Jeff Bezos, the “king of online retail,” is one of the most influential entrepreneurs and investors of our time. The founder of Amazon also owns The Washington Post, one of the main investors in Uber, placing it at number 15 of the richest men in the world, with an estimated US $ 38.500 million fortune. We present 10 key aspects of his success:
1. Waiver of security and dare. By 1994, -before Jeff Bezos turned 30 years, could be considered successful by being the youngest vice president of a major investment firm on Wall Street. Bezos received a six-figure salary in dollars, but was determined to follow his dream of creating a company in then new world of electronic commerce. It was a risky decision, but soon generated US $ 610 million in annual sales and had 13 million customers worldwide.
2. Identify opportunities. Much of what makes an outstanding entrepreneur is his ability to identify market opportunities, but above all to seize them. While he was working for DE Shaw & Co. researching the growth of the Internet, noting that this was 2,300 percent per month. For Bezos was clear: internet would be the medium of the future and through it he could sell products at a much lower cost.
3. Test launches faster and expands. When Bezos decided to sell on the internet, he had a choice of 20 possible products, including CDs, books and software. In the end he chose the books because there were millions of titles and would have a competitive advantage over fixed bookstores where, at best, could store a couple hundred. In 1995 he opened “the world’s largest library” (Cadabra.com, later renamed Amazon) that made him famous. Since 1998, after checking the successful sale of books, he began to sell other products (first Christmas). He soon branched out and today Amazon sells almost everything from books to clothes, toys and electronics, and their own TV shows online.
4. First the customer. The basis of the philosophy of Amazon is in this argument. Bezos said: “Our vision is to be the company’s consumer-centric world, where it can find anything you want online.” This ideology is shown in its easy Web browsing and fed comments and user ratings site; as in the shipping policy which is extremely efficient (even when the purchase is made outside the United States).
5. Always innovating. For arose when Amazon, the online retailer was practically an innovation. Very few companies selling on the Internet and none with that capability. Innovation has always been part of his business career; from site development, selling all kinds of products in one place and the excellent service that offers the user to buy on Amazon. It is this culture that has allowed him to get ahead of their competition, to the point of virtually eliminating (the site of Barnes & Noble is its ‘main competitor’, although less concentrated than 10 percent of the market).
6. Be patient. It is one of the business ‘mantras’ Bezos. As an entrepreneur worker knows that great results are seen over time, they are not immediate. Nothing comes from overnight. In fact, in the early stages of Amazon, Bezos had to borrow from family and friends to move to Seattle and started the company from his garage.
7. He works together. Bezos has said repeatedly that part of the success of the Amazon due to hard work and team collaboration. For the employer, there is no such thing as “a lone genius who knows everything and has the magic formula”, but is a capable team of people under study, discussion, generate ideas and solutions to meet the needs of customers .
8. Diversificate. While the whole world was struck by the purchase of Bezos’s iconic The Washington Post for $ 250 million in 2013, the entrepreneur said since the informative spirit of the newspaper would be retained, but with the philosophy of Amazon: focusing on the customer (in this case, readers). In addition, Bezos is an investor in several companies and startups, such as Uber and Business Insider, it has invested in aerospace, robotics and science (with company Bezos Expeditions).
9. Ten positive thinking. Bezos lives with the idea that “every challenge is an opportunity.” Although Amazon began as a small garage startup, soon it became the world’s largest library. When he bursts the dotcom bubble and Amazon shares rose from $ 100 to $ 6 (while your competitor’s site Barnes & Noble rose) Bezos did not hide but went into battle with confidence and optimism, highlighting the positive aspects your company. Bezos’s wife says “If Jeff is unhappy, just wait three minutes.”
10. Follow your passion. Definitely it makes a great entrepreneur is a passion for their work. And Bezos has been passionate about everything that Amazon means books (her favorite title is The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro), e-commerce and leadership that involves running a business. It also has a good level of confidence and is a powerful speaker and convincing.
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