In the digital age, barriers to communication between people across the globe decrease every day. However, language barriers can still be difficult to break down. That’s where Certified LGBTBE® Indy Translations & Language Center, founded by William Zart, comes into the picture.
“I was working as a Spanish and Portugese translator in the International Department of a large insurance company, [while] my partner was working as a real estate broker,” said Zart. “We decided to create the company together in 1997, combining his business acumen with my language skills.”
Located in Carmel, Indiana, Indy Translations provides a broad range of language-related services to their clients. Their two main services are translation and interpretation, as well as comprehensive language instruction in over a dozen languages. Some of their additional services include creating and monitoring foreign language social media posts, language testing, providing multilingual corporate conferences, multilingual desktop publishing, and language consulting.
Zart says that the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) has helped increase the visibility of Indy Translations to larger corporations.
“As a small business, we are always looking for competitive advantages to enable us to stand out among our larger nationwide competitors,” he said. “When we heard about the NGLCC through the Indy Rainbow Chamber, our local LGBT chamber of commerce in Indianapolis, we knew that we needed to get certified.”
Indy Translations has taken advantage of numerous NGLCC events to maximize their certification.
“Once we went through the entire process and received our certification, we were very anxious to put it to use and attended our first conference in Fort Lauderdale in 2014 where we had a table with our services and networked like crazy,” Zart explained. “Certification has also introduced our company to some outstanding contacts and leads at the annual NGLCC conferences.”
Indy Translations boasts partnerships with over 400 language professionals across the country in order to provide services in numerous languages. This commitment to diversity is reflected in the company itself, as 43% of its employees identify with the LGBT+ community.
Of its many achievements, Zart is most proud of Indy Translation’s designation as a preferred vendor for the Lowe’s Corporation.
“This helped to catapult our business and our name recognition to a national level and allowed the company to quickly triple in size,” he said.
In terms of the future, Zart hopes to expand the national footprint of Indy Translations, as well as growing its services at home in the Midwest. The company is currently partnering with Indiana University to create digital services that incorporate traditionally underserved minority languages that are typically ignored.
When asked what advice he would give to an LGBT individual looking to start a company, Zart emphasized the significance of being “out” as a business, which once seemed unthinkable.
“There are lots of resources available to help an LGBT-owned business to network with other LGBT businesses and allies, especially by joining a local LGBT Chamber of Commerce,” he explained. “Our LGBT certification has given us the confidence to reach out to larger corporations for direct and Tier II work that we otherwise would not have felt confident enough to go after.”
Want to learn how to become a Certified LGBTBE® like Indy Translations? Visit our website to learn more!
