Brenda Arbelaez has been in business for 30 years, running her language-services business PALS INTERNATIONAL. She sums up the secret to her business success in a few sentences.
"My passion for helping people," Arbelaez says. "It was never about the money. It's a beautiful thing to do."
Arbelaez, a native of Colombia, has molded
PALS INTERNATIONAL into a language training, translation, live-and-telephone interpretation, foreign language voice-over, and cross-cultural education company. The Troy-based firm has serviced the Big 3 but now primarily helps automaker suppliers, both local and foreign, conduct business internationally.
PALS INTERNATIONAL has grown to a staff of 25 people after hiring a sales manager and translator in 2012. Arbelaez points out that her business is going strong despite the many recessions it has weathered during its time.
"Every four or five years we seem to have a recession," Arbelaez says. "We have survived all of them."
Source: Brenda Arbelaez, president & founder of PALS INTERNATIONAL
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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