创业吧，享受自由生活！

Dear 21-year-old,

亲爱的21岁的你，

You have just left university, and you’re wondering what to do with your life. You have struggled to find a decent job and there just aren’t any available that excite you.

你刚刚走出大学校门，还不知道以后的路该怎么走。你一直努力想找到一份不错的工作，但就是没有什么让你感到兴奋的工作。

My simple advice is: don’t take a job, but make a job instead – your own. Take the plunge, become an entrepreneur and experience a sense of freedom and independence that is impossible to find as an employee.

我的建议很简单：别去找工作，而是创造一份工作——你自己的工作。冒险一搏，去创业，享受一种自由和独立的感觉——这种感觉是不可能从打工生活中获得的。

Here are a few pointers on how to make that goal a reality.

关于如何实现这一目标，这里有几条建议。

● Don’t think of running your own business as a career – see it as far more all-encompassing than that. Be prepared to make sacrifices if you want to succeed. There will be delayed gratification – you may have to put off going on holiday, buying a home or even having a family.

●不要把经营自己的企业看成一种职业，你应该明白，创业比一份职业包含的东西多得多。如果你想成功，就要准备好做出牺牲。你会延迟享乐——可能不得不推迟休假、推迟买房，甚至推迟组建家庭。

It is better to take risks at your age, when you have so few responsibilities, than later. Most great entrepreneurs started young. After all – what have you to lose?

在你这个年龄去冒险要好于以后冒险，因为现在你肩上没有多少责任。大多数伟大的企业家都是从年轻时起步的。毕竟，现在你有什么好失去的呢？

● Don’t worry about having a great idea – there are thousands of opportunities around if you open your eyes. Find out what has worked elsewhere and introduce it to your community.

●不要担心没有一个伟大的点子：如果你睁大眼睛，你会发现身边机会多多。看看其他企业的成功之处，然后将其引入你的企业。

I like the site Springwise.com, which offers tips and ideas for aspiring entrepreneurs. Enlist the web to search the world for inspiration – or simply follow your passion and do what you love.

我喜欢Springwise.com这个网站，它为有抱负的企业家提供了许多点子和创意。注册该网站，在全世界搜索灵感，或者完全追随你的心，做你热爱的事情。

● Find a partner or two – teams always have a better chance of making it than solo operators. Together you will have more credibility with customers, backers and suppliers. But choose your fellow adventurer carefully – the journey will have ups and downs and you need someone with the right skills and temperament, whose qualities complement yours.

●找一两个合伙人——与单枪匹马相比，团队行动永远有更大的胜算。作为一个团队，你们将从客户、资助者和供应商那里获得更多信赖。但要谨慎选择你的合作伙伴，这条冒险之路有起有落，你需要的是具备合适技能和性情的人，各项素质可以与你互补的人。

● Don’t say you haven’t got any capital – instead find a business that doesn’t need funding. You might use supplier credit or get a grant, or get paid by clients in advance – now is the time to use your imagination to solve the financing gap.

● 不要说你没有资金，而是去找一项不需要融资的业务。你或许可以利用供应商贷款或获取补助，或者从客户那里获得预付款。现在正是发挥你的想象力、解决资金缺口的时候。

● Take advice from anywhere and everywhere. There are more resources for start-ups than ever before – from mentor organisations such as Mentorsme and events such as Seedcamp to tips on finding space and the best technology. Do your research and never stop learning.

●随时随地听取建议。对于初创企业而言，如今可利用的资源比以往任何时候都多：从Mentorsme等指导组织和Seedcamp等创业孵化活动，到有关如何寻找办公场所和最棒技术的各种建议。做好功课，永远不要停止学习。

● Acquire domain knowledge about your industry.You must become an expert as quickly as possible – understanding your local market, competitors, the margins, sourcing, pricing and so forth. Find examples of case studies relevant to your situation. Doing exams at school and college was a rehearsal – this is the real thing, where you really need to do your revision.

● 获取有关你所在行业的专业知识。你必须尽快成为一名专家，了解你所在的市尝竞争对手、利润率、货源、定价，等等。找到与你情况相关的案例，看案例分析。在学校里参加的那些考试只是彩排，这才是真正的“考试，你真的需要好好准备。

● Go out and sell. No business takes off without a founder learning how to convince customers to buy. It will require persistence, enthusiasm and belief. Like everything worthwhile in life, it takes practice and self-confidence. You will remember the moment you close your first sale for the rest of your life.

●出门销售。在创始人没有学会如何说服客户购买之前，任何企业都无法起步。销售技能需要恒心、热情和信念。与生命中一切有价值的东西一样，掌握这项技能也需要练习和自信心。完成第一笔销售的时刻将让你铭记终身。

● Setbacks and failure go with the territory. Every winning company is constructed on the corpses of losing ones. Victory would not taste so sweet if it were easy. The digital world allows one to experiment more cheaply and swiftly than ever before. Kill the doomed projects and move on. You will learn from such mistakes and do better next time.

●挫折和失败是不可避免的。每一家成功的企业身下，都有无数失败的企业垫底。如果成功得来容易的话，那么它的滋味也就没有那么甘甜了。在数字时代，人们能够以比以往任何时候都更廉价和更迅速的方式进行尝试。结束注定失败的项目，然后继续前进。你将从这些错误中得到教训，下一次会做的更好。

● Go global if you can. You might not want to emigrate, but aim to serve the world if it makes economic sense. Via online marketing and modern logistics you can reach hundreds of countries – there is a market of 7bn consumers out there.

●如果可能的话，向海外进军。你可能不想移居海外，但如果有利可图的话，就瞄准世界市场吧。通过在线营销和现代化物流，你的业务可以遍及数百个国家——一个拥有70亿消费者的市场正在那里等着你。

● Write a business plan. Putting your dreams down on paper is an invaluable discipline. It will force you to think through your concept in a rational way and give you a document to present to others who might support you. Somehow it always seems more real when you have written down a plan.

●撰写一份商业计划。把梦想转化为文字，这是一种极为有用的训练。这将迫使你理性的理清自己的想法，你也有了一份文件，可以给别人看，其中有人可能会成为你的资助者。当你写下一份计划时，不知怎的，这个事情似乎总会变得靠谱了一些。

I believe there is a business in most of us, if we only unleash those animal spirits. It might be your true vocation, or perhaps a temporary phase – but unless you try, you will forever wonder if you could have been a contender. Better surely, to have risked and lost, than never risked at all? You will need good fortune and stamina and to stay optimistic no matter what goes wrong, but at least you will be able to claim the credit for your achievements.

我相信，大多数人心中都有一个企业，只要我们释放自己的本能。它可能是你真正的事业，也有可能只是一个短暂的尝试，但若不亲自试一试，你永远都不知道自己是否本来有希望成功。冒险但失败了，无疑要比永远不去冒险更好，不是吗？你需要很好的运气和耐力，不管出现了什么问题，还都要保持乐观，但至少，你取得的所有成就，功劳都属于你。

Good luck – and go for it!

祝你好运，大胆开始吧！

Luke

卢克