欧美企业家不断创业创新社会受益

过去一个世纪里，欧美企业家不断崛起，给西方世界带来创新和改变。如今，更加宽松的政府控制，快速的因特网联结，还有更畅通的资金渠道，帮助许多开发中国家以及前苏联集团的企业家把产品送到市场。

The original French word entrepreneur refers to someone who undertakes, who does something. Entrepreneurs assume business risk or bring a new product, service or idea to market.

英文“企业家”这个字，原起于法文，意思是放手去做事的人。企业家要承受生意上的风险，或者把新产品带进市场。

Their innovations sometimes change the world. Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but his assembly line revolutionized manufacturing and made cars affordable for the average worker.

企业家的创新有时可以改变整个世界。亨利.福特并没有发明汽车，但是他的汽车组装线革新了汽车制造业，也让一般人买得起汽车。

Bill Gates is perhaps the world's best known entrepreneur. He did not invent personal computers, but his operating system made them easy to use and brought the new technology to millions.

比尔.盖茨可能是全世界最知名的企业家。他并没有发明个人电脑，但是他的电脑操作系统让使用电脑更容易，让几乎所有人都能使用电脑。

Journalism professor Wendell Cochran of American University says the Internet, with its capacity to instantaneously convey information around the world, is an extraordinary platform for entrepreneurs.

美利坚大学新闻系教授柯克伦认为，因特网即时将信息传送给任何角落任何人的能力，提供企业家一个绝佳的平台。

"Google became a verb almost 24 hours after it became a thing," said Cochran. "So, [the Internet] is incredibly entrepreneurial."

他说：“谷歌从网站名字很快就成为一个代表搜寻的动词，所以，因特网的创造力真是令人难以置信。”

Thirteen years ago, San Francisco entrepreneur Craig Newmark created an online bulletin board for the brokerage firm where he worked. Today his Craig's List is a free alternative to the classified ads that have been a major source of earnings for newspapers.

13年前，旧金山企业家克雷格.纽马克为他服务的代理公司创立一个网络布告栏。今天他所创办的克雷格清单网站已经取代报纸，成为一个大型的免费分类广告网。分类广告一直是各大报纸的主要收入来源。

"Right now we're in about 55 countries, 567 cities across the world," explained Newmark. Some analysts say Craig's List is having the same effect on newspapers that Ford's car had on the horse and wagon.

他说：“现在我们已经扩展到世界55个国家，在567个城市提供服务。” 一些分析人士说，克雷格清单对报纸的影响，就如同福特汽车取代马和马车一样。

Since the collapse of communism, entrepreneurs have taken off in places where they were once forbidden, including Russia. Yana Yakovleva is the financial director of a Moscow company that manufactures silicone.

在俄罗斯，自从共产主义瓦解，过去被禁止的企业家就如同雨后春笋一般冒出。亚科夫列娃是莫斯科一家专门生产硅胶的公司的财务经理。

Despite new freedoms, she says, government bureaucracy still makes it hard to be an entrepreneur. "A bureaucrat scores a point for each court case he initiates or for every company he closes, and this improves his job performance evaluation," she noted.

她说政府的官僚体系仍然让企业家面临重重困难：“政府官员只要起诉一家企业或关闭一家公司，就能得到工作积分，能改善他们自己的工作表现评估。”

In Venezuela, currency exchange controls and a leadership hostile to free markets make it difficult to do business. Caracas food distributor Santiago Alvarez complains that government bureaucrats are unhelpful.

在委内瑞拉，外汇控制以及政府领导层对自由市场的仇视，也让做生意极度困难。卡拉卡司的食品配送商阿尔瓦雷斯抱怨，政府官僚体制添了更多麻烦。

"Getting all the permits to start a business is a real challenge," explained Alvarez. "You have to face tremendous amounts of bureaucracy from a lot of different entities, in order to get permits and to get financing."

“要得到所有许可成立一家公司真是很大的挑战，你要面对许多不同机关的官僚，才能得到许可，得到财务帮助。”

But, as always, entrepreneurs are highly motivated and frequently prevail against the odds. They raise funds by borrowing from relatives, tapping into village cooperatives or, getting loans from a bank. And they learn how to cope with onerous bureaucracy to bring their ideas to the marketplace.

但是，企业家总是能够保持高度动力，突破困境，他们通过向亲戚借钱，加入村落合作社，或者从银行贷款来得到资金，其中一些人还上课学习企业相关课程。