A narrower pool of clients: A win-win

Over the past few years I’ve become increasingly selective about the type of clients I work with. Read on to find out why and who I think are the ideal clients for me (spoiler: it’s the ones I’m best suited to serve).

I would like to begin by acknowledging the wonderful partnerships I've built with current clients over the years. I’m very happy to say that they all fit my “ideal client” profile, so I understand first-hand the benefits of this approach.

Why be selective about the clients I work with?

It might seem counter intuitive for a freelancer to narrow their pool of potential clients, but I believe that being selective about who I work with makes for more fruitful partnerships for both me and my clients.

Working with clients who are the right fit for me means that I am also the right fit for them. It’s a win-win situation. So how do I decide what’s the right fit?

Everything I do in my business stems from my overarching purpose: to make our world somewhere everyone has the opportunity to flourish. Fairly early in my career I chose to specialize at the intersection between human rights, sustainable development and corporate social responsibility to best enable me to further that goal.

Having studied and worked as a professional translator over many years to this end, I now only translate in these areas. This choice influences the type of clients I tend to work with: NGOs, non-profits and ethical companies.

Moreover, considering that I’m a freelancer and prefer to work alone or as part of a small team, my favourite clients are small to medium in size.

It is also important that they share my values: professionalism, integrity, competence, kindness and collaboration. And that I can get fully behind their mission and approach.

Given that English is my target language and I’m based in the UK, my clients are often donor organizations or buyers working with organizations and people in countries or communities affected by development-related issues such as poverty, poor health outcomes and human rights violations. 

My ideal clients therefore understand the value of translation for listening to local needs and knowledge, prioritizing locally-led development and decolonizing aid.

Given that I work from French and Spanish into English, I am also well placed to support non-profits and ethical companies based in or working with people in Spanish and French-speaking countries.

In particular, I have made it my business to understand the development-related issues affecting different communities in South America and French-speaking Africa. To this end, I regularly undertake training on topics ranging from land rights, women’s entrepreneurship, reproductive rights, human rights, children’s rights, climate justice and more. Experience has taught me that all these issues are interconnected and professional development activities in one area inevitably further my understanding of the other areas.

My current areas of specialization are:

Development & Governance:
Social movements & civil society organizations
Non-governmental organizations, charities & third sector organizations
Social policy & social protection
Sustainable development
Governance & corporate social responsibility (CSR)
European Works Councils
Human Rights:
International human rights law
United Nations conventions
Indigenous peoples' rights
Women's rights
Children's rights
Gender equality & gender-based violence (GBV)
International Law & Cooperation:
European Union
United Nations
Intergovernmental organizations
International migration
Health:
Disease control
Social determinants of health
Human rights to health, food and a healthy environment

I also only work with nice people. As someone who works alone from home most of the time, for my own enjoyment of my work and mental health I make sure to only work with people who show me respect and are pleasant to communicate with. I will always do the same for my clients.

Who don’t I work with?

I translate in a specialized sector and work hard to make sure my skills and knowledge are up to the job of producing high-quality, effective, fit-for-purpose translations. Clients that contact me with emails starting “Dear Linguist” are not usually looking for (or don’t have the budget for) this level of quality. I also feel that this type of opening shows a fundamental lack of respect for me and my skills because it suggests I am interchangeable with some unknown number of other “linguists”. This is not the case.

I don’t work with clients who are active in or promote gambling, arms trading, fossil fuel exploitation, environmental degradation or the use of substances that are harmful to human health or the environment (e.g. tobacco, pesticides). I don’t work with companies that have a poor human rights record. This list is not exhaustive and when a new potential client approaches me I make sure to do the requisite due diligence.

Could we be a good fit?

✓ Are you an NGO, non-profit or ethical company?
✓ Are you small to medium in size?
✓ Do you want to help all people flourish?
✓ And to protect the environment?
✓ Does your work relate to human rights, sustainable development or corporate social responsibility?
✓ Are you based in an English, French or Spanish-speaking country?
✓ Or do you work with people in an English, French or Spanish-speaking country?
✓ Do you understand the value of really listening to those you work with?
✓ Do you need to translate reports, articles, ESG policies or funding requests?
✓ Are your staff nice to work with?

If you can answer yes to most of these questions, we might well be a good fit. Drop me an email to get the ball rolling: holly.anne@whytetranslations.com.