VICTORIA Nicol set up My Language Connection three years ago after the translation agency she was working for went into liquidation. Differing to other translation businesses, the firm offers services to niche sectors.

Name: Victoria Nicol

Age: 28

Position: Managing director

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CALLED?

My Language Connection

WHERE IS IT BASED?

Glasgow

WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?

I WORKED in a translation agency in Edinburgh which liquidated in February 2017. I learned about failure from that agency and I set up My Language Connection to provide the same services to my clients. I realised there’s a gap in the UK serving specialised services. Technical sectors is our niche and I thought we could do well. We work with logistics, life sciences and industrial manufacturing. Clients were left without a translation agency and I thought there was a gap for a high-quality technical translation service. I set up in April 2017.

I have a background in management technology and enterprise from Glasgow Caledonian University. After graduating I worked for a translation agency – I’ve got six years of experience in that sector. I have always wanted my own business. In university I loved writing essays on how to create and nurture innovation in larger corporations and social entrepreneurship. I thought about setting up my own business a lot after university but I didn’t have the confidence, knowledge or resources. I felt I could be running companies better and creating personal relationships with clients. In the company I used to work for I never met clients so didn’t have a relationship with them.

WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?

FROM quite early on we looked at the aviation sector – there’s a global market there. There are key issues in the supply chain – it takes them years to get a plane out there so I thought we could speed up that process with communication. The Aviation Logistics Network is one of our main clients. We started looking at who is in the sector already to connect with. We looked at life sciences too. I knew we could do a good job there.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?

OUR USP is working with human native speakers as translators. Industry has been shaken up by machines but context is not always there. We are also small so we’re agile and reactive to clients. If they have feedback we can action it immediately.

IS SCOTLAND A GOOD PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS?

YES, there are pros and cons to setting up in Scotland. A massive pro we saw was winning Scottish Edge – my friends in England don’t have the same investment opportunities that we have as an advantage up here.

It’s a global business so clients are based in the US and London. The cons include support for setting up a business. Before you set up you don’t get any information, even at uni and college. When you do set up it’s great and there are lots of networking events in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Scotland is famous for that.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

GETTING the right people and talent into the company. With our industry we have an agency model – it’s a third party that serves industries. We’re looking for someone who understands linguistics, translation, marketing and sales. The biggest issue is that you need adaptability. It has changed a lot over the past decade – young people are coming in for a few years, not a decade.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

EVERY day is different. The big challenges have been critical parts of my learning. You have to think about sales and cash flow when you set up and it is hard to get investment. Luckily we had clients straight away and we asked them to pay 50% upfront so we had money to get started. The thing I love the most is that every day is a school day.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS’ TIME?

I’VE only thought about the next five years. We’re going for £1 million turnover. We’re going to have project managers for each specialist area. We will keep growing from there with more staff, more countries and more businesses on board.