What I saw was a great opportunity to provide computing technology in a more efficient way. That was the core idea of what became dell computer Corporation, and that’s one we were stuck over ever since.
當(dāng)時(shí)我看到一個(gè)大機(jī)遇就是以更有效的方式提供電腦技術(shù)。那后來成為了戴爾公司的核心理念,自那以后我們便一直堅(jiān)持不懈。
I started the business with a simple question: how can we make the process of buying a computer better? The answer was :sell the computer directly to the end customers. Eliminate the reseller’s markup and pass the savings on to the customers.
我是從一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的問題開始創(chuàng)業(yè)的:我們?nèi)绾问官?gòu)買電腦的過程變得更方便?答案是:直接把電腦賣給終端用戶。去除轉(zhuǎn)銷商這一層的錢,并把省下的錢還給用戶。
It hadn’t occurred to me that others hadn’t figured it out. I thought it was pretty obvious. I am sure if I had taken the time to ask, plenty of people would have told me that my idea wouldn’t work-I have heard that a lot in the fifteen years since starting the business.
當(dāng)時(shí)我并不知道其他人沒有意識(shí)到這一點(diǎn)。在我看來,那是相當(dāng)明顯的。我確信當(dāng)時(shí)如果我肯花點(diǎn)時(shí)間問問人的話,會(huì)有很多人說我的想法行不通-創(chuàng)業(yè)后十五年我聽過許多這樣的話。
Sometimes it’s better not to ask or to listen-when people tell you something can’t be done. I didn’t ask for permission or approval. I just went ahead and did it.
有時(shí)不聞不問是最好的辦法-當(dāng)別人告訴你行不通的時(shí)候。我就沒有去問別人的許可和贊同。我只是一往直前的去做了。
On January 2, 1984, I went back to Austin earlier than I would have to attend classes, and I did all the things you need to do to set up a business. I registered the company with the State of Texas as “PC’s Limited”. I placed ads in the classified section in our local newspaper.
1984年1月2日,我比開學(xué)時(shí)間略早一點(diǎn)回到了奧斯汀,我做了一切成立新公司需要做的準(zhǔn)備。我注冊(cè)了個(gè)德州公司,名為“個(gè)人電腦有限公司”。我在當(dāng)?shù)貓?bào)紙的分類廣告上登了一則廣告。
Through my previous contract with customers and the small ad I placed in the paper, I was already getting a lot of business. I was selling between $50,000 to $80,000 upgraded PCs, upgrade kits, and add-on computer components to people in Austin area. Not long after starting the classes I was able to move from a stuffy room that I shared with a roommate to a condominium with high ceilings and two bedrooms.( I didn’t, however, tell my parents for a few months that I moved.)
通過我與客戶的早期接觸以及在報(bào)紙上的廣告,當(dāng)時(shí)我已經(jīng)接到了很多業(yè)務(wù)。我在奧斯汀地區(qū)出售的升級(jí)電腦,升級(jí)工具,附加零件,每月的銷售額達(dá)到5萬到8萬美元之間。開學(xué)后不久我便從和室友共住的悶熱宿舍搬出來,住進(jìn)了有高高的天花板,和兩個(gè)臥室的公寓套間。(然而,我是在好幾個(gè)月后才把搬家的事情告訴父母的。)
In early May, about a week before I took my final exam to complete my freshman year, I incorporated the company as “Dell Computer Corporation”, doing business as “PC’s Limited”. we moved the business from my condo to a 1000-square-foot office space in a small business center in North Austin. I hired a few people to take orders over telephone and a few more to fulfill them. Manufacturing consisted of three guys with screwdivers sitting at six-foot tables upgrading machines. Business continued to grow, and I began to think of what the potential could be if I could devote myself to the venture, full- time.
五月初,大約是我一年級(jí)期末考試前一周吧,我的“戴爾電腦公司成立”,以股份公司形式經(jīng)營(yíng)“個(gè)人電腦”。公司的地址也從我的公寓搬到了奧斯汀北部一個(gè)一千多尺的小商業(yè)中心寫字樓里面。我雇了些人接電話訂單,還有一些人負(fù)責(zé)填單。生產(chǎn)部有六個(gè)人,拿著螺絲起子坐在六英尺的桌子旁升級(jí)電腦。業(yè)務(wù)逐漸擴(kuò)大,我也開始考慮如果我全心全意的撲在生意上,公司是否還有潛力。
Where I came from, not going to the college is not an acceptable option. Convincing my parents to allow me to leave school would have been impossible. So I just went ahead and did it, whatever the consequences. I finished my freshman year, and left.
不上大學(xué)在我的家鄉(xiāng)是難以被接受的,要說服父母同意我輟學(xué)幾乎是不可能的。因此我毅然不顧的我行我素。在念完一年級(jí)以后,我便離開了學(xué)校。
After a while, my parents forgave me. And a litter bit after that, I forgave them, too.
后來,我父母原諒了我。再后來,我也原諒了他們。
People asked me now, “were you scared?” Sure.
人們現(xiàn)在問我:“你當(dāng)時(shí)害怕嗎?”當(dāng)然害怕。
But it turned out, the timing for PC’s Limited couldn’t have been better.
而結(jié)果證明,那個(gè)時(shí)機(jī)成立個(gè)人電腦公司再好不過。