九个问题决定你的创业能否成功
Netflix原创美剧《妹子老板》（Girlboss）的主角Amoruso（由演员Britt Robertson饰演）。
图片来源： Karen Ballard/Netflix
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企业家内幕网络是美国的一个在线社区，美国创业界中最睿智和最有影响力的一些大咖会在这里及时回答与创业和职业有关的问题。今天为大家分享的是Vacasa公司联合创始人、首席发展官克里夫•约翰逊在“初露头角的创业者应该知道哪些事？”这一问题下的回答。 没有一份“说明书”会手把手地教你创业。在创业过程中，事情的发展也很少会按照你的意愿来。那些幸运的创业者无一不是一路跌跌撞撞地取得成功的，很多年之后，他们才会回头反思创业路上的经验教训。在2009年我们创办Vacasa的时候，我们发现有一个策略很有用，那就是创业者一定要培养对创业的自我认知。在创业的早期阶段，创业者就应该提出正确的问题，这样才有助于在充满风险的创业道路上树立正确的方向，明确优先要解决的问题。 至于在创业初期应该明确哪些问题，不妨参考以下几条意见： 确定你的影响力水平 您已经花了一些时间制定了运营计划，明确了目标市场，并且估算了需要多少启动资本。接下来，你应该用一两分钟来想想，为了让你的计划获得成功，有哪些东西是你愿意放弃的。有些投资者并不干预创业公司的具体运营，而有些投资者则想全盘控制你的公司。因此，你首先需要考虑的是，你想要保留多少对公司的影响力，这对你以后的决策是有好处的。 你想让公司按你的想法运营，还是按照投资人或是你聘请的经理人的想法来？ 确定自己最擅长的 一旦你确定了自己最擅长的事情，你就可以围绕它进行创业了。拿我来说，我最擅长的就是打理一些看得见摸得着的东西。而我们的这家度假租赁公司主打的就是客户服务和清洁房屋。我很喜欢这一点。如果是在一家做“软件即服务”的公司当总经理的话，或许我就不会做得这么好了，除非它和某些看得见摸得着的东西有关联。 你做什么事的时候最如鱼得水？ 挖掘意想不到的潜力 创业人的反应必须敏锐。从客户服务到董事会，你样样都要参与。而在这个过程中，你也会在自己身上发现一些以前从来没有意识到的潜能。比如作为一个律师出身的人，我对自己的业务开发能力就感到十分惊讶。别人都不愿意干的电话推销，我却觉得很有意思。因为每做成一单业务都是一个建立关系的过程，而这个过程让我非常享受。 你打算如何确定和培养自己的这种意想不到的潜能？ 认识自己的弱点 你要尽早认识到自己的弱点。我是一个过于乐观的人，这可能是一把双刃剑。有的时候将一件事推进得太猛，反而会过犹不及，导致在质量、效率和增长之间失去平衡。 你最大的弱点是什么？ 捍卫你的价值 你的业务模式的核心，其实就在于你对客户、员工和社会的价值。你的决策应该是以价值为导向的。如果你想不到自己对客户有什么价值（别担心，你肯定是有的），那你不妨拿张纸来，在上边写下你希望客户用哪些词来形容你。在认识自己对员工和社会的价值时也可以采用这种方法。 你的公司可以用哪五个词来定义？ 走出舒适区 作为一个创业人，难免不时会遭遇窘迫与潦倒的洗礼。你要经常走出自己的舒适区，为这种可能性做准备。比如尝试一种新的体育运动，找到自己的极限，或是逼自己做些以前从未尝试过的事情。你也可以参加一些志愿活动，体验生活的艰辛，并且通过志愿活动对社会进行回馈，最终在公司条件许可的条件下对公益事业进行经济捐助。 哪些事会让你不舒服？ 解决一个难题 如果你在业务开展过程中没有遇到什么困难，那么你的业务或许就不会持久了，因为这意味着你的竞争对手可以轻松地复制你的商业模式。在Vacasa公司，我们会负责对世界各地的房主的房子进行清洁和维护，这对后勤方面提出了严峻的挑战。而这也正是令我们的公司与众不同的原因，而且这也是最让我们有激情的地方。 你的公司有什么困难？ 注册公司时要着眼长远 你要提早思考把公司注册在哪里。即使你的公司架构很简单，或是能拿到税收优惠，这也是有利有弊的。你或许想把所有的业务放到网上来做。然而或许等到业务发展到一定程度，你又想在全国各地开实体店了。所以你要提前想好未来去哪里。 你的创意会怎样增长？ 科技优先 不管你身处哪个行业，每一家公司都是一家科技型公司。如果你不能做到把你的梦想数字化，那就要尽早聘请一个能做到的人。 你在技术上的挑战是什么？ 创业并不是一件容易的事，但是如果你乐于去拥抱未知的事物，那你就有更大的机率成功。你要多与其他创业者交流，多提问题，多多思考。你对创业的自我认知越高，你就越能从容应对前方未知的挑战。（财富中文网） 译者：朴成奎 |
The Entrepreneur Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question, “What should budding entrepreneurs know about building a business?” is written by Cliff Johnson, co-founder and chief development officer of Vacasa. There’s no blueprint for how to launch a business, and in entrepreneurship, things rarely go according to plan. Fortunate founders blunder their way to success, and then years down the road, step back to reflect on the wild ride. One strategy I found to be helpful when we were starting Vacasa back in 2009 was developing a state of startup self-awareness. Making time to ask the right questions in the early stages will help you shape direction and priorities over the inevitably rocky road to come. Here are some tips to get your wheels turning: Determine your level of influence You’ve spent time building an operations plan, defining a target market, and thinking about how much working capital you’ll need. Now take a minute to think about what you’re willing to give up to make it all happen. Some investors are silent; others want total control. You could become an industry leader or you could hire one. Knowing the level of influence you want to retain will help drive the decisions you make. Do you want your business to be a reflection of you, your investors, or the people you hire to run it? Identify your best self Once you know what you’re best at, build a career around it. For example, I’m at my best when impacting something tangible. At its heart, the vacation rental management business is about customer service and cleaning homes. I love that. I wouldn’t be a good GM of a SAAS company, for example, unless there was a meaningful connection to something tangible. What are you doing when you hit your golden gait? Embrace unexpected strengths Founders have to be nimble. From customer service to board meetings, you’ll do it all, and along the way, you’re going to discover strengths you never realized you had. As an attorney, I was surprised with my business development ability. I found cold calling to be fun because closing a property is about building relationships—something I enjoy. How will you identify and nurture surprise strengths? Identify your weaknesses Recognize your weaknesses early on. I’m overly optimistic, which can be a double-edged sword: Pushing too hard tends to throw off the balance of quality, efficiency, and growth. What’s your biggest weakness? Champion your values How you’ll treat customers, employees, and the communities in which you operate is core to your business model. You want to get to a place where values drive decisions. If you can’t think of any values (don’t worry, you have them), create a list of words describing how you’d like future customers to feel about your service. Do it again for your employees and community. What five words define your business? Get uncomfortable Being a founder is an exercise in awkwardness and poverty. Prepare by throwing yourself into uncomfortable situations. Try a new physical activity and find your limits. Push yourself to try something you’ve never done before. Do some volunteering so you appreciate how hard life can be for those who do not have as much as you do, and try to give back to the causes as often as you can through volunteering and eventually donating when your business can afford to. What makes you uncomfortable? Solve a difficult problem If your business isn’t hard, it’s probably not going to be around for long because it will be easy for competitors to replicate your model. At Vacasa, we manage cleaning and maintenance operations for homeowners around the world. It’s logistically challenging. It’s also what sets us apart and what we’re most passionate about. What’s difficult about your business? Register for the future It’s important to start thinking early on about where you want to register your business. There are pros and cons to having a simple or tax-advantageous structure. You might anticipate doing all your business online. Then again, you might someday want brick and mortars across the country. Make the right decision for where you want to be in the future. How will your idea grow? Prioritize tech Regardless of industry, every business is a tech business. If you can’t digitize your dream, make sure to hire someone who can as early as possible. What are your technical challenges? Launching a business isn’t easy, but you’ll stand a better chance of succeeding if you embrace what you don’t know. Talk to founders. Ask questions. Reflect. The more startup self-awareness you develop, the better equipped you’ll be for the unexpected challenges ahead. |
