创业之前要想清楚的三个问题

This post is in partnership with Entrepreneur. The article below was originally published at Entrepreneur.com.

本文是与《创业者》杂志（Entrepreneur）的合作内容。原文最初发表于Entrepreneur.com网站。

Entrepreneurs are natural problem-solvers, which means that we always have ideas for new businesses popping into our heads. Having a lot of options is great, but sometimes it can be hard to focus on one when you are keen to move onto the next.

创业者是天生的问题解决者，这意味着我们的脑子里会蹦出各种新的商业创意。有许多选择当然是好事，但有时候，如果太过热衷于进入新的领域，你可能很难专注于做一件事情。

At Virgin, when we’re thinking about starting a new business, we look into whether the new project meets a series of criteria before we invest any time or money into it. Here are three questions that will help you decide which idea to pursue.

当维珍集团（Virgin）考虑启动一项新业务的时候，我们首先会在投入时间或资金之前确定新项目能否达到一系列标准。询问以下三个问题，或许能帮助你选对创业目标。

1. Would you do this for fun?

1. 你能从中自得其乐吗？

Starting your own business isn’t just a job — it’s a way of life. You’ll likely have to make personal sacrifices in order to ensure your startup’s success. This could mean taking a pay cut, since any money earned from your new business might have to be reinvested right back in, or you may find yourself stuck answering emails and dealing with customer problems late in the evening. With that in mind, it’s essential that you launch a startup in an industry or sector that you love — that’s our philosophy at Virgin.

创业不仅是一份工作，也是一种生活方式。为了确保初创公司的成功，你可能要做出个人牺牲。这或许意味着减少收入，因为新公司赚的钱可能必须重新投入到公司当中，或者你得熬夜回复电子邮件，解决客户的问题。因此，创业务必要选择自己热爱的行业——这也是维珍集团始终秉持的理念。

So it’s no surprise that our first business was Virgin Records. The people on our team were teenagers and really into music, which meant that we didn’t mind working late nights, or chatting with customers about new bands or working hard to sign up-and-coming artists to our record label – we would have been chatting about music and listening to new bands even if we weren’t doing it for a living. An analogy that occurred to me after we held our Necker Cup tennis tournament recently: Figuring out which idea you should develop is like juggling a lot of different types of balls in the air, because fairly quickly, you need to decide which ball is most important.

所以，我们的第一家公司是维珍唱片（Virgin Records）。团队成员都是年轻人，非常喜爱音乐，这意味着我们不会在意工作到深夜，或与客户谈论新乐队，或努力为唱片公司签下有前途的艺术家——我们会闲谈音乐，听新乐队的音乐，尽管我们并非以此谋生。最近举办了内克尔杯（Necker Cup）网球公开赛之后，我想到了一个比喻：确定创业项目，就像同时抛接不同类型的球一样，因为你需要迅速决定哪一个球是最重要的。

Or consider a dog that loves to chase tennis balls. No matter what’s going on or what it’s doing, if you throw a tennis ball, the dog will chase it. What’s your tennis ball? What immediately captures your attention, no matter what you’re doing?

或者，想象一条喜欢追网球的狗。不论正在发生什么或者它正在做什么，你只要把网球扔出去，它就会去追。你的“网球”是什么？什么事情会立刻吸引你的注意力，不论你正在做什么？

2. Does it make a positive difference in people’s lives?

2. 它是否会给人们的生活带来积极的影响？

A focus on people and the planet, as well as profit, also helps our staff feel empowered. This means that our customers don’t come to us just to buy a product or service — they believe in our ideas. Build a likeminded community around a business, and customers will return, spread the word and support you during tough times. This strategy has helped plenty of startups to disrupt established industries over the last few years. One example is Gandy’s, which donates a percentage of their profits from sales of flip-flops to projects for orphans all over the world. Another is Toms, which donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair that they sell.

专注于人类和这个星球，当然还有利润，也可以帮助我们的员工更有力量。这意味着，我们的客户不仅仅是购买一件产品或服务——他们相信我们的理念。围绕一家公司建立一个志同道合的社区，当你面临困难的时候，客户们会回来替你宣传，为你提供支持。多年来，这种策略曾经帮助许多初创企业颠覆成熟的行业。以Gandy’s为例，该公司将平底人字拖鞋的部分销售利润捐赠给全世界的孤儿项目。另外一个例子是Toms，该公司每卖出一双鞋，便会为有需要的儿童捐赠一双鞋。

And this is why two of our newest companies are Virgin StartUp, which provides funding for entrepreneurs, and Virgin Racing’s Formula E Team, which is raising the profile of environmentally friendly transport by focusing on electric car technologies.

正是因为这样的原因，我们最新成立的两家公司分别是致力于资助创业者的维珍孵化器(Virgin StartUp)，以及维珍电动方程式车队（Virgin Racing’s Formula E Team），该车队致力于通过使用电动汽车技术来提高这种环保交通方式的知名度。

3. Will it be profitable enough to sustain?

3. 公司赚的钱够维持运转吗？

You also need to consider your finances when rifling through your options. Research shows that 8 out of 10 new businesses fail in the United States within the first 18 months, and the No. 1 killer of startups is a lack of cash flow. If your business doesn’t turn a profit, you will be unable to make the positive impact you’re striving for. It’s rare for a startup to make money immediately, so you need to make sure that you have enough saved, or that you have another income stream that can support you.

在寻找创业目标的时候，你还需要考虑财务因素。研究显示，美国80%的新公司在前十八个月便遭遇失败，其中最大的原因是现金流不足。如果你的公司不能带来利润，你就不可能获得自己努力谋求的积极影响。能够立刻赚到钱的初创公司寥寥无几，所以你需要保证自己有足够多的积蓄或其他收入，来充当你创业的坚强后盾。

If your favorite idea will take longer to turn a profit, it might be better to focus on one of your smaller ideas first. Afterward, you can use the smaller business’s success — and profit — as a springboard to launch a bigger project. But remember, starting a business for the sole purpose of making money usually ends in failure.

如果你最中意的商业创意需要更长时间才能产生利润，更好的做法应该是先专注于较小的业务。之后，你可以利用小业务的成功及其产生的利润，作为启动大项目的跳板。但要切记，纯粹为了赚钱进行创业，最后往往都以失败告终。

So figure out what your tennis ball is, and work out how you can connect that passion to helping your community. Offer customers a reason to support your cause, then make sure your margins allow for some profit to keep that business afloat. Good luck, and remember to have fun along the way.

总之，确定自己的创业目标，然后弄清楚如何利用自己的创业激情，来帮助你的社区。为客户提供一个支持你事业的理由，并且确保公司的利润足以令其生存下去。祝你好运，一定要享受创业的过程。