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Business Empowerment 2020

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We had a great start to the new year with work coming in from our existing and referral clients. The fresh batch of content provided us a glimpse of the strategies companies had implemented to empower their businesses. We gained valuable insights into how companies identified their confirmation biases and how overcoming them to be more open to new ideas helped them make more informed decisions that grew their business.

One strategy was harnessing the power of synergy to increase reach into new markets through stronger branding. Arriving at a plateau stage after reaching their organic growth capacity locally, companies resolved the roadblock by joining larger international business groups as affiliate companies. The synergy created is win-win, with the group expanding its member companies and the affiliate benefiting from a larger brand presence.

Another strategy was businesses leveling up their customer support as a propeller for growth – by revisiting customer success stories, identifying what worked before, studying what the current wants are, companies could then take high-impact actions to offer a better approach to solve customer pain points.

With the aid of technology and data collection, companies could gather valuable information identifying their target customers, investigating what the market and the competition are offering, upgrading know-how to provide innovative customer experience.

We learned a great deal on assessing business strategies, the importance of adopting a growth mindset, and questioning biases that might limit growth. We have researched extensively on the advantages and effectiveness of the waterfall vs the sprinkler marketing strategies for different business models for our content translation. Our client is happy with our efforts.

 

 

 

 

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Business Growth – what’s next?

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When planning for growth, companies often ask themselves, what’s the next step for us, what’s bigger and better?

Whether it is by replicating the business nationally or internationally (业务在全国及全球实践复制), integrating the online-offline business   (线上线下相结合) to serve more customers, or transitioning into a business model that could serve a new sector of customers, companies have embraced technology as an integral part of their business growth.

We recently completed a series of Simplified Chinese to English corporate content translations reintroducing companies to investors following their business transitions, where they generated growth by building on their existing know-how through the aid of technology.

  • Companies with offline businesses took notice of the dominant online consumption trend. Through combining physical stores and e-commerce, their products became more accessible to customers        (产品能够覆盖及支持更多客户). The increased sales channels (销售渠道) enabled them to effectively establish their brand locally, nationally and internationally.
  • Companies with their vision in a future of big data calculation and new algorithms (自于大数据计算及新算法未来的愿景) invested heavily in R&D to enable their transition from 2c (to-client) to 2b (to-business) and 2g (to-government) business models, thereby expanding their service channels to a new and broader sector of customers.

The content translation took extensive research, especially into the new scene of advancing new AI technologies (人工智能技术), including predictive analytics applications and facial recognition. We absorbed a new arena of knowledge on intellectual business (智慧业务) where we could deliver accurate and quality work. Our client was happy with our efforts.

“Thank you, Bonnie, the translation was excellent. Thanks for being so efficient!” ~ International media company

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Innovation & Entrepreurship

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In light of the increase in technology-related content and our constant pursuit of delivering quality and accurate work to our clients, we have completed two certificate courses, English for Business and Entrepreneurship (August 2018) and English for Science, Technology, Engineer & Mathematics (June 2019) from the University of Pennsylvania through Coursera to upgrade our knowledge on the lingo particular to the tech industry.

Since then, we have worked on content related to the AI arms race (人工智能竞赛), smart cities (智慧城市), digital technology (数字技术), innovation & entrepreneurship (双创：创新创业) and the innovative entrepreneurial boom (创新创业热潮), unicorn enterprises (独角兽企业), and the modern landscape for the development of technology businesses (科技企业发展的现代版图).

A project we worked on related to Ethereum-powered products (以太坊平台驱动产品) for a blockchain startup (区块链初创公司) has received a great review from our client. We have researched extensively on cryptocurrencies (加密电子货币) to deliver an accurate English to Simplified Chinese copy for the product’s press release. Our client is happy with our efforts.

The fast pace in technology development requires constant upgrading in content knowledge and language use. We endeavor to keep pace with these changes to deliver accurate and quality work.

Amazingly quick and very thorough. Thank you, Bonnie! ~ Oliver, Manchester, UK

 

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Novel Proofreading – Invest in the Characters

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We completed the first phase of a Simplified Chinese to English novel proofreading project a few days ago. Novel translation has its unique challenges not only with language accuracy but also with its cultural context. As we were proofreading instead of translating with this project, we had to take into account the translator’s preference to use certain words and phrasing. Was it a personal choice or was it conducive to the narrative?

For novel proofreadings, we usually go through three phases. The first phase was to ensure its grammatical accuracy. The second phase was to facilitate the narrative flow by eliminating extraneous words. The third phase was to identify character traits and invest in their unique quirkiness to bring them to life. It was our firm belief that well-developed characters whom readers could identify with would make the story compelling and the narrative coherent. We were careful that all the editing stayed true to the translated meaning.

Our client requested Track Changes on WORD for our editing. It is a feature under the Review tab on WORD which could track any changes made to the document. Comments could be added to explain the changes. We have found a great refresher tutorial for anyone interested in proofreading and editing. The tutorial is very well-crafted by Erin Wright with easy-to-follow steps.

Our client was happy with our efforts. We are looking forward to the next chapters.

I’d like to recommend Bonnie Wong as she was very easy to communicate, punctual and serious to all my requests; her work, of course, is of very high quality too. She has been very helpful in my project. – Y.L., Hong Kong

 

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Bespoke Eyewear

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We recently worked on a Traditional Chinese to English magazine article translation for an optician who offers bespoke eyewear service.

Bespoke 西裝大家可能常常聽到，但 Bespoke 眼鏡對很多人來說是一件新鮮事。有人會質疑為什麼要花 800多英鎊訂製一副眼鏡，但在 Bespoke眼鏡世界，追求的是最上乘和體貼的配戴感受。一副個人定制的眼鏡製作過程需要 3 個月時間。 我們相信每副用手造出來的眼鏡都有其特別的意義。「我們為每一個客人創造出最合適他們的眼鏡。其實世界上第一副眼鏡都是用手造的，我們就是保留這份傳統，用心去做好每一件作品，他們戴上後除了感到舒適，還有一份自然以來的信心。」品牌的眼鏡用上高級的醋酸纖維、玳瑁、象牙、水牛角、貝殼等等的材料，部分材料的顏色更會隨時間而出現變化，成為紳士們獨一無二的標記。

You may have heard a lot about bespoke suits, but for many people, bespoke spectacles are something new. Some people may question why one would spend over 800 pounds to order a pair of spectacles, but in the world of bespoke spectacles, it is the pursuit of the finest and most thoughtful fitting experience. The production of a pair of personalized, tailor-made spectacles takes three months. We believe that every pair of handmade spectacles has its special significance.

“We create the most appropriate pair of spectacles for each of our patrons. In fact, the world’s first pair of glasses is made by hand. We are here to carry on with this tradition, pouring our heart into making every pair. In addition to feeling unparalleled comfort after putting on the spectacles, patrons will feel a natural surge of confidence as well.” The brand’s spectacles are made with the finest quality material, acetate, tortoiseshell, ivory, buffalo horn, shells, etc. Color may change with some of the material over time, but it only makes the markings more unique for distinguished connoisseurs.

品牌的 Bespoke 眼鏡不單是由客人選擇眼框的顏色、形狀和物料，更能夠根據其眼型、鼻樑的高低因素特別訂造。眼鏡店劃分為3層，走入店裡在水晶燈下是一個 ready made 眼鏡的陳列空間；地庫牢是驗眼室；二樓是與客人商量Bespoke眼鏡設計的房間。這層的佈置帶點懷舊的味道，淡淡的香氣和爵士音樂。營造出一個和諧的空間。最引人入勝的是那個咖啡色的櫃子，內裡放滿眼鏡的 archive，猶如它的一本歷史讀物。

Not only do the brand’s bespoke spectacles patrons get to choose the color, shape, and material of the frames, the spectacles are tailor-made according to the patron’s eye shapes and profiles.

The optician is divided into three levels. The moment you walk in, you will see a ready-made spectacles display space under the chandelier; the eye examination room is in the basement; the second floor is where bespoke consultations with patrons take place. This level is decorated with a tinge of nostalgia, with a hint of aromatic fragrance and notes of jazz, creating a truly harmonious space. Most fascinating is the brown cabinet, a treasured archive filled with spectacles, a living history book.

The article had beautifully captured the optician’s long and distinguished history providing bespoke eyewear service to the well-heeled. We especially loved the description on the decor and ambiance that brought old-world charm to life. Our client was happy with our translation.

Really good stuff. I think we shall be working together in the future! – Jamie, London