評論
打印
Woman: Good morning, Richard.
早上好，理查德。
Now, in 1994 you were a computer science graduate with a good job working for an investment company ... and then you started Bookstore. Why?
1994年，你以一個計算機科學專業學生的身份畢業了，當時你在一家投資公司有一份不錯的工作……然后你開了Bookstore公司。為什么呢？
Man: Well, I was thirty and settled at work, but then I came across a report predicting annual internet growth at 2,300%.
嗯，我當時30歲了，工作穩定，但我看到了一份報告，上面預測互聯網行業年度增長將達到2300%。
The figure was like an alarm clock ringing in my head.
這個數字像一個警鐘一樣在我腦海中回蕩。
I started to think about the regrets I might have at eighty.
我開始思考，自己可能會在80歲時抱有什么悔恨。
I realised I probably wouldn't even remember the things that seemed important in my thirties (like getting my end-of-year pay bonus.
我意識到，我可能都不記得自己30多歲時覺得很重要的東西，比如得到了年終獎。
But I'd definitely tell myself I'd been a fool to ignore the internet.
但我絕對會告訴自己，忽視互聯網是一個多么愚蠢的行為。
Woman: How did you go about choosing a product?
你是如何著手選擇產品的呢？
Man: Well, I drew up a list of twenty products, from clothes to gardening tools, and from that I got a shortlist of five, and then I assessed them.
我列了一份清單，上面有服裝、園藝工具等20個產品，然后我又從這份清單里最終選定了5個產品，并對它們進行評估。
I thought about market growth in different countries and I also did some research into suppliers.
我想到了不同國家的市場增長，還對不同的供應商進行了研究。
But there were other important factors as well.
但還有其他重要因素。
I wanted a product that didn't retail for too high a figure.
我想要一個零售價不太高的產品。
I thought that since many people would be buying from the internet for the first time, they might be afraid to take a risk with large amounts of money.
我認為，許多人是第一次在網上買東西，因此他們可能擔心花大量的錢會有風險。
Woman: And what made you decide on books?
是什么讓你決定選擇圖書行業的？
Man: Well, basically, I found out that books had an eighty-two billion dollar market world-wide.
基本上，我發現，全球圖書行業的市場規模達到了820億美元。
There's also a high demand for CDs - a product I nearly went for - but with books there's a much wider choice.
CD光盤的需求也很高——我幾乎都要選擇這個產品了——但圖書能給我更多的選擇。
There're 3 million items in the book category, but only 300,000 in CDs.
圖書類別中有300萬款產品，而CD光盤只有30萬。
This choice meant the capabilities of the computer - in organisation and selection - could be put to good use.
這個選擇意味著計算機的本領——在組織和選擇上的本領——可以被好好利用。
