Poll: Regarding direct clients, I find it most difficult to ... Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Regarding direct clients, I find it most difficult to ...".
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All my direct clients have been with me for some time. I didn’t find them, they found me.
| | | | | Wonderful things | Jul 28, 2025 |
I only have direct clients and have no particular difficulties with them. I'm lucky, though, since I work in a world where my clients generally tend not to see others in their sector as competitors. This means they're happy to pass on my name: museums to galleries, galleries to critics, critics to artists and, of course, artists to artists, museums to museums, and so on. I've also had museums pass my name to design studios, advertising agencies - by far the highest-paying of all clients - and ot... See more I only have direct clients and have no particular difficulties with them. I'm lucky, though, since I work in a world where my clients generally tend not to see others in their sector as competitors. This means they're happy to pass on my name: museums to galleries, galleries to critics, critics to artists and, of course, artists to artists, museums to museums, and so on. I've also had museums pass my name to design studios, advertising agencies - by far the highest-paying of all clients - and others.
I really can't think of any difficulties that I have with direct clients that I didn't have with agencies (I still work with one agency but we're down to about 1% of my annual turnover). Since direct clients pay between 20% and 400% more, the cost of dealing with them is well covered.
I used to work in the field of women's rights (when it was still a very lucrative EU thing). I started with the local university, who passed on my name to the provincial government. From there it went to the regional government, two cooperatives and then the city council. Then, all of a sudden, the funds dried up and that was the end of that. Sectors in which people communicate with each other do exist. What we need to do is make sure our direct clients know that they can thank us for all the wonderful things we do by passing on our details.
Right?
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I am looking for more direct clients because as a colleague mentioned before they pay much better, and you could work with them much longer. So, finding direct clients is the most difficult part, but keeping them is fortunately much easier. In my experience, all of them have worked with me for one year or more than that.
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Novian Cahyadi (X) 
Local time: 09:46
Back when I was still doing subtitles, I found working with direct clients were a little cumbersome. With an agency, they'd usually prepare the translation files for you. The master template, KNP (glossary), style guideline, etc. You just focus on translating the darn thing.
With a direct client, however, they'd just dump a raw video file on me. It did make me feel more appreciated as a professional, since they gave me the freedom to work in my own way using my own tools. But I also... See more Back when I was still doing subtitles, I found working with direct clients were a little cumbersome. With an agency, they'd usually prepare the translation files for you. The master template, KNP (glossary), style guideline, etc. You just focus on translating the darn thing.
With a direct client, however, they'd just dump a raw video file on me. It did make me feel more appreciated as a professional, since they gave me the freedom to work in my own way using my own tools. But I also had to kind of babysit them. They were not familiar with subtitling jargon, and peppering them with it would only drive them away. This was why I charged them higher rates. The extra administrative tasks deserve a surcharge, and you can't tell me otherwise.
[Diedit pada 2025-07-29 03:54 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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