Episode 53: Smart Habits for Dealing with the Feast and Famine Cycle with Yulia Tsybysheva

Smart Habits for Translators

Today, we want to share an important discussion that we don’t tend to hear a lot of honest conversations about, at least not in a public forum. Freelancers and business owners know that the feast and famine cycle can really take a toll, especially if you’re unprepared to handle times of famine.

If you’ve ever been in the middle of a famine in your business, you know how unsettling it can be . . . waiting for that next project, wondering how you’re going to make it to the next big check. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

The feast and famine cycle doesn’t have to be on repeat in your translation or interpreting business. There is another way to run a freelance business, and that’s what we want to share with you in this conversation.

We’re excited to welcome our colleague, Yulia Tsybysheva, to join us today!

Yulia is a Russian marketing translator based in the UK. Originally from Russia, she’s lived in the UK for over 10 years and has worked in the translation industry for over 15. She works with clients in the fashion, beauty, jewelry, and travel industries and specializes in web and app localization, as well as transcreation.

Recently, Yulia also started a new role as a Russian Language Lead at Flo Health app.

Listen in to hear our conversation with Yulia on:

• When and how she started her freelance career, what services she offers, and how her translation business evolved over time

• What smart habits have been crucial in her career

• Advice for fellow translators who find themselves in a famine cycle

• How to maintain a level head about your business when you’re in a famine cycle

• Tips for navigating the feast/famine cycle and finding long-term ways to overcome it

• What marketing methods work best for Yulia, and how she finds time to fit them into her schedule

• Smart habit tips to create more times of feast than famine while not falling into a state of burnout

• Yulia’s tips and tricks on enjoying a freelance career and parenthood, and how she protects boundaries between her work and personal life

RESOURCES WE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Our next Virtual Business Retreat

• Yulia’s website

• Connect with Yulia on LinkedIn and Twitter

• Yulia’s blog post for the ATA’s Slavic Languages Division blog: Localizing digital products into Russian: what is it like?

• Yulia’s interview for Slovo, the ATA Slavic Languages Division podcast

• The Freelance Bible: Everything You Need to Go Solo in Any Industry by Alison Grade

• Freelancer Magazine

• Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Mark Williams and Denny Penman

• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/53