Bidding For Buyers---Lessons From The Auction Block

If you think that E-bay has nothing to teach you, think again. Itdoesn’t matter much that you aren’t in the auction business andthat your website is entirely different in scope. What matters isthat the first place phenomenon of the Internet Revolution isE-bay. Its evolution is not just as a profitable e-business but anew culture of society. The lessons learned at E-bay might justget you off the surfboard and onto that ship you have been waitingto come in. This on-the-edge idea broke ground out of a humbleSilicon Valley apartment into a reality model of more than 10million registered users and sales to the tune of more than $100 anano-second. In other words, while you spent ten seconds readingthis sentence, they sold $1000 worth of merchandise. Yes, E-bayhas something to teach us all. For within their model are lessonsyou can learn and adopt in your own business, no matter what yourbusiness is.Practicality dictates a certain model in order for entrepreneurs toachieve success. Until, of course, a titan in thinking comes alongto blow that model to kingdom come and put in it’s place a newparadigm of thinking. Enter E-bay. Enter the non-conventional.But enter, ready to learn.The Courage of Ideas-E-bay started out as an idea in the brain of someone not sodifferent than you. One man, in an apartment got a creativeinspiration that he turned into the biggest reality of success theInternet has yet to see. What does this tell us? That it canhappen to you. I’m sure that the idea had its obstacles toovercome before it ever arrived at its current glory, but throughpersistence became real. Ideas have power once we fuel them.Believe in the future of your ideas and surround yourself withpeople that can support and nuture that belief.The Journey With Out A RoadmapSome business journey’s are not by the book, complete with businessplan and a clear vision of its destination. Many ideas evolve,change, and grow through continued inspiration and perspiration.This isn’t to say that the business plan is not important, butrather that flexibility is. Be ready to take a new road when theone you’re started down is not achieving your vision. Realize thatthis is the evolution of an inspired idea.Taking the Old, and Incorporating The NewBe prepared to blend both new E-commerce ideas with oldtried-and-true principles for a net result that will equal success.Don’t banish all of one theory for another, but rather mix whatworks. Affiliate programs with established marketing plans,advertising venues with email, etc. Be courageous, but wise.>From Business to CommunityCreate a place that others will talk about. It is the nature ofpeople to want to gather, so create a gathering place for people toshare ideas, make the deal, and communicate. The dynamics of theInternet is in its community and E-bay saw the value of this andbecame not just a community, but a society of it’s own.Body Parts Are Not For Sale—Making Good with Bad TimesWhile E-bay got press over body parts that were put on it’s sitefor sale, it wasn’t all bad. Yes, they obviously pulled theseauctions from the site once it came to their attention, but thepress it created did not hurt E-bay. In fact, it solidified themas THE online community of our time. The place to be, to go, tobookmark, and return. It drove more people to the site. Thelesson? Make good with bad times. Weather the situation, butcreate an event.Evolving ForwardRemember above all that change is what creates a forward moving,successful business. Never stay stagnant. Be aware of consumer’stastes, the change of trends in behavior, and constantly evolveyour plan.E-bay was an idea. We all have them. The question is what will youdo with the next one that pops into your head? You know thepotential now, and if you doubt it, visit E-bay to becomeconvinced.