Bio

Sue Leschen is a lawyer – linguist and the Director of Avocate a niche market legal and commercial French interpreting and translation company based in Manchester, UK.

Avocate is also an independent provider of professional conduct, legal terminology and business clinics and workshops both F to F and also via webinar and skype. Sue is a member of several professional conduct committees in the UK: Institute of Translation and Interpreting,

National Register of Public Service Interpreters and also Regulatory Boards for Sign Language Interpreters and Translators and of the Appeals and Complaints Panel of National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deaf  - Blind people .

Sue  runs Business Clinics for interpreters and translators both F to F and online and speaks and writes regularly on professional conduct issues –such as the theme of interpreters acting professionally if we want to be treated as professionals.

She is a member of the Association of Police and Court Interpreters and of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and of The International Association for Interpreters and Translators.

However, she is foremost “a hands on interpreters’ interpreter”!

The Translator/ Interpreter as Entrepreneur – how to be enterprising!

Presentation in:

Translators and interpreters are not naturally business people – we have to learn the hard way how to set up a business and then keep it running.  We may be gifted linguists with impressive qualifications but how do we establish a business that both pays and stays?  

Are we running a business not a charity? This presentation aims to inspire colleagues to be proactive entrepreneurs by drawing on our mutual experiences in the market place – the successes and the failures – what works and what doesn’t.

Entrepreneurs are commonly individuals who set up several businesses and who take on financial risks in the hope of making a profit. They use their initiative to create ventures and know how to take advantage of opportunities.  This presentation will help us to transition ourselves into being executives, speculators, innovators – and “go – getters” because being “just” a translator is not enough.

Entrepreneurs know how to scour the job market for opportunities and how to diversify their services so if one market closes we can constantly open up new ones if necessary.

We will also look at how to keep all of the bases covered all of the time - ensuring a healthy cash flow, marketing, producing high quality work, keeping clients on board, having a home, and family life. Entrepreneurs know how to mix business with pleasure and how to turn business into a pleasurable activity!

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