How a Simple Idea Became a Huge Business

我怎样白手起家（2）

要是我有个水晶球能窥见未来，我会怎么样呢？
许多人一遇到障碍就打退堂鼓，但我不会这样。
我一旦有了目标，就必然锲而不舍，全力以赴。
我相信人生中充满机会，但我们往往不懂得把握。

By Howard Schultz
霍华德·舒尔茨

Fresh Approach
浓郁香气扑鼻而来

[6]Starbucks's flagship store was modest『朴素的』but full of character. The minute the door opened, a heady『刺鼻的；浓烈的』aroma『芳香』of coffee drew me in. Behind a wooden counter stood bins containing coffees from all over: Sumatra, Kenya, Ethiopia, Costa Rica. Along one wall was a shelf full of coffee-related merchandise『商品；货物』, including our thermos-and-cone coffee maker.

[6]明星咖啡连锁公司的总店朴实无华，却别具风格。我一推开店门，浓郁醉人的咖啡香气便扑鼻而来。木柜台后面有一列箱子，分别装盛从苏门答腊、肯尼亚、埃塞俄比亚和哥斯达黎加世界各地进口的咖啡。靠着墙的货架上摆满各种咖啡用具，包括我们生产的滴滤式咖啡壶。

[7]The counterman scooped『用勺舀』out Sumatran coffee beans, ground『grind的过去式。磨；碾碎』them, put the grounds in a filter『过滤器』 in the cone and poured hot water over them to give me a sample of their product. When he handed me the coffee, the aroma enveloped『笼罩；掩盖』my entire face. I took a tentative『实验性的；试探性的』sip.

[7]柜台服务员用勺子舀出少许苏门答腊咖啡豆，磨成粉，倒入滴滤式咖啡壶的滤格，浇下热水，冲一杯咖啡供我品尝。他把杯子递过来时，咖啡的香气笼罩了我的脸。我浅尝了一口。

[8]Whoa. My eyes shot wide open. It was stronger than any coffee I had ever tasted. By comparison, I realized, the coffee I had been drinking was swill『洗碟水；泔水』. That night I had dinner with one of Starbucks's owners, Jerry Baldwin. I had never heard anyone talk about a product the way Jerry talked about coffee. He wasn't just calculating『算计』 how to maximize『使增加/扩大到最大限度』 sales. He and his partner, Gordon Bowker, believed they were providing customers with something they ought to enjoy. It was an approach to business that was fresh and appealing『动人的；有吸引力的』to me.

[8]"哇！"我心里赞叹，不由得两眼圆睁。这是我有生以来所喝过的最浓烈的咖啡，以前喝的咖啡相形之下像洗碟水。当晚我跟明星咖啡连锁公司的股东杰里·巴登一起吃饭。我以前从未见过有谁像他谈咖啡那样谈论某些产品。巴登不只是努力推销而已：他和合伙人戈登·博格都相信，他们所卖的都是顾客会喜爱的东西。这样的经商态度令我耳目一新，也为之心折。

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