Wolfestone Translation Blog

Swansea translation company Wolfestone Translation secures Investors in People accreditation.

After a yearlong process, Wolfestone Translations one of the UK’s leading translation companies has gained the prestigious Investors in People accreditation. Wolfestone Translation provides translation, interpretating and other language services to business throughout the UK and internationally.

In order to gain accreditation Wolfestone has had to undergo a process of implementing change within the business. This has included new procedures, extensive training and personal development planned for staff and so on.

Director of Wolfestone Anna Bastek says “We’re extremely proud to have achieved this accreditation. In the last two years our business has grown dramatically and this has been in no small part to our staff.” “At Wolfestone, we know that the most effective way to continue this progress is to help our staff achieve their full potential.”

This accreditation highlights why Wolfestone has been one of the Welsh business success stories during our darkest of economic times. Wolfestone puts trust in its people to develop, enabling the business to drive forward.

“Wolfestone doesn’t see this as a finishing point for our development. It is very much the beginning of us moving the business forward, both nationally and internationally. In fact we now have offices and teams based in Houston and Germany” says Anna.

It’s clear to see that Wolfestone is fast becoming one of the businesses to watch during 2010!

In yet another chapter of their success story, leading Swansea entrepreneurs Anna Bastek and Roy Allkin of Wolfestone Translation have been chosen to take part in the LEAD Wales project. This is an event limited to 25 of the most successful owner-managers of small or medium sized businesses, initially in the Swansea area, but eventually to cover all of Wales. It has received recognition and £8m of funding from the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Social Fund. The co-founders of Wolfestone were chosen as a result of the great potential of Wolfestone Translation and for creating employment in Wales.

It is hoped that the scheme, which is being run through Swansea University School of Business and Economics, will help some 700 businesses over the next 7 years, with the first cohort completing the scheme within 10 months. It is intended that the scheme, which provides each participant with £10,000 worth of training, will enable these businesses to “increase profitability, enable diversification and encourage business growth.” Pilot schemes trialled in the North West led to increased turnover, employment, productivity and profits.

The scheme itself involves two days study per month, which started in February with an overnight weekend experiential team-building event. Mr Allkin said about the first session “The weekend was about ice breaking and leadership training and I think the event was a great success. It really brought to light the diversity of businesses in Swansea and the real entrepreneurial talent that exists here”. Following on from this each participant is supported by the expertise of academics, mentors, coaching professionals and, of course, each other. LEAD Wales is unique in that it is a programme which attempts to meet the needs of growing companies as opposed to traditional business management courses which are aimed at start-ups or public sector managers seeking to enhance their career prospects.

When asked how she felt about the honour of being chosen for such an elite scheme, Miss Bastek said ”I was delighted to be approached by LEAD Wales. It will be very beneficial to team up with so many successful businesses and share experiences and ideas. I’m sure it will also create new business opportunities. I also believe that encouraging collaboration between higher education and the private sector will help to drive forward the Welsh economy.”

Guest post by Christian Arno, Director of Lingo 24.

If you would like to write a guest article, contact us at sales@wolfestone.co.uk or visit our website: www.wolfestone.co.uk.

Congratulations – you’re multilingual and you’ve got your translation qualifications, accreditation and some contacts in the industry – but how do you now transform your talents into taxable income? With full-time positions increasingly hard to come by, it’s lucky for you that you’ve picked an industry where it pays to go freelance. Being your own business isn’t all working-from-bed and midday television, though – consider the below pros and cons of becoming a freelance translator.

The good

The upsides to going freelance are numerous: you get to control when and how often you work; you can pick and choose the projects, ensuring varied and interesting work; once established, you may be able to charge a higher rate as a freelancer than what you would earn as a full-time employee, especially if you’re qualified to specialise in a particular area, such as business or IT; you can choose to either join a translation agency, who will bring you work but may charge a fee or percentage of earnings, or to strike out on your own and reap the benefits of your hard work building contacts; and you’re free to move and travel as you please – as long as you have a computer and the internet you’re in business. Getting established is no easy task, but online translation communities like Proz.com can be invaluable for advice and contacts, and once you’re settled with a database of reliable clients you’ll never look back.

The bad

The major downside to going freelance is maintaining a regular stream of incoming work – one week you may be swamped with projects, while the next you may find yourself spending more time making tea than translating documents. Dedicating your downtime to fostering relationships with potential clients is the best way to ensure you don’t get caught short – keep a regular stream of communication open with existing and potential clients and you’ll find the extra hours spent on the phone and email pay off financially in the long run.

Being self-employed also means managing your own accounts, invoicing and tax records – setting aside a block of time each week to catch up on administrative duties is the only way to make sure you don’t end up buried under a mountain of paperwork at the end of each financial year. Of course, going freelance also means you’re not entitled to general company benefits like pension schemes, holiday pay, sick pay and health insurance – even though you can take a holiday whenever you feel like it, you’ll need a well-maintained budget to make sure you can always pay the next month’s rent!

The ugly

Sorry to break the bad news, but when you go freelance, the only person who’s going to make sure you get paid is you. Keeping on top of your invoices by ensuring they’re sent error-free and on time, then keeping a close eye on which get paid, and promptly but politely following up on those which don’t, will help to ensure your hard work doesn’t disappear into an administrative black hole. Also, unless you have a tech support team for your home office, it’s up to you to make sure you’re digitally connected all the time – no phone and no internet means no business. Now get out there and start hustling!