The opportunities ahead of you when you start your own business are incredible. Your startup is your chance to put in place the business practices that will help you reach your goals following your ethics. Few opportunities afford such freedom – or come with such responsibility.

“Translating” challenges into opportunities

That responsibility can be a curse as well as a blessing. Not only do you have the freedom to do it all your way, but you are also the person who is entirely in charge of everything. From marketing to finances, as the founder of a startup, the buck stops with you.

Recruiting the right people is all on you, and who you hire will have a significant impact on the way that the fledgling company takes shape.

When you have global business success in your sights, rather than just local, the opportunities – and the challenges – are further multiplied. It’s up to you to jump on small business trends in not only your own country but all those where you plan to operate.

That means building a brand that will resonate with audiences who are diverse both in terms of geographical location and cultural attitudes. Translation and localization services play a vital role in this.

How to grow your business while tackling translation

In terms of your business startup checklist, dealing with language barriers should be right up there at the business model generation stage.

Just as it’s essential to hire the right staff team, finding the right translation agency can make a massive difference to your chances of global success.

As such, make this a core part of your planning and focus on how you will communicate with audiences – and potentially staff – in different countries. Be as detailed as possible at this early stage.

After all, what is a business model good for if it doesn’t map out everything you need, including how to deal with language barriers?

How to find the perfect translation agency

Once you have your startup business ideas mapped out, it’s time to find the perfect translation service. Professional translation services vary hugely in quality, just as services do in other sectors, so it’s important to start by reading plenty of reviews online.

If you have acquaintances who can make personal recommendations for good translation services, so much the better.

In addition to a host of recent, positive reviews, it’s important to look for the right blend of languages and experience when it comes to choosing your translation company.

You will likely need more than just document translation services, so be sure to engage a company that offers translation of different media, desktop publishing services, proofreading, editing, interpretation services, and localization expertise.

This wealth of skills will provide you with the flexibility to grow your business in multiple countries while easily calling on all of the services that you might need as part of doing so.

It’s also a good idea to opt for an agency that offers express translation services, in case you need something in a hurry at some point in the future.

The importance of localization

Localization, in particular, is key to expanding your small business into a global empire.

What is business development like in different countries? How do audiences in certain cultures respond to different marketing approaches? Which words or symbols might inadvertently offend another country?

Localization can answer all of these questions and more, helping you to shape the way you present your business overseas to give it maximum appeal to each and every audience. It is a core component of turning your small business ideas into a global success.

Quality assurance and translation

As a small business founder with big plans, quality control will rest entirely with you. This includes translation work, which can be tricky when you don’t speak the language(s) in question.

Thankfully, there are a couple of ways that you can ensure the quality of the translation is up to scratch.

Firstly, you could consult a native speaker. You could hire an online language teacher or find a well-regarded freelancer who you could pay for an hour or two to review your translated materials.

Alternatively, you could consult another translation agency, asking them to proofread and edit your translated copy, to see if they can spot any errors.

Ensuring that your translations are of the highest quality is extremely important. After all, your target audiences will form their first impressions of your startup based on those materials. If they’re littered with typos or poorly localized, what does that say about your company’s attention to detail or its approach to quality?

Thankfully, by incorporating all of this into the plans for your startup at the business modeling stage, you will be well-positioned to get translation and localization right from the outset.

Yes, these services can be added on later if necessary, but making them a fundamental part of your planning gives you a serious head start and could make all the difference when it comes to beating your competitors in the race for international market share.

Guest Contribution by Elnar Jun Ubod, SEO Expert and contributing writer at tomedes.com

Business resources:

• What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
• The Complete Guide To Business Development
• Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
• What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
• Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
• What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
• What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
• What Is Market Segmentation? the Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
• Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
• Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
• How To Write A Mission Statement
• What is Growth Hacking?
• Growth Hacking Canvas: A Glance At The Tools To Generate Growth Ideas

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