by Theresa Slater, author of “The Language of Success: An Interpreter’s Entrepreneurial Journey“
Before starting my business, if I’d looked at the statistics on failure rates for women-owned businesses, I would never have taken the leap. Some 20 percent of startups fail in the first year, and nearly 50 percent by their fifth year.
My personal journey from starting at below bottom to being a successful business leader began when I left home at age 15 with just a ninth-grade education and only babysitting jobs for work experience. Battling zero confidence and self-worth, my only motivation was survival — finding work to put a roof over my head and food in my stomach. I was a young bird pushed out of the nest who either needed to learn to fly on her own or crash. I did both.
Prior to my success, I only knew that I didn’t “measure up” and consequently I’d do anything to try to be good enough. To me, that included proving I could be financially successful. To get there, I realized I needed to get a formal education. I pursued an undergraduate degree in cultural studies with a minor in interpreting. I fell in love with American Sign Language and the culture it was woven into, and embarked on a 10-year career as an independent freelance interpreter.
Eventually, I came to realize that I could improve on my industry and, 20 years ago, decided to start my own company. Now, Empire Interpreting Service puts millions of dollars a year into the economy and employs hundreds of interpreters.
Looking back, it’s apparent how our lives are building blocks and our experiences mold who we are and what we become. The desperation in just being able to survive day-to-day greatly shaped my life and how I run my business.
Here are some of my experiences that would-be women entrepreneurs can learn from:
1. Pursue self-improvement continuously.
As business owners, we need to constantly educate ourselves — not only on leadership but on our industry, technology, the stock market, world affairs, and government policies, all of which affect us growing our businesses.
Before starting my own company, I knew I first had to learn about the world of business. I became a regular at the Barnes & Noble café, seated behind a fortress of business books. This was my “school of management” and my “how to become an entrepreneur” classroom.
2. Ask questions until you understand.
The first CPA I hired helped me initially to move my business forward and I was grateful to him. But I took on the role of the good little student and was uncomfortable questioning anything.
As I grew as a business owner, however, I realized that I needed to stop worrying about offending him or not seeming “nice” by asking questions and getting answers from him. Look at those outside advisors and remember who is paying for services, ask questions, and if they don’t explain adequately, know that it’s time to move on.
3. Enlist others’ help.
Because a portion of my business involved interpreting in hospitals for people with medical emergencies, I set up a hotline directed to my cell phone and always kept my phone at hand. One Saturday, as I was standing at the cooler at the grocery store searching for my husband’s brand of beer, my phone went off. I jumped and the phone slipped out of my hand into the cooler. Terrified I’d miss the call, I walked through the swinging doors that read “Employees Only” and fished through the back of the wire shelves of beer cases to retrieve my phone. Collecting myself I answered, “Empire Interpreting Service, how can I help you?” and jotted down the information on the back of my grocery list. I saw people peering in and wondering why this crazy lady was talking on her cell phone in the cooler.
In that moment I realized how out of hand this had gotten. The next Monday, I made a schedule with my staff of alternating weeks that they would help me with after-hour requests.
4. Stop worrying about what others’ think.
I was invited to tell the story of my rise to success at a Union League Business Leadership Forum breakfast in Philadelphia. Surrounded by doctors, lawyers, and Wharton MBAs, I was terrified. Although I became formally educated later in life, I started out by just hanging on to survive one week to the next. While the audience members were in Ivy League universities, I was working as a waitress and cleaning hotel rooms. I thought, “What do I have to lose?” and told my story honestly.
I couldn’t have been more surprised by the enormous support from the people in the room. They shook my hand afterward and they were warm and receptive. Too often we women worry about what others will think. We may lose opportunities if we sit in the corner worried about whether we’re worthy.
My future success as a business owner had an unexpected side effect of enabling me to gain self-worth and self-esteem — something that eventually reframed my thinking about what I needed and deserved. When you truly believe that you’re worthy as an entrepreneur, you will realize successes you never dreamt were possible.
Theresa Slater is the President of Empire Interpreting Service, which she founded in 2003. A speaker, author and advisor to new entrepreneurs, Slater’s love for business drives her on her path. Slater’s new book,The Language of Success: An Interpreter’s Entrepreneurial Journey” (Business Expert Press, Aug. 30, 2024), is both autobiography and a how-to (or how not-to) guide for entrepreneurs. Learn more at www.empireinterpreting.com.
