維克斯豪企業(yè)家九轉(zhuǎn)功成

大衛(wèi)·默克勒是美國(guó)北卡羅來(lái)納州維克斯豪的一位企業(yè)家。他曾運(yùn)營(yíng)過(guò)一家清潔公司，大獲成功;也運(yùn)營(yíng)過(guò)一家?guī)涂蛻舯苊鈫适У盅浩汾H回權(quán)的代理公司，卻一敗涂地。他曾在講座中給其他創(chuàng)業(yè)者以啟迪，也曾在失敗的投資中損失慘重。但他始終沒(méi)有放棄，而是將失敗轉(zhuǎn)化為前進(jìn)的動(dòng)力，開辟了新的事業(yè)。他的經(jīng)歷能給我們?cè)鯓拥膯l(fā)呢？

Serial entrepreneur David Moakler has seen his share of small business highs and lows.

Still， Moakler， 50， charted his way to success after launching a company in 2005. Its a Waxhaw based distributor of hotlines that helps employees facing personal challenges including massive debt and gambling addiction.

An app， the companys latest innovation， is timely， offering phone numbers to users struggling with suicide or abusive padners. News about the suicide of comedian Robin Williams and athletes facing domestic violence charges， he said， motivated him to add features that tap into contemporary issues.

But creating a product that he hopes makes a difference would not have been possible， he said， if he had not leamed to embrace his mistakes， and even laugh at them. “You arent what you accom-plish and what you dont，” he said. “Youre not your failures.” Ups and Downs Moaklers myriad business ups and downs started when he was a college student in Rhode Island. Uninterested in classes on business theory and more intrigued by practical application， he started a carpet cleaning company that grew into a janitorial service with 22 employees. He sold it five years later.

Seeking more sunshine， he moved to Charlotte in his mid-20s and began selling audio recordings of his own tips for helping entre-preneurs grow their businesses. He tumed it into a nationwide lec-ture series that lasted 18 months and toured 52 aties. After the tour， he published a catalog to sell more tapes but never got any orders.

Idea Crystallized

While he wishes he could “pluck out and rewrite” that part of his life， Moakler said what hes leamed about compliance helps him find the nght service providers for his now-profitable business， a venture he formed after a 14-hour flight to Argentina.

Next to him sat a social worker， frustrated that she did not have a go to list of trustworthy helplines to give to clients struggling with money.“By the time that plane landed in Buenos Aires， the idea had started to crystallize in my head，” Moakler said.

Using card-stock paper and a toll-free telephone switchboard， Moakler started the company， distributing laminated inserts with helpline numbers to social workers. He soon began mass-producing the numbers on 11x17- inch posters that employers could hang in break rooms.

“Those calls would go to experts. Employees wouldnt feel they had to bother their supervisor in an uncomfortable， awkward discussion about financial problems.” Moakler said.

A Perfect Fit

Moakler started developing the app after questioning his companys trajectory. “We are Iiving out of smart phones so much， thats gotta be where this has to go，” he said.

The app， Trusted Helplines， gives users access to experts able to help them with mortgage payments， student loan debt， child support collection， and credit score improvement， among others. Most recently， he added suicide prevention and domestic violence help. Providing connections on a range of issues， Moakler said，“is a perfect fit.” Quick access might make all the difference for distressed employees considering suicide， said Margaux Austin， executive director of HopeLine， a Raleigh crisis center. “When someone is in that crisis moment， it could be they just need someone to talk to，”Austin said.

“It might make sure the public gets a little more information about what the signs are，” he said. “Its a terrific way to show you care about your peoole. ” Moakler said.

連續(xù)創(chuàng)業(yè)家大衛(wèi)·默克勒見(jiàn)證過(guò)其參與的商業(yè)項(xiàng)目的起起落落。

然而，年已50歲的默克勒仍在為成功繪制藍(lán)圖。2005年，他創(chuàng)辦了一家公司。公司是一家總部位于維克斯豪的熱線經(jīng)銷商，旨在幫助上班族處理包括大額負(fù)債及賭癮在內(nèi)的個(gè)人生活困境。

該公司最近推出了一款手機(jī)應(yīng)用，這一最新創(chuàng)舉十分合乎時(shí)宜，它向遭受自殺及家暴困擾的用戶提供求助電話。默克勒說(shuō)，喜劇演員羅賓·威廉姆斯的自殺以及面臨家暴指控的運(yùn)動(dòng)員的新聞使他萌生了這一想法，并決定將當(dāng)下熱點(diǎn)問(wèn)題添加到手機(jī)應(yīng)用的功能中去。

他還表示，想要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造出一款有影響力的產(chǎn)品并非易事，如果他沒(méi)有學(xué)會(huì)直面自己的錯(cuò)誤，甚至付之一笑，這一切都不可能實(shí)現(xiàn)?！皹s辱與成敗無(wú)法定義一個(gè)人，”他說(shuō)，“失敗并非終結(jié)?！?/p>

跌宕沉浮

默克勒在商業(yè)上所經(jīng)歷的起起伏伏最早開始于他在羅德島念大學(xué)期間。由于對(duì)商業(yè)理論課程缺乏興趣，卻對(duì)實(shí)際商業(yè)操作興致勃勃，默克勒創(chuàng)辦了一家逐漸成長(zhǎng)為擁有22名員工的清潔服務(wù)公司。五年后，默克勒賣掉了該公司。

20多歲時(shí)，默克勒來(lái)到了陽(yáng)光充沛的夏洛特，并開始售賣自己錄制的旨在幫助企業(yè)家創(chuàng)業(yè)的錄音帶。由此他發(fā)起了一場(chǎng)持續(xù)18個(gè)月的全國(guó)巡回演講，足跡遍布52座城市。巡回演講結(jié)束后，他發(fā)行了一本宣傳冊(cè)以求增加錄音帶銷量，結(jié)果卻鮮有人問(wèn)津。

靈感乍現(xiàn)

默克勒說(shuō)，當(dāng)他發(fā)愁如何“抹除和重寫”那一段人生經(jīng)歷時(shí)，他從遵循和服從中學(xué)到的東西，幫他找到了合適的服務(wù)供應(yīng)商以實(shí)現(xiàn)他最新的商業(yè)盈利計(jì)劃——在飛往阿根廷的飛機(jī)上坐了14小時(shí)后，默克勒決定做一筆風(fēng)險(xiǎn)生意。

飛機(jī)上坐在他身邊的是一位滿臉沮喪的社會(huì)工作者，她急需一份值得信賴的熱線電話列表來(lái)幫助遇到財(cái)務(wù)問(wèn)題的客戶?！帮w機(jī)在布宜諾斯艾利斯降落的那一刻，這個(gè)想法開始在我腦子里成形?！蹦死照f(shuō)。

僅憑卡片紙和一臺(tái)免費(fèi)電話總機(jī)，默克勒就創(chuàng)立起了公司，并為社會(huì)工作者提供寫有熱線電話號(hào)碼的紙簽。不久后，他開始大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)印有電話號(hào)碼的11x17英寸大的海報(bào)，以便雇主懸掛在休息室。

“雇員們可以選擇打電話向?qū)＜易稍?，而不必因?cái)務(wù)問(wèn)題和上級(jí)進(jìn)行不自在甚至尷尬的交談。”默克勒說(shuō)。

完美結(jié)合

在仔細(xì)考慮了公司的發(fā)展方向后，默克勒開始開發(fā)手機(jī)應(yīng)用?！拔覀?cè)絹?lái)越離不開智能手機(jī)，因此必須朝這個(gè)方向發(fā)展。”他說(shuō)。這款名叫Trusted Helplines（信賴熱線）的手機(jī)應(yīng)用，用戶通過(guò)它可以和專家取得聯(lián)系，尋求解決房貸、學(xué)生貸款、索要孩童撫養(yǎng)費(fèi)、提高信用評(píng)分等問(wèn)題的方法。最近，默克勒還增加了預(yù)防自殺和家暴援助服務(wù)。默克勒稱，將人們與各種問(wèn)題的解決者聯(lián)系起來(lái)是一種“完美結(jié)合”。

HopeLine（希望熱線）是一家位于羅利的危機(jī)處理中心，其執(zhí)行官瑪爾戈·奧斯丁表示，向面對(duì)自殺壓力的員工提供尋求幫助的快捷通道意義重大。奧斯丁說(shuō)，“一個(gè)人處在那樣一種危機(jī)狀態(tài)中時(shí)，他可能只是想找個(gè)人談一談。”

“這一應(yīng)用能使大眾對(duì)危機(jī)下產(chǎn)生的一些跡象有更多的了解，”他說(shuō)，“這極好地說(shuō)明了我們對(duì)人充滿關(guān)懷?！?/p>