????大多數創業新人在初期都玩過類似的把戲。如果這聽起來有些可怕，那時因為的確如此。由于一筆早期訂單落空，我曾經不得不透支早已負債累累的信用卡來給員工發工資。在成功之前，你一定得先偽裝好自己。

????要成功創業，你必須兼顧打造完美的公司（理想主義者）和支付賬單（現實主義者）這兩個方面，缺少任何一方面最終都會令你一敗涂地。我相信，這也是現實主義者和理想主義者合伙創業在商界如此常見的原因之一。

????不要過早擴大規模。不要過早就想成為一家大公司——只要將“做大”定為自己的目標即可。一開始，不要著急大筆投入和招聘。別把時間浪費在撰寫使命宣言和政策文件上。你的公司小巧靈活，有著自己的使命。生產和銷售商品。未來總會有人力資源部的用武之地。

????如果你完全改變了自己的公司，不要感到意外。首次與客戶接觸之后，有獨特之處的企業總會生存下來。

????生存足夠長的時間，將微不足道的成果進行再投資，隨后進一步加大投資力度。最終，你可以將自己解放出來。

????這是大多數小公司從未達到的一步。此時，你的神奇商業機器已經包含了一個不可替代的零件：你自己。如果你的背景是會計，那你可能是公司的會計主管。如果你是一名程序設計員，你可能是最出色的程序員。不論你做什么，你都會感覺自己必不可少，但也會有一些精疲力竭。

????接下來是比較難的一部分：你需要讓自己成為一個“多余人”。如果你明天不在了，你的公司應該能夠繼續正常運行。你應該把所有時間用于影響你的公司，而不是為你的公司工作。換一種說法，從根本上說，你就是一名配了助理的自由職業者。

????許多公司無法逃離這種困境。比如，你是一名出色的廣告文案寫手——你會苦苦掙扎。這是因為你的公司是否出色完全取決于你，除非你可以將自己融入到一種商業模式當中，否則公司無法發展。

????麥當勞打造了一門即使它聘用最低工資員工也可以正常運行的生意。這得益于它的工作流程：每一個漢堡都是高效的，所有漢堡幾乎都一模一樣，并且任何細節都不會被疏忽。他們的品牌如此強大，以至于全世界的消費者要排隊用餐。你的公司或許與麥當勞存在根本上的區別，但應該做到與其一樣穩健。

????如果你達到了這一步，你就擁有了一家能夠自我維持的公司。即便你從來不去上班，也可以領取一份豐厚的薪資。你現在有大把的時間對公司進行不斷調整，使其變得更好。現在，為了征服全世界，你需要做的就是擴大公司規模，這就像參加電視節目《誰想成為百萬富翁》（Who Wants to Be A Millionaire）一樣。每答對一個問題，你的獎金都會翻倍，否則只能打道回府了。

????不要幼稚地認為大公司就是小公司的放大版。這就像告訴自己的孩子喝酒真的不會讓人變酷一樣。只有經歷過慘痛教訓之后，你才會明白。

????隨著公司的發展，公司的規定和文化就會徹底改變。你甚至可能發現自己討厭當初創立的公司（許多創始人最終都感受到類似的矛盾）。如果你已經到達這個階段，你可以有許多選擇：聘請幫手，出售公司，或者雙管齊下，看看它會把你帶到哪里。

????Most new entrepreneurs play a few gambits early on like this. If it sounds scary, that’s because it is. I once had to pay staff salaries on my heavily burdened credit cards when an early order fell through. You fake it until you make it.

????While doing all this you need to juggle between making the perfect company (idealist) and paying your bills (realist) – an absence of either will eventually kill you. I believe it’s one reason why realist/idealist partnerships are so common in business.

????Do not scale prematurely, however. Don’t try to be a big company early on – just aim to be one. Be slow to spend and to hire at first. Don’t waste time writing mission statements and policy documents. You’re small, nimble and on a mission. Make and sell things. There will be time for an HR department later.

????Don’t be surprised if you change your company entirely. Unique businesses survive first contact with its customers.

????Survive long enough, reinvest your meager successes and compound them. Eventually, you can extract yourself.

????This is the step most small businesses never accomplish. Up until now, your magical business machine almost certainly contains one irreplaceable part: you. If your background is accounts, you’re probably the head accountant. If you’re a programmer, you’re probably the best coder. Whatever you do, chances are you’ll feel essential and somewhat overworked.

????Here’s the hard part: you need to make yourself redundant. If you dropped dead tomorrow, your business should carry on working just fine. All of your time needs to be spent working on your business, not for your business. The alternative is you’re basically self-employed with assistants.

????Some businesses can’t escape this trap. Say you’re a brilliant copywriter – you’ll struggle. That’s because what makes you a great company is you, and unless you can bottle up you into a business model, you can’t grow.

????McDonalds built a business that works even if they hire almost entirely minimum wage workers. Their process makes it work: every burger is efficient and nearly indistinct, and nothing is left to chance. Their brand is so strong people line up worldwide to eat there. Your business may be radically different, but it should be similarly robust.

????If you accomplish this, you can own something that is self-sustaining. You should be able to pull a good salary even if you never go into work. Your time is now free to tweak your business endlessly into something better. Now to conquer the world, all you need to do is scale your business, which is a bit like playing Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. Each question you get right doubles your money, or you’re going home.

????Do not make the naive mistake of assuming a big company is like a small one but bigger. That’s like telling your kids to listen to you, really, drinking doesn’t make you cool. You’ll learn the hard way.

????As a company grows the rules and your culture change completely. You may even find yourself disliking the company you created (many founders feel conflicted like this, eventually). If you’ve made it this far, you have many options: hire help, sell or double-down, and see where the ride takes you.