Today we’d like to introduce you to Mireille aka Adjo Agbossoumonde.

Hi Mireille aka Adjo, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

My name is Adjo aka Mireille Agbossoumonde and I’m a mother, wife, advocate, educator, translator/Interpreter and compassionate Entrepreneur, Founder/CEO of Le Pont Translations LLC (provides translations and Interpretation service).

This is how my story started: Growing up in Togo, I dreamed of becoming a Journalist because I admired a native Ewe Journalist. Because of my love of languages, I went on and graduated from Université de Lomé, Togo, with a Bachelor in English and Linguistics and a Master’s degree in Translation English-French and became a Sworn (certified) Translator and Interpreter in 2000 and have be translating since then. I also obtained a Certificate in Pedagogy from the National Institute of Education Sciences (INSE) in Togo

I moved to the United States in 2000 and have lived in Atlanta, GA all this time. Before moving to the US, I was a high school teacher and taught English as a Second Language (ESL) for six years and here, I taught French as a second language in Atlanta Public Schools for four years.

When I came here, I first held a job at a restaurant then at the Airport as a security checkpoint Agent. At times, I would feel so sorry for myself and cry at work. In fact, I was at the Airport when September 11 happened! I eventually got the job with Atlanta Public Schools as a French Instructor in 2022 and left the Airport.

I stopped teaching in 2006 and decided to change my career and went on to get my real estate license. Even though I had a great mentor, I didn’t sell a single house so I went back to what is my passion: languages – interpreting and translating. As a mom, I wanted to work from home and be there for my children when they come home from school. I trained to be a remote Interpreter and It worked out but I was working the night shift and It wasn’t fun but that’s what I had to do at the time.

After a period of time, I wanted to be in control of my time so I became self-employed. With my experience and expertise, I decided to become a business owner so I help others and make a difference even in a small way. I’m passionate about making a difference in the lives of people I come in contact with in my professional life as well as my personal life even if it means going the extra mile. I value family, compassion, integrity, inclusion and diversity, fair pay, and dignity.

Some highlights: I had the privilege of interpreting for former President Carter, Dr. Bernice King, President Felix Tshisekedi of DRC and the former Director of the CDC, Fr Redfield.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?

No, being an Entrepreneur has not been a smooth road.

As Raymond Ray once said: Running a business is hard. It can get overwhelming at times because I am working in and on my business so I have learned to delegate and manage my emotional intelligence and try to maintain a work-life balance. Another obstacle is the lack of resources to bring on, mentor and train new translators and Interpreters and team members.

Moreover, like many female Entrepreneurs, access to capital is an issue. Also, imposter syndrome creeps in from time to time (I am still planning to start my podcast).

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

As self-employed, I interpret and translate a Sworn French Translator and Interpreter myself and love it. With my experience and expertise working in my industry for over 20 years, I am an advocate for the profession, a leading voice in my industry. I am a Conference, Remote simultaneous, and remote Interpreter providing telephone and video remote interpretation (my languages: English<>French, Ewe & Mina) and has been a full-time Interpreter since 2009 specializing in remote, simultaneous or conference. medical, Court/legal and Immigration court interpreting. article contributor to the ATA, American Translator’s Association and the NAJIT, National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators.

BUSINESS: Founded in 2011 and incorporated in 2017, Le Pont Translations LLC is a woman-owned business that provides language solutions that meet your needs so you can do what you do best as we bridge the gap of a language barrier to enable effective communication that gets results.

Value: family, compassion, integrity, fair play, dignity and respect.

SERVICES WE OFFER:

INTERPRETATION: REMOTE INTERPRETATION in over 200 languages:

Simultaneous Interpreting (on-site or remotely) for events, conferences, workshops or virtual conferences/meetings

Consecutive Interpreting (on-site, over-the-phone or video) for depositions, court, attorney-client meetings, business meetings and more

REMOTE INTERPRETATION in over 200 languages:

Telephone interpreting: medical, legal. business, education, immigration)

Video remote interpreting (depositions/court/legal, medical, business, education, immigration)

REMOTE OR DISTANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION: online events

IN-PERSON INTERPRETATION: Court, legal, medical, business, education.

TRANSLATION

Document translation: Personal documents, immigration, medical and/or legal documents and more can be translated accurately by a team of professional translators ( PowerPoint presentations, transcripts, certificates and more

LANGUAGES SUPPORTED include but not limited to:

Albania, Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese Chinese, Dutch, Ewe, Farsi, German, French, Korean, Russian, Romanian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Contact us for service in your language.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?

Mentors are a great asset to guide you and support you along the way,

You can find mentors in your industry, Small business support centers such as SCORE, https://www.score.org/find-mentor

Small business Development Center, SDBC https://www.georgiasbdc.org/consulting/

https://www.georgiasbdc.org/locations/

Or women business Centers https://aceloans.org/

Contact Info:

Website: https://leponttranslations.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leponttranslations/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leponttranslations/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeponttranslatM