Defining Moments

I grew up in Italy, and from a young age I enjoyed learning languages and became fascinated with other cultures. Before starting my business, I was a research assistant at the University of Durham in the Chemistry department. I was often approached by… read more

Defining Moments

In 2005, I saw the opportunity to start a new venture in the company. After being chosen as a preferred supplier to deliver business culture models for the UK Trade and Investment in 2005, I focussed on delivering language services for international… read more

Defining Moments

The language industry is a highly competitive marketplace- and that was my biggest challenge when I decided to turn my passion into a business. I remember reading about Anh Mao and her accomplishments in the Journal, and wonder how she became so… read more

Lifestyle Story

In the beginning, my aspirations weren’t all that big. I wanted to be able to drop the kids off and pick them up from school, and be there for them when they were at home. I used to check my mail in the evening, and this actually secured my first… read more

Lifestyle Story

Because I work from home, I mainly interact with my team and clients via the internet. I have two different ring tones, so I know when I’m about to receive a business call. Sometimes it’s difficult to explain to friends who knock at the door that I… read more

Mistake To Avoid

My biggest mistake was probably in year 2 when I allowed one single client- based in the US and paying in dollars- to contribute about 2/3rds to our overall turnover. I was too excited about the short term advantage (doubling the turnover from year 1),… read more

Pearl Of Wisdom

In my opinion, if you’re considering starting your own business, you’re already an entrepreneur in nature- the others don’t even consider the issue! Find your answer to the question, ‘Why should they choose me?’ and, in less than 50 words, be prepared to… read more

Success

My business hasn’t always taken the direction I would have anticipated. Our online language course, Destination Italy, which was developed in 2005, didn’t have the expected success in terms of profits, but it gave me immense benefits in terms of… read more

Success

My biggest success so far was when I was chosen to represent the ‘Passionate about technology’ campaign by One NorthEast. I’m featured in one of the six short films showing how computer based technology is facilitating the success of business in the… read more

Success

I find it challenging to select the most appropriate people for our projects from our database of translators, and make sure that they’re available when we need their services. We receive on average ten requests of employment a week, from freelance… read more

Aspiration

The North East is a hot bed for linguists, and I want to contribute to the successful future of the language industry based here, with our e-school, Translation Academy. Through the academy, expert translators offer advice and assistance on how to step… read more

Support Story

My main support has come from my family and friends. My husband is a great source of inspiration and always offers me feedback. When something goes wrong, he says, “You need to speculate to accumulate,” and his views from outside are very… read more