East Arnhem NT | March 2019
What is your business? How long has the business been operating?
I run a cultural consultancy and interpreting business. I started it last year. I consult with anyone who needs help with interpreting. I got a contract through Townsville University and I work with their students. I speak 27 different dialects and also do some work interpreting for the courts.
What were you doing before you made contact with Many Rivers? What was your previous work experience?
I was a supervisor in my local area working as a community development coordinator and doing some interpreting for the local court.
Who referred you to Many Rivers? When?
I was referred to Many Rivers through word of mouth. People in the community recommended I speak to Many Rivers for business advice. I had the idea for my business, so I thought I would give it a try and I reached out to Jarrod. Jarrod has been very helpful and helped me get started.
Why did you want to go into business?
I was getting a lot of requests for my services. I work with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It is a rare skill set and there is a lot of need in the community for my services. A lot of people only partially speak English as it is there second language. This is how I got involved in using my interpreting skills in court. I saw there is a lot of demand for my services, so I thought I’d give it a crack and start up my own business.
What services did you receive from Many Rivers? How did it help?
Jarrod really helped in setting me up. Helping me with the bookkeeping and admin side of setting up by business.
What has been the biggest challenge to date?
All the paperwork involved in setting up your own business. Running your own business is hard and once you get started you really understand how much work is involved. But Jarrod has helped me through all this.
What has been the biggest success to date?
My biggest success to date is starting to see my client base build up.
What do you hope to achieve in the future?
My business is really needed in this community, so I want to continue to be able to provide this service. I also want to get a foundation learning centre up and running. I started it, but it is on hold, I don’t want to stop, I really want to get this back up and running. This centre works with kids who have fallen out of mainstream schooling. We pick them up and give them a safe place to learn. We teach them in an environment that they feel comfortable in and at a level they understand. This centre targets the kids that have slipped out of the system. We were helping 15 kids last year and I want to pick this up again. We want to educate them, so they can do what I am doing in the future. So that they can become a professional teacher and help the next generation of young people.
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