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????親愛的安妮：我是一名應屆畢業生。雖然有一家大公司（經過多輪面試）給我提供了一份工作，但我真的很想自己創業。過去的兩年中，我通過網上銷售手工首飾，賺了點兒“小錢”，而且生意也一直不錯。所以，我覺得，如果我全職做這個的話，肯定會有很好的前景。 ????我的有利條件是，我沒有助學貸款要還，而且我的花費也很少，因為在創業期間，我可以跟父母住在一起。但另一方面，我爸媽一直催促我找一份“真正的工作”，因為，在他們看來，剛畢業就創業，這是個瘋狂的想法。您和讀者們有什么看法呢？——瑪麗?安 ????親愛的瑪麗?安：我絕不會反對你的父母，尤其因為，他們實際上是不想讓你經歷那種痛苦和失望。 ????卡羅爾?羅斯表示：“‘馬克?扎克伯格們’讓創業看起來輕而易舉，但殘酷的事實是，10家創業公司中，有9家在最初五年內就垮掉了。” 卡羅爾?羅斯是芝加哥的一位商務策劃師，她曾幫助創業公司客戶融資超過10億美元。羅斯的作品《企業家公式：創業者的現實、風險與回報評估》（The Entrepreneur Equation: Evaluating the Realities, Risks and Rewards of Having Your Own Business）一書曾登上過《紐約時報》（New York Times）的暢銷書榜單。 ????羅斯認為，在決定你的發展方向之前，你需要認真、誠實地審視一下促使你去創業的動力。她發現，在所有想要創業的人當中（不僅僅是應屆畢業生），太多人的目的是“希望能賺大錢，擺脫公司的壓榨，或者能有更少的工作時間，和更多的自由時間。” ????這些理由都不可能帶來成功。那什么才是成功的動力呢？羅斯表示：“如果你致力于解決客戶的問題或滿足他們的需求，相信自己能比其他任何人做得都要優秀，并且，你渴望長時間工作、身兼數職，和應付無窮無盡的責任，那你的創業態度就是正確的。” ????而蘇珊?斯賓塞認為，除此之外，你還需要具備一些性格特質。其中一條是，你要樂于承受一個人辛苦工作的艱辛，至少在創業的第一年里（可能會更長）。 ????斯賓塞是一位律師，也是費城老鷹隊（Philadelphia Eagles）的前任總經理和股東，另外，斯賓塞創辦了兩家生意興隆的公司，并著有《公文包里的那點東西》（Briefcase Essentials）一書。她表示：“許多創業青年之所以會失敗，是因為他們雇傭了員工，而這就意味著，他們很快就得面臨日常開支。在開始的時候，你面臨的財務壓力越小，就越有可能取得成功。” ????但這么做的不利影響在于：“一天十個小時，甚至更長的時間，都是你自己在做所有的事情——銷售、記賬、支付賬單等等。你會很孤獨，你需要有非凡的動力和決心。這并不是所有人都能做到。” ????看到上面的分析，你確定還要義無反顧地進行創業嗎？如果你不再想馬上創業，卡羅爾?羅斯的這條建議或許會讓你滿意：在你想要創業的行業中，先找一份工作，并通過這份工作，學習“如何管理供應商關系、如何銷售產品、如何處理客戶關系，以及如何詳細地記賬等。” ????在你吸收這些實踐知識的同時，你可以利用業余時間，繼續在線銷售首飾，也就是羅斯所說的“興趣型職業”——介于業余愛好與工作之間——“你既可以獲得報酬，又可以仔細研究你的創業計劃的可行性。” ????但是，如果你決定馬上就開始創業，而不是先獲得更多經驗，然后再慢慢開始，那么明智的做法應該是，向與你一樣初出茅廬的公司老板們尋求建議和支持。羅斯為你推薦了一個全國性組織——青年創業者理事會（Young Entrepreneur Council），該組織可以“為有志于創業的應屆畢業生們提供有效的幫助。” ????蘇珊?斯賓塞認為，你也可以向經驗豐富的創業導師尋求幫助。她建議：“找一些成功的企業家，把他們作為你的非正式顧問委員會。他們可以對你的點子提出很好的意見。而且，他們還可以幫助你的企業更快地發展，比如他們可以把你介紹給銀行。” ????斯賓塞指出，要想創業，職業發展初期是很好的時機。原因很多，而最主要的一點是，你現在的風險承受能力是最強的（特別是你沒有助學貸款要還，而且你的生活開支很少）。 ????她說：“年輕人，在你還沒有負擔貸款或撫養孩子的壓力之前，拿出你的最佳狀態吧。只要你進行創業的時候足夠謹慎和努力，你肯定不會后悔的。” ????斯賓塞表示，這在一定程度上是因為，“如果你以后決定改變發展方向，想給別人打工，曾經的創業經歷將成為你的墊腳石。” ????“我曾經聘用過許多有過創業經歷的人。創業可以讓你接受商業教育。而這是通過其他方式無法獲得的。” |
????Dear Annie: I'm a brand new college graduate and, although I have one job offer from a big company (after interviewing with many), I'd really rather work for myself. For the past couple of years, I've been earning "mad money" by selling handmade jewelry online, and it's been going well enough that I think it would really take off if I do it full-time. ????On the plus side, I have no student loans to pay off and my expenses are minimal because I can live with my parents while I build the business. On the other hand, my mom and dad are urging me to take the "real job" because, according to them, starting a business right out of school is crazy. What do you and your readers think? — Mary Ann ????Dear Mary Ann: Far be it from me to contradict your parents, particularly since they're evidently trying to spare you what could be a painful disappointment. ????"The Mark Zuckerbergs of the world make startups look easy, but the cold hard facts are that 9 out of 10 new businesses fail in the first five years," notes Carol Roth, a Chicago-based business strategist who has helped her startup clients raise over $1 billion in capital. Roth also wrote a New York Times bestseller, The Entrepreneur Equation: Evaluating the Realities, Risks and Rewards of Having Your Own Business. ????Before you make up your mind about which way to go, Roth says, take a hard, honest look at your motivation for starting a company. Too many entrepreneurial wannabes of all ages (not just new grads) are "looking to get rich, escape the corporate grind, and work shorter hours with more free time," she observes. ????None of those reasons is likely to lead to success. What will? Says Roth, "If you're focused on solving a customer problem or need, believe you can do what you do better than anyone else, and you're dying to work long hours, wear many hats, and juggle endless responsibilities, you have the right startup mindset." ????According to Susan Spencer, you also need certain personality traits. One of them is a willingness to work very hard all by yourself, at least for the first year or so (and possibly longer). ????An attorney and former general manager and part owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, Spencer also launched two thriving businesses and wrote a book called Briefcase Essentials. "Many young entrepreneurs fail because they take on employees, which means overhead, too quickly. The less financial pressure you put on yourself at the outset, the more likely you are to succeed," she says. ????The downside: "Doing everything yourself -- selling, keeping the books, paying the bills, and so on -- for 10 or more hours a day is a lonely existence, and it takes extraordinary drive and determination. It's not for everyone." ????With that in mind, are you sure you want to leap in head first? If not, Carol Roth has a suggestion that might please both you and your folks: Get a job in the industry where you eventually want to establish your business as a way to learn "how to manage vendor relationships, market your product, deal with customers, and keep detailed books." ????While you're soaking up all that real-world knowledge, you can continue to sell jewelry online in your spare time, doing what Roth calls a "jobbie" -- a cross between a hobby and a job -- that "lets you explore how viable it really is while getting paid by someone else." ????If, however, you're determined to start your own business right now, without easing into it by getting more experience first, you'd be smart to reach out to a network of fellow fledgling business owners for advice and support. Roth recommends a nationwide group called the Young Entrepreneur Council, which "offers good tools for recent grads looking to create a startup." ????You can also seek out more seasoned mentors, Susan Spencer says. "Find a few successful entrepreneurs to be your informal advisory board," she suggests. "They can be a great sounding board for your ideas. They can also help your business grow faster by, for instance, introducing you to bankers." ????Spencer points out that this very early stage in your career could be a good moment to start a business, for a couple of reasons. First, your tolerance for risk is greater now than it may ever be again (especially given that you have no student loans and minimal living expenses). ????"Before you take on responsibilities like a mortgage and kids, give this your best shot," she says. "As long as you're going into it with your eyes wide open, you are unlikely to regret it." ????That's partly because having run your own show "can be a stepping stone to a great job if you decide to change direction later on and go to work for someone else," Spencer notes. ????"I've always hired people who had started their own companies. It gives you a kind of business education that you can't get in any other way." |
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