7 Business Lessons we can learn from Jeff Bezos

7-business-lessons-we-can-learn-from-jeff-bezos
jeff bezos
Amazon has beat analysts’ earnings per share expectations for the first time in six quarters and has convinced investors to appreciate the profits and not the losses, as the stock’s massive leap shows.

After announcing its fourth-quarter earnings, the stock surged nearly 14 per cent, despite the fact that the company missed on revenue. Business Insider CEO and Editor-in-Chief Henry Blodget asked Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in an interview in December 2014 if his company can make money. The tech entrepreneur responded that Amazon did turn a profit in the past, but it decided to invest its cash flows in new ventures that are currently unprofitable. The company is prioritizing long-term opportunities for innovation over short-term profit margins.

Jeff Bezos indicated on various occasions that entrepreneurs should build a business strategy around the things they love and know are stable in time and invest heavily in making sure they providing those things and improving the delivery at all times.

Some of the best pieces of advice the entrepreneur has offered can be traced back to the AWS re: Invent 2012 conference:

1. Base your business strategy on things that will not change

During the re: Invent conference in November 2012, Bezos revealed that he always receives the same question: “What’s going to change in the next ten years?” Although he agreed that this is an interesting question, he also added that a better question would be “What’s not going to change in the next ten years?”

“When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it,” Bezos opined.

2. Reduce or remove risks

Bezos believes that the best entrepreneurs do not like risk and try to identify and remove it in the early days of a business. He claims that “starting a company is already a risk,” so identifying and eliminating additional risks as the company gets bigger and more robust will allow entrepreneurs to start taking risks again.

3. “Never chase the hot thing”

During the re: Invent conference, the founder and CEO of Amazon warned entrepreneurs to position themselves and wait for the wave instead of chasing “the hot thing.”

4. Focus on the customer

At Amazon, there is a common line of thinking which sounds like this: “Start with the customer and work backwards.” The entrepreneur has mentioned many times that focusing on the client will make a company more flexible.

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Bezos claimed that Amazon is not competitor obsessed, but rather customer obsessed. Identifying customers’ needs and problems should be the idea that guides a company’s business strategy and not the other way round.

5. Think long term

Jeff Bezos is known for his patience when it comes to establishing his company’s durability; thinking long term is a business strategy that will ensure a company’s steady growth and a longer lifespan.

6. Be stubborn and flexible

Bezos believes that good entrepreneurs must possess two qualities: they must be stubborn and flexible. When referring to the company he founded, the investor says his employees (himself included) are “stubborn on vision, but flexible on details.”
Being stubborn allows entrepreneurs to hold onto experiments for a longer period, while being flexible means that the solution to one’s problem might not be the one that has been anticipated. However, Bezos also warns that entrepreneurs should figure out when to be flexible and when to be stubborn.

7. Keep experimenting

Experimentation and willingness to invent has always been part of Amazon’s culture. Although most CEOs will say that experimentation is an important part of their business, what really matters is how innovations are born and how they stay competitive in the market.

- See more at: http://www.australiannationalreview.com/7-business-lessons-learn-jeff-bezos/
Amazon has beat analysts’ earnings per share expectations for the first time in six quarters and has convinced investors to appreciate the profits and not the losses, as the stock’s massive leap shows.
After announcing its fourth-quarter earnings, the stock surged nearly 14 per cent, despite the fact that the company missed on revenue. Business Insider CEO and Editor-in-Chief Henry Blodget asked Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in an interview in December 2014 if his company can make money. The tech entrepreneur responded that Amazon did turn a profit in the past, but it decided to invest its cash flows in new ventures that are currently unprofitable. The company is prioritizing long-term opportunities for innovation over short-term profit margins.
Jeff Bezos indicated on various occasions that entrepreneurs should build a business strategy around the things they love and know are stable in time and invest heavily in making sure they providing those things and improving the delivery at all times.
Some of the best pieces of advice the entrepreneur has offered can be traced back to the AWS re: Invent 2012 conference:
1. Base your business strategy on things that will not change
During the re: Invent conference in November 2012, Bezos revealed that he always receives the same question: “What’s going to change in the next ten years?” Although he agreed that this is an interesting question, he also added that a better question would be “What’s not going to change in the next ten years?”
“When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it,” Bezos opined.
2. Reduce or remove risks
Bezos believes that the best entrepreneurs do not like risk and try to identify and remove it in the early days of a business. He claims that “starting a company is already a risk,” so identifying and eliminating additional risks as the company gets bigger and more robust will allow entrepreneurs to start taking risks again.
3. “Never chase the hot thing”
During the re: Invent conference, the founder and CEO of Amazon warned entrepreneurs to position themselves and wait for the wave instead of chasing “the hot thing.”
4. Focus on the customer
At Amazon, there is a common line of thinking which sounds like this: “Start with the customer and work backwards.” The entrepreneur has mentioned many times that focusing on the client will make a company more flexible.
In an interview with Charlie Rose, Bezos claimed that Amazon is not competitor obsessed, but rather customer obsessed. Identifying customers’ needs and problems should be the idea that guides a company’s business strategy and not the other way round.
5. Think long term
Jeff Bezos is known for his patience when it comes to establishing his company’s durability; thinking long term is a business strategy that will ensure a company’s steady growth and a longer lifespan.
6. Be stubborn and flexible
Bezos believes that good entrepreneurs must possess two qualities: they must be stubborn and flexible. When referring to the company he founded, the investor says his employees (himself included) are “stubborn on vision, but flexible on details.”
Being stubborn allows entrepreneurs to hold onto experiments for a longer period, while being flexible means that the solution to one’s problem might not be the one that has been anticipated. However, Bezos also warns that entrepreneurs should figure out when to be flexible and when to be stubborn.
7. Keep experimenting
Experimentation and willingness to invent has always been part of Amazon’s culture. Although most CEOs will say that experimentation is an important part of their business, what really matters is how innovations are born and how they stay competitive in the market.
- See more at: http://www.australiannationalreview.com/7-business-lessons-learn-jeff-bezos/#sthash.PqCG1O1j.dpuf

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