Historical Research the Website

[1st_law]

I've just had a second go at setting up a website for my girlfriend's company: Pertinax (named for the Roman Emperor). She does contract historical research, general editing and translation between English and Dutch.

It's not the most sophisticated website but it should be compatible with most browsers.(which is better than the earlier version I

Comments

[omniscient_fool]

Provided that there is no hypertext on the page then it's working in firefox 15 on OS X.

I don't know which of you designed it, but it's a nice site. Simple, yet friendly. I've been thinking of setting up as a freelancer like this next year when I finish my PhD and this is a much better site than the convoluted ridiculousness I had in my head! :)

[1st_law]

It was a joint effort.

There's no hypertext yet. We are thinking of extra pages with an extended bio and with selected completed projects.

At the moment most of her earnings have gone to the tax man or the chamber of commerce (in part because of not filling a VAT return on time). The big problem seems to be advertising. We're going to put some flyers up in university departments but other than networking we're not sure how to drum up much business.

Fortunately she also has a day job teaching classics.

[omniscient_fool]

I think word of mouth and networking with people in universities is likely going to be my plan too. I've heard that North American universities are good to target as the students there are often much more open to the idea of paying for proofreading services and some departments even insist on a thesis being professionally proofread as part of the official requirements and recommend particular freelancers to their students.

[1st_law]

Americans are good but I doubt they are going to reach out to a Dutch woman to proof read their work unless it's a subject specific thing and she's built up a very good reputation. The Dutch often have proof reading funds written into their PhD grants so there is a ready market here. They also have to prepare abstracts in both English and Dutch so they need academic grade translation.

I'll pass on the suggestion though, the internet does make the world a much smaller place. How would you break in?

[omniscient_fool]

Oh, well that's great that there's already a market where you are. I know that Americans approach UK based editors but I don't know whether they would choose a Dutch person if there wasn't a Dutch language element or a relevant subject specialism involved. I would like to think there wouldn't be any prejudice, but I just don't know. Might be worth talking to colleagues from N America. My idea for getting into the American market was going to be to ask people I know who teach at American universities to consider putting up a flyer or recommending me to their students, so I don't actually have any better ideas than what you are doing already, just an alternative market suggestion.

I also wonder if Asian and African universities might be good places to target. Those cultures tend to spend a lot more money on their education and also have a more international outlook.