Notes from Chris

Episode 1494

When Eva Rosales graduated from Columbia University in 2009 with a master’s degree in international affairs, she entered the job market during a recession. Graduating from an Ivy League school was a big accomplishment for Eva, who is originally from Peru, and says she wanted to make her dad proud.

At the time, she’d already lived in eight countries, spread across four continents, and spoke five languages. It got her thinking—maybe she could start a business with these skills … somehow.

When Eva got home from a trip, she created a Google Doc and brainstormed services she could offer, then researched how to fine-tune them. For example, she learned that it’s extremely beneficial to get accredited in order to be an interpreter in medicine. It’s not enough to speak the language well—the certification (at least in this case) matters.

After figuring out what certifications she would need, Eva set up a LinkedIn premium account so that her profile would have more visibility.

And, of course, she had to come up with a name for her business. On the same napkin she had used to write down her favorite topics, Eva had also jotted down words that described her: hyper, polyglot, nomad, polylingual, and fluent, to name a few. She looked at the napkin one morning and two words stood out: hyper and fluent. Eva decided to combine the two to create HyperFluent.

Soon after, she narrowed down the services she would offer, including personalized one-on-one language courses, cooking sessions in different languages, translating and interpreting, and more.

Since she started Hyperfluent in 2011, Eva has had about 650 clients. She currently profits up to $50,000 annually from the side hustle—and yes, this is still a side hustle! Her full-time job is as a project manager for the International Centers for Precision Oncology.

Eva says that some of her favorite memories have been through her business: since starting she’s learned four more languages, worked and cooked with refugees in Berlin, and visited more than 65 countries.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Eva and her services at hyperfluent.com.

SEE ALSO:

• Language Teacher Becomes Fluent In Passive Income: Looking to add more time to her day, an avid language lover and teacher takes what she uses in the classroom to share it with a larger audience, earning $500/month in the process.
• Sign Language Videos Spell Out Profits for Special Ed Teacher: After using puppets to make sign language videos for her toddlers, an educator stumbles upon an underserved market.
• Cuban Journalist Teaches Everyday Spanish Classes: After moving from Cuba to America with no English skills, this well-educated journalist learns the language and then helps others learn his.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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