It’s been 13 years since I started TransPremium, my freelance translation business, and I felt like now is the perfect time to write a blog post detailing all the stages of growth I have gone through as a business professional, and as a person. So, without further ado, here it goes:

November 2008: I started my own freelance language services business, almost 1.5 years after having graduated from the Lebanese University and attained a Bachelor’s Teaching Degree in Translation.

February 26, 2010: I gave birth to my first boy, and took a short break from work to embrace motherhood.

February 26, 2011: I took the oath and became a certified public translator in the Lebanese courts, on my son’s first birthday.

October 2011: I changed the business name from Premium Translation Services to TransPremium, and officially launched my website.

May 2014: Gave birth to my second boy, and this time around I took no breaks. We welcomed Andy on a Saturday, and I was back to work on Monday. Somehow I was able to balance it all. Call it luck, call it passion.

November 2017: I gave TransPremium an overdue facelift by changing the logo and the website colors.

February-May 2018: I traveled to California and got the chance to observe at the courts in Los Angeles (all while pregnant with my 3rd boy and being in my third trimester, and taking care of my eldest who traveled with me – who was 8 years old back then – and that included enrolling him in school), which made me fall in love with court interpretation.

June 2018: I came back to Lebanon, and went back to work merely 4 days after my plane landed. Then I went on a full workaholic mode for the next six month, trying to bury my PPD. By November, I was in total burnout (juggling life, work, 3 children, and breastfeeding which, this time around, was very physically and emotionally draining); I didn’t know I had PPD until one day it hit me, and I connected all the dots. I did some research, and it all clicked. No wonder I had been staying home and seeing no one unless it was work related, for 6 straight months.

November 2018: I took a mini break from work to process all that my body and mind had gone through

February 2019: My husband traveled to California and then to Florida on a 3 week trip, leaving me with the challenge of doing everything on my own. And here’s a fun fact: he was still midair when electricity went off and I learned that our circuit-breaker, for some wild and odd reason, got fried. Yeah, don’t ask me how I got it all figured out at the time. I just did what needed to be done 😀

October 2019: I relocated with my family to South Florida, and took a long break from work to settle in and embrace this big change.

September 2020: I resumed work in the middle of a pandemic, and felt more grateful than ever for running a freelance business where I can just work from home.

April 2021: I got the chance to connect with some awesome, success-driven court interpreters from different backgrounds, and knew that this is still my Number 1 passion.

November 2021: TransPremium is 13 years old now, and I still have the same work ethic, the same enthusiasm, and the same level of professionalism (if not higher) as I did on Day 1. I still ride in the car shot gun with my laptop on my lap and my coffee in my hand, answering business emails and finishing off a translation task. The only thing that changed is my place of residence.

Happy Anniversary, TransPremium! Here is to all the exciting opportunities that lie ahead!