Meet Felix Jovel of OLA Precise Language Services (OLA PLS)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Felix Jovel.

Hi Felix, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
OLA Precise Language Services – OLA PLS, launched in 2015 provides interpretation (spoken) and translation (written) services to community resource outlets such as local school districts, social services, and some minor law enforcement. As for everyone and every business, the COVID-19 quarantine was a challenge that forced OLA PLS to pivot our market.

After careful consideration (and a lot of door-dashing to make ends meet), I decided to change course and we re-branded to only focus on Legal and Court interpretation and translation services. In doing so, I completed and passed my Immigration Court Training, received my certification, and began to be of service to the courts as well as market our services to the Personal Injury and immigration fields of law.

This was a crucial pivot as our business grew much faster than with community interpreting. Our clientele now consists of Law Firms, court reporter firms, Municipal Courts, and independent attorneys in a variety of practices including, litigation, personal injury, immigration, probate, and estate law. We have teams of court-certified interpreters in several states where we are slowly growing into markets that include Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Texas, California, Oregon, Florida, and the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia metro area).

Today OLA PLS is connected with enough interpreters to offer 350 languages remotely for all our clients. Additionally, we are moving to include Conference Interpretation. Providing language services to a variety of conferences throughout the United States. This branch of OLA PLS is being branded as “OLA EVENTS.” Our website for OLA EVENTS will be launching in February of 2024.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Our major obstacle was also our major catalyst to opening our services to the rest of the world. The COVID-19 quarantine. A blessing in disguise for our business. Outside of that my major challenge is working from home. I can manage our teams of interpreters from my laptop. Working from home requires a special discipline that can be a challenge for me. However, my fiancee (who is also an entrepreneur) and I have found that working from coffee shops and switching up our environment is crucial to our productivity.

Other challenges come with the territory of Marketing and closing a sale with our new and prospective customers. This is simply because our marketing is business-to-business. Additionally, our interpreters are in the field alone with no supervision. Our interpreters must be screened and vetted before going out to represent OLA PLS in the field. This is done with an initial Zoom meeting along with proof of their credentials. We also rely a little on customer/client feedback.

We’ve been impressed with OLA Precise Language Services (OLA PLS), but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
OLA PLS is the only language service provider (LSP) in the Denver metro area that specializes in Legal translation and interpretation.

We are known in the legal community as the only LSP that guarantees court-certified interpreters, who are trained and understand the role of a legal support team. Not all interpreter tracts are the same or equal. We also provide entry-level training for aspirating community interpreters looking for a training track to prepare them for the interpreter court certification.

Feedback from our interpreters is that we are one of the few LSPs that understand the interpreter’s challenges and we help fill in that gap between interpreter and LSP needs. We also pay higher than most local LSPs because we require more from our interpreters than most other LSPs.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
Collaboration with OLA PLS or OLA EVENTS is quite simple. Just call or email me with any ideas for collaboration or support.

felix@olapls.com and 303-588-8438.

Pricing:

• Spanish legal interpretation starts at $150 per hour with a two-hour min
• Spanish conference interpretation starts at $225 per hour or an $ 1800 day rate per interpreter
• Spanish translations start at $0.18 per word.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.olapls.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-jovel-18301011b/

Image Credits
Felix Jovel