關(guān)于創(chuàng)業(yè)的英語(yǔ)美文閱讀
創(chuàng)業(yè)，年少者敢博，年長(zhǎng)者善算，常勝者愛(ài)拼。一個(gè)成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)者，三個(gè)因素，眼光、胸懷和實(shí)力。學(xué)習(xí)啦小編分享關(guān)于創(chuàng)業(yè)的英語(yǔ)美文，希望可以幫助大家!
關(guān)于創(chuàng)業(yè)的英語(yǔ)美文：創(chuàng)業(yè)離不開朋友,家人和傻瓜
Most entrepreneurs have learned that it's almost always quicker and easier to get cash fromsomeone you know, rather than angel investors or professional venture capitalists. In fact,most investors "require" that you already have some investment from friends and family beforethey will even step up to the plate.
大多數(shù)創(chuàng)業(yè)者都明白，比起獲得天使投資人或?qū)I(yè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本家的投資，從熟人那里獲得資金幾乎總要更快更容易一些。事實(shí)上，大多數(shù)投資者都“要求”在他們著手研究相關(guān)項(xiàng)目之前，創(chuàng)業(yè)者已經(jīng)從他的親朋好友那里獲得了一些投資資金。
You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products. Since they don'tknow you (yet), their first integrity check on you as a person is whether your friends andfamily believe in you strongly enough to give you seed money for your new idea. If they won'tdo it, they why would I as stranger invest in you?
眾所周知，投資者首先投資的是人，接下來(lái)才是創(chuàng)意或產(chǎn)品。因?yàn)橥顿Y者還不了解創(chuàng)業(yè)者，所以他們首先要對(duì)創(chuàng)業(yè)者的人品審查一番，看看他的親朋好友是否對(duì)他有足夠的信任，愿意給他啟動(dòng)新創(chuàng)意的種子資金。如果連親朋好友都不愿意掏錢，對(duì)創(chuàng)業(yè)者一無(wú)所知的投資者憑什么要向其投資呢?
Friends and family will likely not expect the same level of sophistication on the business modeland financials as a professional investor, but they do expect to see certain things. Here is asummary of some key items to think about as an entrepreneur before approaching friends,family, or even fools:
朋友和家人可能不會(huì)像專業(yè)投資者那樣，要求創(chuàng)業(yè)者出具復(fù)雜的商業(yè)模式和財(cái)務(wù)信息，但他們的確希望看到確鑿的東西。以下是創(chuàng)業(yè)者在求助于朋友、家人，甚或是錢多人傻的笨蛋之前需要認(rèn)真思考的關(guān)鍵環(huán)節(jié)：
1. Don't be afraid to ask, carefully. If you set around quietly waiting for someone you know tooffer you money to fund a startup, you will probably have a long wait. On the other hand, if youopen every conversation with "I need money," you won't have any friends or any money.Practice your "elevator pitch," and end it by asking for the order.
1. 不要怕開口，言辭需謹(jǐn)慎。如果一位創(chuàng)業(yè)者安安穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地等待某位熟人為他提供初創(chuàng)企業(yè)的啟動(dòng)資金，他或許得熬上相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間。另一方面，假如創(chuàng)業(yè)者逢人就說(shuō)：“我需要錢，”他恐怕連一個(gè)朋友都交不上，更別說(shuō)籌措到資金了。創(chuàng)業(yè)者需要好好練習(xí)一下“電梯間演講”，把要錢的話放到最后來(lái)說(shuō)。
2. Be upbeat and respectful. Nothing kills everyone's optimism and desire to help quicker thana negative or arrogant attitude. If they are going to put cash into your company, chances arethat they will expect to spend a fair amount of time together, either helping you or certainlydiscussing progress. Nobody likes a downer.
2.生氣勃勃，畢恭畢敬。沒(méi)有什么比消極傲慢的態(tài)度更能扼殺大伙的信心和提攜的意愿。如果大伙打算把錢投入創(chuàng)業(yè)者的公司，他們很可能期望跟創(chuàng)業(yè)者呆上足夠長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間，要么為他出謀劃策，要么討論公司的進(jìn)展。沒(méi)有人喜歡垂頭喪氣的家伙。
3. Be passionate about the idea. Friends and family will quickly detect your level of sincerityand thought behind the idea. You need to convince them that you have been working on thisvision for a long time, and have done the "due diligence" on all the potential knockoffs.Daydreams and "the idea of the moment" won't get much respect.
3.對(duì)創(chuàng)業(yè)點(diǎn)子充滿激情。朋友和家人很快就能察覺(jué)創(chuàng)業(yè)者對(duì)于創(chuàng)意的真摯程度和思考深度。創(chuàng)業(yè)者需要讓他們相信自己致力于這個(gè)愿景已經(jīng)有相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)的一段時(shí)間，并且對(duì)于所有潛在的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)都進(jìn)行了“盡職調(diào)查”。白日夢(mèng)和“靈光一現(xiàn)”不會(huì)得到太大的尊重。
4. Demonstrate progress and your own "skin in the game." Saying that you need money tostart is not nearly as convincing as saying that you have built a prototype on your own dime,but need more to roll it out. We all know people who can talk a good game, but never getaround to building anything.
4.展示進(jìn)步和創(chuàng)業(yè)者“自身的資金投入”。與其說(shuō)自己需要啟動(dòng)資金，不如說(shuō)自己已經(jīng)自籌資金建立了一個(gè)樣板，但還需要資金將其推向市場(chǎng)，后者更有說(shuō)服力。我們都見(jiàn)過(guò)這樣的人，他們說(shuō)得天花亂墜，但從未付諸于行動(dòng)。
5. Ask for the minimum rather than the maximum. We would all love to have a million dollars offunding to "do it right" and build the company of our dreams. But your chances are minimal offinding someone who will give you that much to start. Set some milestones for three or fourmonths out, and show what you can do, then ask for more.
5.融資按部就班，不求一蹴而就。我們都想獲得一百萬(wàn)美元的融資，“一步到位”地建造自己夢(mèng)想的公司。但創(chuàng)業(yè)者幾乎不可能找到一位愿意出這么多錢作為啟動(dòng)資金的人。以三四個(gè)月為期設(shè)置一些里程碑，展示取得的成果，然后再要求進(jìn)一步的投資。
6. Communicate the risks, and write down the agreement. Be honest with naive familymembers and friends about the inherent risks of a startup — at least 70% fail in the first fiveyears. Don't take money from family or friends who can't afford to lose it. Think hard about theconsequences of a possible startup failure and the loss of their funding.
6. 告知風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，立字為據(jù)。一定要向天真的親朋好友們坦率的說(shuō)明創(chuàng)業(yè)的固有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)——至少有70%的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)可能會(huì)在開張前5年倒閉!不要從無(wú)力承受損失的家人或朋友那里拿錢。務(wù)必要仔細(xì)想想創(chuàng)業(yè)一旦失敗，資金投入損失殆盡的后果。
7. Show some incremental value along the way. Look for ways to get some traction with aminimal product, while you are still developing the main event. In high technology, this is called"release early and iterate," which allows you to make corrections as you go, as well as adjustfor the market changes. It also shows progress to early backers.
7.一步一步地顯示遞增的價(jià)值。創(chuàng)業(yè)者依然在開發(fā)核心產(chǎn)品的時(shí)候，需要設(shè)法用外圍產(chǎn)品獲得市場(chǎng)的某種認(rèn)同。在高科技領(lǐng)域，這叫做“盡早推出，查漏補(bǔ)缺(release early and iterate)”，這種方式可以讓創(chuàng)業(yè)者一邊開發(fā)產(chǎn)品，一邊根據(jù)市場(chǎng)變化對(duì)其進(jìn)行修正，這樣做還可以讓早期的支持者看到企業(yè)的進(jìn)步。
8. Network to build investor relationships before you ask for money. Having a real project,rather than just an idea, is a strong positive when networking for angels or VCs. Now you reallyhave something to discuss, and real credibility as an entrepreneur. Build the friendship first,ask for advice on a real project, then maybe money later.
8.融資未動(dòng)，人脈先行。結(jié)交天使投資人或風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本家，建立人脈的時(shí)候，掌握一個(gè)實(shí)實(shí)在在的項(xiàng)目(而不僅僅是一個(gè)想法)可以帶來(lái)非常積極的效果。因?yàn)?，這樣才能切實(shí)擁有可資討論的東西，也才能算得上是名符其實(shí)的創(chuàng)業(yè)者。先跟投資人建立友誼，就手頭真是的項(xiàng)目想他們征求意見(jiàn)，接下來(lái)或許就可以開口要錢了。
Overall, don't think of friends and family funding only as a last resort. There are massiveadvantages, like sharing profits with friends and family, as well as the strategic credibility thancan be gained from funding from someone you know, rather than from a professionalinvestor.
總體而言，不要僅僅只把家人和朋友僅僅視為最后的資金渠道。從熟人(而不是一位職業(yè)投資者)那里獲得創(chuàng)業(yè)資金可以帶來(lái)巨大的好處。它不僅可以讓親朋好友分享利潤(rùn)，還能為創(chuàng)業(yè)者積累起具有戰(zhàn)略性意義的信譽(yù)度。
I hope all of these points seem like common sense to you, and you wouldn't think of handling itany other way. Yet, I'm continually amazed at how often I am approached as a professionalinvestor by strangers asking for a million dollars to fund an idea, without hitting even one ofthe above points.
我希望以上這些對(duì)有志創(chuàng)業(yè)的人來(lái)說(shuō)都已經(jīng)是常識(shí)，除此之外，別無(wú)他法。然而，作為一位專業(yè)投資人，我經(jīng)常碰到一些陌生人，上述幾點(diǎn)他們連一項(xiàng)都沒(méi)有做到，就來(lái)向我申請(qǐng)高達(dá)100萬(wàn)美元的創(chuàng)業(yè)資金。這種事總是讓我驚訝不已。
We can all recount horror stories of families and friendships torn apart by money lost onsomeone else's speculative dream. In these cases both the entrepreneur and the fundingpartner are the fools. Don't be one.
我們都聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)這樣的悲劇，一些人因?yàn)閯e人的發(fā)財(cái)夢(mèng)而蒙受經(jīng)濟(jì)損失，最終撕裂了親情和友情。在這些故事中，充當(dāng)傻瓜的不僅是創(chuàng)業(yè)者，還包括他們的融資伙伴。但愿你不是!
關(guān)于創(chuàng)業(yè)的英語(yǔ)美文：衰退與創(chuàng)業(yè) Downturn, Start up
Downturn, start up -The effects of recessions on entrepreneurs and managers run deep
衰退與創(chuàng)業(yè) ——經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退對(duì)企業(yè)家和經(jīng)理人的影響在加劇
THE list of famous companies founded during economic downturns is long and varied. It includes General Motors, AT&T, Disney and MTV, all founded during recessions. A 2009 study found that over half of Fortune 500 companies got their start during a downturn or a bear market. A recession, it seems, may not be an entirely bad time to start a company. Indeed, busts (and booms) cast a longer shadow on the business landscape than is commonly realised, because they influence both the rate of business formation and how existing firms are run.
在經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退期間創(chuàng)辦的知名企業(yè)數(shù)量很多，且各式各樣的行業(yè)都有。通用汽車(General Motors)、美國(guó)電話電報(bào)公司(AT&T)、迪士尼(Disney)和音樂(lè)電視(MTV，全球兩大音樂(lè)臺(tái)之一)等都是在經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退時(shí)創(chuàng)建的。2009年有研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，超過(guò)一半的財(cái)富500強(qiáng)公司都是在衰退或熊市期間創(chuàng)設(shè)的。經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退時(shí)期，看起來(lái)并非完全不適合創(chuàng)設(shè)新公司。事實(shí)上，蕭條(或繁榮)對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)的商業(yè)環(huán)境的影響遠(yuǎn)比一般人意識(shí)到的要深遠(yuǎn)，因?yàn)樗鼈兗扔绊懶缕髽I(yè)的設(shè)立速度又影響現(xiàn)有企業(yè)的運(yùn)營(yíng)狀況。
Some argue that recessions speed up the process of productive economic churn—what Joseph Schumpeter called “creative destruction”. The destruction part is easy to see: downturns kill businesses, leaving boarded-up windows on the high street as their gravestones. But recessions may also spur the creation of new businesses.
有些人認(rèn)為，經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退可以加快經(jīng)濟(jì)結(jié)構(gòu)的調(diào)整進(jìn)程——約瑟夫熊彼特稱這為“創(chuàng)造性破壞”。破壞那部分很容易理解：經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退讓企業(yè)倒閉，大街上剩下的那些用木板釘牢的窗戶就如同他們的墓碑。然而，經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退也可能刺激新行業(yè)(企業(yè))的誕生。
When people suddenly have less money to spend, clever entrepreneurs may see an opportunity to set up businesses that give them what they want more cheaply or efficiently. Downturns may also swell the ranks of potential firm creators, because many who might otherwise have sought a stable salary will reinvent themselves as entrepreneurs. A recent study by Robert Fairlie of the University of California, Santa Cruz found that the proportion of Americans who start a new business each month is on average about half as high again in metropolitan areas where unemployment is in double digits as in those where it is under 2%.
當(dāng)人們的可支配的收入突然減少，敏銳的企業(yè)家可能抓住這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)去興辦企業(yè)，生產(chǎn)他們需要的更便宜且更有效的商品。經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退也可能擴(kuò)大潛在創(chuàng)業(yè)者的規(guī)模，因?yàn)楹芏嘣疽獙ふ乙粋€(gè)穩(wěn)定的工作的人，將會(huì)重塑自己為企業(yè)家。圣克魯茲的加利福尼亞大學(xué)的羅伯特費(fèi)爾利最近的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在失業(yè)率高達(dá)兩位數(shù)的大城市，美國(guó)人的月均創(chuàng)業(yè)比率大約兩倍于那些失業(yè)率在2%以下的地區(qū)。
A recession is a difficult time to start a company, of course. Credit is scarce. Would-be entrepreneurs are further handicapped by falling asset prices, since they might want to use their homes as collateral for a start-up loan. Whether downturns on balance help or hurt entrepreneurs depends therefore on the relative strength of these opposing sets of forces.
當(dāng)然，在經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退期間創(chuàng)業(yè)總是相當(dāng)艱難的。信用稀缺，且不斷下降的資產(chǎn)價(jià)格更成為未來(lái)的企業(yè)家們創(chuàng)業(yè)的進(jìn)一步障礙，因此他們可能以房屋為抵押，從而獲得啟動(dòng)資金。因此，資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表的惡化對(duì)企業(yè)家是有利還是有害，取決于他們的相對(duì)資本實(shí)力。
Mr Fairlie finds evidence that the spur to enterprise during the most recent recession in America from a drying-up of other employment opportunities outweighed the drag on business formation from a collapsing housing market. That said, a shrinking economy also makes it hard for young firms to take root and grow. A study commissioned by the Kaufmann Foundation, an organisation devoted to entrepreneurs, suggests that young companies, typically responsible for the bulk of US job creation, added only 2.3m jobs in 2009, down from about 3m a year earlier.
費(fèi)爾利在美國(guó)最近的經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退中發(fā)現(xiàn)的證據(jù)表明，其他就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)的枯竭對(duì)創(chuàng)業(yè)的刺激超過(guò)了崩潰的房地產(chǎn)市場(chǎng)的阻礙。也就是說(shuō)，經(jīng)濟(jì)萎縮也使得年輕企業(yè)難以扎根和成長(zhǎng)?？挤蚵饡?huì)(一個(gè)致力于研究企業(yè)家的組織)資助的一項(xiàng)研究表明，美國(guó)大多數(shù)就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)的增加要?dú)w功于新企業(yè)，在2009年僅增加了230萬(wàn)就業(yè)，而在去年這數(shù)字是300萬(wàn)左右。
Tough times do not suddenly prompt everyone to start a business. The vast majority of people who reach working age during a downturn still look for a job. But research also suggests that recessions have lasting effects on how executives manage businesses. John Graham of Duke University and Krishnamoorthy Narasimhan of PIMCO, a bond manager, have found that chief executives who lived through the Depression tended to run companies with lower debt levels (leverage then went up when these Depression-era bosses retired). In a new study, Antoinette Schoar and Luo Zuo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology show that companies run many years later by people who cut their teeth during bleak times, when money was tight and customers harder to find, are systematically different from those run by managers whose formative experiences date back to expansionary times, when credit and optimism were in ample supply.
艱難的日子并非突然促使每個(gè)人去創(chuàng)業(yè)。在衰退時(shí)期，絕大多數(shù)處于工作年齡的人仍然會(huì)去尋找工作。但是有研究表明，衰退對(duì)管理層管理企業(yè)的方式有著持續(xù)的影響。杜克大學(xué)的約翰葛拉漢和太平洋投資管理公司(PIMCO)的債券經(jīng)理Krishnamoorthy Narasimhan發(fā)現(xiàn)蕭條期間的首席執(zhí)行官傾向于以更低的債務(wù)水平運(yùn)營(yíng)公司(在大蕭條時(shí)代的老板退休以后，公司的財(cái)務(wù)杠桿將會(huì)上升)。在一項(xiàng)新研究中，麻省理工學(xué)院(MIT)的安托瓦內(nèi)特肖爾和佐羅( Luo Zuo)發(fā)現(xiàn)，那些曾在黑暗時(shí)期(銀根緊縮，客戶難尋)創(chuàng)業(yè)的企業(yè)家管理多年的公司，與僅經(jīng)歷擴(kuò)張時(shí)期(信貸充足，且對(duì)未來(lái)持樂(lè)觀態(tài)度)的企業(yè)家的公司有系統(tǒng)性的差別。
By carefully dissecting the careers of over 5,700 bosses of companies that have been on the S&P 1500 list, Ms Schoar and Mr Zuo found that those who began their management careers during a bust were substantially more risk-averse, took on less debt and generally were more conservative managers than the rest of the sample, even many decades later. That will strike critics of the over-leveraged company as thoroughly good news, but it is hard to say whether this effect is entirely benign.
通過(guò)詳細(xì)分析那些公司曾入標(biāo)普1500(S&P1500)的公司的5700多名老板的職業(yè)生涯，肖爾女士和佐先生發(fā)現(xiàn)，那些在蕭條時(shí)期開始管理生涯的人更不愿意冒險(xiǎn)，公司的負(fù)債更少。此外，即使幾十年之后，相對(duì)于樣本中的其他老板，他們亦更保守。這對(duì)于那些指責(zé)公司過(guò)度負(fù)債的批評(píng)家來(lái)說(shuō)，應(yīng)該是徹底的好消息。然而，很難判斷這樣的效應(yīng)是否是完全良性的。
Bosses whose careers began in a recession also tend to be so concerned about cost-effectiveness that the companies they go on to run spend less on research and development. They may thus be too conservative: firms with bosses whose professional baptism came in a weak economy have lower returns on assets than those run by other managers.
那些在衰退時(shí)期開始管理者生涯的人，傾向于過(guò)多地關(guān)注企業(yè)的成本效益，以致他們研發(fā)的投入較少。他們也可能因此變得過(guò)于保守：對(duì)于那些職業(yè)生涯受過(guò)經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷的嚴(yán)峻考驗(yàn)的老板，他們的企業(yè)的資產(chǎn)回報(bào)率相比其他老板的要低。
Why should this be? One plausible explanation is that recessions affect the way people take decisions. Management styles are surely in part the result of the kinds of problems a person has had to grapple with. Even a risk-lover may end up taking more conservative financial decisions in a weak economy. If these decisions serve him well in lean times, then he may conclude that fiscal prudence is a stance worth sticking with in years of plenty.
這是為什么呢?一個(gè)合理的解釋是經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退影響人們的決策方式。企業(yè)家的管理風(fēng)格在一定程度上取決于他們過(guò)去所應(yīng)對(duì)的各種難題。即使一個(gè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)愛(ài)好者也可能在經(jīng)濟(jì)不景氣的時(shí)候最終選擇保守的融資決策。如果那些決策在拮據(jù)時(shí)期給他帶來(lái)了好處，那么他可能得出這樣的結(jié)論，即使在經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮的時(shí)候，審慎的投融資仍是值得我們持續(xù)堅(jiān)持的立場(chǎng)。
Downturns also funnel people into different jobs from those they might otherwise have entered. A 2008 study by Paul Oyer of Stanford University found that Stanford MBAs disproportionately shunned Wall Street during a bear market. This may seem unsurprising—who wants a job in finance when the market is tanking? But there are reasons to believe that these choices make a difference well into the future. Those who begin their careers in a bust are less footloose than their boom-time equivalents. Ms Schoar and Mr Zuo find that the average recession-scarred chief executive is more likely to have risen through the ranks of a firm than the norm, and is less likely to have switched employers or jumped from one industry to another.
若不存在經(jīng)濟(jì)下滑，人們可能會(huì)選擇不同的工作。2008年，斯坦福大學(xué)的保羅奧耶研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，斯坦福的工商管理碩士(MBA)在熊市時(shí)都或多或少地避免在華爾街就業(yè)。這看起來(lái)不足為奇——在股市大滑坡之際，又有誰(shuí)愿意在金融領(lǐng)域工作呢?但是我們有理由相信，這些選擇的影響將會(huì)波及未來(lái)。相比那些在經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮期間開始工作的同行，在蕭條期間開創(chuàng)職業(yè)生涯的人顯得更穩(wěn)定。肖爾女士和 佐先生發(fā)現(xiàn)一般經(jīng)歷過(guò)經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退的首席執(zhí)行官有更大的可能是從公司的底層一步步爬上來(lái)的，也不大可能跳槽或變換所從事的行業(yè)。
The pool of candidates for top jobs in a particular industry reflects the choices that people make early on in their working lives. Yet these choices are the result not only of managers’ preferences and abilities, as you might expect, but also of the economic circumstances that prevailed at the time they began working. Whether they were set up during a boom or a bust, today’s firms are deeply affected by the economic fluctuations of the past.
某一特定行業(yè)最高職位可供選擇的人才反映了他們?cè)诠ぷ鞒跗谒龅倪x擇。然而，這些選擇不僅僅依賴經(jīng)理的偏好和工作能力，正如你所預(yù)料的，也取決于他們開始工作時(shí)所處的經(jīng)濟(jì)環(huán)境。不管企業(yè)是在衰退又或者在繁榮時(shí)期創(chuàng)設(shè)的，現(xiàn)在的企業(yè)都深受過(guò)去經(jīng)濟(jì)波動(dòng)的影響。
關(guān)于創(chuàng)業(yè)的英語(yǔ)美文：你是否適合創(chuàng)業(yè)?
Here are five questions to ask before you start your own business:
在你考慮自立門戶之前，不妨問(wèn)問(wèn)自己以下五個(gè)問(wèn)題：
1. Am I passionate about my product or service? 我對(duì)自己的產(chǎn)品或者服務(wù)充滿熱情嗎?
Let's face it: the start-up phase is stressful. You will find yourself questioning whetheryou've made the right decision, especially when the hours are long and the initial profits (ifany) are lean. As the business owner, you're also chief salesperson for your company. Yourenthusiasm for your product or service— whether it's hand-knit sweaters or top-notch taxpreparation— is often the difference that hooks customers, lands deals and attracts investors.It's unwise to start down the path of entrepreneurship unless you've got a zeal that will getyou through rough patches and keep you interested long after the initial enthusiasm hasfaded.
讓我們直面這樣的事實(shí)：創(chuàng)業(yè)初期你會(huì)面臨壓力很大。你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在不斷質(zhì)疑是否做出了正確的決策，尤其是在工作時(shí)間很長(zhǎng)、但最初的利潤(rùn)卻很少的情況下。作為企業(yè)所有人，你還是企業(yè)的主要銷售人員。你對(duì)于自己產(chǎn)品或者服務(wù)──無(wú)論它是手織毛衫還是一流的稅務(wù)服務(wù)──的熱情常常是抓住客戶、取得合約以及吸引投資者的與眾不同之處。除非你抱有能夠幫助自己度過(guò)艱難時(shí)日并且在最初的熱情逐漸消退之后的很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間里仍能保持濃厚興趣的熱忱，否則開始創(chuàng)業(yè)之路將是不明智的選擇。
2. What is my tolerance for risk? 我容忍風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的程度如何?
Whether it's quitting your day job or signing a lease on a new space, nothing about startinga business is for the faint of heart. Just ask Ina Garten, who bought a specialty-foods storecalled The Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton, New York, in 1978 and has since branched outinto cookbooks, television and a line of products. Garten tells aspiring entrepreneurs that youhave to 'be willing to jump off the cliff and figure out how to fly on the way down.' Even withenough passion to launch a thousand ventures, you could find any number of circumstanceshastening your failure: a location that turns out to be less than ideal, a problem with city orstate zoning boards or a kink in the supply chain that can't easily be ironed out. There's noguarantee of success, or even a steady paycheck. If you're risk-averse, entrepreneurshipprobably isn't the right path for you.
無(wú)論是辭掉平日的工作，還是簽署新的租約，創(chuàng)業(yè)的方方面面都不是為意志薄弱的人準(zhǔn)備的。問(wèn)問(wèn)艾娜 加滕(Ina Garten)就好了。她在1978年買下了紐約州東漢普敦的一家特色食品商店The Barefoot Contessa，從此一發(fā)不可收拾，擴(kuò)展至烹飪書籍、電視等領(lǐng)域，并推出了一系列產(chǎn)品。加滕告訴那些滿懷抱負(fù)的企業(yè)家，你必須“愿意跳下懸崖，搞清楚在下降的過(guò)程中如何飛行。”即便你有足夠的熱情推出一千家企業(yè)，你還是可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)加速失敗的各種情形：不太理想的地點(diǎn)，與城市或者州分區(qū)有關(guān)的麻煩，無(wú)法輕易擺脫的供應(yīng)鏈問(wèn)題等等。沒(méi)有成功的保證，甚至是穩(wěn)定的薪水。如果你不愿冒險(xiǎn)，創(chuàng)業(yè)恐怕不是適合你走的路。
3. Am I good at making decisions? 我善于做出決策嗎?
No one else is going to make them for you when you own your own business. Consider howyou might handle these early decisions: Do I work from home or do I lease office space? Do Ihire employees? Do I pursue high-end clients or sell to the masses? Do I incorporate? Do Iadvertise? Do I borrow money from friends or family? Do I use my entire savings? Keep inmind that the decision-making process only gets more complicated as time goes on, once youhave employees or clients depending on you. The choices you make can lead to success ordownfall, so you must feel confident in your ability to make the right call.
當(dāng)你擁有自己的企業(yè)后，別人不會(huì)為你做出決策。想想你可能會(huì)怎么應(yīng)對(duì)這些早期的決策：我是在家辦公，還是在外租用辦公室?我要不要雇傭員工?我要爭(zhēng)取高端客戶，還是面向大眾銷售?我要不要組建法人公司?我要不要打廣告?我要不要從朋友或者家人那里借錢?我要不要用掉自己所有的積蓄?記住，一旦你開始有員工或者客戶依賴于你，決策的過(guò)程只會(huì)隨著時(shí)間的推移愈加復(fù)雜。你所做出的決策可能會(huì)直接導(dǎo)致成功或者失敗，因此你必須對(duì)自己做出正確決策的能力充滿信心才行。
4. Am I willing to take on numerous responsibilities? 我愿意承擔(dān)多方面的責(zé)任嗎?
While a corporate employee focuses on a special skill or role within the largercorporation, a business owner must contribute everything to the business. Soloentrepreneurs in particular must be versatile and play a number of roles, from chiefsalesperson and bookkeeper to head marketer and bill collector. If juggling many rolesdoesn't suit you, entrepreneurship probably won't, either. The recent economic downturn hasmade it more important than ever for business owners to have a good working knowledge oftheir companies' finances. While you will undoubtedly learn much on this topic from getting yourhands dirty, the more knowledge you have in advance, the better prepared you'll be.
雖然企業(yè)的員工往往會(huì)關(guān)注一種特殊的技能或者角色，但是企業(yè)主必須為企業(yè)盡其所能。尤其是單打獨(dú)斗的創(chuàng)業(yè)者必須是多面手，發(fā)揮多種作用，從銷售、會(huì)計(jì)，到市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷、收款，他要無(wú)所不能。如果在許多角色之間不斷轉(zhuǎn)換不適合你的話，創(chuàng)業(yè)可能也不會(huì)適合你。最近的經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退更使企業(yè)主深諳企業(yè)財(cái)務(wù)變得無(wú)比重要。雖然你無(wú)疑將會(huì)從實(shí)踐中不斷學(xué)習(xí)財(cái)務(wù)知識(shí)，但是你提前知道的越多，你就越有準(zhǔn)備。.
5. Will I be able to avoid burnout? 我能夠避免身心透支嗎?
Working seven days a week, losing touch with friends, abandoning old hobbies andinterests and not making time for loved ones can quickly lead to burnout in the midst ofstarting up— and ultimately to business failure. That's what happened to James Zimbardi, anentrepreneur in Orlando, Florida, who says he didn't know any better when he started his firstcompany in 1997 and worked as hard as possible, for as long as possible, until his creativity,enthusiasm and energy were sapped. By 2002, he was a broken man— the business took adownturn, and so did his personal life. Now Zimbardi is at work on his second company, AllgenFinancial Services, and sticking to better habits to maintain work/life balance, such as notworking on Sundays, making time for hobbies such as sailing and salsa dancing, and buildingclose ties with other business owners through a faith-based support network.
一周七天整日忙于工作，與朋友失去聯(lián)系，放棄原來(lái)的愛(ài)好和興趣，無(wú)法為自己所愛(ài)的人抽出時(shí)間，這些都可能會(huì)很快導(dǎo)致創(chuàng)業(yè)過(guò)程中的身心透支──并且最終導(dǎo)致企業(yè)破產(chǎn)。這正是佛羅里達(dá)州奧蘭多的創(chuàng)業(yè)者詹姆斯 辛巴迪(James Zimbardi)的經(jīng)歷。辛巴迪說(shuō)，他在1997年成立自己第一家公司的時(shí)候懵懵懂懂，只會(huì)拼命努力工作，廢寢忘食，直到他的創(chuàng)造力、熱情和精力消失殆盡。到2002年的時(shí)候，他已經(jīng)是一個(gè)散了架的人──企業(yè)陷入了低迷期，而他的個(gè)人生活也遭遇了挫折。如今，辛巴迪正在組建他的第二家公司Allgen FinancialServices，這次他堅(jiān)持保持良好的習(xí)慣維持工作、生活平衡，比如說(shuō)周日不工作，為帆船和風(fēng)情拉丁舞等愛(ài)好留出時(shí)間，通過(guò)一個(gè)宗教信仰支持網(wǎng)絡(luò)與其他企業(yè)主建立密切的關(guān)系等等。
Take some time to mull over these questions, do some soul-searching, and then if youthink you have what it takes, go for it.
花點(diǎn)時(shí)間想想這些問(wèn)題，不妨進(jìn)行深刻的自我反省。如果你還是認(rèn)為自己具備創(chuàng)業(yè)所需的條件，那么就放手去干吧。
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