It has been quite an exciting week for me and I wanted to update earlier but there has been just too many things to take care of and I also wanted it to be final before I tell the whole world about this small achievement.
Well, it’s regarding my freelancing.
I’ve been doing translations (part-time) since 2002 and from then onwards was given some opportunities to also come up with copies for publications and adverts. I have my cousin, Fida, to thank as she was the one who initially opened up the possibilities for me when she was working in an advertising agency. The big jobs, though, came in thru another ad agency who was working with me on projects when I was working in the financial industry. They thought I could translate better than the translators they were using and offered me an amazing experience.
Things looked good from then on. Well… I wasn’t really aggressive in marketing myself and I only got jobs in once in awhile but they were tremendously helpful especially when I needed the extra cash to buy school books and uniform for the little munchkin. Man… I can clearly remember that one day when I cried to a friend because I didn’t have enough to buy his books and uniform at the end of the year before school starts. 2 days later, fate ran its course and walah… a payment came in and I thought the tears were wasted on nothing ;P
I stopped freelancing when I took up this big job with my former company but I definitely had to thank freelancing for that was when I was discovered by one of the big bosses there and offered me to head and set up a new department in the company. Things were so hectic that I could no longer take up any side jobs. Furthermore, my main intention to freelance was to earn extra cash for a better education for the little munchkin and the ADHD therapy sessions he was getting at Gleneagles Hospital. Once my main income was good, I felt I no longer had to freelance.
I totally forgot how good it can turn out as I’ve been so engrossed in the hustle and bustle of office life for a good 3 years that it scared me so much when we decided that I stay home to tend to my newborn. I was positive in getting small jobs as a start but I didn’t know if I could manage the financial commitments I was so used to. But I guess, when you have your priorities right and you start to focus on what’s important, there’s a lot of ways for you to live your life. It’s a matter of whether you want to or not.
I started calling my trusted old contacts and was glad that they’re glad I’m back to doing what I used to do for them.
Thru the few months of self-employment, things have been looking good and I guess the years of working in the communications line is pretty rewarding as one builds her contacts. I started to obtain new clients from recommendations by friends and family members, and found myself having to update my business profile whenever I get enquiries from potential clients. This made me consider making the business legal and came up with suitable names for the business.
Just before Christmas 2008, I submitted my application to register my business as an enterprise and I’d like to thank the one’s sister (and boyfriend) who dropped by last Monday and helped me finalise the registration. It was truly unintentional as their visit was for other matters. Of course, the person I should also thank is none other than my the one, who was just as excited and helped me complete the process thru the online application on ssm.com.my.
Without them, I didn’t know that business registration can be so simple and cheap (it only costs RM65 for online registration vs. RM400 as mentioned here).
My sis-in-law’s boyfriend had also initiated the search for my business domain and as a return of favour for my services to go thru his company profile, he designed the simplest yet pretty logo for me to further play around with.
thanks, Naim... i totally love the logoI am now a proud owner of Ideas on Words. I came up with that name and thought it was a brilliant work of a copywriter until I googled it up and found something close but not that close in meaning. When I thought of other names and was confident of its originality, I found many other similar names from the search engine. So I guess there never really could be anything original anymore unless one comes up with a new word and meaning, eh ;)
But it came from me and I am proud of this little achievement.
Here’s hoping to a prosperous journey and I’d like to thank the one for being so supportive and patient in taking care of the baby during those nights when I really have to work.
I have forwarded my profile to friends and contacts, and will now start on the website.
This has been a truly exciting progress and I thank you guys who’ve been a part of this success. This is my new baby :D
17 comments:
congrats dear...
i saw your profile dah..... nanti i sebarkan about u kt tempat keje i ye!!!
Congratz. If you're searching for baby products, don't forget to visit http://www.mybaby.com.my/ :)
i used to translate theses back in uni, money was good, but i found it quite hard coz i dont really have a systematic way to translate all the stuff ranging from engineering to finance. how do you do it lah?
Congratulations on the new baby :). I love the innovative name your company goes by.
dear nina,
thank you darling!!
hi jeffery,
thanks for the link. is that your establishment? i shall add the link to my favourite list along with the other baby online-shopping site i frequent.
take care.
zaza darling...
first of all, do you know eju and muz has left us for the UK? oh wait... muz is joining her in a few weeks time i think. *sob sob* you should keep in touch with eju. her blog address is muzeju.wordpress.com.
about translation tu, i guess you have to have an eye for details. eh wait... you do have an eye for details kan. so, next step would be to have the right tools, ie. specific dictionaries for specific industries. i ada secret tool which i cannot share la kan otherwise i tak boleh cari makan nanti cos everyone would know how to translate hehe ;P the one terjumpa by chance when he was helping me out with a couple of really tough terms in economy. so, with that tool, translation becomes breezy.
next, would be to remember what term you use throughout the document for a specific word so that the document stays consistent. this is not very easy but it takes practise. you would also need to write it down on another paper and have to constantly refer to previous pages you've translated. it's penat but that's the only way to do it. ala... pakai computer ni senang. just press ctrl F for you to find that word and replace all with a word you'd like to use to make it consistent. senang aje bah.
oopss... i revealed one trade secret already hehe. takpe... ada banyak lagi secrets.
i guess bila it's already a business, you would be more serious about it and be a perfectionist (that won't be too hard on us both since we're both perfectionist!) hehe.
last but not least, always let another people read your work. orang tu must understand the terms la or you lagi tension sebab they'll ask you all those stupid questions. hahah. i paling tension orang yang direct translate.
when another person reads your work, he/she can point out some sentences that may not sound right.
itu saja... helpful tak?
hi chech,
thanks, dear. i'm glad you think it's clever :D
you've been busy, eh? don't see you updating as often as you did before. how are you holding up?
wah! what a great way to start your new year! Congrats dear.. I'm so happy for u.. btw, what is actually a copywriter? what do they do actually.. email aje la kalau rajin & free k..
great news la Cookie :-) .. thanks for the info on SSM tu as I was looking around for ity *wink* *wink* .. u followed yr passion n walla ... ;-)
Will spread the news ..
dear emly,
thanks, babe.
copywriter tu is what you call a person who writes the wordings on advertisements, taglines and the works. we don't call 'wordings' in advertising/communications lingo. instead, we call them 'copy'. so, a person who writes 'copies' is called, copywriter.
many people mistake copies in advertising macam buat photostat copies. but that's understandable la i guess since it's a specific term.
just like an 'account executive' in advertising, it is very different than an 'accounts executive' in an accounts/finance department ;D
ome,
that was my intention - to share with everyone on the company registration simple process before you get conned by agents.
i'm still waiting for my RM400 money back.
Hi toughcookie. I love word-play. 'On words' sounds like 'onwards', thus more impact on the brand.
I'd love to update my blog, but, at the end of the day, after work, and after feeding a very hungry Khalish who refused to drink as much from the bottle (at the nursery), all I could think of would be 'sleep, sleep, sleep' =D
It must be liberating to be able to do what you enjoy most doing. Particularly at work. I look forward to reading more insights on your new baby. Inspiring.
Congrats beskot. Rezeki baby! :) I soo wish I can work from home...working in your own space and time. Anyways, here's wishing you success in all ways!
Oh my god!! Congratulation! I am so happy to hear the news. I am confident that you can do anything you set your mind into.
Miss you guys so much. I wish I am there because this baby command a big celebration!
Love you darling. All the best and good luck. Not that you need it because you are a toughcookee after all...
hi chech,
that's why at first i was so excited about the name and told the one that i want to buy rights to it! dalam ke'excitedness'an tu the one asked me whether i've googled the name. ciss... ada one american company name that sounds pretty close although with a totally different meaning. plus, kat mesia ni it seems takde special copyright issue. apparently, as long as something is published here, it automatically becomes copywrite-d. make sense ke?
i get what you mean about getting tired. i can imagine that feeling of wanting to go to sleep but put others' needs before yourself.
ya, i am grateful for this. i am.
dear nour...
thanks! :D
how's the new place?
eju Darrlinggg...
chenkyu, chenkyu. thanks for the confidence.
tu la... this calls for another celebration at our apartment! hehe. tak pun, take a rain check and we'll celebrate when we see you there *smug* tah bila la tu.
btw, thanks for getting jada those onesies sleepwear. how did you know i love those?? exactly what i love and it is so bloody difficult to find those here you know. we've tried searching everywhere and the only place that has onesies with those 'pop-out' buttons is baby gap. expensive. tak beli pun. mothercare here do not carry those onesies and only have those with buttons at the bottom area. leceh nak pakai long onesies kena masuk from the head. baby pun rimas. the best we found (and reasonably priced) is from pureen. tapi the buttons are those yang kena fasten. so tedious and senang tercabut. jada would definitely appreciate those too since she hates putting on clothes from her head.
luv you! take good care of yourself.
wow, great to hear about your newborn baby!!! well one can be productive too while being at home... janji duit masyukkk... hehehe and also satisfaction. and you'll have more time being with your kids too!
dear chocfudge,
definitely!
in the future, ada proposal i nak buat kat you. nanti i email :D
Hey. Congrats! If you need help, feel free to ask me. Not that I can help much, but I can try. :)
azmir,
sure, thanks... i thought i did email you my profile... lemme check balik my email.
hmmm i wonder what... must have to do with babies huh?
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