The old saying "you reap what you sow" has traditionally been applied to bad decision making. The urge to cut corners, save pennies and trim the fat on business and personal expenses is always on our minds. We're constantly on the lookout for lower prices, sales, deals, clearances and other ways to make stretch our dime.
And we should be. There's nothing wrong with being thrifty, especially as a business owner or manager.
However, there are three major things that you should never, ever skimp on: anniversary gifts, sushi and important document or business translations.
Shoddy gifts and cut-rate petrol station sushi are pretty obvious. The first my earn you a slap, the other may cause you an extended stay in the washroom. It's the third, though, that could cause irreparable damage to your business, a never ending hailstorm of legal issues and could potentially even mess with your identity.
High quality translations matter for your business
If your business is expanding overseas, working with international employees or contractors, localising your products and website, or starting new marketing campaigns abroad, a poor translation can hurt your company in more ways than one.
When you're first introduced to a new product or service, what do you base that initial impression on?
Most would say that it's in the presentation and the comprehensibility of the product and its relevance to you. When I visit a website, searching for a product - or even just a relevant article, poor translations have me heading for the return button faster than you can say 'Google Translate".
The average visitor to your website is going to spend less than 15 seconds on your site before going back to Google or moving on to something else. If your website isn't properly translated and engaging that time could be even lower. It doesn't matter if you're selling the cure for cancer, if people can't immediately see the value and understand it fully in those few, precious seconds, you may as well not even exist.
A proper translation - that is, one not scribbled by a cut-rate, cheapo, nameless individual in a darkened room with no windows - will at least appear more professional to your potential clients, and that first appeal is going to be essential in not making yourself look like a fool.
But moving beyond that, your existing clients need to be aware of the full range of services you offer. They need to be clear on the terms and conditions of your company. Your foreign contractors need to be completely in the loop, and you just can't do this with Google Translate.
Furthermore, a lousy translation can cost you a lot of money - and perhaps worse; reputation. If your presentation to a foreign market doesn't pass muster your product or services may come across poorly, in turn reflecting on the quality of your business and yourself.
As just one example; in 2009 the major global bank, HSBC faced reparations worth 10 million USD when their globalisation campaign's marketing slogan was mistranslated from "assume nothing" to "do nothing." You can probably see without too much assistance why this relatively small mistake was catastrophic to the company.
You really don't want this to happen to you, and the best way to avoid this is by finding and working with a higher quality translator. The increased cost may be a drop in the bucket versus the amount you may otherwise pay.
Don't be stingy on important personal documents either
When it comes to translating your most valuable documents - things like birth and marriage certificates or academic qualifications - you really don't want to be messing around with the cheapest options.
Your birth certificate or marriage license are documents you keep forever (hopefully, anyway). It doesn't matter where you go, you're always going to need to have them ready for whatever foreign adventures come your way.
If you move or live abroad, travel frequently or are otherwise in frequent contact with official entities that do not speak your native language you need to be prepared!
I cannot overstate the importance of not being a cheapskate here.
Let's say you purchase a mediocre translation of your birth certificate for your Russian visa- or perhaps you decide to translate it yourself using software and a big old dictionary. What could possibly happen?
The worst case scenario is that you mistranslate some vital piece of information that ends up causing you legal, identity issues down the road. This can be a serious hassle when trying to negotiate and sort work documents, visas, passports, housing, health insurance or of taxes.
A sub-standard translation of your official documents abroad can cause applications for schools, jobs, loans and insurances to be denied, and miscommunication surrounding taxes paid or owed is probably hard enough in the local language, let alone yours. Mistakes such as these can lead to years of bureaucracy, fees and mind numbing anxiety.
Legalese is complex enough all by itself, you really don't need to complicate it further by causing any shortcomings in understanding between you and the parties with which you operate, just to save a few bucks.
Language is complex stuff
Language encodes everything, from the way we communicate to the way that we perceive the world around us. As such, nuance can run so precariously between speakers of different tongues that it truly takes an expert to navigate the subtleties.
These subtleties are not to be trifled with lightly. Often, the slightest of errors can cause a massive misunderstanding between parties that results in financial or personal woes.
Buying the cheapest translator you can find for your business is analogous to playing with fire. Maybe they get it right, maybe they don't.
Do you really want to take the risk when your business's money is at stake?
Do you really want to gamble on your personal documents, your visa or your child's birth certificate?
I should hope not.
A good translation is rarely cheap, but a cheap translation is rarely good.
