Poll: How much of your income do you invest into your business?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jan 14, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How much of your income do you invest into your business?".

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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:22
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jan 14, 2020

I'm not really sure how to respond here. I suppose I would say enough to keep it going. For example, many translators make do with only one computer, and many people only use a laptop rather than a desktop machine. However, I prefer to have at least two fully functioning desktop PCs so that if an issue arises with one of them, I can keep working on the other. I also have a laptop for when I'm travelling or will have to spend time waiting, for example in doctors surgeries, hospitals, the dentists... See more
I'm not really sure how to respond here. I suppose I would say enough to keep it going. For example, many translators make do with only one computer, and many people only use a laptop rather than a desktop machine. However, I prefer to have at least two fully functioning desktop PCs so that if an issue arises with one of them, I can keep working on the other. I also have a laptop for when I'm travelling or will have to spend time waiting, for example in doctors surgeries, hospitals, the dentists or airports. I pay for my software updates. Apart from that, I can't really think of any other "investments" in my "business"...Collapse


Desiree Davidse
Eduardo Digen
Vanda Nissen
Philip Lees
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:22
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Jan 14, 2020

My big investments were made at the very beginning and after that I’ve invested in repairs, replacements and updates when the need aroused. My printer has started again doing a strange grinding noise... Other than that I’m good!

Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
 
Anton Konashenok
Anton Konashenok  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 15:22
French to English
+ ...
50-75%, but... Jan 14, 2020

I invest more than half of my earnings into my other business, whereas the translation one gets by on less than 1%.

 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:22
German to English
Relatively little nowadays Jan 14, 2020

I used to invest a lot in my business with regular purchases of equipment, reference material, software tools, journal subscriptions, etc.

I've let all my memberships and subscriptions lapse and haven't purchased a hardcover dictionary in a few years. I buy a new computer every 5 years and keep my software up-to-date (CAT tools, a few basic utilities). I replace worn out equipment, but am not currently planning any major expenditures.


Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Vanda Nissen
Vanda Nissen  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 00:22
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
Difficult to say Jan 14, 2020

While I pay annually for professional memberships, costs of PD activities, hardware and software vary from year to year. If I attend a professional conference overseas, it certainly costs more than a free PD event in Brisbane:).

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:22
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Less than 10% Jan 15, 2020

Working at home, already with a decent equipment, the investments are only for replacements and a bit of networking (which is mainly free of charge anyway).

Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:22
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Less than 10% Jan 15, 2020

A new desktop computer with a ginormous screen and a small laptop 18 months ago, and a nice laser all-in-one printer with OCR two years ago. The trend seems to be to charge monthly fees for updates to MS Office, Adobe, and several other programs that I use. I saw my tech once in 2019. I have no other expenses at this point.

 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:22
French to English
No idea Jan 15, 2020

I have no idea of the percentage and no interest in working it out (there's a reason why I became a translator and not an accountant!). I pay my dues here and to the French translators' society, and last year I bought a new laptop and a CAT tool, and that's about it. I meant to send Wikipedia a donation during their donation drive and I forgot, so I'll send extra next time.

 
Nikolay Novitskiy
Nikolay Novitskiy  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 19:22
Member (2018)
English to Russian
25% Mar 24, 2020

I translate and test video games, and I have to invest a lot in hardware: an up-to-date gaming PC, 2 smart devices, a laptop, 2 large monitors and a spacy and comfortable workplace.

 


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Poll: How much of your income do you invest into your business?






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