Businesses Need Networks, Too: How To Network With Other Language Companies

When people talk about networking, it’s often on an individual level: one person making or renewing connections in their industry.

But networking can function on a larger scale. Businesses also stand to benefit from networking strategies. As an employee or leader of a language service company, you can connect your company to other companies to help expand your client base, open the door for collaboration or exchange services.

Networking on a business scale starts with connections between the companies. You, as a representative of your business, communicate with a representative of another company to find common goals and services. In the language service industry, this might mean finding companies outside of the language service industry who might need your services or finding other language companies to share knowledge and clients.

To look for new business connections, you might try some of the following resources:

Language schools and cultural centers — Within your city, there are likely centers set up to assist speakers of foreign languages. These are great places to connect as a language service provider. Their students might need translation services or they might be able to offer you cultural or language programs for your clients.

Local business associations —If you’re already familiar with your local Chamber of Commerce, great.  Have you used it? The Chamber of Commerce is a great place to look for other business leaders that might be open to partnerships with your company. For instance, here in Denver the South Metro Denver Chamber hosts groups and committees to help business leaders connect.

International business associations — Some international business people have established networks to connect people in the countries where they operate. These can be great places for language service providers to make partnerships.  For example, the French American Chamber of Commerce is an organization that brings together French and American companies, and could be a good resource for language service providers hoping to work with French companies.

Once you have established a network for your company, you can maintain your business relationships by passing on contact information to new members of each company and scheduling meetings to keep everyone acquainted. The longer you keep a connection established, the more likely you’ll have opportunities to help one another. So keep working with other businesses and watch your company grow.