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Comment by thegyppo | Hacker News Reader

Outsource the writing, then spend time doing the quality checking rather than the hard yards. That should allow you to scale 2-3x faster & take on more work.

The downside is trying to find good contractors who can translate to a standard that you set.

Good luck!

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That's exactly what I am doing. Translation agencies nearly always operate by employing freelance translators. All of my translators are freelance (though have all gone through my trainings and we enjoy a very close relationship during the work day via Skype). My job is business (and everything that goes with it), project management, development (xib customization), QA and proof reader. I'm "doing" too much, but like I said, can't afford the time / money at the moment to get someone else on board.

You could try outsourcing to Language Students at a local University. They are probably cheaper than other local translators (don't take the piss) and could become employees as you scale.

We did exactly this last time we needed translation work to be done.

Put up flyers in the local universities offering part time work to students with good english and fluent in one of various other languages.

We had litterly HUNDREDS of applicants even though the pay was only marginally above minimum wage and some very good candidates to choose from. Of course there is a big imbalance for different languages depending on the ethnic makeup of your local universities.

Many of the foreign students are quite well off financially anyway and don't care about the money, they just want the opportunity to improve their english and add to their resume, of course you have to be wary of visa issues.

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