As a young entrepreneur, I always question the relevance of advice from older businesspeople. Though I certainly believe in learning from experience, I feel advice can quickly become outdated, especially in the current connected environment. Nowadays there are several new tricks we can use to manage our time more wisely and glean only the usable information.
作为一名年轻企业家,我总是质疑老一辈企业家们所给建议的意义。虽然我确实相信可以从经验中学习,但我感觉建议这东西很快就会过时,尤其是在目前联系如此密切的环境。现如今有许多技巧可以让我们更明智地管理时间并且只收集有用的信息。
To gather relevant tips, I recently spoke with Nathan Resnick, a 22-year-old entrepreneur who currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of Sourcify, a marketplace for the world’s top manufacturers. In the past couple of years, Resnick has brought dozens of products to market, launched several Kickstarter campaigns, started a few successful ecommerce brands and been featured in leading publications such as the New York Times, Bloombergand Fast Company. Resnick started out like many other wannabe entrepreneurs, eager to apply new innovations to other industries. For example, when he was twelve, he helped implement the Autism Society ofAmerica’s awareness wristband, raising over $200,000 for the noNPRofit organization. This idea was sparked by the rise in popularity of Livestrong bracelets.
为了收集相关建议,最近我与内森·雷斯尼克聊了一下,内森·雷斯尼克是位年轻的企业家,22岁,目前是Sourcify,一个世界顶级制造商市场的创始人兼首席执行官。过去几年中,雷斯尼克带来了数十种产品进入市场,推出好几个Kickstarter的活动,创建了一些成功的商务品牌并且上了很多有特色的领军刊物,如:《纽约时报》、《Bloombergand Fast Company》等。雷斯尼克开始时像许多其他企业家一样,渴望将新的东西应用到其他行业。例如,他十二岁时,帮助美国自闭症协会实现意识腕带,为非营利组织筹集超过200,000美元。这一想法是因手环的流行激起的。
If you’re looking to start out on the right foot as an entrepreneur, Resnick offers the following three tips:
如果您想顺利成为企业家,雷斯尼克提供了以下三点建议:
1. Share your ideas.
1.分享观点
One of the biggest flaws in many young entrepreneurs’ mindsets is a belief in secrecy. An unwillingness to share your concept won’t get your business anywhere. Collaboration can work wonders, and you never know how others may be able to help. When Resnick was starting Sourcify, a marketplace for the world’s top manufacturers, he consulted key mentors and friends to gain valuable insights. Without their advice, Resnick says, Sourcify wouldn’t have recognized key performance indicators that have become invaluable to their growth.
很多年轻企业家们心态中最大的缺点之一就是保密意识。不愿分享观点的意识拓展不了你的事业。合作可以创造奇迹,你永远不知道别人如何能帮到自己。雷斯尼克开始创建Sourcify,这一世界顶级制造商市场时,他咨询了关键的导师和朋友,来获取宝贵的见解。没有他们的建议,雷斯尼克说,Sourcify就不会有关键绩效指标,而这一指标对Sourcify的成长有着无价的作用。
2. Horizontal innovation.
2.横向的创新办法
If you’re looking to find a new business to start, one of the most effective ways to ideate is to look for horizontal innovation plays. This means taking an existing product or technology, and applying it to a different industry. For example, when Resnick was starting Cork Supply Co, he noticed an uptick in sustainably focused brands like Original Grain. Though he didn’t use wood and didn’t focus on the watch industry, the brand Cork Supply Co took similar roots in a fashion-forward sustainable outlook. This approach enables you to expand on proven businesses and move them toward your expertise or interests.
如果你想做一项新业务,形成概念最有效的方法之一就寻找水平创新之举。这意味着利用一个现存的产品或者技术,并把它应用到不同的行业中去。例如, 雷斯尼克创建软木供应有限公司时,他注意到那些持续重点品牌的上升幅度,如:原始晶粒。虽然没有使用木头也没有关注钟表业,软木供应有限公司这个品牌还是类似地扎根于前卫时尚的可持续发展前景中。这种方法使得您能够扩展成熟企业,并且推动着他们向你的专长和兴趣发展。
3. Be driven by results.
3.以结果为驱动力
As an entrepreneur, you need to focus on data-driven results. You can talk and theorize all you want, but until you implement and test, your business won’t be proven. That is why Resnick believes results outweigh any theories. When testing new business ideas, Resnick starts by launching a simple landing page and driving traffic to it. He then tests the conversion rate of signups on that page to see if his business idea could gain traction. This method enables entrepreneurs to stay lean before investing too much in their ideas.
作为一名企业家,你需要专注于数据驱动结果。你可以谈论并且使你想要的一切理论化,但直到你实施并检测成功,你的企业才算得以证明。这就是雷斯尼克为何认为结果重于一切理论的原因。检测新商业理念时,雷斯尼克会先启动一个简单的登录页面并为之创造人潮浏览量。随之他会检测页面的注册率,来看看他的商业理念是否拥有牵引力。这种方法使企业家在过多投资之前先保持精益。
If you’re a young entrepreneur looking to start a business, the one golden rule is to start now. The best way to learn is by doing, and you never know what will happen until you try. Entrepreneurship is a journey, and the sooner you start, the more you’ll learn.
如果你是一个想要创业的年轻企业家,黄金法则便是从现在开始。最佳的方法便是通过实践来学习,你永远都不知道会发生什么直到真正的尝试。创业是一段征程,开始越早,学到越多。
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