A keen fan of motorbikes, hiking and personal defence, Barbara Beatrice Lavitola has been able to bring her professional and personal dreams to fruition in Barcelona.
She first came to the city from Milan eight years ago, finding a similar cosmopolitan atmosphere there to the one she had known in London, where she studied for an M.A. in technical and scientific translation.
Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, she set up a translation company which has grown in recent years despite the economic crisis, with a portfolio of discerning clients. According to Lavitola, these client companies, from a wide range of different fields, have been forced to move into international markets and so their written material has to be translated accordingly, with Chinese being sought after more and more.
She points out the cultural coincidences between Barcelona and Milan and their similar vision of life, leading to a “natural affinity” between both cities. Thanks to Barcelona’s strategic location and its important port and major airport, it is a magnet for many professionals and for increasing numbers of female entrepreneurs. Among the circle of women with whom she rubs shoulders, there are growing numbers of businesswomen from the United States, Holland, Belgium and Sweden, among other places.
A large part of her work also involves coordinating teams of linguists who provide interpreting and translating services at numerous business meetings and congresses in Barcelona. This requires constant attention and a carefully selected group of professionals.
She has inherited her entrepreneurial spirit from her grandfather, who emigrated to Venezuela in the 1930s and set up various different businesses. She owes her most rebellious, trailblazing facet to her father, who gave up his job in a bank and became an interior decorator at a time when there were no computers and everything was drawn by hand.
Despite her passion for powerful motorbikes, she travels on foot to work and home again each day, enjoying the walk because in Barcelona “there are so many things to discover”. The city’s location makes it ideal for motorbike or hiking enthusiasts because there is a wide choice of mountain scenery, beaches and snowy areas within easy reach. She is so keen on motorbikes that she has created a new networking system (Empresari@s bikers.com), aimed at uniting motorbikes with the world of business through social rides on two wheels.
Her passion for languages and desire to contribute to the city in some way has led her to consider possible new tools for company executives, aimed at boosting their confidence, for instance, when it comes to speaking English. She is still mulling over this new project, although it is moving at Formula 1 speed.
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