Things You Can Learn From Jeff Bezos’ Achievements
Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO and company founder, is an individual that few people talk about when mentioning those entrepreneurs that inspire them. That is definitely a shame since we are talking about someone that knows so much about business, a person that reached success with what started off as a retail store. He does more than just work with and for Amazon. We can learn a lot from this Princeton graduate.
Being Flexible And Stubborn
When talking about the Amazon business plan, Bezos once mentioned that the company is flexible when referring to details and stubborn when thinking about vision. The truth is that really successful entrepreneurs are really stubborn. However, at the same time, they always adapt whenever something does not work as it should. Natural leadership is important but you have to be particularly flexible, especially when expanding.
Have Small Teams
The Amazon empire was built on the “two pizzas rule”. This means that teams are only as large as to be fed with just 2 pizzas, 5 to 7 people top. When a team grows too much, inefficiency appears. You need to always have small teams and allow them to test, experiment and actually do their job. Too many people working on one project can lead to so many different problems.
Experimentation Is Vital In Business
If you follow Amazon in the media, you will quickly notice that the company is always testing new things, experimenting. Jeff Bezos is the man behind that as he always tries to keep experimenting so that inventiveness can be increased. Most successful CEOs will acknowledge the fact that they experiment a lot in order to find new innovations and remain competitive in a market that is constantly changing. That is why we have new flavors in the food industry and concept cars that will never be sold.
Offering Free Shipping On Orders Of Over A Specific Amount
Nowadays you see free shipping on orders over a specific amount in almost all online stores. You should thank Amazon for that. The company determined the fact that many did not order online because of shipping costs. This led to the special offer of free shipping for any order that was over $25. While this option does not look right when thinking about Amazon, since on a short term basis the company does tend to lose money, on the long term you have increased customer loyalty, which translates into more orders and more money.
Always Think Long Term
Many say that if there is just one thing that should be known about Jeff Bezos is that he thinks about the long term results, not the short term gains. This is something that every single entrepreneur should understand. You can actually lose money on the short term and end up with huge gains in the future. However, this does require a lot of commitment, analysis and dedication. It is not at all easy to convince others that things will be great in the future if things are not that great right now. This is one huge problem for entrepreneurs.