3 rules to help you build a successful business | The Way We Work, a TED series

Transcriber:

Running a business means being a constant problem solver.

翻译人员: Frank Xu 校对人员: Thomas Tam

经营一个生意代表着 时时刻刻地解决问题。

Every day it's something new,

每一天都有不同的东西，

whether it's product development,

不论是产品开发、

distribution, creating content or, I don't know,

分销、内容创造， 或者，我也不确定，

deciding what to do during a pandemic.

比如在疫情下决定做什么。

The trick isn’t always knowing all the answers

诀窍总是不知道所有的答案

but becoming adept at figuring them out.

而是要善于弄清楚它们。

[The Way We Work]

[我们的工作原理]

My entrepreneurial spirit

我的创业精神

comes from growing up in Latino neighborhoods in LA

是来自洛杉矶我长大的拉丁裔社区，

and being surrounded by so many people who are immigrants.

以及与非常多有着 移民身份的人相处的经历。

It takes heart and ingenuity to move to a new country

搬到一个新国家重建你的生活

and rebuild your life.

需要勇气和智慧。

I grew up seeing firsthand

我长大时亲眼见证了

so many examples of people getting creative with limited resources,

许多人富创意地 利用有限资源的例子，

whether it was the pupusa lady outside, rain or shine,

不论是外面风雨无阻， 卖萨尔瓦多馅饼的阿姨，

or my dad, who started as a field worker and now owns his own restaurant.

还是我农场工人出身， 现在开着自己饭店的爸爸。

In 2017, I left my corporate job

在2017年，我辞去了公司的工作

and used my entire life savings to launch Rizos Curls.

并用我当时的全部家当 开了里佐斯卷发用品，

Helping people embrace their natural hair texture

帮助人们接受他们的自然发质；

has been my personal passion since I was a teenager.

这一直是我少年以来 的个人爱好。

Learning to love my hair in its natural state

学习如何去爱我头发的自然状态，

was the first step to learning to love myself.

是我学习爱自己的第一步。

Today, I'm running a self-funded,

今天，我经营着一家独立的、

multimillion dollar business that has been profitable since day one.

从第一天开始就在盈利的 数百万美金生意。

Growing up where I'm from,

在我长大的地方，

building a successful business felt unattainable.

经营一家成功的生意 感觉遥不可及，

But turns out that entrepreneurial spirit was there all along.

但实际上创业精神一直就在那儿。

Here are my top three principles that guide me in doing business.

以下是指导我经商的三大观念。

One: Get personal with your customers.

第一，

With every transaction, your customer is giving you power,

每一次交易， 你的顾客都在赋予你权力，

so don't take that power for granted.

所以不要觉得理所应当。

I feel so immersed with our customers

我感觉和自己的客户很近，

because I see them in my family, my tias,

因为我能從我的家人，阿姨，

my cousins, my parents and even in myself.

表親，父母，甚至 还有我自己的關係見到他们。

And that means nobody, not even the haircare giants,

而那意味着没有人， 甚至是那些护发产品巨头，

can speak to them like I can.

能和我用同样的方式与客户交流。

We get to know our customers on a personal level

我们能从个人层面上 来了解我们的客户，

because we take the time to really listen.

因为我们花时间去真正聆听，

Building that kind of relationship creates an authentic,

建立那样的关系；

reciprocal understanding between brand and customers.

在品牌和客户间， 创造出一种互相的理解。

Two: Don't be afraid to break the rules.

第二，不要害怕打破常规。

As a Latina-owned, self-funded small business,

作为一家由拉丁裔所有 自资的小生意，

I'm constantly entering spaces

我常常进入

where my business is the first of its kind.

是独一无二的生意领域。

This year, we launched Rizos Curls into a mainstream retailer

今年，我们的里佐斯卷发 在一家主流零售商上架了，

where we became the first Latina-owned curly hair care brand

成为了该店第一家由拉丁裔所有的

to be carried in their stores.

卷发护发品牌。

It was a big deal for us.

这对我们来讲意义重大。

Traditional business wisdom says

传统的经商智慧说道，

that we should have invested a lot of marketing dollars

我们必须投入大量营销资金

on that type of launch,

到这类上架活动，

but instead I showed up on a horse,

但我反而骑马到场，

with a mariachi and recorded TikToks.

带着一支墨西哥街头乐队， 还录了抖音。

I spent less than a 1,000 dollars on that launch.

在那次上架活动， 我花了不到一千美元。

So my point is, don't be afraid to try things differently.

所以我想说的是，别害怕 尝试不同的东西。

Don't expect the same rules to apply to your small business

不要期望一样的方式对你的小生意

as they do to Fortune 500 companies.

和对财富500的 大公司有相同作用。

Embrace what makes you you, and make it a part of your strategy

接纳自我成就的你， 并将此变成你战略的一部分，

rather than following the same old playbook that's out there

而不是盲从所有人都能看到的

for everyone to see.

陈词滥调。

Three: Make your intuition your BFF.

第三，把你的直觉变成 你这辈子最好的朋友。

Running a business is noisy and demanding.

经营一家生意是嘈杂且费力的。

There's retailers, customers, your team, your finances,

有零售商、客户、 你的团队、你的财务状况

and things happening in the world beyond your control.

及世上有你控制以外的事。

How do you make big and important decisions with all of that?

你该如何在其中做出重大决定？

Yes, facts and data matter, but at the end of the day,

是的，事实和数据有用，但最终，

you've got to trust your gut.

你要相信自己的直觉。

Your intuition is your best friend.

你的直觉是你最好的朋友。

OK, here's what I do.

我自己是这么来的，

I have daily check-ins with myself,

我每天对自己进行检查，

and I have a checklist that I go through after every big meeting

而且我在每次大会议后 会做一张内心检查表，

where I ask myself questions like, "Am I uneasy? Am I excited?

在其中我问自己类似的问题： “我不安吗？我兴奋吗？

How do they make me really feel?"

他们真正给我什么感觉？”

It's a thing that can't be explained through numbers or logic.

这是一种数字和逻辑 解释不了的东西。

But when I go through my list of questions,

但当我逐项看我的问题清单时，

I'm able to quiet the noise and tune into that voice inside me

我能够排除噪音并专注于我内心

that helps me stay true to myself and my mission.

帮助我为自己和 我的使命保持真实的那个声音。

It's important to know who you are and who you are not.

重要的是要知道自己是谁，不要走错方向。

That means knowing when to say no.

那意味着知道在什么时候说不。

For me, that's meant turning down outside capital.

对我而言，那意味着拒绝外界资本。

Yeah, that extra cash flow would have been amazing,

是的，那额外的资金流会很棒，

but investors would want to maximize profits and in turn,

但投资者也会想要将利益最大化，

compromise a community and culture aspects of what we stand for.

以我们所代表的 一个社区和文化层面为代价。

And for me, that's non-negotiable.

而对我，这是不可交換的。

At the end of the day, you have to be grateful.

在一天结束的时候， 你要心存感激。

No one has to work for you, and no one has to be your customer.

没有人必须为你工作， 也没有人必须做你的客户。

People have choices,

人有选择权，

so remember to appreciate every employee effort

所以记得要感激每一位员工的努力

and every sale.

和每一次销售的顾客。