Translation agency translate volunteering into company success

A globalization success story - While establishing a translations office in Argentina, Greg Churilov finds time to volunteer in Indonesia and Louisiana. Jen Churilov grows business while husband volunteers.

[ClickPress, Wed Nov 23 2005] It’s been a busy year for Greg & Jen Churilov.

As owners of Effective Translations—an English-Spanish translations company, their primary task in 2004 was establishing a production office in South America. Selling their San Diego home, they relocated in mid-2004—with their 4 yr. old child—to an apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There they recruited a handful of highly qualified professional translators and formed a production office that would soon translate more than 300,000 words per month.

In December 2004, the Indonesian tsunami hit Sumatra, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. As a Volunteer Minister for the Church of Scientology, (www.volunteerministers.org), Greg felt it was his duty to lend a hand. By January 5th he was helping coordinate efforts with UNICEF and other such organizations, working from a tent across from the Governor’s office in Banda Aceh, northern Sumatra (http://www.liveandgrow.org/tsunami/greg/) The warm rains—from 2pm until 6pm daily—made the job harder. The occasional aftershocks from the earthquake that had caused tsunami—combined with malaria-carrying mosquitoes—made sleeping difficult. Yet Greg remembers those days working alongside volunteers from Australia, Sweden, Canada, U.S.A., Mexico and many other Nations as an unforgettable life-affirming experience, comparable only to his previous church-related volunteer work during the aftermath of Sept 11, in New York City. "I found myself confronting my misconceptions about Muslim people - the people I met were intensely spiritual, warm, and welcomed us Westerners like brothers."—recounts Greg—"their resilience in the face of disaster was deeply inspiring."

While Greg was away, His wife Jennifer ran the company, wearing several hats at once, including that of world-class mom. Asked about how she juggled being a mother AND the President of a small business, Jen said "The key was staying focused; being a mother when one needs to be a mother, being President when one needs to be President; making sure to get enough rest, and continuing to remind myself how my efforts here helped people there."

Once back in Buenos Aires, Greg focused on establishing new client relationships.

At Effective Translations (www.effectivetranslations.com), the primary focus is in technical translations. During the first two quarters the growing company translated over one million words in areas such as telecommunications, engineering, software, help files and tutorials, marketing, corporate communications, healthcare, finances and more.

Greg’s expectations of focusing on the business didn't last long. As Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast of the United States, Jennifer was already making flight reservations – knowing that Greg's passion for volunteering would take him back to the U.S.

Greg joined more than 1,000 Scientology volunteers, working in 100+ degree weather and oppressive humidity, spread out from New Orleans to Biloxi. They worked in Red Cross shelters, and driving truckloads of food and supplies to areas not yet reached by other groups. They removed debris from people’s homes and helped rebuild schools and churches of several denominations across the South.

Away from email and working phones, Greg stayed in touch with his wife Jen through two-way in his Nextel phone. "It was comforting to know that, while I'm away helping others rebuild their lives and put their businesses back together, Jen kept our business moving forward."

Deploying east to Gulfport, Mississippi, Greg found himself in charge of a group of 80+ volunteers. Greg and Tim Ford, a veteran Scientology volunteer from Clearwater, Florida, shaped the group into an effective food-delivering, people-helping machine, gaining the vocal appreciation and respect of Harrison County’s Sheriff and other County staff.

Leaving a well-trained team in Tim Ford’s good hands, Greg returned home to Buenos Aires, once again focusing on ensuring top quality in the delivery of English-Spanish translations at Effective Translations (www.effectivetranslations.com). Greg says that, no matter how large Effective Translations grows, he now has more tools to manage and multi-task than he ever did before his volunteer efforts.

But, before the year was done, Greg was destined to make another trip – to the ATA (American Translator’s Association, www.atanet.org) Conference in Seattle, Washington, where he delivered a speech on Marketing for translators. The demand for his seminar was so large that an encore presentation was hastily scheduled, and once again the room was filled to capacity.

"I had to sit on the floor!" - said Carmen, one of the attendees. "I learned a lot of things. So far it's been the most interesting session at the Conference."

For both Jen and Greg, the year was filled with life-lessons. Their business model - that of overseas-translations-vendor appealing to U.S.-based companies who seek to outsource globally (thus benefiting from better rates) has proven itself and has kept them quite busy.

Though establishing an office overseas included a number of challenges, their business has grown. But for Jen, the lessons were about discovering hidden strength, and balancing work and motherhood. For Greg, the longest-lasting lessons of 2005 have come from contact with Muslim children in Sumatra, from conversations with refugees and fellow volunteers in Mississippi and Louisiana, and from rediscovering in the process the blessings of coming home.

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