關於創業的英語美文閱讀

　　創業，年少者敢博，年長者善算，常勝者愛拼。一個成功的創業者，三個因素，眼光、胸懷和實力。小編分享關於創業的英語美文，希望可以幫助大家!

　　關於創業的英語美文：創業離不開朋友,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.

　　大多數創業者都明白，比起獲得天使投資人或專業風險資本家的投資，從熟人那裡獲得資金幾乎總要更快更容易一些。事實上，大多數投資者都“要求”在他們著手研究相關專案之前，創業者已經從他的親朋好友那裡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，接下來才是創意或產品。因為投資者還不瞭解創業者，所以他們首先要對創業者的人品審查一番，看看他的親朋好友是否對他有足夠的信任，願意給他啟動新創意的種子資金。如果連親朋好友都不願意掏錢，對創業者一無所知的投資者憑什麼要向其投資呢?

　　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像專業投資者那樣，要求創業者出具複雜的商業模式和財務資訊，但他們的確希望看到確鑿的東西。以下是創業者在求助於朋友、家人，甚或是錢多人傻的笨蛋之前需要認真思考的關鍵環節：

　　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，言辭需謹慎。如果一位創業者安安穩穩地等待某位熟人為他提供初創企業的啟動資金，他或許得熬上相當長一段時間。另一方面，假如創業者逢人就說：“我需要錢，”他恐怕連一個朋友都交不上，更別說籌措到資金了。創業者需要好好練習一下“電梯間演講”，把要錢的話放到最後來說。

　　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。沒有什麼比消極傲慢的態度更能扼殺大夥的信心和提攜的意願。如果大夥打算把錢投入創業者的公司，他們很可能期望跟創業者呆上足夠長的時間，要麼為他出謀劃策，要麼討論公司的進展。沒有人喜歡垂頭喪氣的傢伙。

　　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.對創業點子充滿激情。朋友和家人很快就能察覺創業者對於創意的真摯程度和思考深度。創業者需要讓他們相信自己致力於這個願景已經有相當長的一段時間，並且對於所有潛在的風險都進行了“盡職調查”。白日夢和“靈光一現”不會得到太大的尊重。

　　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.展示進步和創業者“自身的資金投入”。與其說自己需要啟動資金，不如說自己已經自籌資金建立了一個樣板，但還需要資金將其推向市場，後者更有說服力。我們都見過這樣的人，他們說得天花亂墜，但從未付諸於行動。

　　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美元的融資，“一步到位”地建造自己夢想的公司。但創業者幾乎不可能找到一位願意出這麼多錢作為啟動資金的人。以三四個月為期設定一些里程碑，展示取得的成果，然後再要求進一步的投資。

　　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. 告知風險，立字為據。一定要向天真的親朋好友們坦率的說明創業的固有風險——至少有70%的初創企業可能會在開張前5年倒閉!不要從無力承受損失的家人或朋友那裡拿錢。務必要仔細想想創業一旦失敗，資金投入損失殆盡的後果。

　　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值。創業者依然在開發核心產品的時候，需要設法用外圍產品獲得市場的某種認同。在高科技領域，這叫做“儘早推出，查漏補缺***release early and iterate***”，這種方式可以讓創業者一邊開發產品，一邊根據市場變化對其進行修正，這樣做還可以讓早期的支持者看到企業的進步。

　　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，人脈先行。結交天使投資人或風險資本家，建立人脈的時候，掌握一個實實在在的專案***而不僅僅是一個想法***可以帶來非常積極的效果。因為，這樣才能切實擁有可資討論的東西，也才能算得上是名符其實的創業者。先跟投資人建立友誼，就手頭真是的專案想他們徵求意見，接下來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後的資金渠道。從熟人***而不是一位職業投資者***那裡獲得創業資金可以帶來巨大的好處。它不僅可以讓親朋好友分享利潤，還能為創業者積累起具有戰略性意義的信譽度。

　　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.

　　我希望以上這些對有志創業的人來說都已經是常識，除此之外，別無他法。然而，作為一位專業投資人，我經常碰到一些陌生人，上述幾點他們連一項都沒有做到，就來向我申請高達100萬美元的創業資金。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.

　　我們都聽說過這樣的悲劇，一些人因為別人的發財夢而蒙受經濟損失，最終撕裂了親情和友情。在這些故事中，充當傻瓜的不僅是創業者，還包括他們的融資夥伴。但願你不是!

　　關於創業的英語美文：衰退與創業 Downturn, Start up

　　Downturn, start up -The effects of recessions on entrepreneurs and managers run deep

　　衰退與創業 ——經濟衰退對企業家和經理人的影響在加劇

　　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.

　　在經濟衰退期間創辦的知名企業數量很多，且各式各樣的行業都有。通用汽車***General Motors***、美國電話電報公司***AT&T***、迪士尼***Disney***和音樂電視***MTV，全球兩大音樂臺之一***等都是在經濟衰退時建立的。2009年有研究發現，超過一半的財富500強公司都是在衰退或熊市期間創設的。經濟衰退時期，看起來並非完全不適合創設新公司。事實上，蕭條***或繁榮***對經濟的商業環境的影響遠比一般人意識到的要深遠，因為它們既影響新企業的設立速度又影響現有企業的運營狀況。

　　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.

　　有些人認為，經濟衰退可以加快經濟結構的調整程序——約瑟夫熊彼特稱這為“創造性破壞”。破壞那部分很容易理解：經濟衰退讓企業倒閉，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，經濟衰退也可能刺激新行業***企業***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%.

　　當人們的可支配的收入突然減少，敏銳的企業家可能抓住這個機會去興辦企業，生產他們需要的更便宜且更有效的商品。經濟衰退也可能擴大潛在創業者的規模，因為很多原本要尋找一個穩定的工作的人，將會重塑自己為企業家。聖克魯茲的加利福尼亞大學的羅伯特費爾利最近的一項研究發現，在失業率高達兩位數的大城市，美國人的月均創業比率大約兩倍於那些失業率在2%以下的地區。

　　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.

　　當然，在經濟衰退期間創業總是相當艱難的。信用稀缺，且不斷下降的資產價格更成為未來的企業家們創業的進一步障礙，因此他們可能以房屋為抵押，從而獲得啟動資金。因此，資產負債表的惡化對企業家是有利還是有害，取決於他們的相對資本實力。

　　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.

　　費爾利在美國最近的經濟衰退中發現的證據表明，其他就業機會的枯竭對創業的刺激超過了崩潰的房地產市場的阻礙。也就是說，經濟萎縮也使得年輕企業難以紮根和成長。考夫曼基金會***一個致力於研究企業家的組織***資助的一項研究表明，美國大多數就業機會的增加要歸功於新企業，在2009年僅增加了230萬就業，而在去年這數字是300萬左右。

　　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.

　　艱難的日子並非突然促使每個人去創業。在衰退時期，絕大多數處於工作年齡的人仍然會去尋找工作。但是有研究表明，衰退對管理層管理企業的方式有著持續的影響。杜克大學的約翰葛拉漢和太平洋投資管理公司***PIMCO***的債券經理Krishnamoorthy Narasimhan發現蕭條期間的執行長傾向於以更低的債務水平運營公司***在大蕭條時代的老闆退休以後，公司的財務槓桿將會上升***。在一項新研究中，麻省理工學院***MIT***的安託瓦內特肖爾和佐羅*** Luo Zuo***發現，那些曾在黑暗時期***銀根緊縮，客戶難尋***創業的企業家管理多年的公司，與僅經歷擴張時期***信貸充足，且對未來持樂觀態度***的企業家的公司有系統性的差別。

　　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.

　　通過詳細分析那些公司曾入標普1500***S&P1500***的公司的5700多名老闆的職業生涯，肖爾女士和佐先生髮現，那些在蕭條時期開始管理生涯的人更不願意冒險，公司的負債更少。此外，即使幾十年之後，相對於樣本中的其他老闆，他們亦更保守。這對於那些指責公司過度負債的批評家來說，應該是徹底的好訊息。然而，很難判斷這樣的效應是否是完全良性的。

　　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.

　　那些在衰退時期開始管理者生涯的人，傾向於過多地關注企業的成本效益，以致他們研發的投入較少。他們也可能因此變得過於保守：對於那些職業生涯受過經濟低迷的嚴峻考驗的老闆，他們的企業的資產回報率相比其他老闆的要低。

　　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.

　　這是為什麼呢?一個合理的解釋是經濟衰退影響人們的決策方式。企業家的管理風格在一定程度上取決於他們過去所應對的各種難題。即使一個風險愛好者也可能在經濟不景氣的時候最終選擇保守的融資決策。如果那些決策在拮据時期給他帶來了好處，那麼他可能得出這樣的結論，即使在經濟繁榮的時候，審慎的投融資仍是值得我們持續堅持的立場。

　　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.

　　若不存在經濟下滑，人們可能會選擇不同的工作。2008年，斯坦福大學的保羅奧耶研究發現，斯坦福的工商管理碩士***MBA***在熊市時都或多或少地避免在華爾街就業。這看起來不足為奇——在股市大滑坡之際，又有誰願意在金融領域工作呢?但是我們有理由相信，這些選擇的影響將會波及未來。相比那些在經濟繁榮期間開始工作的同行，在蕭條期間開創職業生涯的人顯得更穩定。肖爾女士和 佐先生髮現一般經歷過經濟衰退的執行長有更大的可能是從公司的底層一步步爬上來的，也不大可能跳槽或變換所從事的行業。

　　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.

　　某一特定行業最高職位可供選擇的人才反映了他們在工作初期所做的選擇。然而，這些選擇不僅僅依賴經理的偏好和工作能力，正如你所預料的，也取決於他們開始工作時所處的經濟環境。不管企業是在衰退又或者在繁榮時期創設的，現在的企業都深受過去經濟波動的影響。

　　關於創業的英語美文：你是否適合創業?

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

　　在你考慮自立門戶之前，不妨問問自己以下五個問題：

　　1. Am I passionate about my product or service? 我對自己的產品或者服務充滿熱情嗎?

　　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：創業初期你會面臨壓力很大。你會發現自己在不斷質疑是否做出了正確的決策，尤其是在工作時間很長、但最初的利潤卻很少的情況下。作為企業所有人，你還是企業的主要銷售人員。你對於自己產品或者服務──無論它是手織毛衫還是一流的稅務服務──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艱難時日並且在最初的熱情逐漸消退之後的很長時間裡仍能保持濃厚興趣的熱忱，否則開始創業之路將是不明智的選擇。

　　2. What is my tolerance for risk? 我容忍風險的程度如何?

　　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.

　　無論是辭掉平日的工作，還是簽署新的租約，創業的方方面面都不是為意志薄弱的人準備的。問問艾娜 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，從此一發不可收拾，擴充套件至烹飪書籍、電視等領域，並推出了一系列產品。加滕告訴那些滿懷抱負的企業家，你必須“願意跳下懸崖，搞清楚在下降的過程中如何飛行。”即便你有足夠的熱情推出一千家企業，你還是可能會發現加速失敗的各種情形：不太理想的地點，與城市或者州分割槽有關的麻煩，無法輕易擺脫的供應鏈問題等等。沒有成功的保證，甚至是穩定的薪水。如果你不願冒險，創業恐怕不是適合你走的路。

　　3. Am I good at making decisions? 我善於做出決策嗎?

　　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.

　　當你擁有自己的企業後，別人不會為你做出決策。想想你可能會怎麼應對這些早期的決策：我是在家辦公，還是在外租用辦公室?我要不要僱傭員工?我要爭取高階客戶，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裡借錢?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於你，決策的過程只會隨著時間的推移愈加複雜。你所做出的決策可能會直接導致成功或者失敗，因此你必須對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? 我願意承擔多方面的責任嗎?

　　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.

　　雖然企業的員工往往會關注一種特殊的技能或者角色，但是企業主必須為企業盡其所能。尤其是單打獨鬥的創業者必須是多面手，發揮多種作用，從銷售、會計，到市場營銷、收款，他要無所不能。如果在許多角色之間不斷轉換不適合你的話，創業可能也不會適合你。最近的經濟衰退更使企業主深諳企業財務變得無比重要。雖然你無疑將會從實踐中不斷學習財務知識，但是你提前知道的越多，你就越有準備。.

　　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.

　　一週七天整日忙於工作，與朋友失去聯絡，放棄原來的愛好和興趣，無法為自己所愛的人抽出時間，這些都可能會很快導致創業過程中的身心透支──並且最終導致企業破產。這正是佛羅里達州奧蘭多的創業者詹姆斯 辛巴迪***James Zimbardi***的經歷。辛巴迪說，他在1997年成立自己第一家公司的時候懵懵懂懂，只會拼命努力工作，廢寢忘食，直到他的創造力、熱情和精力消失殆盡。到2002年的時候，他已經是一個散了架的人──企業陷入了低迷期，而他的個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，這次他堅持保持良好的習慣維持工作、生活平衡，比如說週日不工作，為帆船和風情拉丁舞等愛好留出時間，通過一個宗教信仰支援網路與其他企業主建立密切的關係等等。

　　Take some time to mull over these questions, do some soul-searching, and then if youthink you have what it takes, go for it.

　　花點時間想想這些問題，不妨進行深刻的自我反省。如果你還是認為自己具備創業所需的條件，那麼就放手去幹吧。