年轻创业者容易"没面子"

    The new movie 'Social Network' -- due to hit theaters in coming weeks -- may inspire some college students to attempt to emulate¹ the film's hero, Facebook Inc. founder² Mark Zuckerberg. But the reality is that many young entrepreneurs find their tender age isn't an asset.
    The success of start-ups like Facebook and Google Inc., which was co-launched by then twentysomethings Larry Page and Sergey Brin, has planted the idea of entrepreneurship in more students' brains. Some 40% of youths between the ages of eight and 21 say they'd like to start their own business in the future, according to a 2007 study -- the most recent on the topic -- by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo., nonprofit devoted³ to entrepreneurship.
    But many students may want to consider one challenge to starting a business at a young age that's often overlooked: Being a boss.
    'Young CEOs need to understand that more senior generations might not view the world in the same way,' says Jim Link, a managing director for Randstad, a staffing and recruitment firm in Atlanta. 'They've grown up with different sets of expectations and values. They may have to adapt their style a little bit.'
    When Ray Land launched Fabulous⁴ Coach Co., a Brandford, Fla., transportation business in 2004, the then shaggy-haired teen struggled to recruit drivers -- and eventually gave in and trimmed his hair.
    'They didn't say it was because of my age, but that's what I've always thought,' says Mr. Land, who is now 23 years old. 'I keep a very professional look and try to be cautious in how I talk to people. I don't use the word 'yo.''
    Still, Mr. Land says it can be tough for some of his 76 employees to see him as an authority figure, particularly those with children around his age. Some have told him they think of him as a son; others have referred to him as 'the boy.'
    'I try not to take things too personally,' says Mr. Land, who keeps a typewriter and an iPad side-by-side in his office in a nod to both generations.
    Mr. Land says the success of the company -- which he says now posts $4 million in annual sales -- helped boost his image among staff. 'Once you can prove to them that there's a reason you're in your position, it's a lot easier for them to respect you,' says Mr. Land.
    Although some employees are going overboard, asking for advice on everything from mortgages to relationships. 'It's crazy,' says Mr. Land. 'I still live at home with my parents.'
    Rachel Weeks says she owns up to her age. You have to 'know that a customer is sometimes going to walk in and ask you where your boss is,' says the 26-year-old founder of School House LLC, a university apparel brand she launched after graduating from Duke University in 2007.
    'It's automatically uncomfortable asking somebody how much experience they have running an apparel company or managing supply-chain logistics when you've been at it for only six months,' she adds.
    Still, Ms. Weeks says she doesn't try to hide her age from her six employees, who include older and younger professionals based in New York, Durham, N.C., and Sri Lanka. 'I still have pictures of me partying in college on Facebook,' she says.
    There are other ways to lose employees' respect. For example, if they use 'text-message speak' in emails to staffers, young bosses could quickly dilute⁵ their authority, warns Justin Fahey, president of Fahey Communications LLC, a consulting company in Cranford, N.J. 'You need to keep it professional.'
    Of course, that's not always easy when you've got a baby face like entrepreneur Taylor Mingos. On a Friday afternoon in 2008, he says he saw his clout⁶ as a company leader quickly drop a notch⁷ when he ordered a beer at a restaurant in front of several employees.
    'I got carded,' gripes the now 25-year-old chief executive of Shoeboxed.com Inc. in Durham, N.C. He says his staffers, who include workers twice his age, responded with giggles⁸.
 

1 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

5 dilute   

vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
• Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。

6 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

7 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

8 giggles   

n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 )；傻笑；玩笑；the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Her nervous giggles annoyed me. 她神经质的傻笑把我惹火了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had to rush to the loo to avoid an attack of hysterical giggles. 我不得不冲向卫生间，以免遭到别人的疯狂嘲笑。 来自辞典例句