【英语生活】为机遇开门

I have always believed that opportunity comes knocking for almost everyone. The difference is that only some choose to open the door and welcome opportunity inside.

In certain cases, the breakthrough is an idea for an acquisition. For some, it is an invention or a new product; for others, it is the forging of a partnership, a second chance, an escape route; and for others, it is simply a meeting that provokes them to become an entrepreneur.

For Tiny Rowland, that chance came when Angus Ogilvy asked him to become joint managing director of the London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Company - "just a ranching company with a couple of tin-pot mines". Mr Rowland persuaded the sleepy board of what became Lonrho to swap £200,000 worth of their shares for some car dealerships he owned. Within 20 years, his shareholding had multiplied in value 1,000 times, and Lonrho was one of the most famous businesses in Britain.

In the case of William Procter and James Gamble, their defining moment came when they met - because they courted and then married sisters Olivia and Elizabeth Norris. Their father-in-law suggested that the candle- and soapmakers should merge their business interests, and so on Halloween 1837, the legendary Procter & Gamble Company was born. It is now perhaps the most admired business in the world.

Sir James Goldsmith set out to get rich after leaving the army. He developed a modest pharmaceutical concern that went well for a while. But he over-traded, and by late July 1957 the Paris-based business was on the edge of going bust. Late one Thursday night Sir James went to bed having run out of time and money. Yet the following morning, opportunity presented itself when a bank strike was announced: it meant his loans were not called and the fledgling tycoon had time to refinance - and continue his ascent.

I mention Sir James partly because he provided inspiration to me about a quarter of a century ago. As a restless young man I sought his advice, and he invited me to tea at his grand house in Ham, near London. Small children were running around - one of whom must have been Zac Goldsmith, the new local Conservative MP. Sir James told me in no uncertain terms to stop working as an employee and go into business on my own account, which I proceeded to do.

Last week I attended a panel discussion for the Prince's Trust about entrepreneurs. Sinclair Beecham, the co-founder of Pret A Manger, the sandwich retail chain, was a fellow speaker. He told the story of how he was encouraged to go into enterprise by a businessman who came to speak at his school. It was such an uplifting lecture that the teenage schoolboy wrote to thank the visitor. Mr Beecham can still remember the man's name, and even his address, decades later.

Another billionaire who influenced me was Sir Richard Branson. A friend and I arranged to interview him aboard his canal barge for a student newspaper when we were 18 years old. It seemed like Sir Richard was having a lot of fun, and did not have to answer to any boss. That conversation helped stimulate us both to work for ourselves, building companies for a career, rather than becoming doctors as planned.

Likewise, Sir Richard has said that one of his heroes when he was young was Sir Freddie Laker, the pioneer of low-cost airlines with Skytrain, which was launched in 1977. Sir Richard took up Sir Freddie's original licence to fly from Gatwick Airport to New York in 1984 to start Virgin Atlantic.

Estimates say that about one in 10 people becomes an entrepreneur. For many, that spark lies latent until it is ignited by an unplanned meeting or a lucky opening. That is all it can take to light the fuse. To take advantage of such situations, one must be alive to possibilities, willing to take risks, and a believer in the motto Fortis imaginato generat casum - a strong imagination begets the event. In previous eras, the young were inspired by explorers and adventurers. Today, I hope their role models are not just reality TV stars, but entrepreneurs who build real companies and create jobs - to trigger more defining moments.

lukej@riskcapitalpartners.co.uk The writer runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and is chairman of the Royal Society of Arts

我一直相信，机遇会叩响几乎所有人的大门。不同之处在于，只有少数人选择开门，欢迎机遇的到来。

在某些情况下，突破点是一个进行收购的想法。对某些人而言，它是一项发明或是一种新产品；对另一些人来说，它是建立一种合作关系、第二次机会和一条退出路线；而对还有一些人来说，它只是激发他们成为企业家的一次会晤。

对蒂尼•罗兰(Tiny Rowland)而言，当安格斯•奥格尔维(Angus Ogilvy)邀请他担任London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Company（“仅仅是一家有一些小矿的牧业公司”）的联席董事总经理时，这种机会来临了。罗兰说服该公司（Lonrho的前身）死气沉沉的董事会用价值20万英镑的股份换取他的几个汽车经销点。他换取的股份价值在20年内增长了1000倍，而Lonrho曾是英国最著名的企业之一。

对威廉•普罗克特(William Procter)和詹姆斯•甘布尔(James Gamble)来说，当两人因追求并娶了奥利维亚(Olivia)和伊丽莎白•诺里斯(Elizabeth Norris)姐妹而相识时，决定性时刻来临了。他们的岳父建议，这两家蜡烛和肥皂制造商应该合并他们的企业利益，因此在1837年的万圣节，具有传奇色彩的宝洁公司(Procter & Gamble Company)诞生了。目前该公司或许是世界上最受尊敬的企业。

詹姆士•戈德史密斯爵士(Sir James Goldsmith)退伍后打算做生意赚钱。他创办了一家小型制药企业，一段时期内生意兴隆。但他交易过度，到1957年7月底，这家总部位于巴黎的企业陷入破产边缘。一个周四的深夜，戈德史密斯上床睡觉的时候资金已所剩无几，而且银行要求他马上偿还贷款。然而第二天早晨，幸运降临了：银行员工宣布罢工——这意味着他不用立即还清贷款，这个初出茅庐的大亨有时间再融资，并继续他的创业。

我提到戈德史密斯，一定程度上是因为大约25年前他给了我鼓舞。作为一个不安分的年轻人，我向他寻求建议，于是他邀请我前往他的豪宅（位于伦敦附近的Ham）喝茶。一群小孩在院子里跑来跑去——其中有一个肯定是如今当地保守党议员扎克•戈德史密斯(Zac Goldsmith)。Zac Goldsmith用斩钉截铁的语气告诉我，不要再打工了，要开创自己的企业——我照做了。

最近，我参加了王子信托基金(Prince's Trust)关于企业家的小组讨论。三明治连锁店Pret A Manger联席创始人辛克莱•比查姆(Sinclair Beecham)是发言人之一。他讲述了自己如何受到一位去学校演讲的企业家的感染，从而创办企业的。那是一场非常令人振奋的演讲，当时只有十几岁的比查姆写信感谢了那位访问者。几十年过去了，比查姆仍记得那个商人的姓名，甚至还有他的地址。

另一位影响我的亿万富翁是理查德•布兰森爵士(Sir Richard Branson)。我和一个朋友（当时我们18岁）登上他的运河驳船，为一家学生报纸对他进行了采访。布兰森看起来非常开心，不必对任何老板负责。这场谈话鼓舞我们两人自主创业，以打造企业为职业，而不是像以前计划的那样当医生。

同样，布兰森表示，他年轻时的偶像之一是弗雷迪•莱克(Freddie Laker)——后者是与1977年成立的Skytrain一起创办廉价航空公司的先锋。1984年，布兰森从莱克那里接手了从盖特威克(Gatwick)机场飞往纽约的执照，开创了维珍航空公司(Virgin Atlantic)。

人们估计，每十个人里大约会有一人成为企业家。对许多人而言，创业灵感会一直潜伏着，直至被一场计划外的会晤或幸运的开端点燃。这便是激发创业灵感所唯一需要的。要利用这些机缘，人们必须对各种可能性保持敏锐，愿意冒险，并相信“心想事成”的格言。昔日，年轻人受到探险者和冒险家的激励，如今，我希望他们的榜样不只是真人秀明星，还要有打造实业并创造就业机会的企业家，以便激发更多的“灵感涌现”时刻。

lukej@riskcapitalpartners.co.uk

本文作者管理着私人股本投资公司Risk Capital Partners，并担任英国皇家艺术学会(Royal Society of Arts)主席

译者/君悦