Name of company: TransPerfect
Name of woman leader: Elizabeth Elting
Based in: New York City
Description: Translation services
Began: 1992
2003 sales: $37 million
2007 sales: $156.5 million

What inspired you to start your business?
"Prior to business school, I had worked at another foreign-language service company. I learned about the industry, and I saw a gap between what clients needed and what was being offered."

Elting and a partner she met at NYU business school decided to start TransPerfect together, based on the gap in services Elting saw. "We saw that clients needed a one-stop shop with top-of-the-line quality and service. Most of the companies then were run by linguists doing the translation and running the company at the same time. Translation is very labor-intensive. We wanted to be able to provide any kind of foreign language service, any software and work with the fastest turnaround times."

What seeded your growth?
Elting has measured TransPerfect's success by milestones. She and her partner wanted to be out of their NYU dorm room and into an office in six months. Done. They wanted to be able to hire their first employee. Done. Small steps led to success.

"We figured the way we were going to build the business was by focusing on sales, making phone calls each day and sending out many letters. Telemarketing and direct mail were the keys to growing our business."

Are there any secrets about how to survive the economic downturn?
"We're very focused on minimizing costs at all times. We now have 54 offices around the world. One of the things we do is make sure these offices are profitable. Along with that, we're always watching collections, making sure the money comes in. We run the business on a cash basis. We're very on top of our clients' payments."

How do you balance work and family commitments?
When I started, it was very different--we didn't have employees for a year and a half. My partner and I did everything. It's now possible for me to have a good work-family balance. We have a strong infrastructure--a lot of talented, dedicated senior managers.

What are you reading these days?
"Everything from The New York Times to Entrepreneur magazine and, generally, business books: Jack Welch and the 4 Es of Leadership; Double Your Profits In Six Months or Less by Bob Fifer. It's always about keeping your eye on profits and making sure money's coming in."

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