Starting a business is like building a boat from scratch and setting sail. Unless you build boats for a living, expect things to go wrong very quickly.

开始做生意就像从零开始建造一艘船到它开始航行。除非你以制造船谋生，（否则）你不会希望它很快就出问题

To continue the metaphor¹: The problem with many would-be entrepreneurs is that they only have experience on the open water. They know how to sail, navigate² and survive at sea. They’re sailors, but they don't have the skills to build their ship. They just have sailing skills.

继续这个比喻：许多想成为企业家的人的问题是他们只有在开放水域的经验。他们知道怎么航行，驾驶和如何在海上生存。他们是航海家，但是他们没有建造自己船的能力，他们只有航行的技能。

I didn’t make the decision on a whim³ to start my company after I was fired from my last full-time⁴ job. I was already in the right industry, had learned from some of the best minds in the business and was freelancing on the side. In other words, I had a good sense of how to build a boat and captain my own ship

我不是在离开我的专职工作后一时兴起想创立自己的公司。我在合适的行业里待过，向一些商业精英学习过并且空闲时当过自由职业者。也就是说，我知道怎么去建造船并且指挥我的船。

If you too want to start your own business but have experience working only under a manager, you need to do some serious soul-searching and self-assessment. Ask yourself these six questions before you start：

如果你很想自己创业但是只有在经理手下工作过的经验，你需要一些严肃的自我询问和自我评估。在你开始（创业）前，问你自己六个问题：

1. 'Could I survive, financially and psychologically, poorer than I am now?'

如果我比现在更穷，我在精神和财务方面能否撑过去？

According to the U.S. Census⁵ Bureau, more than 543,000 small businesses are started in the United States every single month. Yet, somehow, more businesses shut down than start up each month. Those aren’t exactly great odds⁶ for a newly minted entrepreneur.

美国人口普查局的资料显示，在美国，每月有超过543000个小公司成立，然而，每月总有更多的公司倒闭。这对于新手来说并不稀奇。

Unless you’re some transcendent genius, chances are you’re going to fail at your first business. And that’s totally normal -- more than 543,000 other business owners will be in the same boat. Even if you do “succeed,” you may end up making less than you do with your current full-time job.

除非你是卓越的天才，你在你的第一次生意中将会失败。那是十分正常的——超过543000个其他创业者和你的情况一致。即便你真的成功了，你可能最终会比你现在的专职工作挣得更少。

Countless⁷ success stories, including J.K. Rowling’s, began with a life of modest means. Can you live at a level even lower than you do now?

无数成功的故事，包括J.K罗琳，都是以很少的财富开始的。你能过比现在更低层次的生活吗？

2. 'Could I work on something alone, and without encouragement?'

我可以在没有鼓励的情况下单独做一件事吗？

It’s certainly fun and games thinking about a great business idea -- but executing it is another story entirely⁸. As Freelancers⁹ Union founder¹¹ Sara Horowitz discovered when she created a health plan for freelancers, remote work can be very lonely. “You work with coal miners and you learn everything there is about black lung . . . You work with freelancers, and you learn about depression," Horowitz has said.

想出一个好的商业点子无疑是有趣新奇的，但是执行它又是一个完全不同的概念。自由职业者联盟创始人萨拉•霍罗维茨在她给自由职业者创立健康计划时发现，远程工作非常孤独。“你和煤炭工作者一起工作，在那里所有你学到的是黑色的肺部……你和自由职业者一起工作，你学会压抑”霍罗维茨说。

Freelancers have been found to have poorer mental health and higher stress than their full-time friends. This isn’t that surprising when you consider all the risks associated with starting your own business. Sure, you get to control your schedule and be your own boss. But you also have to work longer hours, usually in isolation¹², and potentially make less than your full-time friends.

自由职业者被发现比专职工作者精神健康更差和有更高的压力。当你考虑你创业时所有所有的风险，（你会发现）这一点都不惊人。当然，你可以自主安排你的行程，当你自己的老板，但是你通常要独立工作更长的时间并且很有可能比你专职工作时挣得更少。

One Dutch study found that freelance workers have a hard time separating work from home, and are more likely to become workaholics. Can you see yourself working that much?

One Dutch研究表明，自由职业者难以将工作家庭分开，而且更有可能成为工作狂。你能忍受自己工作那么久吗?

3. 'Do I want to learn marketing¹³, sales, accounting¹⁴, etc.?'

“我想不想学销售，营销，会计等等”

When I started Tailored Ink, I quickly realized there were several skills I didn’t have that I would need to learn very quickly. If you’ve only done design, for example, that’s not nearly enough to run your own design agency. Instead, most business owners will agree that you need to learn the following five core business skills to be successful:

当我创立Tailored Ink 后，我很快意识到我有几个需要马上去学习的技能。如果你只会设计，那你不足以管理你的设计部门。相反地，大多数创业者会赞成如果你想成功的话，你需要学习以下五个基本的核心技能：

Sales: so you don’t starve

销售技能：那样你才不会挨饿

Marketing: so you can sell more

营销技能：那么你可以卖出更多（产品）

Management: so you won’t be alone

管理：那样你就不会孤独

Planning: so you can scale and stay competitive

计划：那么你可以衡量并且保持竞争力

Adaptability¹⁵: in case your plan doesn’t pan out

适应力：以防你的计划被淘汰

Of these five core skills, sales is by far the most important

这五个核心技能，销售是最重要的

4. 'When it comes down to it, am I an overachiever?'

“追根究底，我是不是能力出众?"

When I was younger, I spent a lot of time playing video games. In fact, I’m convinced mastering video games taught me soft skills essential to business success.

我年轻的时候，我用大量的时间玩计算机游戏。事实上，我坚信掌握计算机游戏教会了我做生意必要的软能力。

Most importantly, playing thousands of hours of games helped me realize that I am fundamentally an overachiever. When I have my sights set on an achievable goal, I’ll doggedly¹⁶ pursue it before moving on to the next goal. It’s hard for me to live in the present and just enjoy what I’ve accomplished¹⁷ -- I’m always thinking of where I want to be next.

最重要的是，上千个小时的计算机游戏让我意识到我是一个彻底的的高成就者。当我把我的目光定在可实现的目标上的时候，在我追求下一个目标前，我坚定地追求它。对我来说，拘泥于现在和享受现在已经完成的成就是十分困难的——我总是想着下一步该做什么。

I’m not saying that this is the best way to be, just that it’s part of my personality. And it’s helped me accomplish a lot within a short amount of time.

我不是说这是最好的方式，但是那是我性格的一部分。而且他帮助我在短时间里成就了很多。

5. 'Can I comfortably delegate tasks to others?'

"我能安然地分配任务给其他人吗"

This is something that doesn't come very naturally to me. When I became an entrepreneur, I had had experience tutoring, teaching and managing, but when it came time to delegate tasks that affected¹⁸ my earnings¹⁹, I was much less enthusiastic²⁰.

这对我来说不是很自然的事。当我成为企业家的时候，我已经有了教导，教学和管理的经验，但是到了来分配影响我利润任务的时候，我就那么热衷了。

As an introvert²¹, I find it very easy to be self-reliant. And, unlike extroverts²², I draw energy from being alone; I’ve spent most of my life being proudly independent.

性格内向的人很容易自我依赖，并且，不像性格外向的人，独处给我能量，我对于我生命的大部分都是独立的很自豪。

But that only works if you’re a small-scale solo freelancer¹⁰ -- not if you’re running a serious, growing business. At some point, you’re going to have to delegate. And that means finding, training and trusting in people whom you won’t be able to keep tabs on all the time.

但是那个只在你是一个小型的单独自由主义者时有用——在你经营一个正式的，正在增长的公司是无用的。在一些情况下，你必须分配任务，那就意味着你必须寻找，培训，相信一个你不能时刻监视的人。

6. 'Would I be a good mentor²³?'

“我能成为一个好的导师吗"

You can’t delegate effectively without knowing how to manage effectively. And, despite what many business coaches would have you believe, management isn’t just knowledge-based. In the words of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, “You manage things; you lead people.”

（如果）你不能很好的管理，你不能有效的分配。并且，无论你的商业家庭老师让你相信什么，管理都不单单的是以知识为基础的。用海军将领格雷斯•默里•霍珀的话就是：“你管理事情，你领导人”

Even if you have an MBA and understand how to manage on a logistical level, you could be driving away top talent. It’s not enough to know how to manage, you need to want to manage, too. And that means being a mentor.

即使你有工商管理学的学位证并且理解怎么在理论上管理人，你也可能流失高才能的人，知道怎么管理是不够的，你还需要想要管理。那就意味着成为一个导师。

Does the very thought of managing others make you cringe, or does it excite you? Do you take the time to explain things when a colleague asks a simple question, or do you get annoyed? Do you care about your coworkers and what’s happening in their personal lives?

管理人的想法正好使你畏缩还是让你兴奋？当你同事问你一个很简单的问题时，你会花费大量的时间来向他解释还是很恼怒？你关心你的同事和他们的个人生活吗？

7. 'Do I still want to build that boat?'

“我仍然想要建造自己的小船吗”

When you really think about it, the first person who decided²⁴ to tie together strips of wood and head out into deep water must have been a little crazy. The innovators of today, like Elon Musk²⁵, are just as crazy, in their own way. They have a healthy appetite for both risk and failure.

当你认真思考它，决定把木头绑在一起并且朝深水的人必要有一点疯狂。今天的创新者，像Elon Musk 就是以他们自己的方式疯狂着。他们对风险和失败有着合适的容忍度。

You don’t need to be as bold to start your own business -- there are plenty of boat-building manuals and playbooks out there that you can follow. Maybe you’re building the kind of boat that other people have built before you. That’s absolutely fine! It’s what I did, too.

在你开始创业时，你不需要一无所有——这有许多你可以参考的造船的指导手册，也许你在建造前人已经造出来的船了。那真是太好了，我就是那样的。

But you do need to be honest with yourself about the skills you have and the skills you have yet to learn. It’s best to figure all that out before you hit stormy weather.

但是你必须坦诚的面对你已经掌握的技能和必须去学的技能。在你经历暴烈天气前你必须把这些都弄明白。