Womens’ Entrepreneurship Day ❤️

Today, Womens’ Entrepreneurship Day is being celebrated at the United Nations. 🇺🇳

As a female entrepreneur for over 20 years, it’s been nothing short of incredible to see the strides women have been making towards a bright future for themselves and their daughters. 🌟

I’m so very proud of all my colleagues for getting to where they are today – and our empires are only getting bigger! 💪

Gender equality isn’t good for women alone. It’s good for your business, too.

And everything you can do to connect and strengthen the women in your life goes so far: whether it’s sharing your time as a mentor, contributing to charity, or raising awareness of moments like this. Let’s keep lifting each other up, and continue moving towards the future we want to see together. ❤️

We don’t sell words, we sell our knowledge.

A few weeks ago, I came across this quote, shared by a long-time colleague: “We don’t sell words, we sell our knowledge.”

These words really struck a chord with me because for interpreters, words are more than a jumble of letters: they’re years of training, experience and linguistic, cultural and contextual understanding.

My guiding principle has always been to deliver the right message to the right person, and this goes beyond the words we speak. You see, being able to speak multiple languages is not enough to be a good interpreter. What makes a good interpreter is a combination of experience, years of study, and time invested into getting to the core of what you want to communicate.

When I begin a client relationship, I am committed to being in it for the long haul.

I go out of my way to prove to clients that I can be trusted, and in turn, they trust me and hopefully return time and time again.

One of my most valued clients is Baillie Gifford, an independent investment manager, managing pension funds, investment trusts, unit trusts and ISAs.

I’ve been busy serving them throughout October, but our relationship goes much further back. They have been very loyal to me over a number of years, and I am proud to have stood by their side to assist them in their English – Italian translation and interpreting assignments.

I am incredibly grateful to the Baillie Gifford team, who recently shared some kind and generous words about our experience of working together:

“Luciana has been a fantastic support for our Italian translation and interpretation projects over the last few years. Most recently she went above and beyond to meet a short translation deadline, and was able to accommodate our remote interpreting needs at very short notice. I really appreciate how reliable Luciana is as it’s not always easy for me to plan ahead. Luciana always takes time to understand the subject matter fully and is able to easily adapt to the given situation. I think it’s also important given we work closely together to have a strong working relationship and I find Luciana to be very personable, friendly and very easy to work with, to the point that I view her as really an extension of our team.”

Do you anticipate your business needing translation or interpreting assistance as the year draws to a close? If so, please get in touch via my website or book a discovery call.

I would love to support you!

November: a time for reflection and Thanksgiving

As the temperatures drop, the evenings get darker and we begin to retreat back to the comforts of home, November is the perfect time to set aside some time to reflect on the year thus far.

Over the last week, I’ve been busy reviewing my priorities for the months ahead, recalibrating my goals, and celebrating all the clients I’ve had the pleasure of supporting this year. Taking some time for reflection has made my post-vacation return to the interpreter booth all the more exciting!

Seeing as November is also the season of Thanksgiving, I would like to extend warm holiday wishes all of my US-based and North American clients.

As award-winning author, poet and speaker Diana Raab, PhD, writes on ThriveGlobal, apart from marking the abolition of slavery by President Abraham Lincoln and celebrating the year’s harvest, Thanksgiving “reflects a sense of interconnectedness among people and cultures.” It’s a welcome reminder that although we may differ in our origins, mother tongues and fields of work, language is something that connects us all. I am incredibly proud to have dedicated my life’s work to words, which hold unmatched power to connect people, build bridges and partnerships, and facilitate change.

Although we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in Europe, now is as good a time as any to count our blessings, and express gratitude to the people who make our lives sweeter. This year, I’m feeling particularly grateful for the ability to travel overseas again, for the technological advances that enable us to communicate across borders with ease, and, of course, for each and every one of my clients, who make every day spent in the office worthwhile.

Over the coming weeks, I encourage you to compile a list of gratitude’s of your own – and if you’re feeling brave, please reach out to me and let me know what you’re thankful for this Thanksgiving season!

Exponential growth of ecommerce in the Italian market

Over the last few years, online shopping has become the norm for those of us living in the UK, replacing the high street as our default destination for sourcing everything from gifts to seasonal wardrobe updates, and even groceries – and the pandemic has only served to speed up this transition. With an annual revenue nearing the £700 billion, the UK currently has the most advanced e-commerce market in all of Europe, but other markets are rapidly catching up.

According to an article published by Ecommerce News, “Italy is expected to become one of the biggest e-commerce markets within Europe on short notice,” and to grow exponentially year on year. Rapid digitalisation has created a great demand for diverse purchasing options, with millions of young Italians, in particular, choosing to make cross-border purchases rather than opting for local counterparts.

This makes my home country an incredibly attractive destination for companies hoping to expand both their reach and their revenue, and present their products to a much larger audience. And whilst it’s safe to assume that expanding your e-commerce offering to serve the Italian consumer base is likely to bring fruitful returns, there is a caveat that will determine the scale of your success: “international sellers should be aware of local consumer preferences.”

Retailers hoping to make a splash in Italy and attract a new generation of savvy shoppers must consider how their message will be received locally. Discerning consumers are likely to buy from those who demonstrate a deep understanding of their shopping behaviours and preferences… and this goes far beyond setting up a checkout system in their local currency. All marketing and advertising efforts, from the company’s website to press releases and social media outreach, must appeal to your target audience and speak their language.

This is where engaging a specialised translation and interpreting provider service like myself can take your company miles ahead of your competitors. Not only do we provide translation services of unmatched quality, but we also have a deep understanding of the nuanced cultural differences between the UK and Italian consumer bases – meaning we can help you create relatable customer experiences with which your Italian customers are bound to resonate.

​Please get in touch if you’d like to chat through your expansion plans!