Better Speech Now is an accent reduction startup based in Queens. Professional speech pathologists and founders, Elizabeth Schwartz and Sonu Sanghoee, won the 2012 Queens Economic Development Corporation startup competition in the social enterprise category. Through Better Speech Now, they work with international professionals to increase their ability to communicate effectively in their careers and daily life. NY International: What does Better Speech Now do? What is the goal of the company?
Elizabeth Schwartz: We’re a team of two speech therapists and we started our business three years ago. It is essentially an accent reduction practice and we work with people who come to New York from different countries and who speak different languages. We work with people who are career oriented, who are upwardly mobile, and are finding that their accent is a stumbling block interfering with their success. Whether it be going to an interview or getting a promotion, or just things in their day-to-day life, we work with these individuals to help them to become better communicators in English. We help them correct some of their pronunciation errors and intonation patterns. We can’t eliminate their accent, nor do we want to because it’s part of their identity, but the goal is to help people become effective communicators.NY Intl: In your experience, native speakers of which language have the hardest time with English?
Elizabeth: You know, everyone asks me that but you can’t really put your finger on it. I think it really depends on the individual. Sometimes it can be about a number of things: How long they’ve been here, how young they were when they came here, did they learn English in their country? Some people just have an aptitude for learning a language or mastering the sounds of a language and some people don’t. You really can’t pinpoint any one language or population; in my experience it’s a really personal thing. NY Intl: Why did you choose Astoria, Queens as the location of your startup? What are the advantages of being there?Elizabeth: I already rent a space in Astoria, so it was just pure luck. But it really is a great geographical location because a lot of our clients live either in Astoria or close by. But we will also make other arrangements for people and go to their home or office, so we don’t turn anyone away.NY Intl: How has winning the 2012 Queens Economic Development Corporation’s (QEDC) Startup Competition helped your company grow?Elizabeth: We got involved with the QEDC early on, because coming from a social service background, we didn’t know anything about how to start or run a business. Winning the 2012 startup competition in the social enterprise category was phenomenal and really boosted our confidence. Even though you feel your business idea is important, you want to be validated by the business community. Winning also helped us fund our initial costs.NY Intl: What are some benefits to doing business in the outer boroughs?
Elizabeth: Queens is prime territory for this kind of work because it’s so diverse. There is a lot of free help out there, too. For example, there is the QEDC in Queens; Brooklyn has a similar organization. SCORE is great; they have mentors that will sit down with you and give you all kinds of advice. There are pro bono lawyers and accountants that you can sit down with as well.NY Intl: What other advice would you give to startups and small business owners?Elizabeth: Network. Just get out there! There are so many networking groups and Meetups and different things that you can get into. Just get off your butt and go. Get some business cards printed and spread the word. You’ve got to have a website, get assertive and publicize your business. Also, don’t expect miracles, it can take years. Don’t get discouraged.
NY Intl: Can you tell us about a favorite experience you’ve had with a client?Elizabeth: I had one client who is a young Chinese lawyer, a litigator. He is also a cancer survivor. As you can imagine, it can be very nerve racking for someone with an accent to present before a judge in court. My client told me about experiences where he would sweat and shake when he had to speak. In actuality his accent was not as bad as he thought and I told him this when we met. So ultimately he needed fewer sessions than he thought and it built his confidence astronomically.Sonu Sanghoee: I worked with a Colombian woman who had an MBA from Columbia University. She was working for a Spanish agency and she turned to us. She was a very energetic woman, a great go-getter, and she had come to the US not speaking a word of English. After nine years, she felt comfortable with her language skills but wanted to work on her accent. It was tremendous to see how motivated she was and – though she wanted to improve her sound – she did not think her accent was taboo. A lot of people we come across with accents think of their accent this way. Liz and I want to demolish that idea. Your accent is always going to be there, from where you come from and your first language. The main thing is to be clearly understood.