they’re too easy or too difficult you probably won’t feel motivated to make them happen.

You need overarching goals for the whole year, but you also need to go one step further and break them down into smaller actionable steps to take over the course of the year, starting with January.

Based on everything you’ve identified with your review, you could set yourself goals related to:

• Rates
• Income
• Clients
• Marketing
• CPD and upskilling (future proofing your business)
• Self care
• Networking

Once you’ve decided on your goals, think about how you’re going to keep them front and centre in your mind. Something as simple as sticking post-its around the place could work wonders.

And decide on how often you’re going to check in for a mini-review during the year. It’s a good idea to check in at least every quarter, but if you can make that once a month your business will thank you for it.

Oh, and keep all the answers to the questions above in a safe place so you can revisit them at the end of next year and see just how far you’ve come!

Your next annual review could be so much easier with the help of LSP.expert, all the handy reports it provides you with, and the built-in time tracking tool takes all of the faff out of recording how long you spend on what.

But don’t take our word for it, try it out in time for the new year. Future you will be very glad you did.