托福閱讀材料之你適不適合自主創(chuàng)業(yè)

　　Adapted from the upcoming book THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK (Three Rivers Press, Dec. 29, 2009).

　　Starting a business is a lot like becoming a parent. Not only do you have to prepare for your start-up emotionally and financially, but you have to be committed to its constant needs until it's mature enough to hum along on its own. And even then (much like a child) it will always need you in some capacity, no matter how old it gets.

　　創(chuàng)業(yè)很像當(dāng)父母。你不僅要在感情上和財(cái)務(wù)上為自己的企業(yè)做好準(zhǔn)備，還必須滿足它持續(xù)不斷的需求，直到它足夠成熟可以自行運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。即便到了那個(gè)時(shí)候(很像長(zhǎng)大的孩子)，它仍然總是需要你投入一定的精力，無(wú)論它有多么成熟。

　　Here are five questions to ask before you start your own business:

　　在你考慮自立門(mén)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 whether you've made the right decision, especially when the hours are long and the initial profits (if any) are lean. As the business owner, you're also chief salesperson for your company. Your enthusiasm for your product or service— whether it's hand-knit sweaters or top-notch tax preparation— 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 get you through rough patches and keep you interested long after the initial enthusiasm has faded.

　　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(xiāo)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(kāi)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 starting a business is for the faint of heart. Just ask Ina Garten, who bought a specialty-foods store called The Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton, New York, in 1978 and has since branched out into cookbooks, television and a line of products. Garten tells aspiring entrepreneurs that you have to 'be willing to jump off the cliff and figure out how to fly on the way down.' Even with enough passion to launch a thousand ventures, you could find any number of circumstances hastening your failure: a location that turns out to be less than ideal, a problem with city or state zoning boards or a kink in the supply chain that can't easily be ironed out. There's no guarantee of success, or even a steady paycheck. If you're risk-averse, entrepreneurship probably 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(mǎi)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(shū)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 how you might handle these early decisions: Do I work from home or do I lease office space? Do I hire employees? Do I pursue high-end clients or sell to the masses? Do I incorporate? Do I advertise? Do I borrow money from friends or family? Do I use my entire savings? Keep in mind that the decision-making process only gets more complicated as time goes on, once you have employees or clients depending on you. The choices you make can lead to success or downfall, 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(xiāo)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(qián)?我要不要用掉自己所有的積蓄?記住，一旦你開(kāi)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 larger corporation, a business owner must contribute everything to the business. Solo entrepreneurs in particular must be versatile and play a number of roles, from chief salesperson and bookkeeper to head marketer and bill collector. If juggling many roles doesn't suit you, entrepreneurship probably won't, either. The recent economic downturn has made it more important than ever for business owners to have a good working knowledge of their companies' finances. While you will undoubtedly learn much on this topic from getting your hands 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(xiāo)售、會(huì)計(jì)，到市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)、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 and interests and not making time for loved ones can quickly lead to burnout in the midst of starting up— and ultimately to business failure. That's what happened to James Zimbardi, an entrepreneur in Orlando, Florida, who says he didn't know any better when he started his first company 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 a downturn, and so did his personal life. Now Zimbardi is at work on his second company, Allgen Financial Services, and sticking to better habits to maintain work/life balance, such as not working on Sundays, making time for hobbies such as sailing and salsa dancing, and building close 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 Financial Services，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 you think 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。