Title: … but I cannot afford not to.<p>Almost a year ago I decided to quit my job and start 2011 doing something I've always wanted to do: start my own company. I started with two primary aims: 1) to provide the best, most accessible app translation service and 2) learn as much as I can about running a business as possible. I decided from the very start it was ok if there were a few mistakes along the way, just learn from them for the future.<p>Now I'm at a point where my knowledge escapes me and I'm looking for some advice as I'm beginning to turn away customers.<p>My revenue is client based. A small iOS or Mac OS app can take me around 4-5 hours of my time in a week. A medium sized app 8-10 hours. A big app or a technical app takes me much much longer. And that's only if things go well. You all know client work involves last minute changes and lengthy email discussions.<p>As you can see with those times, there's only so much I can do.<p>I don't charge enough. Revenue minus costs is healthy, until you factor in my own time. When we're talking pennies per word ($0.14 USD per word) you can see how a small project (250 words) costs me money and a big project (4000 words) costs me a lot of time (which means I have to refuse other projects). I can't increase costs because of competition, even though I am sure my service provides a much higher quality translation.<p>I can't afford to take a second person on. We will be able to take on more work, sure, but I can't guarantee someone a full-time position. Maybe I could use a vWorker, but I want a relationship with my colleagues. I need to know we're on the same page.<p>So as you can see, I need a bit of advice. I love my clients and the rapport I have with them. But I need to expand and move this away from a life-style business into something a bit more automated (while maintaining quality).
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