企業(yè)家內(nèi)部網(wǎng)絡(luò)是美國的一個在線社區(qū)，美國創(chuàng)業(yè)界最睿智、最有影響力的一些大咖會在這里及時回答與創(chuàng)業(yè)和職業(yè)有關(guān)的問題。今天的問題是：“如何令一家創(chuàng)業(yè)公司保持成功？”回答問題的是 Xero公司的營銷總監(jiān)安迪?拉克爾。

創(chuàng)業(yè)是件很有意思的事情。你的公司剛一成立，你就會意識到，自己已經(jīng)在管理一家真正的企業(yè)了。

作為創(chuàng)始人，你必須考慮怎樣融資，請誰當顧問，怎樣寫計劃書，如何路演，如何把公司做大，等等。同時還需要考慮如何打造一家全球性的公司，以及如何能與一群潛在投資人搭上線。

我每年都會與很多創(chuàng)業(yè)公司的創(chuàng)始人聊天，在我看來，要想讓創(chuàng)業(yè)保持成功，就要做好三個根本問題：

1、時刻牢記基本面

很多公司之所以做不下去了，是因為他們沒有足夠的客戶或資金——很多公司甚至既沒有客戶，也沒有資金。所以只要到了可以開發(fā)票的時候，就要盡快開發(fā)票。在你的業(yè)務(wù)開始或結(jié)束前就開票則更好。要把開票和收款當成一項日常工作來干。千萬別以為客戶越大，他們付款的速度就越快，因為通常來說，情況恰恰相反。你一定要對付款條件極為清楚，而且如何可能的話，盡量要求對方降低這些付款條件。如果你的貿(mào)易條款規(guī)定付款時間為90天，那么盡量要把它壓縮到60天，這將有益于改善你的現(xiàn)金流。

你需要注意的基本要素有很多。我曾見過很多創(chuàng)業(yè)者在公司啟動前還沒拿到關(guān)鍵的合同，也見過很多創(chuàng)業(yè)公司一開始沒有雇一名自己的會計。要知道，如果你做到了這些基本的東西，你的成功幾率就會大大提高。

2、不集中精力就會失敗

你要么在具體的任務(wù)上集中全部精力，要么就會徹底玩完。

成功會帶來機會，而機會則會帶來一些令你分心的事。商業(yè)導師、印度教領(lǐng)袖丹達帕尼解釋道，你的注意力在哪里，你的精力就會跟到哪里。在一家新公司剛剛成立的時候，我們會把很多精力花在公司上。而在取得一些成功之后，我們的注意力就會擴展到一些其他的事情上，而我們的精力也會跟過去。

經(jīng)常會有人問 Xero公司的創(chuàng)始人羅德?特魯里，問他是否愿意向一些即將成立的初創(chuàng)公司投資，或是為其提供指導，或者加入他們的董事會。他的回答經(jīng)常是：“對不起，我把所有精力都投入到Xero上了?！彼麆倓倓?chuàng)立Xero的時候，公司只有一些名不見經(jīng)傳的小客戶。如今，Xero已經(jīng)成為一家全球性企業(yè)，坐擁數(shù)十億美元市值，訂閱用戶超過60萬名。所以說，你要么全心投入，要么就會徹底玩完。

3、精力和激情是成功的一半

如果老板們對他們的公司很有激情，那么他們渾身都會散發(fā)著一種正能量，會對公司的產(chǎn)品、客戶尤其是對自己的員工抱有極高的熱情。

我曾經(jīng)見過一家大型咖啡烘焙店的老板。第一次見面，他就花了足足20分鐘時間，跟我講他手下的那些咖啡師有多優(yōu)秀，講他們多有創(chuàng)意，講他們曾給顧客帶去怎樣優(yōu)秀的體驗。他還說，他曾掏錢送他們到世界各地參加各種咖啡烘焙比賽。

他并非只是創(chuàng)造了一個快樂的工作環(huán)境，而是使這種快樂具有了傳染性。在他的傳染下，他的員工們都精力十足地為顧客服務(wù)，從而使他的公司具備了業(yè)內(nèi)無與倫比的產(chǎn)品和顧客體驗。

你想讓你的初創(chuàng)公司保持成功嗎？方法很簡單。首先，永遠不要忘了那些基礎(chǔ)的東西。其次，要集中精力，把全部精力投入進去，以免丟西瓜撿芝麻。再次，是要想方設(shè)法將工作變成樂趣。這三點并非只是嘴上說說那么簡單，而是需要你去點燃每名員工的激情。這三點中，如果有任何一點沒有做到，那你恐怕不久就會變回光桿司令了。如果這三點都沒做到，你很快就得再次創(chuàng)業(yè)了。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：樸成奎

The Entrepreneur Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question “What are some tips for maintaining a successful startup?” is written by Andy Lark, CMO of Xero.

Startups are funny things. No sooner than you’ve launched, you realize you are managing a real business.

Founders need to think about fundraising, boards of advisors, pitch decks, roadshows, and their ability to scale. They need to figure out how to build a global company and how best to pitch a group of potential investors.

For the many startup founders that I talk to every year, maintaining success distills down to three simple things:

Never forget the fundamentals

Most operations go out of business because they don’t have enough customers or money—normally at the same time. So invoice as soon as you can, preferably before you start or finish the job. Make invoicing and collections a daily ritual.

Never assume that the bigger a client is, the faster they’ll pay. Normally it’s the opposite. Be extremely clear on payment terms and consider reducing them where possible. If your terms of trade are 90 days, squeeze that down to 60. It’ll help to boost your cash flow.

The list of fundamentals is a long one. You’d be amazed the number of businesses I go into that fail to get key contracts in place before starting jobs, or fail to sign on a bookkeeper or accountant at the beginning. Your chances of success increase exponentially when you do.

Focus or fail

You’re either all in on a very specific task or you’re all over the place.

With success comes opportunity. And with opportunity comes distractions. Business coach and Hindu leader Dandapani explains that where your attention goes, your energy goes. In the early days of a new venture, we allocate a lot of energy to it. As success lands, we expand our focus and our energy goes with it.

Xero founder Rod Drury is often asked if he’d like to invest in up-and-coming startups, mentor, or sit on boards. More often than not, his response is, “Sorry, I’m all in on Xero.” He’s built a business from a few customers at the bottom of the world to a global enterprise worth billions of dollars, servicing more than 600,000 subscribers. You’re either all in or all over the place.

Energy and a passion to win are half the battle

When business owners are energized about their companies, they create a sense of hustle. They are passionate about the product, the customer, and especially the people.

I once met with the owner of a major coffee roaster, and he spent the first 20 minutes telling me all about his amazing baristas—how innovative and creative they were, about the amazing experiences they were creating for customers, and how he was flying them all over the world to compete in coffee-making competitions.

It wasn’t just that he was creating a fun work environment. He was making the fun infectious. His passion for energizing his people around the customer was resulting in a product and customer experience that is simply unrivaled in the industry.

So, you want to maintain your startup’s success? Simple: Never forget the fundamentals. Focus—go all in to avoid being all over the place. And make it fun. Combined, that means lots more than lip service. It means igniting the passion of every employee. Fail to do any of these three and you will be a startup of one employee pretty quickly. Fail at all three at once, and you’ll be starting again.