iWL brings a helping hand to The Sharing Place!

The iWL team with Jill Macfarlane,

Development Director at The Sharing Place.

2015: New year, new opportunities to give back to the community via our monthly initiatives from inWhatLanguage Cares!

This January, we have started the year with a bang by helping The Sharing Place, an organization that hosts fourteen age-appropriate grief support groups for children ages 3-18 and their parents twice monthly. For nearly 2 decades, The Sharing Place has been fulfilling its mission to "provide a safe and caring environment for grieving children, teens, and their families to share their feelings while healing themselves,” as one can read in its official website.

Maurice van Zutphen,
hard at work!

And inWhatLanguage Cares has not missed the chance to provide them with a little help so that they can continue with this wonderful task for many years to come in the best conditions possible.

The Sharing Place is a non-profit organization that receives no state funding and is ran mostly by volunteers, so they can and gladly accepts any help they can get, particularly with maintaining the building.

And this has been iWL’s mission for this month! Some members of the core team went to the Sharing Place last week to install cupboards, hooks, storage units, and whatever was needed.

Abel Atwater, helping with
iWL Cares for the first time!

“I fell in love with The Sharing Place,” comments iWL Cares organizer Karlie Bodine. “The house is amazing and the staff is wonderful, I am so happy we got to help them and the children and their families that go there.”

 “We helped redo a room that they call their ‘soft room’,” Karlie explains. “This room serves as a dress up and play area for toddlers because reenactment and pretend play is a huge part of the grieving process for young children, as Jill Macfarlane, the Development Director at The Sharing Place told us. We redid this room by installing hooks for all their costumes and we bought and put together a set to make a vanity for their closet for more pretend play. We also bought storage units for this room and the bathroom to help make things nice and organized for their staff. Lastly, we installed wires along the walls of the Teen Room for them to hang their art. Art is another way of grieving as it is one of the biggest forms of expression!”

This is the room that the iWL team helped build! Not bad, huh?

For Abel Atwater, iWL’s newest team member, this was his first iWL Cares experience, and he enjoyed a lot. For Atwater, the iWL Cares initiatives have actually had a lot to do with his wish to work at inWhatLanguage: “This program is one of the things that attracted me to inWhatLanguage in the first place, the opportunity to serve, make a difference and give back.”

All in all, this particular initiative has been extremely especial, according to Karlie Bodine. Not only it is the first of the New Year, and it has involved one of our newest team members for the first time, but it has also given iWL the opportunity to improve children’s lives. “Many of us at inWhatLanguage have a soft spot for children so our team was delighted to help in any way we can,” smiles Karlie. “We know our service will benefit many children for years to come!”

iWL Case Studies: showing what we are worth

Last week, we introduced you to the latest addition to the iWL team: Project Manager Abel Atwater. It was the first of the many changes that we can expect this year at inWhatLanguage: we are growing and aiming high, and that requires movement and a lot of fast development!

That also applies to our website. Yes, it was not that long ago that we completely revamped the website to give it a more user-friendly interface and a cleaner look. But that is not enough: we want to really, REALLY show what we are capable of and to prove to our potential clients that we are their best option when it comes to translation services.

For that, a whole new website structure is in order. A structure that includes, among other things, real case studies based on projects that we have worked on in the past.

In the case of inWhatLanguage, writing case studies hardly need any “creative skills”: we have had such amazing clients and such interesting projects in the past that just describing it all a little bit makes up for quite an impressive portfolio. Some notorious cases are FIFA, Dartmouth or ZAGG, whose feedback you can easily read in our main site any time. But there are definitely many more clients that deserve a special mention.

We have worked with Harvard University, one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Established in 1636, this private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has centuries of history, as well as an enormous influence over the global business world. And we have been part of its activities in its Business School and Media Department, translating content in 5 different languages.

We have worked with Sunnylands, an estate currently run by the not-for-profit organization The Annenberg Foundation Trust, where the world’s most powerful leaders and CEOs go to spend time together and talk about business. They needed their website translated to Chinese and Spanish. Guess whom they asked for help? Us!

We have also worked with the hotel management company Montage. With some of the best hotel resorts in the world, Montage was definitely a great opportunity for inWhatLanguage –and they actually came to us after recognizing our good work with Sunnylands. They needed their website translated to Asian languages, and we were very excited to work with them!

Last example of amazing companies that we have worked with is Megadyne, an electrosurgical products company was founded in 1985. Megadyne is huge, and definitely a great star mark on iWL’s portfolio – not only due to its size, but also due to the nature of the translation project we worked on with them. They needed marketing material and product information sheets (medical product information sheets, that is) translated to 18 languages.

A real challenge for those who lack experience, but not for inWhatLanguage: medical translation? Bring it on, we say! Our linguists have the subject-matter expertise required to tackle this and any other medical translation project whenever it may be needed.

Stay tuned to read the complete case studies soon!

First recruitment of the year: Welcome, Abel Atwater!

In our previous post we said that 2015 would be a year full of changes and new people at inWhatLanguage. Well, it’s been 9 days since 2015 began, and here is the first testament to the truth of that statement!

This week we get the chance to meet the newest member of the iWL team: Abel Atwater, Project Manager for inWhatLanguage since the start of the year! Here is a little autobiography to get to know him better:

Abel Atwater surrounded by his family!

My name is Abel Atwater. I grew up in Wyoming and Utah for the first part of my childhood. My family moved to Maine when I was eleven, and that’s where I went to middle school and high school. I graduated from Penquis Valley High School in 1999.

I went on a two-year Spanish speaking mission for the LDS church from 2000 to 2002 in Salt Lake City. That’s how I ended up back out here. I fell in love with the Latin American people, their language and culture on my mission and decided to study Spanish in college.

Meanwhile, I joined the US Army Reserves in 2003, and I was deployed to Afghanistan from 2007 to 2008. Upon my return, I continued my studies and earned by BA in Spanish from BYU in 2009. Since then I have been working as a translator and interpreter continually both for the LDS church as a volunteer and professionally.

Since my mission, I have been totally enveloped by the Spanish language and Latin culture. My wife is from Veracruz, Mexico, and we speak Spanish at home. I’ve never gone to church in English since I finished my mission, and now I’m the president of a Spanish-speaking congregation. Many have told me that they don’t even think of me as a “gringo”, but as one of them.

I’m 33 years old and have been married to my beautiful wife Lucelly for ten years. We have four wonderful children, Abel, Naomi, Genesis and Michael, ages 1 – 8. My all-time favorite pastime is just to be with my family, eating, playing, going out on the town, learning, going to church and praying together. My personal hobbies are singing and writing. I am actually writing a dystopian novel right now.

I am so excited and grateful for the opportunity and blessing to work at inWhatLanguage. I’m so looking forward to all the opportunities I’ll have to learn and grow, as well as to make my own contribution to the success of the team.

Welcome to the team, Abel! We are definitely excited to have you with us, too :D

Welcome to 2015, the year of inWhatLanguage!

Happy New Year!! We wish you the best of luck, happiness, success and health for this year 2015.

At inWhatLanguage, we not only celebrate the start of the New Year, but also the possibilities that it brings for the company! 2015 is undoubtedly one exciting year for all of us: lots of changes, lots of progress, lots of potential!

2014 will be certainly hard to surpass, though: it was really a great year for iWL. Here are some highlights:

• We have grown by almost 150%.

• We have brought on some amazing new professionals full-time to the core team

• We have worked with 500 new clients.

• We have tripled our translator database.

• We have finished amazing projects for companies such as FIFA, Harvard, ZAGG, and many others.

• We have certainly deepened our technical abilities.

• We have created the wonderful iWL Cares program, with which we have accomplished our dream of giving back to the community with the fruit of our work.

• We have traveled abroad to many beautiful places such as Mexico and Brazil and expanded our business network.

• And we have also expanded our own cozy office space!

But hard to surpass does not mean impossible! With all of these experiences, our path now is clear: to do more, better and bigger!

“During the course of 2014 we also did a heavy amount of planning in 2014 to lay the foundation for a big year of building in 2015,” iWL CEO Cody Broderick points out. 

Wanna know what is coming in 2015 for inWhatLanguage?

• iWL “Unify” - Our own proprietary, cloud-based translation management system!

• New website in Q1 - Revamped to include our new technology, 20+ case studies, etc.

• Additional software development and future models to automate and simplify translation process for iWL clients.

• 20+ expos and conferences.

• New team members.

• Further expansion of office space.

• FUN!

• Shooting nerve guns, barbeques, amusement parks, parties, exciting trips...

• More iWL Cares, with better and more creative ways of giving back.

Some people feel down after the Christmas holidays, having to go back to their routine job and doing the same old thing... But not us! With so many awesome new things on the horizon, we couldn’t be more excited and ready to give it our all and continue moving ever forwards.

“I’m stoked for 2015 and beyond!” says Cody Broderick, and he certainly speaks on behalf of the entire team.

Ho ho ho! iWL helps Santa bring happiness to the people this year!

The team preparing the gifts at the office! (From left to right, David Kasteler at the desk,
Karlie Bodine, Erin Millet, Marcus Broderick, Vanesa Broderick and Veronica Johnson.)

Dashing through the snow

In a one horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bob tails ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sleighing song tonight...

Okay, so maybe our team didn’t dash through the snow, and maybe they preferred an actual car rather than a one horse open sleigh for speed and comfort purposes, but they certainly did laugh a lot, and bells jingled all the way on the day that the iWLteam went on their latest iWL Cares adventure: a sub-for-Santa initiative!

“This month, for inWhatLanguage Cares, we looked for a few families to help with Christmas! Families that are in tough situations and could really use and truly deserve the help,” explains Karlie Bodine, who once again organized the initiative this month. “I think all too often people forget the true spirit of Christmas: that is that Christmas is a time for giving and a time to remember others less fortunate than ourselves.”

Karlie Bodine wrapping up gifts!

Karlie went with iWL CEO Cody Broderick to get the gifts on Tuesday, December 16^th, and next day they went along with many other iWL team members to deliver them to the families. The experience was certainly something they will never forget.

“Seeing a mother of two cry and say ‘thank you’ over and over was very startling,” says Cody Broderick. “It serves as a reminder of why inWhatLanguage exists and motivates me to grow the company so we can have an even greater impact. I’m hopeful we brightened their holiday spirit and that they might also pay it forward.”

“It really makes you look at what you take for granted,” adds Karlie. “Some people don't know where they could be living next week or where their next meal is coming from. Meanwhile, some people are worried about whether or not they'll get the new iPhone that just came out.”

From left to right, Karlie Bodine, Cody and his son Markus Broderick, David Kasteler,
Brian Palmer, Veronica Johson and Erin Millet, all ready to deliver the gifts!

Perspective: that is one thing that Karlie acquired out of this experience. “We bought some essentials for the families like toilet paper, laundry detergent, all-purpose cleaner, toothpaste and toothbrushes, winter clothes, and other necessary items that most of our team don't ever have a second thought about buying, along with some toys for the kids,” she explains.

“It's always important to remember those less fortunate than you, especially this time of year,” Karlie concludes. “Our team was really glad to help these two families have such a memorable Christmas! We hope everyone remembers those less fortunate this holiday season and be truly grateful for what you have. Our team hopes to inspire the holiday spirit in others in making a difference in another's life.”

“I wish I could see the faces of the families when they open their gifts,” Cody smiles. “Sub for Santa on behalf of inWhatLanguage Cares was awesome!”

Feedback from our clients: love for and from iWL!

Working at inWhatLanguage is a real pleasure, that is a fact. And a good part of it is because we have such amazing clients! Helping them to the best of our abilities when they need our services is the least we can do in exchange for their trust and support – as well as their constructive feedback!

This week, our blog post is dedicated to them. Here is a quick compilation of the best feedback comments we have received lately:

“We love inWhatLanguage. It is one of the best services we have ever seen. Being able to communicate with staff in languages from Farsi to Mandarin is such a huge asset to our property. Every agent I have been in contact with was professional and outstanding in their demeanor and assistance. I cannot say anything negative about the service. We love it.”

“Great attention and a really warm way of approaching.”

“inWhatLanguage was very fast to respond to our needs. They proved to be highly experienced and helped us understand the best ways in which our organization needed to address our international target markets. They went the extra mile to ensure our content (in over 18 languages!) was culturally adapted and aligned with our company branding, messaging and overall marketing styles. The pricing was great and I was also very pleased with the turnaround time. But what really stands out is the way they treated me and my marketing team. It felt like we had been working with them for years. I would highly recommend inWhatLanguage for any translation or language project.”

“I needed about 30 official certified translations done for our adoption and inwhatlanguage provided all the translation in the same formats and certified in amazing time. I was amazed at the turn around, the pricing and the level of professionalism for just an individual. Highly recommended.”

“Great quality! I wish I had found InWhatLanguage sooner. I recently needed to change to a new translation firm. I was referred to InWhatLanguage through a friend. They completed my request much faster than I had anticipated. They were friendly, easy to deal with, and not too expensive. I was blown away by the quality of the work and the time in which it took. I would highly recommend InWhatLanguage to anyone needing translations services.”

“Very helpful customer service from IWL. They took the time to get things right and deliver good quality. Prices are competitive and they make you feel confident in the work their providing.”

Thank you so VERY much for all of your love! You are the reason why we do what we do, and thanks to your comments, we are more motivated than ever!

Let’s keep on rockin’!!

Second languages: a market share you don’t want to miss out on!

Checking language-related articles yesterday, I came upon this very interesting infographic that made me think about the importance of this “second languages” in the translation industry.

Let me give you an example: India. When we think about translating documents for the Indian market, usually the first thought that comes to mind is to go for Hindi translation, since Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the country, with more than 400 million speakers.

Truth is, however, that Hindi is mainly spoken in the regions of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan. There are parts of India missing here. Look at that map!

India has a total of 22 official languages, and some of them are actually spoken in regions where Hindi is not that extended, like Kashmiri, Assamese, Bengali, Kannada or Urdu. Their numbers of speakers are well in the millions, despite not being comparable to the number of Hindi speakers.

Another example is the US. While English is undoubtedly predominant in the country as a whole, each state is definitely a world of its own, and in some regions it is currently hardly spoken. 229 million people speak English in the US. 35 million speak Spanish. 

There is a big difference, yes. But take out the first part of the comparison, and focus on the second:  35 million Spanish speakers in the US! 

If that number doesn’t make you think twice about the language strategy for your communications in the US, I don’t know what will.

My point is that translation is not black and white anymore. It is not as simple as choosing a country and simply translating your documents to the language that is mainly or traditionally spoken there. Statistically speaking, you will probably reach a wider audience. But is it really the audience you are aiming to target?

Furthermore, you don’t have to choose just one language: it is not an elimination game. Not when you can work with an agency that can provide you with the means to target all the different communities in their respective local languages. The investment will be a little bigger, but the number of potential customers that you will reach will grow exponentially. 

And if the agency is trustworthy and manages its translators efficiently, really, the costs won’t rise all that much.

Do you need proof? Try inWhatLanguage. We are the living example of excellent localizationservices for the most affordable prices!