| A témához tartozó oldalak: [1 2] > | To be or not to be an agency Téma indítója: Williamson
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Williamson 
Egyesült Királyság
Local time: 16:34
flamand - angol
+ ...
I work together with other linguists,specialists, people who are married with a native speaker and live in the country where the language is spoken and pay them for their services. That way, I can offer translations into languages I do not know. Am I becoming an agency or does it take more to be one.
Where is the limit between the individual translator and the agency? In this virtual world it is possible to be a virtual agency.
| | | | Steffen Pollex (X)
Local time: 17:34
angol - német
+ ...
Sorry, Williamson, but I simply do not get the point of what you are trying to say by stating the obvious and trying to discuss "problems" that are just non-existent or are of no relevance, after all (not for the first time, BTW).
Isn't it that I can call mnyself "translation agency", not being a translator at all, but distributing all orders to fellow translators and charging them a commision of 5% for providing clients? That's what agencies do, actually. So??? Which does not mean... See more Sorry, Williamson, but I simply do not get the point of what you are trying to say by stating the obvious and trying to discuss "problems" that are just non-existent or are of no relevance, after all (not for the first time, BTW).
Isn't it that I can call mnyself "translation agency", not being a translator at all, but distributing all orders to fellow translators and charging them a commision of 5% for providing clients? That's what agencies do, actually. So??? Which does not mean I am not an "agency" anymore if I translate myself.
What's the essence of your posting? And, provided there is such, does it really matter?
Cheers
Steffen
Williamson wrote:
I work together with other linguists,specialists, people who are married with a native speaker and live in the country where the language is spoken and pay them for their services. That way, I can offer translations into languages I do not know. Am I becoming an agency or does it take more to be one.
Where is the limit between the individual translator and the agency? In this virtual world it is possible to be a virtual agency.
[Edited at 2004-01-15 10:43]
[Edited at 2004-01-15 10:44] ▲ Collapse
| | | | gianfranco
Brazília
Local time: 12:34
Tag (2001 óta)
angol - olasz
+ ...
| What it takes to be an agency... | Jan 15, 2004 |
Williamson wrote:
...That way, I can offer translations into languages I do not know.
Am I becoming an agency or does it take more to be one.
You can certainly outsource some work. To be a full blown agency, for
which I intend an organization providing linguistic services,
takes a lot more than that.
Williamson wrote:
Where is the limit between the individual translator and the agency?
There is no definite limit, you can call agency anything from 1 to 1000 staff, but there is clearly a difference in the range of services offered, and not necessarily the quality/size relation is linear...
If you want a simple classification, I would classify the agencies as follows:
1 staff = one person band
Limited capabilities, in terms of expertize, languages covered, technical expertise and resources. Consequently, the range and level of services offered is limited.
Typically very weak financially (hand to mouth)
2-5 staff = very small organizations
May be very professional, dedicated, and provide a good service, in particular if they specialize in a small number of language pairs and/or subjects.
Often very pleasant to work with (both for translators and end customers).
Limited number of services, not always able to cover all aspects (localization, DTP, technical issues, etc...)
They can be financially weak.
6-20 staff = small to medium size
Good size for an agency.
If they specialise, the service level can be very good.
21-100 staff = medium size agencies
Now we are starting to be serious.
Typically at this size there is in place a proper business structure and a wide range of services can be covered.
100 to 250 = medium to large
Able to provide a large number of services, often in more than one country.
Internal expertise in many languages and subjects. Able to serve large customer and deliver vey large size projects.
Internal Engineering and DTP departments.
They can be financially very solid.
over 250
More of the above...
Williamson wrote:
In this virtual world it is possible to be a virtual agency.
Yes, the technology is available. Yet, it takes organization and expertize to use well the technologies and transform it in value for the customers.
Having a fast Internet connection and a lot of software doesn't make automatically of an individual an efficient organization.
I hope this answers a bit to your question.
Gianfranco
[Edited at 2004-02-04 11:49]
| | | | Uldis Liepkalns
Lettország
Local time: 18:34
Tag (2003 óta)
angol - lett
+ ...
Tut, tut, Gianfranco,
here in Latvia THE VERY LARGEST Agency has 25 inhouse staff
And none of the others, as far as I know, has more than 6, bookeeeper included...
Uldis
[Edited at 2004-01-15 22:07]
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Steffen Pollex (X)
Local time: 17:34
angol - német
+ ...
having a lot of staff and expertise, does not make an efficient organization of the many individuals you remind.
And, the "classification" criteria you provide are 150% subjective.
The only objective point is the size. But what would be the use of grouping entrprises by size? Everyone can do so.
[quote]Gianfranco Manca wrote:
Having a fast Internet connection and a lot of software doesn't make automatically of an individual an efficient organization.
I hope this answers a bit to your question.
Gianfranco
quote]
[Edited at 2004-01-15 12:42]
| | | | Marc P (X)
Local time: 17:34
német - angol
+ ...
| To be or not to be an agency | Jan 15, 2004 |
In this virtual world it is possible to be a virtual agency.
Or a virtual dolphin.
Happy swimming and watch out for the tuna nets,
Marc
| | | | Williamson
Egyesült Királyság
Local time: 16:34
flamand - angol
+ ...
TÉMAINDÍTÓ | Con algo hay que empezar | Jan 15, 2004 |
was the first Spanish sentence I learnt. You have to start somewhere, "swim" and see where that gets you.
Sometimes I get offers from one man/woman operations, who call themselves "cabinet" or "agency", sometimes from a 2-6 agency and in the past I worked for a big structure. So, what is the definition of an agency. I think Gianfranco answered it.
Every company has been a startup which grew and adopted its structure.
| | | | | Or a virtual dolphin ... | Jan 15, 2004 |
Presumably higher up the food chain than your average penguin ...
Tony (trainee whale)
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Marc P (X)
Local time: 17:34
német - angol
+ ...
| Virtual dolphin | Jan 15, 2004 |
But not a virtual penguin. I eat anything.
Marc
P.S. Williamson: decide yourself what an "agency" is. Then decide whether you are becoming one, and want to be one. Simple.
The question you really need to answer is whether you are continuing to deliver a professional service. If you don't care to define "professional", try "ethical and legal".
[Edited at 2004-01-15 20:42]
| | | | | Can we stick to the topic at hand? | Jan 15, 2004 |
MarcPrior wrote: TonyTK wrote:
Presumably higher up the food chain than your average penguin ... But not a virtual penguin. I eat anything. Marc
Each time you post a message all ProZ memebers that indicated they wanted to receive messages from forum X or Y receive your message.
We're straying off the subject, aren't we?
| | | | Paul Roige (X)
Spanyolország
Local time: 17:34
angol - spanyol
+ ...
Gianfranco Manca wrote:
1 staff = one person band
Limited capabilities, in terms of expertize, languages covered, technical expertise and resources. Consequently, the range and level of services offered is limited.
Typically very weak financially (hand to mouth)
[Edited at 2004-01-15 11:21]
Gross generalization, mainly the financial point (hand to mouth!!!), although perhaps not untrue for some. Certainly not my case and not the case of many I know. Besides, a "one person band" (?) is NOT an Agency, it's a Freelance Translator, with capitals. The services, resources, expertise and whatever else of good FTs cannot be compared with Agencies'. They are two (very) different businesses.
Cheers
P
| | | | Marc P (X)
Local time: 17:34
német - angol
+ ...
| Topic at hand | Jan 15, 2004 |
[Edited at 2004-01-15 20:42]
[Edited at 2004-01-15 20:43]
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Heinrich Pesch
Finnország
Local time: 18:34
Tag (2003 óta)
finn - német
+ ...
| Have a talk with your bank manager | Jan 15, 2004 |
A real agency needs financing, and the risks are profound. One should be able to check the quality of all translations provided, otherwise clients will find out your not an agency after all.
| | | | gianfranco
Brazília
Local time: 12:34
Tag (2001 óta)
angol - olasz
+ ...
| Agency is a very generic name... | Jan 15, 2004 |
Williamson wrote:
...You have to start somewhere, "swim" and see where that gets you.
...
So, what is the definition of an agency.
I think Gianfranco answered it.
I'm glad if my very personal classification, necessarily schematic and also arbitrary in many respects, helps you or others to define the several bands of what is generically called "the agencies".
Surely I did not inted to disparage small businesses, or praise the big ones, on the contrary, if you want to know, my preference goes on dealing with the middle range of the scale described. Nevertheless, some very large and some very small business can be excellent partners, no doubt about it.
Size is normally used (in our field and many others), to classify businesses, and different sizes are generally accompanied by the corresponding structures, organizational and financial setup, and different ranges of services.
Again, as I said clearly, this holds no prejudice on the quality of the service offered, wich may have no relation to size.
Gianfranco
[Edited at 2004-01-15 22:14]
| | | | Paul Roige (X)
Spanyolország
Local time: 17:34
angol - spanyol
+ ...
| Fair enough now | Jan 15, 2004 |
Gianfranco Manca wrote: Williamson wrote:
...You have to start somewhere, "swim" and see where that gets you.
...
So, what is the definition of an agency.
I think Gianfranco answered it.
I'm glad if my very personal classification, necessarily schematic and also arbitrary in many respects, helps you or others to define the several bands of what is generically called "the agencies". Surely I did not inted to disparage small businesses, or praise the big ones, on the contrary, if you want to know, my preference goes on dealing with the middle range of the scale described. Nevertheless, some very large and some very small business can be excellent partners, no doubt about it. Size is normally used (in our field and many others), to classify businesses, and different sizes are generally accompanied by the corresponding structures, organizational and financial setup, and different ranges of services. Again, as I said clearly, this holds no prejudice on the quality of the service offered, wich may have no relation to size. Gianfranco [Edited at 2004-01-15 22:14]
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