Translating Words, Transforming Lives

I promised to discuss Sustainable Brands more when I returned from the conference, and I will, but what I want to impart here in this blog is that WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE. No one can change our world or fix our planet but us. We all are powerful, we all can make a difference.

The difference we've chosen to make here at In Every Language is two-fold. That's why we're calling it Translation Plus Two.

I could write about it, and I'm sure in future blogs, I will, but for now, I simply want to introduce the idea that translation can be more and do more. (See how in the video I edited below.)

Translation has the power to change the world, just like you and I do. We can simply translate words or we can translate words AND transform lives. It's your decision when you choose a translation company to do only one, or both.

Top Tweeters at Sustainable Brands

I'll blog more on the event and its impact on the translation industry later, but just to bring my followers up to speed as I prepare to board my flight home: this week I have been in Monterey, CA for the Sustainable Brands conference--the place where Fortune 500 and other leading companies come together to discuss our nation's need for environmentally and socially responsible business, as well as how to market CSR.

I just found out that In Every Language has been named one of the top 85 Tweeters from the event. To add perspective, 700 people attended from countries all around the world.

You can learn more about the conference and check out who else made the list at http://greeneconomypost.com/whos-tweeting-sustainable-brands-10-check-out-our-list-10434.htm .

And thanks Green Economy Post! We appreciate the recognition!

Becoming a B Corp

Gone are the days of for-profits and not-for-profits; a new year is here. And with it comes a new business formation: the B Corp.

So what's a B Corp?  Officially, B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.  Unofficially, it's a for-profit company that puts people before profits.

And Kentucky now has its first.

Located in Louisville's NuLu District, In Every Language is the latest business to receive B Corp certification and the first in the Commonwealth.  The company is also the first translating and interpreting provider to be added to the B Corp list, joining well-known brands such as Dansko, Seventh Generation, King Arthur Flour, and Numi Organic Tea.

"At our core, we help people."  This is how the In Every Language mission statement begins.  This mission of putting community first is part of why In Every Language was the perfect certification candidate.  In addition, the medical interpreting services In Every Language offers provide limited-English speakers with intrinsic, medical benefits by helping them to better understand their care.  The company also contracts with low-income refugees and immigrants in the area, providing many under-employed individuals with opportunities for economic self-sustainability.  And by contracting with female translators and interpreters originally from more oppressive cultures, the company also gives many of these women their first opportunity to work outside the home.

In order to qualify for certification, businesses must score a total of 80 in the following areas: community leadership, community involvement, employment policies, consumer involvement, & environmental policy.  In Every Language's score was 127.4, one of the higher scores that Hardik Savalia with B Lab, the B Corporation certifying body, says an applicant company has ever had.

For more information on B Corps, please visit bcorporation.net/about.

For more information about In Every Language, please visit ineverylanguage.com.

At Our Core, We Help People

We've recently retooled ourselves here at In Every Language. Marketers and government agencies kept asking us for this thing called a mission statement. While we all know exactly who we are--what In Every Language stands for--putting that in words was tougher than you'd think for a business that works with language every day.

At our core, we help people. That's what kept coming up over and over again: we help people. We help people. Yes, we make money--somedays more than others--but the reason that I and my employees come here to work as opposed to McDonald's is because we believe in our mission.

So this is what we came up with. It's still not that beautifully concise mission statement some folks want to hear, but it is a summation of who we are. Let me know what you think:

When you place your trust with In Every Language, you and your company aren’t the only people who benefit. Your community does as well. Our focus isn’t on what makes us different from our competitors, it’s on the difference we can make.

From our school outreach project to our free translation program for refugees, we make helping others our priority. We’re not driven by money, we’re driven by change, and the work we do in our community has made such a difference, that it’s been officially recognized by two Kentucky governors.

We know that putting our commitment to community first might not be the quickest way to get you to do business with us. But before we get down to business, it’s only fair to let you know who you’re doing business with. We’re not driven by the dollar, we’re driven by the difference. This is who we are and what we set out to do when we go into work every day. And we would love to call you our partner in improving not just the way you and your company communicate, but in improving our world.

So that's it, kiddos. In case you ever wondered who those crazy chicks over at In Every Language really are, that's it right there.