So, you landed on my website and clicked the “Read more” button in the “About the Founder” or the “Blog” section. You want to find out more about me? You’re in the right place. However, in all transparency, I’ve waited a while write this part.

Why, you ask? Because this translation business, this website, this blog, or wherever else you’re reading this ISN’T ABOUT ME! It’s all about you, the client, browser of my website, inquirer about my services or stalker of your competition.

However, a few people have suggested (okay, highly suggested) that I write a blog article all about me. So, voilà!

For inspiration, I asked my assistant to come up with a few questions. Here are some answers.

How did you end up launching a translation business?

It all started in 2006, while on my first maternity leave. The birth of my daughter coincided with the end of a 2-year contract at the YWCA Montreal.

While working there, I was surrounded by women trying to juggle work outside the home, young kids, and time for themselves. Even though it was a great job and it allowed me to use my leadership and organizational skills, once I became a mom, the idea of working outside the home no longer appealed to me.
 
I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but also wanted to work…. This caused me to make a drastic change and to launch my own business. 

Do you work alone?

No! Although my company name is Julie Bourbeau, Translation Services, this isn’t a one-woman show. I learned very early in my translator journey that I needed to rely on the help of proofreaders to best serve clients. I’m blessed to have the best ones on my team! Birgit and David, respectively English and French proofreaders.

Their contribution is crucial! I compare translating content to writing a research paper for college or university. No matter how many times you review what you wrote, I can guarantee you that your teacher will find a few mistakes. In my case, the teacher is a client and, as such, this client deserves nothing but the best. That’s why anything that goes out to a client has been meticulously proofread before hitting the send button.

Edwige Bouyer, from EB Adjointe Virtuelle, is my assistant extraordinaire. Among other tasks, she makes sure that all content makes its way to you through this blog, my emails and social media.

What’s your biggest challenge as a freelancer?

Isolation! Even before the pandemic…

For the first 9 years of business, it was pretty much me, the kids and a computer. Then I started networking. That was a game changer!

To this day, even if networking has gone virtual, I make it a point to attend 3-4 Zoom networking events per month. The people I meet at those events inspire me and continue to inspire me on my mission to help people like you to reach out to the francophone market, increase their visibility and have a coherent bilingual message.

Why should people invest in professional translation services instead of doing it themselves, asking a co-worker, a friend or family member or using Google Translate?

Great question! Click here for an article on the subject.

I saved other questions in a content bank for future posts. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, if you have suggestions for questions, post them in comments section below.