世．界．之‧窗－单亲爸爸 用电子报成功创业

从经营热狗摊到干洗连锁店，巴克如今创办了The Newsletter Pro，年营收超过300万美元。图／摘自公司官网

阅读暖身美国企业家雄恩‧巴克从小便具备生意头脑，他白天去上学，晚上借由割草坪、耙落叶来赚外快。如今他的The Newsletter Pro已在最快速成长的5,000家企业中拿下第120名。巴克如何从16岁单亲爸爸变身为36岁大老板？进入本文前，请先想想如何表达以下单字：A.初步尝试 B.留客率 C.口碑

Founded by single dad Shaun Buck in 2011, The Newsletter Pro, a customized newsletter maker, has grown its sales nearly 3,000 percent, amounting to $3.1 million in 2014 alone. That performance landed Buck's company the No. 120 slot on last year's Inc. 5000.

专门为企业设计业务通讯的The Newsletter Pro公司，由单亲爸爸雄恩‧巴克于2011年创办，营业额已成长近百分之3,000，光是2014年便达310万美元。该公司去年因此在美国最快速成长的5,000家民营企业中，拿下第120名。

Buck's first (A)foray into entrepreneurship was a pair of hot dog stands, which did really well, generating nearly half a million dollars in gross sales a year. In 2001, he was also working his way into management at AT&T. But he had (1)been itching to run his own business, so he left a six-figure job to be the king of hot dogs.

巴克的首次创业尝试，是经营两个热狗摊，成绩斐然，每年总销售额近50万美元。他2001年同时还在AT&T电信公司上班，即将晋升管理阶层。然而他一直渴望经营自己的事业，因而辞去年薪6位数的工作，成为热狗大王。

When Buck came across a dry cleaning franchise, the company's monthly newsletter was what (2)reeled him in. It contained interesting stories about new franchise owners, marketing tips, etc. Whenever he got this newsletter, he would devour it. This led him to buy a franchise for $50,000, which was a huge sum to a 22-year-old Buck.

巴克无意中发现一家干洗连锁店，这间店每月电子报引起他极大兴趣，内容包括分店老板的趣事、行销秘诀等。他每次收到电子报，便会迫不及待地详读。他最后甚至还出资5万美元来加入连锁店，金额对当时只有22岁的他来说，可说是庞大数目。

In this franchise, they had to send out their own newsletter. At first, he wasn't exactly a believer, and his newsletter was boring and unorganized to say the least. Nonetheless, he eventually figured it out: People don't care about how their dry cleaning gets done. They really just want to be entertained. So, he put his newsletter right and started to see the results happening in his business--increased (B)retention and more (C)referrals.

加入连锁店后，各分店必须寄出各自的电子报。一开始，巴克不大相信这有效，用「无趣」和「凌乱」来形容他的电子报，一点也不为过。然而，他最后发现，顾客并不在乎衣服如何洗涤，他们只是想找些乐趣。从此他大举充实他的电子报内容，结果留客率与口碑皆大幅成长。

When it came time to sell the dry cleaning company, Buck made a list of all the things that he enjoyed, that he was good at, and that he believed in. Unsurprisingly, "newsletters" took the number one spot. Today, what he actually sells are relationships. He prefers to do business with people he knows, likes and trusts. "You want to be in the life of your actual customer. You want them to know about you. You want them to connect with you," says Buck.

打算出售干洗店时，巴克列出所有他享受、擅长并信奉的事物。不令人意外的是，「电子报」名列第一。现今，他所销售的其实是人际关系。他偏爱与他所认识、喜欢并信任的人们做生意。巴克表示：「你想要与顾客一同生活，你想要他们了解你，你想要与他们心连心。」

参考资料：http://www.inc.com

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