Following on from Charge with Confidence, Nicole is happier in her work and finds the way she is charging much more rewarding

Nicole is a French-to-English translator specialising in legal and business texts. She works mainly with lawyers, helping them navigate the complexities of the English and French legal jurisdictions. As the face behind @coleytranslates, Nicole is well known and is highly appreciated in the language services industry. 

When Nicole took part in my Charge with Confidence programme in June 2020, she had been running her freelance business for just under two years. Having worked in the legal profession beforehand, she has a wealth of experience that enables her to offer her customers added value.

The challenge: helping Nicole look beyond the ‘shoulds’ to price her services in a way that works for her

When she signed up for Charge with Confidence, Nicole realised that she was offering her customers the kind of service that you can’t just find anywhere. In fact, she had been planning to increase her rates in April 2020, but then the pandemic hit and knocked her confidence. 

Nevertheless, Nicole was determined to make sure she was charging her worth. She joined my programme with the intention of creating a solid pricing strategy and future-proofing her business. 

Besides the pandemic, one of the other things holding Nicole back was her belief that how much she could charge for translation was constrained by the industry and what she felt she ought to be charging. This was the first mindset block we needed to overcome, so that Nicole could let go of the ‘shoulds’ and see that her pricing is her decision (and no one else’s!).

The solution: showing Nicole how to look beyond translation to develop a pricing strategy using numbers that are relevant to her small business

To help Nicole see beyond the rates in her industry, I encouraged her to think about other types of professionals. During Charge with Confidence, I often compare word-based services with services in other fields, such as plumbing. You wouldn’t tell a plumber how much you’ll pay them to do their job, so why should it be any different for a translator or a copywriter? 

Indeed, Nicole says that she has started to look at what she pays for services in other industries, widening her view beyond the translation industry. Now, when she makes an appointment at the hairdresser’s, she thinks about how much she’s paying for an hour-long appointment and compares that to how much she’s charging for the same amount of time.

Nicole has also thought about how plumbers charge extra when they come out to deal with an emergency. This consideration has encouraged her to implement rush fees in her own business, which she hadn’t been applying in the past.

In addition, as well as a minimum hourly rate, Nicole used the method I teach in Charge with Confidence to set herself an aspirational hourly rate. She took advantage of the long-term vision exercise we do in the programme to set herself attainable goals with a view to her future ambitions. She says that, as a result, the way she thinks about her business finances has changed completely.

The results: Nicole has increased her prices and is now earning even higher than her aspirational rate with some of her customers

Nine months after completing Charge with Confidence, Nicole has implemented some significant changes in her business. She initially contacted all her clients who weren’t yet paying her minimum hourly rate and firmly told them she would be increasing her prices. The response she received was overwhelmingly positive, encouraging her to raise her rates with some of her other customers as well as establish rush fees.

Nicole has also stopped working on some projects that simply weren’t worth her while from a financial point of view. She says she feels much happier for it, which is something I always love to hear from my mentees! 

As for her pricing strategy in general, Nicole has moved away from charging per word. She now has some agency clients paying her per hour and many direct clients paying her per project. She finds this method more motivating and rewarding as she is able to see instantly how the time she spends on a project is remunerated.

Not only this, Nicole is now earning her aspirational rate from most of her clients. In fact, some of them are even paying more! She says that even though her rates are on the high end for the translation industry, since her clients tend to be lawyers, they usually find her prices very reasonable. This goes to show the importance of looking beyond your industry when creating a pricing strategy and establishing your rates.

When I asked Nicole what she would say to anyone considering Charge with Confidence, I couldn’t have felt prouder.

I’m so happy that Nicole now feels as though she is charging and earning what she deserves. But as well as creating a solid pricing strategy that works for her and her business, she has also taken steps to safeguard her own future. Charge with Confidence gave Nicole the accountability and encouragement she needed to set up a pension. Not only is the future of her small business secured, so is Nicole’s own long-term future.

If you realise that you need to safeguard your own future and/or the future of your freelance business, you can take Charge with Confidence too. Click on the button below to find out more about the programme.