1994 was the year when a man sat down in his garage surrounded by several boxes. Inside these boxes were hundreds of books stacked neatly. The man sitting encircled by these memoirs was none other than Jeff Bezos, the Chatur brains behind one of the hottest e-commerce companies till date. Currently valuated at USD 90 billion, Jeff Bezos and his venture amazon.com went from selling books online to creating one of those fascinating e-readers of today’s generation – Kindle.
Achieving it all is not easy unless you have developed certain habits. Here are 5 of his habits that every entrepreneur must develop.
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Customer Satisfaction is Vital. For that study Customer Behavior
“The best customer service is if the customer doesn't need to call you, doesn't need to talk to you. It just works.”
Jeff Bezos has a habit of keeping a keen eye on customer behavior. Being in the online space, was his greatest advantage. As a habit, he would endlessly study customer behavior. Which pages they visited, bounce rate, purchase behavior… his study was endless. To an extent, he would encourage his customers to post their thoughts, irrespective if they were good or bad.
As an entrepreneur, you too must develop this habit of studying customer behavior. Once you are aware about their behavior, you can develop ways and means and products to satisfy or fulfil their needs.
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Make your own rules
Jeff Bezos has a habit of creating his own rules. Two of his famous ones being “The Two Pizza Team” and “6 Page Essays.” He believed that no team should be so big that you can’t feed it with two pizzas. He felt that larger groups are less productive and hence teams should be of 10 members or less. Anyone who wanted to propose a new idea, including Jeff himself, would have to submit a six – page document in front of the decision makers.
Likewise, entrepreneurs too must set their own rules, not just for themselves but also for those who work with them. One must not be afraid to introduce something surprising.
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Stay focused on the future
When Amazon started it bled some money in the short-term. This was not too perceived well by many. But Jeff is a visionary by habit. He knew the long term benefits of certain practices. For example, Jeff always knew digital copies of books or e-books would be the future. Initially he made losses but in the long – term it helped them create one of company’s greatest successes – The Kindle.
Modern age entrepreneurs too must stay positive about the future. Today’s business markets are highly competitive and startups have to believe in their offering and its future.
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Take risks
Jeff had a secure job as a hedge – fund manager before he went on to establish the “Everything Store” which later became Amazon. He went on to quit his job, set up a shop in a garage and poured all of his savings in turning his dream into a reality. This “Everything at Stake” habit of Jeff still continues as he often gives it his all to every new offering from Amazon.
This habit is vital for every entrepreneur and we have seen cases like Chumbak where their founders did put “Everything at Stake” to fund their dream venture. Risk is not only exciting but also helps one immerse themselves completely.
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Constantly Innovate
Jeff commenced his business with books, then went on to music, electronics, toys and has not stopped since then. First product categories then countries, he conquered it all. Not only this, Amazon also offers cloud computing services. Right from the year of commencement, Jeff Bezos would constantly innovate by offering something new every passing year. He truly believes there is no product or service that Amazon cannot sell.
An entrepreneur too must know that innovation is vital for business. Complacency with a single core feature or offering is not good for business. Every entrepreneur must have the habit to constantly keep innovating.
Jeff Bezos has gone on to make a name for himself in the E-Commerce space not just because of these habits but also due to various other reasons. But one must give credit to his unique way of thinking, creating his own rules, taking risks, etc that have Amazon reached the level of success it is at today.
