????如果你能設(shè)計、建造、擁有和照料這樣一臺機器，那你就能變得非常富有。當(dāng)然，這并不意味著創(chuàng)業(yè)很輕松，但你認為會阻止你的大多數(shù)障礙其實并不會成為攔路虎。感興趣嗎？

????來說說你吧：你年輕，沒有錢，沒有資歷，是一名學(xué)生或者討厭現(xiàn)在的工作？或者有些許叛逆？棒極了。你沒有壞習(xí)慣，愿意通宵達旦，不辭辛苦地工作。歡迎來創(chuàng)業(yè)。

????但如果你現(xiàn)在有一份穩(wěn)定的工作，有房屋抵押貸款，還有幾個孩子，創(chuàng)業(yè)之路必將更加艱難。雖然創(chuàng)業(yè)可能成功，但過程會像倒退著穿過流沙一樣艱難。

????優(yōu)秀創(chuàng)業(yè)者最重要的品質(zhì)是活力和決心。有說服力自然沒有壞處，但這種能力可以通過學(xué)習(xí)獲得。我在21歲開始創(chuàng)業(yè)時，是一個害羞的超級書呆子；我很快學(xué)會了如何推銷，因為這是能養(yǎng)活自己的唯一途徑。

????開場白說得夠多了。下面談一談如何讓你賺錢。忘掉那些關(guān)于創(chuàng)意價值的騙人廢話吧。創(chuàng)意是廉價的、轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝的東西；商業(yè)創(chuàng)意本身的價值比不上一個吃了一半的三明治。至少三明治能填飽肚子。

????當(dāng)然，創(chuàng)業(yè)確實需要一個創(chuàng)意。但你要知道，即便最成功的公司，也并非建立在瘋狂的或非凡的創(chuàng)意之上。星巴克（Starbucks）選擇西雅圖作為其銷售咖啡的大本營。Facebook打造出比MySpace更優(yōu)秀的社交媒體。谷歌則開發(fā)出比雅虎（Yahoo）更出色的搜索引擎。

????原創(chuàng)創(chuàng)意的價值總是被高估，而創(chuàng)業(yè)時機總是受到輕視。谷歌選擇絕佳時機，打造出一款更出色的搜索引擎——如果現(xiàn)在來做這件事，那只能自求多福了。因此，你現(xiàn)在需要更加敏銳地意識到目前被忽視的市場需求。你應(yīng)該推出一款能夠成功的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)——不論它是否原創(chuàng)。對一個沒有得到充分實現(xiàn)的現(xiàn)有創(chuàng)意進行完善，比構(gòu)思一個完全原創(chuàng)的創(chuàng)意，往往要容易得多。

????人們往往不敢在競爭激烈的領(lǐng)域創(chuàng)業(yè)，但有競爭是好事。比如，開設(shè)餐廳最好的位置就是在另一家成功餐廳的隔壁；因為他們已經(jīng)非常好心地幫你完成了培養(yǎng)用戶群這項艱苦的工作。許多公司都是緊隨在其他公司之后取得了成功——有競爭對手往往比沒有競爭對手更有利于創(chuàng)業(yè)。你只需要比競爭對手優(yōu)秀10%就行。

????我個人推薦嘗試著打造一款你和你的朋友愿意馬上購買的商品。你會更了解自己的領(lǐng)域，了解你的客戶，會對所從事的事業(yè)充滿激情。如果你能打造一家“解決問題”，而不只是“提供某種商品”的公司，你便可以激發(fā)自己和身邊其他人的靈感。而公司要生存下去，你需要一些靈光閃現(xiàn)的時刻。

????創(chuàng)建一家公司類似于養(yǎng)育子女。每個人都認為你知道自己在做什么，但嬰兒和公司都不會自帶操作說明書。你只能摸著石頭過河，邊做邊學(xué)習(xí)。

????創(chuàng)業(yè)初期，失敗的概率最高。你的目標(biāo)是建造一臺神奇的賺錢機器，但你可能尚未備齊所有零件，而你需要的零件的成本或許超出了你的承受能力。你的創(chuàng)意可能至少有一半是錯誤的，但你尚不清楚錯在何處。這些情況均屬正常。

????創(chuàng)業(yè)的很大一部分工作在于說服人們相信你。史蒂夫?喬布斯創(chuàng)建蘋果公司（Apple）時，既沒有錢也沒有客戶；他接下來做的事情充分體現(xiàn)了一位優(yōu)秀創(chuàng)業(yè)者應(yīng)該具備的品質(zhì)。首先，他說服當(dāng)?shù)匾患译娔X專賣店，訂購了尚未面世的蘋果電腦，付款方式為交貨后付款。然后，他又利用手里的訂單，證明自己有償還能力，說服了一位零件供應(yīng)商賣給他開發(fā)電腦所需要的零部件。喬布斯和一個小團隊在他們的車庫里，打造出第一批計算機，并按時交貨，賺取了一筆可觀的利潤。蘋果公司便是白手起家的典范。

????If you can design, build, own and care for such a machine, you can become very rich indeed. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but most of the barriers that you think will stop you won’t. Interested?

????Let’s talk about you: are you young, poor and unqualified – a student, or hating your job? Maybe a touch rebellious? Perfect. You have no bad habits, and will work until your fingernails fall out and your eyeballs roll onto the desk. The world awaits you.

????But if you’re experienced with a stable job and a mortgage and kids, your job is much harder. It can be done, but it might feel like you’re trying to dance backwards through quicksand.

????The most important qualities of a good entrepreneur are energy and determination. It doesn’t hurt to be persuasive, but this can be learned. I started as a shy uber-nerd aged 21; I soon learned how to sell when it was the only way to feed myself.

????Enough preamble. Let’s make you a bajillion dollars. Please forget all of the terrible deluded nonsense you’ve heard about the value of ideas. Ideas are cheap, fleeting things; by itself a business idea is worth less than a half-eaten sandwich. At least you can eat the sandwich.

????You do need an idea of course. But understand that even the most successful companies were not founded on wild or brilliant ideas. Starbucks chose the brazen path of selling coffee in Seattle. Facebook built a better MySpace. Google built a better Yahoo search.

????Original ideas are overrated. What isn’t overrated is timing. Google chose the perfect time to build a better search engine – good luck trying to do that now. What you want, therefore, is an astute awareness of a need that is currently underrepresented in the market. You want to spot a product or service that can go places – original or not. It’s usually easier to refine an existing idea that isn’t fully realized than to create a wholly original one.

????People fear setting up a business wherever there’s competition, but competition can be a good thing. The best place to set up a new restaurant is right next to another successful restaurant; they’ve kindly done the hard work for you of building an audience. Many a good business has ridden to success on the coattails of another – it is usually better to have some rivals over none. You just need to become 10% better.

????I personally recommend trying to deliver something that you and your friends would buy in a heartbeat. You’ll know more about your field, you’ll understand your customers, and you’ll be passionate about what you do. If you can make your company about a why – not a what – you’ll inspire yourself and those around you. And to survive the next step, you need a fair sprinkle of inspiration.

????Starting a company is a bit like parenting. Everyone assumes you know what you’re doing, but babies and companies don’t come with instruction manuals. You stumble through it and learn as you go.

????It’s at the start where you’re most likely to fail. Your aim is to build that magical money-making machine, but you probably don’t have all the parts and the ones that you need may cost more than you have. Your idea is probably at least half wrong too, but you won’t know which half yet. All of this is normal.

????A big part of starting a company is convincing people to believe in you before they probably should. When Steve Jobs founded Apple, he had no money and no customers; what he did next is the hallmark of a great entrepreneur. First he convinced a local computer store to order his non-existent Apple computers, with payment on delivery. He then convinced a parts supplier to sell him the components he needed to build them – using the order he just obtained as proof he would be able to pay them back. Jobs and a small team worked in their garage to build the first computers, delivered them on time and made a tidy profit. Apple was born from nothing.