年轻人，去创业吧 Go forth, young business founder

Being 21 is fabulous, but at the moment it must also be very scary. Imagine: you’ve just left college with a degree, but decent jobs are impossible to find – what the heck can you do for work, and indeed with your life? Well, there is always the option of starting a business... 

21岁是个美妙的年龄，但在眼下，这必然也非常可怕。想象一下：你刚刚大学毕业，却无法找到一份体面的工作——你到底能从事什么工作，甚至如何设计人生？关于这些问题，永远都有一个选择：创业……

Being an entrepreneur is not a career. It is more like a calling. There are no predictable structures to the vocation, as there are in professions such as medicine, accountancy, law or teaching. Qualifications, job titles and one’s position in the hierarchy are completely irrelevant. Anyway, some might argue that these are mostly paraphernalia designed to bestow status, rather than essential ingredients needed to do something well. By being your own boss, you make up your own journey as you travel – rather than undergoing formal training, you learn skills by practising them, from sales to accounts. The key is action: entrepreneurs are doers, not theorists.

成为企业家不是一份职业，而更像是一种使命。这份工作不像医学、会计、法律或教育等职业，没有任何可遵循的模式。资格证书、职衔和层级完全无关紧要。一些人也许会说，这些大多是旨在体现身份的行头，而非出色完成某事的关键要素。自己当老板，你可以开创自己的旅程——不是通过正式培训，而是在实践中学到各项技能，从销售到做账等等。关键在于行动：企业家是实干家，而非理论家。

Going it alone is not the easy path. There is no guarantee that you will earn even a basic wage. But financial objectives are unlikely to be your priority, for as Aristotle said: “Youth loves honour and victory more than money.” All my observations have been that few real winners in business are exclusively motivated by wealth – they are more interested in proving a point, making their mark and creating something worthwhile. There is no security – but job security is a myth these days anyway, be it working for government or the corporate sector.

单干不是一条坦途。你连能否挣到基本工资都毫无保证。但财务目标不大可能是你优先考虑的内容，因为正如亚里士多德所言：“年轻人热爱荣誉和胜利胜于金钱。”就我观察，真正成功的商人很少完全是为了追求财富——他们更想证明自己、让自己出名和创造有价值的东西。这毫无保障可言——但现如今，工作保障本来就是妄想，无论你是为政府效力还是为企业卖命。

I get the impression that twentysomethings believe in freedom and independence. Spending your time building your own company is a pretty effective way of achieving those goals. And in some respects grabbing that opportunity as young as you can is a great idea. The sooner you get used to the glories and miseries of self-employment, the better. Most important, you have so little to lose: no dependants, minimal outgoings, and all the time in the world. It is the best phase in your adult life to experiment and perhaps fail. At 21 you are young enough to try again, learn from experience and do it better next time. When you are young you have boundless energy and less inhibition about radical suggestions.

我的印象是，20多岁的年轻人信仰自由和独立。花自己的时间建造自己的公司，是实现这些目标的一种相当有效的途径。从某些方面而言，在你尽可能年轻的时候抓住这种机会是个非常好的主意。你越快适应自主创业的荣誉和苦恼就越好。最重要的是，你几乎没什么可失去的：没有家庭负担，开支最少，还可以投入全部的时间。这是你成年后进行实验、甚至遭遇失败的最好阶段。21岁的你足够年轻，可以从头再来，从经历中汲取教训，在下一次做得更好。年轻时，你有无穷的精力，对激进建议的顾虑更少。

The hope and ambition of someone entering the world of work at the start of their adult life should be boundless. Who else can believe in the impossible? The older generation has wisdom, but it can also be cynical and too proud, too comfortable – and, perhaps, too pessimistic. On the other hand, someone fresh can have a different vision, an idea of a better world.

刚刚成年便踏入职场的人，应拥有无穷的希望和抱负。还有谁能相信不可能之事？老一代人有智慧，但也可能怀疑一切，过于骄傲和安逸——也许还会太悲观。另一方面，新鲜人士可能会不同的视角，一个对更美好世界的想法。

There are always demands to be met and problems to solve that only entrepreneurs can satisfy. Each era brings forth transformative technologies that driven individuals commercialise and make popular. Such invention is not centrally directed, but flows from the genius of thousands of enterprising souls who do whatever is necessary to make their business succeed.

总会有只有企业家才能满足的要求和只有他们才能解决的问题。每一个时代都会诞生一些革新性的技术，由具有紧迫感的个人使之商业化并流行开来。此类发明并非中央组织的，而是来自数以千计有创业精神的天才人物，他们会尽一切必要之举，让自己的业务获得成功。

In spite of the financial crisis and the weak economy, this is a great time to try new projects: the internet makes innovation cheaper than ever. You can buy and market to the world from your laptop. There is also more support in various forms than in the past for young entrepreneurs – whether formal guidance or mentors of one sort or another. There are numerous websites, clubs, books and other ways that entrepreneurs can keep informed and network. I am constantly impressed by the young entrepreneurs I meet. They are much more collaborative than we were at their age, more global in their outlook and more sophisticated about finance.

尽管爆发了金融危机，经济也陷入低迷，但现在正是尝试新项目的好时机：互联网让创新的成本比以往任何时候都低。你通过就可以电脑购买商品，以及向全世界推销。对年轻企业家的各种支持也比以往更多——无论是正规指导，还是这样那样的指导者。创业者可以通过无数的网站、俱乐部、书籍和其它途径获取信息和网络。我遇到的年轻企业家常常给我留下深刻印象。他们比我们在他们那个年纪的时候更具合作精神，视野更全球化，在金融方面也更老练。

Entrepreneurship is a not a cure-all for graduate unemployment, and the precarious nature of working for yourself does not suit everybody. But given how tough the traditional job market is right now, the risks of creating a business are probably more apparent than real. And you can always moonlight with a part-time venture in the initial stages while taking a temporary job to make ends meet.

创业不是失业大学生的万灵药，而自主创业的不确定性也不适合每一个人。但考虑到眼下传统的就业市场是如此之严峻，创业的实际风险可能没有表面上那么大。而你总是可以在一开始的时候将创业作为第二职业，同时做一份临时工作，来维持收支平衡。

For idealists who really want to change the world, becoming an entrepreneur is a more effective move than most.

对于那些确实想改变世界的理想主义者而言，创业比其它大多数选择都更加有效。

The writer runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and is chairman of the Royal Society of Arts

本文作者管理着私人股本公司Risk Capital Partners，同时担任英国皇家艺术学会(Royal Society of Arts)理事长