Our Valued Linguists

We at Small World Language Services wish to honor our valued linguists. Below is an interview with one of our linguist couples: Steven Huddleston and Adriana Martinez, based in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

1) Tell us a little bit about yourselves, i.e. where you’re from, when and how you two met and decided to become linguists and subsequently, start your own language company together.

I was born in Puerto Rico, where I have lived practically all of my life. My father was from Arkansas, USA, and my mother from San Sebastian, PR. Neither spoke the other’s language very well, so, out of necessity, my brother and I grew up speaking both. I began my reading adventures with the comic books in my parent’s drugstore, then moved on to the paperback digests available for the tourists, by the time I read my first novel (The Time Machine by H.G. Wells) I was already hooked on literature. I worked in the drugstore to support my reading habit until I discovered my other passion, computers, and rose through the ranks from a tinkering amateur to a full blown professional software engineer all on my own, (there were no computer science courses in the universities back then, and no, I will not say when that was…)

I began my career as a linguist, by accident, really; once my employers discovered I was equally versatile in both English and Spanish, I was assigned to translate all manner of company documents and manuals.

I met Adriana on the Internet, which was no accident; we were both looking for each other and had the skills to do it online in an age when Google was just the name of a one with a million zeroes. Adriana was a professional linguist working as an editor/translator for a publishing agency in Mexico. Years later, Adriana decided to stay at home to raise our daughter, it was a good move, she started her own little enterprise translating documents over the Internet to supplement the family income in her spare time. Becoming a freelance professional translator was a gradual process for me. I started following Adriana’s lead, taking on jobs now and then during my spare time. It turned out to be just as intricate and challenging as designing software. I fell in love with it. It wasn’t long before I realized I might someday make a living out of it. Then, having grown weary of modern “cowboy programmers” and in spite of the current worldwide economic crisis, I quit my career of more than 25 years and decided to jump into translations full time; lock, stock, and barrel. In one year we “doubled” the household income, and to keep the government from sniffing around and slobbering all over our rapidly growing money pile, we became a corporate entity. Really, we should have done this years ago!

2) What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as businesspeople (and in Adriana’s case, as a foreigner) in Puerto Rico?

Oh wow, I don’t know where to start! I suppose finding a good and responsible accountant for our business has been the worst. You’d think they grow on trees, well; the bad ones do, anyway. Another big toughie was learning to deal with the many personalities we encounter in the course of our everyday business. Some customers are easy, they love everything you do, or just say nothing and pay you. While others, well, they have needs, and we have to bite the bullet and provide for those needs, however eccentric or wild their requests may be. The customer is ALWAYS right. I believe this attitude, more than anything, is the key to our success. But also, you have to truly, honestly love what you do. It shows in the work you turn in and don’t ever think others don’t notice. Somehow, somewhere, however subtly or subliminally, they do!

Then, of course, sometimes you get too high on yourself, and bite off more than you can chew. I discovered a whole community of colleagues willing to help me meet my own unreasonable expectations. Learning to simmer your ambitions down to a boil has been tough, but I think I got a good, sustainable rhythm going now.

But the worst of all is when an unscrupulous customer decides to default on his payment even before they hire you. Oh yes, it happens. That always hurts, of course, but you learn that you are bigger than that, and also, you learn to sniff them out. The important thing is, they are bad, and you are good, so it makes no sense to feel bad about that. Shake it off, move on. Ahead is only one direction.

3) How did you get started in translation? How and when did you start? How would you describe your business?

I think I’ve already answered the first two in the first question, as for how I would describe our business, I think I’m going to answer that by doing a cut and paste from our own website, I know that sounds cheap, but to be fair, I wrote that text myself, so its valid, and besides we all know cut-and-paste is the translators best friend. Are you ready? Here it goes:

“We are a husband and wife team of full-time professional translators specializing in English to Spanish and Spanish to English translations with over 30 years of combined experience translating documents of all kinds for a variety of industries in countries around the world.

“Each one of us is a native speaker of their particular target language, and equally fluent in the source language. Having had careers in news publications and information technologies respectively, (where our unique bilingual abilities were often called upon to provide in-house translations for our employers), our combined talents make us exceptionally qualified to provide fast and accurate translations for documents of almost any kind and almost any industry.”

Egad! That’s not too cheesy, is it?

4) What was the translation industry like when you started your business? How would you describe the industry today? Many translators believe this is a dying industry, what do you think about that?

I don’t believe translations existed as an industry back then. Oh, I knew translators existed somewhere. But as an organized body of professionals, I don’t think so. Well, in any case, my interests were elsewhere back then and I am sorry I didn’t think to look around and see what the translating world was like.

Today, however, I would describe the translation market as a booming industry. Driven by the globalization trend, the need for quality translations has done nothing but grow increasingly more intense over the past few years, and there seems to be no end in sight. Globalization is in its infancy, and it will not come of age until the entire planet has a single currency, that is still a ways off, and translations can do nothing but grow in all that time. The trend for this industry is one of continuous growth for the next ten years, at least. There are not many markets that can boast that kind of outlook.

I am surprised, and a little saddened, to learn that many translators believe this to be a dying industry. Surprised, because any casual glance at what the market trend for translations is will reveal the opposite, and I was under the impression that as freelance translators, we all keep an anxious eye firmly fixed upon the market. Saddened,, because in light of what the actual market trend for translations is, my dear colleagues who feel this way are obviously projecting some personal shortcoming, perhaps, that infuses their performance, (and hence, their success), with a negative influence, and thus, their grim outlook of the industry is really a reflection of their own results, and not the translation market trend, not by any stretch of the imagination.

5) What would you say is the key to running a successful translation business?

Attention to details, attention to customer needs, keep every deadline, answer every email ASAP, the customer is ALWAYS right, (especially when he is not), consume enormous quantities of coffee. (Well, maybe the coffee isn’t really required; I just like it a lot!)

6) What advice would you give freelance translators who are interested in working with you?

Nothing is as unproductive as an excuse: Tell me what the problem is, and together we can find a solution. Communicate everything: Even the slightest or most seemingly ridiculous questions should and must be asked. The only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked. Love what you do, or leave it for someone who does.

7) How do you manage working together as a husband & wife team? What about balancing family and other priorities/responsibilities in life?

Well, it isn’t easy. We are both relentless and totally absorbed when it comes to our work, so interruptions hurt, a lot, but they are necessary and we know it. Also, as is the case, I imagine, with most translators, we have strong and unyielding opinions/prejudices/dogma about what constitutes the proper use of language in our respective pairs. We each keep to our own expertise and consult each other only after we have exhausted all other research resources, to keep those dastardly interruptions down to the barest minimum, and we do our darnedest to smile and say things in a nice way.

It doesn’t always work, but knowing each other’s passion for what we do helps to understand that it is not personal, and our professional differences make for some highly enlightening and educating discussions, (even when neither ego is willing to yield). Having the same career and goals also helps us to understand each other; our values, frustrations, fears, levels of stress or exhaustion, etc. and I believe a better appreciation for the other grows naturally from this, establishing a whole new level of awareness, even admiration, for the other.

Being professional partners has opened up new avenues of communication and understanding between us, which helps us to understand and complement each other, not only in our professional partnership, but also in our personal development as a marriage, as a family, and as a comprehensive team that encompasses all challenges in life, whether they are personal or professional.

As for balancing family needs with other priorities; this is the quandary that has vexed mankind since before we started climbing down from our trees. As with all things, I think we are better than some, but not as good as others. Anyone who has moved out of their parent’s home knows it isn’t easy, and let’s be honest; every juggler drops a ball once in a while. The important thing is not that something was dropped, but how well and how quickly we pick it up again, and, on a secondary plane, how cool and graceful we look doing it. The one thought that has kept me sane through every ordeal, disaster, emergency, or faux pas is: Everything changes; this too, will pass. So, never think you won’t drop something, but never think that you will either, better to spend the time thinking about how to scoop it back up when you do, and preferably, before anyone else notices, and if they do, how to look really cool doing it.

Our solutions define us, not our problems.

8) What has been your experience working with Small World Language Services?

Over the years, it has been my privilege to work, (and continue to work), with a number of outsourcers from several countries, spanning the globe. Each has their own little ways in which they are different and unique, based on regional and cultural peculiarities and philosophies. That is why I feel perfectly at ease when I say that Small World Language Services is the finest outsourcer I have worked with.

Kimberlee is a highly competent professional with a keen, almost uncanny ability to find solutions to almost any situation. I’ve seen her find resources to counter difficult, almost impossible situations, almost as soon as they occur. She is, at the same time, sweet, kind and considerate, but also, strict, firm, and demanding, when the situation calls for it; and she instinctively knows what kind of pressure to apply to get the most out of her people.

For more info, see Steve and Adriana’s website: http://www.kongaloid.com/