5 Mantras That Successful Entrepreneurs Share成功企業家的五條箴言

It goes without saying that starting your own business takes a lot of work. Roughly 50 percent of new U.S. businesses fail in the first five years. It can be very intimidating and scary to start a business， knowing there’s no guarantee it’ll work out.

眾所周知，創辦自己的企業需要做大量的工作。大約一半的美國新創企業不到五年就會倒閉。創業會令人們感到非常膽怯和畏懼，因為你清楚無法擔保這件事會成功。

Over the years， I’ve had the privilege of working with entrepreneurs and startups at various stages of growth. Some of these businesses have gone on to great successes， while others， unfortunately， not so much.

多年以來，我有幸與處于不同成長階段的企業家和初創公司共事。一些企業經營得非常成功；然而另一些企業，很不幸，就不太成功了。

But there are lessons to be learned from success stories and failed attempts alike. If half of businesses fail in the first five years， what are the other half doing right and what can entrepreneurs learn from them？ Below are tips， tricks and words of wisdom to consider when kicking off a new venture.

但是，從成功的故事和失敗的嘗試當中，我們都可以吸取一些經驗教訓。如果有一半的企業不到五年就倒閉了，那么另外一半企業又做對了什么？企業家可以從成功的例子中學到什么？當你開辦一家新的企業時，不妨參考以下這些建議、技巧和箴言。

1. Bend before you break

1. 不屈則易折

As a business owner， and especially as an entrepreneur， you must be adaptable. When leading a business during the early stages of the unknown， you’ve got to master the craft of working well during times of constant change. If something can go wrong， it likely will， but if you’re able to be fluid， you and your company will avoid wasting time backpedaling and scrambling.

作為一名企業主，尤其是一名初創企業家，你必須得有適應能力。要領導一個發展未知、正處于早期階段的企業，你要掌握對不斷變化的事態應對裕如的本領。如果事情有可能出錯，那也許最終就會出錯，但是如果你能靈活應變，你和你的公司就不會浪費時間手忙腳亂地朝令夕改。

Robert Kiyosaki， author of Rich Dad Poor Dad， simply explains this notion： “When times are bad is when the real entrepreneurs emerge.”

羅伯特·清崎，即《富爸爸，窮爸爸》一書的作者，簡明地解釋了這樣一個觀點：“當形勢不好的時候，就是真正企業家浮現的時候。”

2. Deny instant gratification and think about the long term

2. 拒絕即刻滿足并作長遠打算

Avoid making decisions that provide short-term or ad hoc solutions—you need to think about your business’s success three or five years down the road. Build what customers are looking for， not what will be a quick win.

不要做短期或臨時解決問題的決定——你需要思考你的企業未來三五年的成功。要創造出顧客需求的東西，而不是追求快速取勝。

In the words of author Seth Godin1， “The media wants overnight successes （so they have someone to tear down）. Ignore them. Listen instead to your real customers， to your vision and make something for the long haul. Because that’s how long it’s going to take.”

用暢銷書作家塞思·戈丁的話說：“媒體想要一夜成功（這樣他們就有人可詆毀了）。不要理他們。相反，要聽取真正客戶的意見，遵從內心愿景，并作長遠打算。因為成功就是需要持之以恒。”

For example， don’t hastily create a poorly designed website because you need one in a week. Customers who visit your site and have a negative experience will be turned off by the lack of usability or intuitiveness and your brand’s reputation， potential sales and customer loyalty will suffer. It takes a lot of work to turn around this type of damage.

例如，不要因為你在一周以后需要一個網站，就匆匆忙忙地創建一個設計欠佳的網站。訪客會因為網站不夠直觀實用而感到體驗不佳，從而失去興趣，而你的品牌名聲、潛在銷售量和客戶忠誠度都會受到損失。要扭轉這類損失，就要做大量的工作了。

3. Cater to your customer

3. 迎合你的客戶

Don’t build a business model where the target customer is anyone in the world. Your customers will be the fuel for your business， but you need to first identify who they are then invest in them heavily. Get to know your customers—speak to them frequently， ask questions， earn their trust and learn their pain points and what they’re looking for.

不要打造一種目標客戶泛泛的商業模式。你的客戶會是企業發展的動力，但是你首先需要確定你的目標客戶，然后在他們身上投入大量資金。了解你的客戶——經常和他們交談、提問，贏得他們的信任，了解他們的痛點和他們需要什么。

Customer satisfaction and loyalty can be the most valuable tool to a brand’s longevity. Always keep in mind that it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.

客戶滿意度和忠誠度可謂是讓品牌長久的最有價值的手段。要始終牢記，十二次積極體驗才能彌補一次未得到解決的消極體驗。

4. Embrace technology as a helpful tool， not a complicated burden

4. 把技術當成實用的工具而非復雜的累贅

Identifying and deploying the best IT early out the gate can potentially help your company be leaps and bounds ahead of competitors who don’t. Before you deploy an IT strategy， pay attention to tech trends and think through your business， particularly how it affects customers. Envision where you want to be in three， five and 15 years and then determine what technology tools will allow your business to reach your customers so you are able to scale and grow.

盡早識別并有效利用最好的信息技術，可能會讓你的公司遙遙領先于沒有這樣做的競爭對手。在部署信息技術戰略之前，要關注技術趨勢并全面思考你的業務，特別是要思考它將如何影響客戶。設想你希望在未來三年、五年和十五年后到達何處，然后再確定什么樣的技術手段能讓你的業務接觸到客戶，以實現業務的擴張和增長。

Don’t implement technology for technology’s sake， do so because it’s what’s best for your business.

不要為了使用技術而使用技術，使用它是因為它最有利于你的業務。

5. Grit and determination in the face of failure will lead you to success

5. 面對失敗的勇氣和毅力會引你走向成功

As an entrepreneur and leader， you need to become one with perseverance and determination.

作為企業家和領導者，你需要成為有毅力和決心的人。

Consider the perspective of Max Levchin， who co-founded PayPal： “The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed a little less， but still failed. The third one， you know， proper failed， but it was kind of OK. I recovered quickly. Number four didn’t fail. It still didn’t really feel great， but it did OK. Number five was PayPal.”

想想貝寶聯合創始人馬克斯·列夫琴的觀點：“我創辦的第一個公司失敗得很慘。第二個公司失敗得少一些，但仍然是失敗了。第三個公司，你知道，相當失敗，但也還好。我很快就恢復了狀態。第四個沒有失敗。它仍然不很出色，但是運行沒有問題。第五個公司就是貝寶。”

Some of these points may seem like common sense， but when you’re in the trenches making crucial decisions， it’s tough to slow down and step back to think about long-term impact. Having these simple guidelines and insight gives you a place to start when the going gets tough. If you keep these five pieces of advice in mind， you’ll be on the right track to join the successful 50 percent.

以上有些觀點像是常識，但當你處于商戰第一線、需要做出關鍵決定時，你很難慢下腳步，并且后退一步思考長遠之道。有了這些簡單的指南和見解，你就能在形勢嚴峻之際知道要從哪里開始。如果能把這五條建議銘記于心，你就走在了加入那一半創業成功群體的正確路徑上。

（譯者單位：四川民族學院）

1美國營銷大師，前雅虎營銷副總裁，企業家、暢銷書作家和演講家。