Choosing less-travelled paths to new clients and collaborations

At a time when many language professionals are exploring alternative career paths, Gabriela Kouahla’s talk injected optimism and fresh ideas on how to forge collaborations and attract new clients by being curious and learning from each other. Ring any bells, MET members? Curiosity, a recurrent theme in her talk, has driven every stage of her own career as a proofreader and freelance translator, and has opened her world to people whose mindset is one of collaboration, not competition, taking her in less obvious directions.

So, what stops us from taking less-travelled paths? It may be fear of instability, complacency, clichés about certain markets and regions, or uncertainty about where to start or who to trust. Yet, Gabriela argued, daring to look beyond the familiar can open unimagined doors. When she started working with researchers in under-represented regions, both her client base and her worldview expanded. Stepping outside our comfort zones can teach us adaptability, patience and, crucially, cultural humility.

We may be put off by the sometimes racist clichés and stereotypical portrayals of other markets: Chinese clients pay low rates, Indian clients are bad payers, unfamiliar banking systems and currencies are complicated, for example. But these stem from isolated negative experiences that stand in the way of real collaboration. Once we start working directly with professionals in other regions, we will find well-organised teams, robust payment systems and long-term partnerships.

Having convinced us that we have everything to gain by taking the road less travelled, Gabriela gave some tips on where to begin. Learn about the local context, professional culture and communication style; define our own value in terms of expertise, languages, reliability and so on; join professional associations and networks; and don’t be afraid to pick up the phone – it won’t bite you!

So how do we make this collaboration happen? Mutual trust develops in partnerships that combine an outsider’s perspective and way of working with local colleagues’ knowledge of the culture and its unspoken rules. In turn, this mutual trust brings in new clients through word of mouth, the oldest marketing tool in the book.

Gabriela suggested some strategies to make these ideas work in practice: ask for advance payments if necessary, adapt services to real needs, and provide localised solutions, payment methods, currencies and schedules that work for all partners. She stressed the importance of empathy in every aspect of our business dealings – building trust, communicating clearly, delivering consistently and documenting agreements. As she wrote in the notes she generously shared with me: “Professionalism is universal, it just speaks different cultural languages”.

We can sustain and nourish this growth by staying visible, by being problem solvers rather than just service providers, and by prioritising long-term collaboration over quick gains. But above all, Gabriela urged us to include underserved communities. When we offer fair rates, mentor others and share our knowledge, we go beyond the transactional to forge ecosystems. In doing so, we recognise our collective responsibility to create a more inclusive profession – by making essential language services more accessible, respecting local contexts and co-creating sustainable, culturally aware solutions. In all Gabriela’s projects, accessibility is non-negotiable.

Finally, Gabriela talked about mindset, which she calls the invisible architecture of success. No matter how many tools and strategies you learn, without curiosity, adaptability, resilience and openness, success is on shaky ground. Curiosity keeps us learning, adaptability keeps us relevant, resilience keeps us active when results take time – and openness to new cultures, accents and ways of working keeps us human.

This METM25 presentation was chronicled by Mary Savage.

Featured photo by METM25 photographer Julian Mayers.