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From https://www.ted.com/series/the_way_we_work

Running a business means being a constant problem solver. Every day it’s something new, whether it’s product development, distribution, creating content or, I don’t know, deciding what to do during a pandemic. The trick isn’t always knowing all the answers but becoming adept at figuring them out.

My entrepreneurial spirit comes from growing up in Latino neighborhoods in LA and being surrounded by so many people who are immigrants. It takes heart and ingenuity to move to a new country and rebuild your life. I grew up seeing firsthand so many examples of people getting creative with limited resources, whether it was the pupusa lady outside, rain or shine, or my dad, who started as a field worker and now owns his own restaurant.

In 2017, I left my corporate job and used my entire life savings to launch Rizos Curls. Helping people embrace their natural hair texture has been my personal passion since I was a teenager. Learning to love my hair in its natural state was the first step to learning to love myself. Today, I’m running a self-funded, multimillion dollar business that has been profitable since day one.

Growing up where I’m from, building a successful business felt unattainable. But turns out that entrepreneurial spirit was there all along. Here are my top three principles that guide me in doing business.

One: Get personal with your customers. With every transaction, your customer is giving you power, so don’t take that power for granted. I feel so immersed with our customers because I see them in my family, my tias, my cousins, my parents and even in myself. And that means nobody, not even the haircare giants, can speak to them like I can. We get to know our customers on a personal level because we take the time to really listen. Building that kind of relationship creates an authentic, reciprocal understanding between brand and customers.

Two: Don’t be afraid to break the rules. As a Latina-owned, self-funded small business, I’m constantly entering spaces where my business is the first of its kind. This year, we launched Rizos Curls into a mainstream retailer where we became the first Latina-owned curly hair care brand to be carried in their stores. It was a big deal for us. Traditional business wisdom says that we should have invested a lot of marketing dollars on that type of launch, but instead I showed up on a horse, with a mariachi and recorded TikToks. I spent less than a 1,000 dollars on that launch. So my point is, don’t be afraid to try things differently. Don’t expect the same rules to apply to your small business as they do to Fortune 500 companies. Embrace what makes you you, and make it a part of your strategy rather than following the same old playbook that’s out there for everyone to see.

Three: Make your intuition your BFF. Running a business is noisy and demanding. There’s retailers, customers, your team, your finances, and things happening in the world beyond your control. How do you make big and important decisions with all of that? Yes, facts and data matter, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to trust your gut. Your intuition is your best friend.

OK, here’s what I do. I have daily check-ins with myself, and I have a checklist that I go through after every big meeting where I ask myself questions like, “Am I uneasy? Am I excited? How do they make me really feel?" It’s a thing that can’t be explained through numbers or logic. But when I go through my list of questions, I’m able to quiet the noise and tune into that voice inside me that helps me stay true to myself and my mission. It’s important to know who you are and who you are not. That means knowing when to say no. For me, that’s meant turning down outside capital. Yeah, that extra cash flow would have been amazing, but investors would want to maximize profits and in turn, compromise a community and culture aspects of what we stand for. And for me, that’s non-negotiable.

At the end of the day, you have to be grateful. No one has to work for you, and no one has to be your customer. People have choices, so remember to appreciate every employee effort and every sale.

單字

From  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

constant

(adjective)happening a lot or all the time

中文解釋

經常發生的；連續發生的；連續不斷的

pandemic

• (adjective)(of a disease) existing in almost all of an area or in almost all of a group of people, animals, or plants
• (noun [C]) a pandemic disease

中文解釋

• （疾病）大規模流行的，廣泛蔓延的
• 大流行病

trick

(noun [C])an effective or quick way of doing something

中文解釋

訣竅，秘訣；技巧

adept

(adjective) having a natural ability to do something that needs skill

中文解釋

擅長的；熟練的；內行的

entrepreneurial

(adjective)relating to someone who starts their own business or is good at seeing new opportunities to make money

中文解釋

企業家的；創業者的；中間商的

Latino

(noun[C]) a person who lives in the US and who comes from, or whose family comes from, Latin America

中文解釋

（生活在美國的）拉丁美洲人，拉丁美洲後裔

surround

(verb [T]) to be everywhere around something

中文解釋

環繞，圍繞，包圍

immigrant

(noun [C]) a person who has come to a different country in order to live there permanently

中文解釋

（外來的）移民

ingenuity

(noun [U]) someone’s ability to think of clever new ways of doing something

中文解釋

心靈手巧；足智多謀；獨創力

firsthand

(adverb) If you experience something firsthand, you experience it yourself

中文解釋

第一手地；直接地

field worker

someone who works outside of the office and travels to different locations.

embrace

• (verb[I or T]) to hold someone tightly with both arms to express love, liking, or sympathy, or when greeting or leaving someone
• (verb[T]) to include something, often as one of a number of things

中文解釋

• 抱，擁抱
• 包括，包含

texture

(noun[ C or U ])the quality of something that can be decided by touch; the degree to which something is rough or smooth, or soft or hard

中文解釋

質地；質感；手感

self-funded

中文解釋

自籌資金,自費,自籌經費,自行籌資

profitable

(adjective)resulting in or likely to result in a profit or an advantage

中文解釋

有盈利的；有益的

unattainable

(adjective) not able to be achieved

中文解釋

達不到的，無法實現的

transaction

(noun [C or U]) an occasion when someone buys or sells something, or when money is exchanged or the activity of buying or selling something

中文解釋

交易

granted

(verb [T + (that)]) to accept that something is true, often before expressing an opposite opinion

中文解釋

（常指在表達相反的意見之前表示讓步）承認，同意

take sth for granted

to believe something to be the truth without even thinking about it

中文解釋

認為…是理所當然的

immersed

中文解釋

(adjective)專注的

cousins

(noun [C]) a child of a person’s aunt or uncle, or, more generally, a distant (= not close) relation

中文解釋

堂（或表）兄弟；堂（或表）姐妹；遠房親戚

reciprocal

(adjective) A reciprocal action or arrangement involves two people or groups of people who behave in the same way or agree to help each other and give each other advantages.

中文解釋

相互的；互惠的；報答的

authentic

(adjective) If something is authentic, it is real, true, or what people say it is.

中文解釋

真的；真正的；可靠的；可信的

mainstream

(adjective)considered normal, and having or using ideas, beliefs, etc. that are accepted by most people

中文解釋

（思維、思想或信念等）主流的

retailer

(noun [C])a person, shop, or business that sells goods to the public

中文解釋

零售商；零售店

curly

(adjective)having curls or a curved shape

中文解釋

鬈曲的，捲曲的

mariachi

中文解釋

墨西哥街頭樂隊

Fortune 500

a list of the 500 biggest companies in the US, published each year in Fortune Magazine

strategy

(noun[C or U])a detailed plan for achieving success in situations such as war, politics, business, industry, or sport, or the skill of planning for such situations

中文解釋

戰略；策略；計謀；行動計劃；策劃，部署

playbook

中文解釋

劇本

intuition

(noun [C or U])(knowledge from) an ability to understand or know something immediately based on your feelings rather than facts

中文解釋

直覺；直覺力

demanding

(adjective)needing a lot of time, attention, or energy

中文解釋

費時費力的，耗費精力的

gut

• (noun[C]) the long tube in the body of a person or animal, through which food moves during the process of digesting food
• (noun (FEELING))a strong belief about someone or something that cannot completely be explained and does not have to be decided by reasoning

中文解釋

• 消化道；腸道，腸
• 直覺，本能，內心感覺

guts

(noun )courage in dealing with danger or uncertainty

中文解釋

勇氣，膽量，意志

tune in/into

(verb [T] with tune) to watch or listen to a particular television or radio program or station

中文解釋

收看；收聽

capital

(noun[U])money and possessions, especially a large amount of money used for producing more wealth or for starting a new business

中文解釋

資本，資金；本錢

compromise

(noun [C or U]) an agreement in an argument in which the people involved reduce their demands or change their opinion in order to agree

中文解釋

妥協；折衷；讓步；和解

in turn

中文解釋

因此、因而

non-negotiable

(adjective) Something that is non-negotiable cannot be changed by discussion.

中文解釋

無商量餘地的

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