那些年,我创业的点滴

Reporter： Over the past few decades， the Chinese economy has grown at breakneck speed to become the second biggest in the whole world. Rapid growth has been accompanied by huge changes in industry after industry. One area of activity that’s been transformed is the entertainment business， and the entrepreneur， Wang Zhongjun can claim to have played a big part in this transformation. Mr. Wang is the co-founder of what is now one of the biggest film and television companies in China. After working in the USA for several years， he returned home in the early 1990s and set up an advertising agency. Starting out， Wang Zhongjun felt it was important for his enterprise to appear reputable and well-established.

Wang： （via translator） The first year was not actually very smooth for my company. I didn’t have a lot of start-up capital， but I wanted to make my business look impressive， so I leased a big office space and hired about 30 staff， despite the fact that money was only enough to pay the employees for about six months. I was under great pressure， but I was quite lucky to find a way to make a profit.

记者：在过去的几十年里，中国经济增长速度惊人，成为世界第二大经济体。经济的快速增长伴随着各产业巨大的变化。娱乐业就是变化巨大的领域之一，而企业家王中军可谓是大功臣，因为他在这一变化中扮演了很重要的角色。王先生是现今中国最大的影视公司之一的联合创始人。在美国工作了几年后，他于上世纪90年代初回国，然后成立了一家广告公司。起初，王中军认为让自己的企业看起来有信誉、有地位是非常重要的。

王：（通过翻译）公司第一年的进展其实并不是很顺利，因为我并没有太多的启动资金。但我又想使我的公司看起来令人印象深刻，所以我租了一间大办公室，还雇了约30名员工，尽管事实上，我的钱只够支付员工约6个月的工资。那时候我的压力很大，但我很幸运地找到了一个赚钱的方式。

Reporter： The breakthrough came when Wang Zhongjun remembered the signs he’d seen in America advertising restaurants， shops and many other businesses. Perhaps he could bring western-style branding to China.

Wang： （via translator） I was inspired by the standardized logo of McDonald’s， that you could see everywhere across the U.S. I discovered that these shiny signs were made from good quality materials. I thought to myself that they must be made by a contractor， who was responsible for promoting the brand across the country， so I wanted to see if I could apply this approach to similar chain stores in China. But， after investigating the market， the only companies I could find with lots of branches were Chinese banks.

Reporter： Wang Zhongjun was sure that some Chinese banks would be interested in having standardized professional-looking 1）signage for their branches， so he imported raw materials from the USA and started making signs， trying to keep his costs low and his standards high.

Wang： （via translator） We worked very hard to reduce the cost of manufacturing. We ended up focusing on one customer， for providing them with high quality products for almost two years. In the end， we made five million dollars. My friends back in America couldn’t believe I could make so much money in such a short time.

Reporter： With the profits from sign-making， the company had the money to expand. In the late 1990s， his business moved into film production.

Wang： （via translator） We didn’t copy the example of how Hollywood made films； we just invented the most suitable method for ourselves. We invested in three films， which were directed by the most wellknown directors in China at that time. Although we didn’t make much money out of these films， we did manage to establish our brand quite quickly.

Reporter： Over the past few years， the company has produced a string of successful films and has expanded into related activities， such as talent representation and TV production.

How does Wang Zhongjun see the future for his industry？

Wang： （via translator） I think there’s a huge market for the entertainment business in China. Competition is very fierce， so companies will need to break into new areas. I believe the box-office in China can compete with that in the U.S. in the future. My vision for Huayi is for it to become a film-making giant.

记者：当王中军想起他在美国看到过的那些餐馆、店铺和许多其他企业的广告招牌，事情有了转机。也许他能把西方的品牌理念带到中国去。

王：（通过翻译）我的灵感来源于麦当劳标准化的标志，这在美国随处可见。我发现，这些闪亮的招牌都是用质量上乘的材料打造的。我想，这些招牌一定是由承包商承包下来的，而且他们还负责在全国各地推广这个品牌。所以我想试试看能否在中国类似的连锁店采用相似的途径进行宣传。但是，经过市场调研，我发现，在中国，当时唯一的连锁机构就是银行了。

记者：王中军确信，部分中国的银行会有兴趣让自己旗下的分行使用标准化的有专业水准的招牌，所以他从美国进口原材料，然后开始制作招牌，竭力降低成本而提高标准。

王：（通过翻译）我们竭尽全力地减少生产成本。我们最终成功地专注于一个客户，在近两年的时间里，为他们提供高质量的产品。最终，我们赚了500万美元。我在美国的朋友不相信我能在如此短的时间内赚那么多钱。

记者：公司从招牌制作中获利，所以有资金去扩展业务。在20世纪90年代后期，他的业务转向电影制作。

王：（通过翻译）我们并没有照搬好莱坞制作电影的模式，而是想出了最适合我们自己的方法。我们投资拍摄了3部电影，皆由当时在中国最知名的导演执导。虽然我们并没有从这些电影中赚到很多钱，但我们还是快速地建立了我们的品牌。

记者：在过去的几年里，华谊兄弟制作了一系列成功的电影，公司业务也已经扩展到了其他相关领域，如艺人经纪和电视制作。

那王中军又是如何看待自己公司未来的？

王：（通过翻译）我认为，在中国，娱乐业是一个大市场，竞争也非常激烈。所以公司需要开发新的领域。我相信，在将来，中国的票房可以和美国的相匹敌。我相信，华谊能成为电影制作界的巨星。翻译：Chris