What you bill today affects tomorrow!

Homes, flights, used cars, products – all determine their price based on previous sales. The real estate market will mark a lowered priced “outside of the typical range” sale as a “Disqualified Sale”. This way it does not affect the current value of the surrounding homes to determine future values. Appraisers use different methods when determining a price of a home but are especially reliant on the previous sales within the home’s surrounding neighborhood. Does the same concept apply and affect you as a sign language interpreter? Absolutely! Hiring entities, will expect to receive the same or comparable rates as other entities have paid for on past requests; and the cycle will continue on. Take for example a well-known purchaser of sign language interpreting services. Recently a representative from one of the local offices sought to secure a sign language interpreter. After a few minutes into the conversation it was discovered the hiring entity was receiving a deal, that to me personally does not make sense. The sign language interpreter offered a rate lower than the usual, which should be considered a “Disqualified Rate”, to the hiring entity and went as far as to offer a one hour minimum with no travel nor mileage. The interpreter was located about 45 minutes one-way (without traffic) from the service location and of course had another 45 minutes invested to return to their home base location plus the time spent on-site at the service location (a request could be completed within 15 minutes for this entity, but no data was retrieved to determine how many requests were completed within 15 minutes for the interpreter that offered the direct-bill one-hour minimum). The same interpreter priced their rate with the agency to represent them with a two-hour minimum plus mileage or travel time “portal to portal”. What do you as a sign language interpreter – who may have completed an ITP training to become an interpreter or possibly by association with the Deaf community have come to learn sign language in a skillful way allowing you to become an interpreter, even becoming certified – want to leave for an “appraiser” to determine is the value of the work of a sign language interpreter? What message or mark do you want to leave yesterday, where what you bill, will forever be ingrained in history, and the pricing structure offered today will be the foundation for tomorrow’s expected rates? What you bill today affects tomorrow!