Company News
Firm Provides Translations Services
[Original News Article appeared in the Gilbert Republic Newspaper on November 14, 2009]
CommBridge Language Services
What this business offers: Translation and interpretation services into over 50 languages. We also offer transcription, subtitling, editing and proofreading, and cultural consulting services. We specialize in the translation of business websites, marketing materials, books, legal and medical documents.
Owners: Michael and Josefina Healy
Contact Information: info@commbridge-translations.com, www.commbridge-translations.com, (480) 245-6728.
Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday
Founded: March 3, 2009
A franchise or one of a kind? One of a kind
What makes this business unique: “CommBridge is owned and operated by an actual professional translator who holds two bachelor’s degrees in translation and interpretation and is a certified medical, legal, and conference interpreter. In addition, every member of our staff of professional linguists has similar qualifications.
Why should customers choose you? “Whether you are thinking about going into a new market by having your website or marketing materials translated into Spanish or any other language, you need a birth or marriage certificate translated, or need an interpreter for your next event, we will take the time to learn about your specific needs, we will offer you the best rates in the valley, and we will always meet your deadlines.”
What’s best about being in Gilbert? “Gilbert is an ever-growing city that has a mixture of new developments and has a feel of the Old West at the same time. Gilbert is a safe place and has everything anyone could be looking for.”
Why they support Shop Gilbert: “We believe in the importance of supporting small businesses in the local community to impact family-owned businesses that need economic stimulus, hope, encouragement, and publicity while stimulating future sales for the local economy.”
Read the original news article
Translating Energy into Business and Motherhood
Story and photo by Daniel Friedman
© 2011, Raising Arizona Kids
Josefina Healy (pictured here with her son, Asher), is Executive Director of CommBridge Translations in Gilbert. She started her translation and interpretation company about three years ago, while pregnant with her daughter, Isolina, and working full-time as a translation coordinator.
“When I found out I was expecting, I knew I didn’t want to have my baby in daycare,” she says. “That’s why I decided I wanted to [start CommBridge]. It is very important to me to see her grow up. I don’t want to miss anything. That was mainly the purpose for starting a business. I want to be a mom and an entrepreneur.”
She’s someone who gets things done. Deadlines are met. But how does she integrate running a business and motherhood? “Commitment to both, and patience, love, and passion,” she explains. “When I had [Asher], we had a lot of deadlines. He was born at 12:07 am, and at seven in the morning, right after having him, I hadn’t slept, but I was working on the computer, because I had deadlines.”
CommBridge offers translation, editing and proofreading, localization and cultural consulting in more than 60 languages, using more than 100 contractors worldwide. Soon, it will expand to 100 languages. In the beginning, Josefina worked in the evening, setting up the business and procuring clients. Once Isolina was born, she continued building the business. About a year ago she was busy enough to bring her husband, Mike, on board. They both work at home in separate offices.
“We are taking turns all the time. It is 100 percent teamwork,” says Josefina. Determining which parent will handle Isolina’s and/or Asher’s needs depends on who is tied up in a meeting or finishing a project. She and Mike communicate constantly on Skype between their home offices and have face-to-face “business meetings” in the living room. It takes a lot of focus and discipline; but sometimes she has to shut off her computer and take 15 minutes to be with the kids.
When I was there to interview her and take her picture, both kids were asleep and stayed asleep the entire time. Josefina volunteered to wake Asher so he could be in the photo. He was amiable and cooperative and I couldn’t help but think he had the same commitment to the business his mother had.
Josefina was born in Argentina and moved the United States when she was 17. Within three months she could speak enough English to communicate on a basic level. To learn English she shut herself in the closet and read the dictionary to translate Aerosmith songs word by word.
The family moved back to Argentina, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Technical, Scientific and Literary Translation and then got a second bachelor degree at BYU in Translation and Interpretation.
Isolina is learning French and Spanish as well as English, so she’ll eventually have a place in the family business. As it is, she is learning that when mommy is on the phone, she can’t make noise or interrupt. She has her own toys to play with nearby and Josefina has cleared objects from her desk that are within reach of a curious 2-year-old.
When her business was new, Josefina worked however many hours it took to get things done. When mothers start a business, she insists, they need to just start now. “Don’t wait a month or more. Just start with something small every day and get going. There are so many things to do. Procrastination has no place.”
As Josefina says, “Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. I have always been a driven person.”
Learn more about CommBridge Translations.
Executive Q&A: Josefina Healy, CommBridge Translations
April 24th, 2012
Get to know key business people in the Valley through our “Executive Q&A” Feature. This month, learn more about Josefina Healy, Executive Director of CommBridge Translations. During the past 10 years, Josefina has lived in four states, plus her native Argentina. She works with her husband, Mike, and a team of linguists around the world which makes for some interesting late-night conference calls.
Q. You were born in Argentina and moved to the U.S. at the age of 17. Describe your first impression.
A. I was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. My parents, my three younger sisters and I moved to the U.S. right after I graduated from high school. At that time I thought I had my whole life mapped out and the move changed my life completely. The biggest challenge was communication; learning English was a must, so I made it my goal. That’s how I came to discover my passion for languages, different cultures, and helping people to communicate.
Q. What’s your educational background?
A. I graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Translation and Interpretation and a minor in Psychology, and I have a Technical, Scientific, and Literary Translation degree from Instituto Cultural Argentino de Lenguas Vivas (in Argentina). I’m also a certified medical, legal, and conference interpreter.
Q. When and why did you start your company?
A. Starting my own translation company had been my goal since I first became acquainted with the industry. I saw the need for professional translators and to educate business owners about the importance of reaching out to new markets in a culturally-friendly way. It’s not about just translating words but rather to adapting entire concepts to a specific market. It’s frustrating to see billboards and marketing material with mistakes in other languages and I wanted to contribute to changing that.
Q. What’s the most unusual part of your job?
A. It’s not unusual for us to hold conference calls at midnight with our team of linguists, who may be in different parts of the world and time zones.
Q. Your husband, Mike, works with you. How is it to work with your spouse?
A. Talk about another challenge! [laughs] Mike is amazing; he has such a positive attitude and has such an ability to remain calm even under stressful situations. I think you would have to ask him how it is to work with me! I would say the challenge is to know how not to talk about work outside of regular business hours and “unwind.”
Q. You are very driven and deadline oriented. What are your favorite ways to relax?
A. I love spending time with my family. We have two little ones, Isolina (2 ½) and Asher (1) who mean the world to me.
Q. Anything about you that might surprise people?
A. I have moved several times throughout my life. During the past 10 years I lived in Argentina, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah, Florida, and now I am back in Arizona. And, I actually enjoy moving! I think every place offers new adventures, new friendships, and a great opportunity for personal growth.
Q. What’s your favorite meal?
A. Argentine meal: empanadas and “asado” (Argentine BBQ). American meal: baby back ribs.
Q. What’s your dream vacation?
A. A Tahiti getaway.
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