We talk about “small and beautiful”. A company can either become a platform or a platform between platforms or a platform on top of a platform, that is, it can either be superimposed on a platform to become a new platform, or it can become a part of a platform, and become an individual, a small company or a small team that survives on the platform. The former may not be as big as the platform below, but there are also opportunities.
To become a “small and beautiful” team often means becoming the latter. When becoming a part of an individual, socialized, and collaborative organization, its challenge lies in whether it has the ability to constantly adapt to changes, because every platform has a bonus period when it rises. When eBay rose, there was a bonus period for eBay, and AliExpress and Amazon all had bonus periods. Even the same platform will have a bonus period at different stages. Being able to seize the bonus of this stage during different bonus periods is a manifestation of the core ability of “small and beautiful” companies to adapt to changes.
Because it requires very low organizational management capabilities, two or three people can do it well. We found that for such a small company, like a company selling goods on Amazon, it is not difficult for two or three people to make one or two million or two or three million. When the number of employees grows to 200, then 500, and then 2,000, we will find that the unilateral benefits of people are decreasing, and all costs are rising. Managers need to learn corporate culture. Even if they sell goods on Amazon, they have to learn the philosophy of corporate management. This becomes very complicated, and there is no time to sell goods.
However, there are always companies that cross over to the platform level and become “big and strong”. If they only become a large merchant on the platform, there will be a very big danger, that is, they will de-platform again. In this industry, we see many small sellers who have run away from the group of large sellers. When large sellers develop to a certain stage, the management cost is very high. Small sellers are very simple. They work while eating, and when they get up at 2 o’clock in the morning to go to the toilet, they will also check if anyone is following their sales. It is difficult for large sellers to have such a work attitude.
Many people are in a contradictory state. Sellers must know what is suitable for them. It is very difficult to follow the traditional track to follow the “big and strong” route now, because the bonus period has passed. Unless there is a large amount of financing, there is still a chance, but the input-output is not proportional. Others’ successful paths are adapted to the environment two or three years ago. In the current environment, I think most people may be suitable to choose to become part of a large platform, which is equivalent to focusing their own advantages on the focal point. As an export seller, you need to constantly find hot products and then sell them well.
In addition, you need to understand the product better, be more focused, have more active thinking, and be more innovative than the salesmen in the big seller company. I think that if you can achieve this level, small and medium-sized sellers can compete with many big sellers. This is my understanding of the different costs, risks and benefits of choosing the two different paths of “small and beautiful” and “big and strong”. You can think about it yourself.