Translating Your Way to Success

We talked to Jana Krekic of YLT Translations about her entrepreneurial journey as a translator.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?

Jana Krekic: I work from home, and my company is a remote team with no physical office, so not much has changed regarding my work ethics.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded YLT-Translations.

Jana Krekic: I am a certified translator (I speak 5 languages) and also the founder of YLT Translations, very passionate about my work. I’ve had 4 years of experience with various 6 and 7-figure Amazon sellers.

Before YLT Translations, I was a business development manager in one of the biggest Danish online eCommerce platforms for 8 years. I had gained a lot of experience with online businesses.

I founded YLT Translations around 3 years ago, and back then, there were only 4 of us. We now have a team of 36 people.

How does YLT-Translations innovate? 

Jana Krekic: At YLT-Translations, we put considerable time and effort into recruiting a team that is at the top of their game at translating. After that, we put them on our internally designed “MLT Course” (Marketing Led Translation) to turn top-quality translators into sales copywriters for e-commerce in their respective languages.

We always strive to help Amazon sellers expand to international marketplaces using our unique strategies, keyword research, and many more.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Jana Krekic: We were very affected in April – that was the worst month ever since I founded the company back in 2017. But the most important thing for me was my employees, and I didn’t want them to feel affected or to feel that they might lose their job. And that turned out to be the smartest decision I could ever make. After April, we have doubled our revenue and are currently having the best 5 months we have ever had.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Jana Krekic: Yes, as I previously mentioned, we had a very rough April. And at that point, you really want to make what’s the right decision for your company’s future. Should you fire people in order to save some money, or should you go all-in knowing that that is exactly what’s going to push your business forward in the future. I have definitely learned that you have to plan ahead and really sit down and take some time to work on your OKRs (Objectives and Key Results).

One of the main lessons I’ve learned so far is that the key to growing your business is learning how to delegate. Once you’ve mastered that skill, the sky is the limit. That was also one of the hardest things I had to learn on my entrepreneurial path.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety? How do you project yourself and YLT-Translations in the future?

Jana Krekic: I tend to drink A LOT of peppermint tea that keeps me relaxed, haha. I just try to unplug myself completely 2 days a week; otherwise, I would completely burn out. I like to go running and listen to music.

I have big plans for my company in the next 2 years. My team and I are planning to scale our agency from 7-figures, which is what is today, to an 8-figure business and eventually sell it.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Jana Krekic: My competitors are usually agencies who also offer other services, apart from translations, so I don’t really feel threatened by them. I wanted to build an agency that will niche down and only offer Amazon translating services of all kinds, which definitely makes us one of a kind.

I have a lot of friends in the Amazon space with whom I talk a lot and share insights and updates, and then there is, of course, a lot of insight you can get from Amazon as well.

Your final thoughts?

Jana Krekic: It has never been a better time to go online and start your own business. Whatever you had planned years ago, you should definitely pursue it this year! COVID times have been extremely tough, but they have brought completely new ways of shopping, where people shop and how they work. I am more than sure that the future of all businesses is present online.

Your website?

www.ylt-translations.com