Recently an entrepreneur reached out to me with a question that hit home. She said she wanted to strike out on her own but the idea struck her as lonesome. She asked me, “How do you get people to believe in you, and support the work you’re doing both emotionally and financially?”
最近一位企業(yè)家朋友找我，她問了一個很擊中要害的問題。她表示自己想有一番作為，但是她提出來的想法總是得不到別人的支持。她問我，“你怎么樣才能夠讓別人贊同你的觀點，并且無論精神上還是經(jīng)濟上都支持你的工作呢？”

That’s a good question. I know I’ve had moments where halfway through a project I felt lonesome and overwhelmed by everything I needed to bring the project to life. Just last year, I decided I wanted to write my first book but then stopped short, realizing all the things I didn’t know how to do, like finding an editor and printing and distributing copies.
恩，這是一個好問題。我很了解我曾經(jīng)擁有過許多這樣的時刻：任務(wù)完成到一半，卻因為發(fā)現(xiàn)所有外界輔助力量都無法扶持我繼續(xù)下去，讓我感到孤立無援和受挫。就在去年，筆者決定撰寫屬于自己的第一本書，但沒開始多久我就停下來了，那時我發(fā)現(xiàn)我有很多的事情并不了解如何去處理，比如聯(lián)系出版社編輯，印刷以及出版等等。

This project, and others, taught me the importance of reaching out for help, both for the support and the backing that makes any project succeed.
這個項目，以及其他的事情，都讓我深刻地了解到尋求幫助的重要性，無論是精神上的支持，還是任何能夠支撐這個項目成功的后盾。

1.Recruit your close friends.
1. 召集你的好友們。

Overwhelmed with my book project, instead of working, I popped in one of my favorite teen movies:?10 Things I Hate About You. In it, a character can’t date a girl he likes unless her sister has a date as well. So, two of the characters, played by?Joseph Gordon-Levitt and David Krumholtz, decide to pay someone to date the sister.
在被寫書項目而不是工作所壓倒的過程中，我偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了其中一部我最喜歡的青少年電影：“我恨你的十件事”(10 Things I Hate About You)。在這部電影里，主角無法跟一個他喜歡的女孩約會，除非這個女孩的姐姐也參加了約會。所以，這兩位由Joseph Gordon-Levitt和David Krumholtz所扮演的角色，決定雇用某個人與這個女孩的姐姐約會。

But to pay the date, they’d need money. Which leads to Krumholtz’s character’s lightbulb moment: “Yeah, well, what we need is a backer.” Joseph, then proceeds to ask what a backer is, and David responds, “Someone with money who’s stupid.”
但是為了支付約會的費用，他們就需要花錢。這就讓Krumholtz所扮演的角色遇到了靈光一現(xiàn)的時刻：“啊，對了，我們需要的是一名資助人?！盝oseph接著問什么是資助人，然后David就回答，“就是有錢的冤大頭。”

This was a lightbulb moment for me, as well. The characters had it partially right. Backers are important. But you want them to be smart, not stupid, and to have a vested interest in your success. I began telling my closest friends about the project and most importantly – what I needed.
對于筆者來說，這也是一個靈光一現(xiàn)的時刻。這些角色的做法在某種程度上是對的。資助者非常重要。但是你得要求他們是聰明的，而不是愚蠢的，并能在你的成就占據(jù)一席之地。我當時就開始跟我的親密伙伴們討論我的計劃，并且最重要的是，告訴他們，我需要的是什么。

While none of them had written a book themselves, that didn’t stop them from helping me. One friend recommended someone she knew who was offering editing services while others suggested printers and designers. Slowly, I gathered the resources I needed to bring the book to life.
即使他們之中沒有人撰寫過書籍，這也不阻礙他們幫助我。有一位朋友推薦了她所認識能夠提供編輯幫助的朋友，而其他人則推薦出版商和版面設(shè)計師。漸漸地，我收集到了所有我需要能夠讓我的出書進程順利的資源。

2.Find kindred spirits.
?2. 尋找志同道合的人。

Of course, you can’t just depend on your friends. While it was wonderful to have their help and know they believed in me, I needed others to believe too. I wanted to the book to have a wide audience. And since I was bootstrapping the project, marketing and selling it myself, I also wanted a sponsorship to cover print costs.
當然，你不能單純地依靠你的朋友。確實，能夠獲得朋友的支持與信任是一件感覺很棒的事情，但同時我也需要其他人的肯定。我希望我的書能夠吸引更多的讀者。而自從我啟動了推廣我的書的計劃后，自產(chǎn)自銷，我還需要在封面的印刷費用上找到贊助者。

I made a list of about a 100 companies that I thought would be interested, had my assistant look up their contact info, and then proceeded to send them all a short email explaining introducing Femgineer,?the book, and ask if they’d be interested in offering a small sponsorship.
我列出了一份我認為會對我的書籍感興趣的100家公司名單，然后請我的助手幫忙查閱他們的聯(lián)系資料，然后再給他們寄送一封簡短的郵件介紹Femgineer這本書，并詢問他們是否對這種小型的投資感興趣。

But we didn’t email them just once, we proceeded to email them a few times until we got a clear response.
但是我們給他們發(fā)送的郵件次數(shù)不限于一次，我們后來還陸續(xù)多次給他們撰寫郵件，直到我們得到明確的答復為止。

Out of the 100, 15 people actually responded to one of our emails. I hopped on a call with each of those people. I started the conversation out by asking them about their company values, goals, and what caught their attention about Femgineer. Instead of just asking for the sponsorship outright, I crafted an offer, emphasizing how I could showcase them in the book, and how it would be aligned with their company’s values and goals.
在這100家公司中，有15家公司真正的回復了其中的一封郵件。我迫不及待逐一電話聯(lián)系他們。剛開始我詢問他們的公司價值觀，目標，以及Femgineer吸引他們的地方。我并沒有直接詢問他們的資助意愿，相反，我草擬了一個計劃，強調(diào)我能夠如何把他們的優(yōu)點在我的書里突顯出來，以及如何把他們公司的價值觀與目標與我的書進行聯(lián)結(jié)。

I ended up convincing 7 companies to sponsor and help market the book to their audience. That success rested on just three factors:
最后，我成功說服了7家公司對我的書籍給予贊助，并協(xié)助把我的書推廣給他們的讀者。那么成功的關(guān)鍵就在這3個因素了：

Communicating my passion for the project.
表達自己對項目的激情

Finding alignment with companies in a position to support the book.
尋找與書籍價值觀一致的公司的支持

Crafting an offer, knowing not just what I wanted but how it could help the other person.?
擬定一份計劃書，要有既滿足自己的要求，也對對方帶來好處的意識。

It’s about engaging with people and remembering: nothing great is ever done alone. Respect that, and you’ll find the right help for the right projects.? ?
這關(guān)乎于與人打交道的藝術(shù)，并請記住：任何壯舉都不是獨自完成的。好好消化這個觀點，那么你就能找到合適的人助你成就正確的事業(yè)了。

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