Episode 24: Course-Correction for Your Business During Times of Uncertainty

No matter how well you plan ahead, there are times when things happen that are out of your control. We're all experiencing this right now as a result of this year's events.

Perhaps the world health and economic crisis threw a wrench in your business plans this year. Or maybe your career had to take a back seat due to family obligations or parenting responsibilities. Or perhaps you've experienced an uptick in work (in which case, congratulations!).

Normally, this summer, we would do a mid-year business review and set goals for the next 6 months, but it’s not so easy to do that this year.

We hear you! That's why this episode is a conversation about correcting course and setting new goals for your translation or interpreting business for the rest of 2020 (and maybe the start of 2021).

Here is a summary of our conversation:

• Which tips from our previous episode about planning a solo business retreat (here it is in case you missed that one!) are still relevant for business review/business planning in times of uncertainty

• How to lay out the goals for your business retreat and decide what aspects of your business and life you will be planning

• Why it is important to decide where and when you will do your business retreat and schedule some uninterrupted time to complete it

• Why you might want to do a virtual business retreat with a colleague and how to organize it

• Examples of topics to cover during your business retreat, including:

o Tasks that you dislike or don’t have time for, things that you could outsource, delegate, or cross off your list

o Peak productivity hours and tasks that you do best in the morning or the afternoon (and how the current reality has affected this)

o How the global pandemic and current economy have affected your business and if you need to consider changing course, diversifying, or pivoting your business

o Parenting responsibilities and how they affect your availability

o Various aspects related to your workspace, especially if you are share it with other family members

o Goals related to health, lifestyle, and hobbies

• Next steps after you've completed your business retreat

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 8: Setting Goals for the New Year

• ACES: The Society for Editing

• IABC: International Association of Business Communicators

• The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper

• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

• List of translated editions of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

• Full Focus Planner

• Book of the Month

On August 4th we'll be sending our email subscribers a summary of today’s episode with a link to all the resources that we mentioned today. If you’d like to receive it, please sign up for our emails below.

We’ll also be taking a short break for the rest of the month of August to recharge and spend some time with our families. Our next episode will be released on September 8th. Talk to you then!

For a full list of resources, visit the show notes page for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/24