DATE: Monday, March 17, 1997                TAG: 9703150649

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: SERVICE Q & A 

SOURCE: BY MELISSA GUNDEL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   68 lines

NORFOLK FIRM HELPS GLOBAL COMPANIES TALK THE TALK

ATG Language Solutions, a Norfolk language brokerage firm, offers translation and interpretation services to the government, private companies, professional and legal communities and others. The company also provides interpreters for international visitors and conferences and foreign language instruction. Julie T. Garth is president of the company, which opened last October at Monticello Arcade.

What specific types of services do you offer?

Document translation, audio/video translation, on-site interpretation, corporate or private language instruction and cross-cultural training.

How large is the demand for this type of service?

In the Tidewater and Richmond area alone, there are 700-plus companies that either are networking globally or have home offices in another country. We are so fortunate to have the NATO command, 40 percent of the Navy's resources and personnel and the largest commercial shipping port on the East Coast that brings such diversified businesses and people to this area.

Are there any special tips you could offer to someone who wants to start their own business?

Don't get bogged down with the little details. You have to keep the big picture in focus at all times. Really knowing yourself and knowing who and what is around you. Nobody's accidentally lucky, because luck is really when opportunity meets preparation.

What is your background?

I am an investor. I have a degree in education with a specialization in math from Texas A&M University. I have primarily focused on my talents in the finance and investment arenas. And this is how I view the company - a long-term investment.

Are you the only business in the area that provides this type of service?

We are the only language brokerage firm. Most companies call themselves either translation or interpretation companies.

What is the difference?

We cover all languages and we can handle any type of need. We can train you in a language or we can train you in a country's customs.

How many workers do you have?

It's myself, Barbara Carroll, my associate, and our development director Pascale Daryabeigi.

What are you company's goals?

Our goals for '97 are to become the language service provider of choice in the Tidewater and Richmond area. Next year, we intend to market more thoroughly in northern Virginia and D.C.

What steps did you take to get the business going?

I focused on networking and discovering what this region had to offer and its needs. I made it a point to meet with most of the economic developers of the area and different presidents and CEOs of companies. MEMO: If you have an idea or know of anyone in the business community

who would make an interesting business profile, please fax your ideas to

Melissa Gundel at 446-2531. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

ATG president Julie Garth

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