In his book "How to Make a Few Billion Dollars", Brad Jacobs gives the following advice: (and yes, don't worry-- he's made a few billion dollars himself; 8.1b net worth) "In business, you can mess up a lot of things, but if you get the main trend right, you’re going to make a lot of money. And conversely, if you don’t get the main trend right, you’re swimming upstream." And: To build something durable "make sure you're prepared to benefit from the big trend in your industry, rather than be disrupted by it." I like this advice because it helps me focus. Business owners have 100 things we COULD do. But, we have limited time & resources. We can't do it all. We have to prioritize. And if we believe Brad, then "getting the main trend right" is a good use of time. What mega trends should Amazon sellers observe? - Is the world moving towards or away from brand building? Towards. - Is the world moving towards or away from social & live commerce? Towards. Product discovery is increasingly happening on social platforms like TikTok. They say Chinese e-com trends are 5-10 years ahead of the West. If that's true, things like livestream shopping (32% of Chinese e-commerce vs. low single digits in the US) will take off. - Is the world moving towards or away from AI? Towards. AI can now run pricing optimization, make listings, run ads, etc. My company (AsteroidX) is building exactly that. You can learn more about it here. - Is the world moving towards or away from premium positioning? Towards. As competition intensifies and costs rise, the middle market is getting squeezed. - Is the world moving towards or away from data-driven decision making? Towards. Gut feelings aren't enough anymore. - Is the world moving towards or away from customer service automation? Towards. The World Economic Forum Jobs Report for 2025 indicates sharp declines in clerks and customer service roles across sectors as LLMs take over. Getting these right can build huge long-term advantages. Getting them wrong is gonna hurt! They're huge waves that are too big to stop. So, best to ride the waves instead. Rooting for you, Pat
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