Business Strategy During Recession for Amazon & E-commerce with Ken Burke of Entrepreneur NOW
Michael Veazey
00:28:18
LinkAbout this episode
Ken Burke, founder and CEO of The EntrepreneurNOW! Network, is a speaker, serial entrepreneur, mentor, and author.
Ken founded MarketLive, a market-leading, enterprise class eCommerce software platform used by major merchants generating $2b in online sales through the platform.
He sold MarketLive to Vista Equity Partners in 2016. Ken authored the book, “Intelligent Selling: The Art and Science of Selling Online,” as well as hundreds of industry articles.
He earned his MBA in Entrepreneurship from the USC Marshall School of Business, which later awarded him the honor of Entrepreneur of the Year.
Business strategy during recession for Amazon & E-commerce
Introduction
The economy is in the midst of its longest recession in a century. In this volatile time, it’s important that you have a strategy to stay viable as an Amazon and e-commerce business owner. Let's take a look at some ways that you can keep your business moving forward during these uncertain times!
Ken Burke's 2001 Dot.com Crash experience
Ken Burke was a serial entrepreneur with a background in technology. He started out selling computer hardware before moving onto software development, building his first company from the ground up. At the height of the dot com crash his company survived. What happened on the other side of the recession was much better: in 2003-06, they had their best season ever.
Europe and UK may face long-term recession or stagnation
The current recession is not simply a one-off event. It's the beginning of a long period of stagnation, or even decline, for Europe and UK as well. The reason is simple: Gas is not only in short supply now, it will be for the foreseeable future because shale gas production has peaked out in US and no country outside of US has made any significant progress towards developing shale gas reserves.
Germany was the engine of European economy due to its large manufacturing sector which depended on cheap energy (gas) to be competitive globally. Germany's industry accounted for 36% share of total industrial output globally in 2015[1], making it largest exporter among all European countries.
But that can't continue as German manufacturing industry depends on cheap energy and Russia controls almost all gas supplies into Europe through Nord Stream pipeline and other pipelines through Eastern Europe. Nowadays gas prices have increased significantly due to sanctions imposed upon Russian Federation following annexation Crimea from Ukraine. Sadly there is little prospect of that changing. Even if Russia makes peace soon, its supplies will have been permanently damaged, or shut down.
Luckily there is an alternative, giant market of consumers which should be thriving...
How to play in Amazon USA, the most robust market
The medium-term economic future for the USA is much brighter than for Europe. The US has become self-sufficient in oil and natural gas. North America also has some of the healthiest demographics in any developed continent, with a combined population of over 500 million people. It has a continent-sized market in North America with NAFTA 2.0 with Mexico and Canada expected to boost trade even further (and hopefully end tariffs).
America is also retooling its factories at record speed, which is helping to generate jobs and investment at home rather than overseas as well as keep import costs low while boosting exports - all good news for eCommerce players like Amazon!
Taking over your market
The period towards the end of a recession can be a period where you get to take over the market. The main reason for this is because of the economy in general and how people react to it. When there is an economic downturn, many companies will either merge or go under completely because they cannot afford to stay in business anymore. This means that there is more room for new competitors who have been able to survive during this time and are looking for ways to make money back into their company's p...
Ken founded MarketLive, a market-leading, enterprise class eCommerce software platform used by major merchants generating $2b in online sales through the platform.
He sold MarketLive to Vista Equity Partners in 2016. Ken authored the book, “Intelligent Selling: The Art and Science of Selling Online,” as well as hundreds of industry articles.
He earned his MBA in Entrepreneurship from the USC Marshall School of Business, which later awarded him the honor of Entrepreneur of the Year.
Business strategy during recession for Amazon & E-commerce
Introduction
The economy is in the midst of its longest recession in a century. In this volatile time, it’s important that you have a strategy to stay viable as an Amazon and e-commerce business owner. Let's take a look at some ways that you can keep your business moving forward during these uncertain times!
Ken Burke's 2001 Dot.com Crash experience
Ken Burke was a serial entrepreneur with a background in technology. He started out selling computer hardware before moving onto software development, building his first company from the ground up. At the height of the dot com crash his company survived. What happened on the other side of the recession was much better: in 2003-06, they had their best season ever.
Europe and UK may face long-term recession or stagnation
The current recession is not simply a one-off event. It's the beginning of a long period of stagnation, or even decline, for Europe and UK as well. The reason is simple: Gas is not only in short supply now, it will be for the foreseeable future because shale gas production has peaked out in US and no country outside of US has made any significant progress towards developing shale gas reserves.
Germany was the engine of European economy due to its large manufacturing sector which depended on cheap energy (gas) to be competitive globally. Germany's industry accounted for 36% share of total industrial output globally in 2015[1], making it largest exporter among all European countries.
But that can't continue as German manufacturing industry depends on cheap energy and Russia controls almost all gas supplies into Europe through Nord Stream pipeline and other pipelines through Eastern Europe. Nowadays gas prices have increased significantly due to sanctions imposed upon Russian Federation following annexation Crimea from Ukraine. Sadly there is little prospect of that changing. Even if Russia makes peace soon, its supplies will have been permanently damaged, or shut down.
Luckily there is an alternative, giant market of consumers which should be thriving...
How to play in Amazon USA, the most robust market
The medium-term economic future for the USA is much brighter than for Europe. The US has become self-sufficient in oil and natural gas. North America also has some of the healthiest demographics in any developed continent, with a combined population of over 500 million people. It has a continent-sized market in North America with NAFTA 2.0 with Mexico and Canada expected to boost trade even further (and hopefully end tariffs).
America is also retooling its factories at record speed, which is helping to generate jobs and investment at home rather than overseas as well as keep import costs low while boosting exports - all good news for eCommerce players like Amazon!
Taking over your market
The period towards the end of a recession can be a period where you get to take over the market. The main reason for this is because of the economy in general and how people react to it. When there is an economic downturn, many companies will either merge or go under completely because they cannot afford to stay in business anymore. This means that there is more room for new competitors who have been able to survive during this time and are looking for ways to make money back into their company's p...