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(wèn)了一個(gè)很擊中要害的問(wèn)題。她表示自己想有一番作為，但是她提出來(lái)的想法總是得不到別人的支持。她問(wèn)我，“你怎么樣才能夠讓別人贊同你的觀(guān)點(diǎn)，并且無(wú)論精神上還是經(jīng)濟(jì)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(gè)好問(wèn)題。我很了解我曾經(jīng)擁有過(guò)許多這樣的時(shí)刻：任務(wù)完成到一半，卻因?yàn)榘l(fā)現(xiàn)所有外界輔助力量都無(wú)法扶持我繼續(xù)下去，讓我感到孤立無(wú)援和受挫。就在去年，筆者決定撰寫(xiě)屬于自己的第一本書(shū)，但沒(méi)開(kāi)始多久我就停下來(lái)了，那時(shí)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(gè)項(xiàng)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(wú)論是精神上的支持，還是任何能夠支撐這個(gè)項(xiàng)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(xiě)書(shū)項(xiàng)目而不是工作所壓倒的過(guò)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(wú)法跟一個(gè)他喜歡的女孩約會(huì)，除非這個(gè)女孩的姐姐也參加了約會(huì)。所以，這兩位由Joseph Gordon-Levitt和David Krumholtz所扮演的角色，決定雇用某個(gè)人與這個(gè)女孩的姐姐約會(huì)。

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(huì)的費(fèi)用，他們就需要花錢(qián)。這就讓Krumholtz所扮演的角色遇到了靈光一現(xiàn)的時(shí)刻：“啊，對(duì)了，我們需要的是一名資助人?！盝oseph接著問(wèn)什么是資助人，然后David就回答，“就是有錢(qián)的冤大頭?！?/div>

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(duì)于筆者來(lái)說(shuō)，這也是一個(gè)靈光一現(xiàn)的時(shí)刻。這些角色的做法在某種程度上是對(duì)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(dāng)時(shí)就開(kāi)始跟我的親密伙伴們討論我的計(jì)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(méi)有人撰寫(xiě)過(guò)書(shū)籍，這也不阻礙他們幫助我。有一位朋友推薦了她所認(rèn)識(shí)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(jì)師。漸漸地，我收集到了所有我需要能夠讓我的出書(shū)進(jìn)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(dāng)然，你不能單純地依靠你的朋友。確實(shí)，能夠獲得朋友的支持與信任是一件感覺(jué)很棒的事情，但同時(shí)我也需要其他人的肯定。我希望我的書(shū)能夠吸引更多的讀者。而自從我啟動(dòng)了推廣我的書(shū)的計(jì)劃后，自產(chǎn)自銷(xiāo)，我還需要在封面的印刷費(fèi)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(rèn)為會(huì)對(duì)我的書(shū)籍感興趣的100家公司名單，然后請(qǐng)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(jiǎn)短的郵件介紹Femgineer這本書(shū)，并詢(xún)問(wèn)他們是否對(duì)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(lái)還陸續(xù)多次給他們撰寫(xiě)郵件，直到我們得到明確的答復(fù)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(fù)了其中的一封郵件。我迫不及待逐一電話(huà)聯(lián)系他們。剛開(kāi)始我詢(xún)問(wèn)他們的公司價(jià)值觀(guān)，目標(biāo)，以及Femgineer吸引他們的地方。我并沒(méi)有直接詢(xún)問(wèn)他們的資助意愿，相反，我草擬了一個(gè)計(jì)劃，強(qiáng)調(diào)我能夠如何把他們的優(yōu)點(diǎn)在我的書(shū)里突顯出來(lái)，以及如何把他們公司的價(jià)值觀(guān)與目標(biāo)與我的書(shū)進(jìn)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(shuō)服了7家公司對(duì)我的書(shū)籍給予贊助，并協(xié)助把我的書(shū)推廣給他們的讀者。那么成功的關(guān)鍵就在這3個(gè)因素了：

Communicating my passion for the project.
表達(dá)自己對(duì)項(xiàng)目的激情

Finding alignment with companies in a position to support the book.
尋找與書(shū)籍價(jià)值觀(guān)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(jì)劃書(shū)，要有既滿(mǎn)足自己的要求，也對(duì)對(duì)方帶來(lái)好處的意識(shí)。

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(qǐng)記?。喝魏螇雅e都不是獨(dú)自完成的。好好消化這個(gè)觀(guān)點(diǎn)，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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