Kimberly Blagrove is a multilingual entrepreneur who has constructed her boutique company, Vogue Translations, into the worldwide enterprise it’s at present. Specializing in superior French and English translation, localization and transcreation companies, the company is absolutely operational in each Paris and Los Angeles.
Blagrove has achieved one thing few Black enterprise homeowners can declare: she lives extensively in each France and the US, reaping the advantages of each worlds. She leans into the American hustle to develop her enterprise, whereas savoring the slower Parisian tempo for a season or two, with out ever shedding momentum. Her consumer base spans continents, and her life is proof that strategic freedom is feasible, particularly when rooted in function.
Rising up in Canada, Blagrove at all times felt a gravitational pull towards the French language. She visited French-speaking provinces as typically as she might, pushed by a curiosity that felt extra like intuition. That early fascination by no means left her, and many years later, it will turn into the blueprint for each her way of life and her livelihood.
As a younger grownup, Blagrove enrolled in immersion packages, studied French, Spanish and Italian at her college, and bought French-speaking jobs. However after commencement, she shelved her language coaching to chase a dream of working in leisure in California.
“I attempted all the pieces — manufacturing, post-production, totally different industries — however nothing fulfilled me,” she mentioned.
In her mid-30s, she booked a solo, one-way ticket to Paris.
“I had no concept the place I used to be going to remain. I informed the taxi to drop me off within the middle, and I’d determine it out from there,” she recalled.
Throughout that journey, Blagrove realized that her lifelong love for French was the fervour she’d been trying to find inside the leisure trade.
“That was after I began realizing how a lot I favored translation. I acquired my certification in translation and determined to dedicate myself to the French language — and put a maintain on Spanish and Italian. That journey was completely after I acquired the concept for my enterprise.”
She added: “I made a decision to make it a aim to go to Paris as typically as I might, for so long as I might. As a result of you possibly can’t perceive the language for those who don’t perceive the tradition.”
She started visiting Paris for a number of months annually, immersing herself not simply within the language however within the rhythms of French life — meandering café tradition, deepening friendships, and the straightforward artwork of delight.
“I name it my double life,” she laughed. “L.A. is my husband, and Paris is the lover I run away to.”
Since that journey, Blagrove has been constructing a enterprise that has now operated for greater than 12 years. Her purchasers have included the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, NutriBullet, Herbalife, Capital Manufacturers and a variety of selling and media firms globally.
“It began with one job,” she recalled. “I knew that if I might ship that efficiently, I might develop from there.”
Operating a enterprise throughout continents hasn’t at all times been seamless. She’s had 2 a.m. digital conferences in Paris for purchasers in Los Angeles, navigated French paperwork to safe momentary housing and discovered to be each CEO and mentor to the subcontractors she hires.
“If your corporation is your child, it’s a must to feed it. Nurture it. And I additionally needed to construct methods that allowed me to reside the way in which I wished to reside,” Blagrove mentioned.
That way of life is the guts of Vogue Translations. Blagrove isn’t enthusiastic about constructing a large company with each language underneath the solar. As a substitute, she’s centered on depth. Specializing in French and English permits her to transcend floor translation into the world of “transcreation” — a mix of translation and cultural adaptation that ensures campaigns, adverts and supplies land with that means, not simply accuracy.
“It’s not about changing phrases,” she mentioned. “It’s about reimagining the message so it resonates in each language.”
Prepared for the following step in her enterprise, Blagrove is increasing into schooling — educating French and English to adults with a signature technique rooted in curiosity, compassion and cultural immersion.
She has no plans to decelerate. If something, she’s extra dedicated than ever to the imaginative and prescient she had over a decade in the past: freedom and influence.
To contact Vogue Translations for companies, go to www.voguetranslations.com.
