Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is well aware his company may not be around forever. After all, as he said in a recent 60 Minutes interview companies come and go all the time, he knows there is an expiration date for his.
He was born to a teen mother who gave him the best life. In many interviews, he has thanked his mother for everything she did for him at her young age. Bezos also says he won the lottery with his mom. She married his step-father when he was four-years-old, which changed his life.
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The billionaire also credits the time he spent on his grandparent's ranch in Texas to helping shape his drive to succeed. There is no bout that the 54-year-old is just as concerned with family as a business. In 1993 he married novelist MacKenzie Bezos. They have four children together. However, just because he is family oriented does not mean he is not a corporate tycoon.
Before he was CEO of one the companies that are taking over the world, Bezos spent his time on Wall Street. He was no stranger to business and new owning his own was what he wanted. In fact, the concept for Amazon was dreamt up on a road trip from New York City to Seattle.
The one thing he will not need to worry about is money. Bezos has made a fortune along with building an empire that is known as Amazon. It started as an online bookstore where he hoped to have the ability to for people to have access to every book ever published in under one minute.
Back in 1996 when it all began, it was Bezos, his wife, and a few others who knew computers extremely well filling orders out of his garage in Seattle. Oh yes, that is why Amazon is based out of Washington — that is where it all began. He used to drive packages to the post office himself and dream of days when the company was so big they could not only afford a forklift, but needed one to run it properly.
Bezos motto for getting the company where it is today was simple, "get big fast." He worked 24/7 to make it happen with his company that is now bigger than he could have ever imagined. Seriously, Amazon is taking over the world.
It was essential that he worked furiously to make sure Amazon was the Internet retailer that would and could get products to people before any other company was able to. He did just that and has since accomplished so much for with it.
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One thing that has never been lost on the CEO is his customers. When he was ready to expand beyond books, music, and video, Bezos sent out an email to 1,000 Amazon customers asking what other products they would like to see the online site offer.
A response from a customer telling him she wished the company sold windshield wipers, gave him the idea that would eventually turn Amazon into the corporate giant it is today. The remark sparked an idea in Jeff Bezos, people want and will pay for convenience. People want to receive items quickly, and they don't necessarily want to have to go out and purchase them.
Thanks to his realization that people are motivated by convenience, a new e-commerce Amazon was born. The site now offers everything from groceries, to electronics, to household appliances, even clothes. Breaking into a new market did not intimidate the CEO, he saw it has a welcome challenge to keep his company growing.
However, as with any company Amazon has had stumbling blocks, but that doesn't deter Bezos from his ultimate goal. He hopes that the company is based on customer obsession as opposed to competitor competition. It is his rare qualities of optimism, idealism, and vision that have helped him achieve his success.
Amazon is a global company and a household name today, but it is guided by one belief, putting the user first. In an age where companies are competing for customers, and some are treating new customers better than loyal ones, Amazon remains one of the entities that is customer service based.
It is one of the few companies around customers can rely on for speedy delivery, excellent prices and easy returns when necessary. CEO Jeff Bezos grew his empire based on that belief. Even as Amazon expands that is the one factor that never changes. His philosophy proves that by delivering people, the service they want and need, treating them with kindness and respect will prevail.
The road to making a fortune and building an empire was not easy for Bezos, but he took a giant leap of faith, surrounded himself with people that believed in him and gave it his all. If you have a dream, maybe you should take a cue from him and see what happens.
What do you think about Jeff Bezos and his story?