#191: Sean Hopwood: Creating Cultural Awareness & A Mobile Gig Economy

OVERVIEW:

Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner and host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast talks with Sean Hopwood, founder and CEO of Day Translations. Sean shares how he combined his love for managing people and his passion for linguistics and turned it into a business. He also offers tips for people who are learning new languages and for aspiring entrepreneurs.

 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Sean was greatly influenced by his entrepreneurial grandfather, Francis Day, whom he named the company after.
• Sean speaks 8 languages and he’s fluent in French and Spanish. Now, he’s learning Chinese.
• Some people pick up languages by listening but Sean believes in learning through structured courses to be fully immersed in the language and the culture.
• In addition to his Chinese course, he listens to Chinese music and is also taking a Chinese calligraphy class.
• After working for a law firm as an interpreter, Sean started his own translation company and an import-export company. When Day Translations took off, he learned about SEO and leveraged it to attract prospects and build his business. 
• Because he over-delivered and never turned down requests for rare languages, Sean grew his customer base and project scope. 
• Always give customers double what they ask for, whether it’s a product, service, or your time. 
• Understand the capacity of your team. Keep them motivated and develop a reward system based on their ‘love language.’
• Rare language translations are in high demand and it’s become a primary revenue stream for Day Translations.
• Translating online content is going to give you double the exposure. And more exposure means more money.
• Go to the Small Business Development Center in your city because they’ll help you get your business off the ground—for free!
• About 25% of Day Translation’s customers are in the medical industry. 
• It took Sean two years to develop his app, which features video conferencing and the ability to transcribe calls. You can get an interpreter online in less than 10 seconds. 
• The app is not just a live translator tool. It’s a way for interpreters to do remote work.
• As part of the gig economy, Sean is working on another app interpreters can download and work on demand, similar to how Uber and TaskRabbit operate.   

 

3 KEY POINTS:

1. Different things motivate different people. Everybody needs money but find out what else makes your employees happy and more productive.
2. Think out of the box, stay humble, and always give the client double (or more) of what they’re asking for.
3. Sean’s goal is to automate some processes to give people more opportunities to do what they do best.

 

TWEETABLE QUOTES:

“The best entrepreneurs are the ones who did the work themselves.” - Sean Hopwood

“There are so many (different) little industries you can make money in.” - Sean Hopwood 

“Always be innovating.” - Sean Hopwood

 

CONNECT WITH JASON DUPRAT:

LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube | Facebook Group

 

RESOURCES:

• Sign up for one of our free business start-up Masterclasses by heading over to https://healthcareboss.org/masterclass/
• Have a healthcare business question? Text me at 386-284-4955, and I’ll add you to my contacts. Occasionally, I’ll share important announcements and answer your questions as well.
• Do you enjoy our podcast? Leave a rating and review: https://lovethepodcast.com/hea