Amazon.com and Bezos: No Goners

The dot-com boom in the 1990s saw many emerging Internet companies vying to make a mark in the new and potentially profitable market. Amazon.com, an online shopping site, was one of the high flyers. However, the dot-com bubble burst and sent most Internet companies crashing. Amazon.com was not one of them.

Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos compared his near helicopter mishap with their company's rise from the ashes. He was scouting the boondocks and the plains of West Texas for the future site of Blue Origin when the incident happened. His pilot was struggling with the helicopter's controls while Bezos was seated in the passenger seat thinking how dumb it was to die in a crash. Somehow, his pilot regained the reins and flew them to safety.

Business experts and financial analysts were sure Amazon was a goner after the dot-com crash, especially with Wal-Mart and Target setting their own online-shopping website. But Amazon.com survived and its shares increased exponentially. Now they are aiming for loftier heights, fusing music and video streaming services.

Jeff Bezos himself has reached places and conquered obstacles, including the near-death experience with the copter. But such experiences only teach him how to handle what tomorrow is capable of bringing. Such is his philosophy in dealing with business –-- taking a million tiny steps and quickly learn from missteps.

Copyright © 2006-2009 Business-Figures.com, All Rights Reserved.