Virginia Katsimpiri is a PhD candidate at the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting, Ionian University – katsimpiri@ionio.gr, supervised by Professor Stefanos Vlachopoulos. Her doctoral research examines the factors that determine the business performance of self-employed translators and interpreters, based on a mixed methods empirical study with translators from different countries. She is a graduate of the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting at Ionian University and holds an Executive MBA with a thesis on client acquisition strategies for language professionals. She has worked as a certified translator and professional mentor for nineteen years. She owns a translation company and is the founder of one of the first business coaching platform created exclusively for translators and interpreters. She has been an invited speaker at international conferences since 2017, presenting on topics related to the translation profession, freelance business development and mentoring. She has contributed to professional development in the field through seminars and workshops at the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting at Ionian University, and in 2016 co-developed the mentoring programme of the Panhellenic Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters. The research combines her academic background in translation studies with nearly two decades of professional experience, addressing a question that the literature in the field has largely overlooked. Her research interests focus on translator entrepreneurship, professional identity and mentoring.