Wholesale Inspector | The Flywheel Effect for Wholesale Amazon Sellers - Part 1

The Flywheel Effect for Wholesale Amazon Sellers - Part 1

Tom Myers
  • growth

The flywheel effect is a business term that describes how you need to take action in order to see positive results. You might have heard of this concept before because it is often used by successful entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. The idea behind the flywheel effect is that if you are persistent with your actions, then eventually the momentum will build up and keep going on its own accord. This article explores what this means for wholesale amazon sellers and why it's so important to understand.

What is the flywheel effect?

The flywheel effect has been described as "a self-reinforcing cycle that generates continuous positive feedback". This is one of the most important concepts in business, and wholesale Amazon sellers need to understand how flywheels can help them grow their businesses.

Picture a huge, heavy solid metal wheel laying on its side. 10 feet wide,3 feet tall, mounted on a central axle with one handle sticking out of it. You walk up and give the handle a push. It's going to be heavy, right? But you find your resolve, dig your feet in, and push it all the way around one time.

You stop, wipe your brow, and watch the handle go by once all on its own. Then twice. Then a third time. Because you've put the energy into getting the flywheel spinning, its momentum keeps it going. As long as there is momentum, that heavy wheel will keep on turning without stopping.

In flywheel terms, this is called "getting the flywheel spinning". Once you do that, it becomes self-sustaining. Once your flywheel is spinning, you can add go back and push the handle around again, making it spin around faster and faster, adding more momentum to the flywheel. That's what flywheels are all about: building momentum in a positive feedback loop and allowing you to step away and have the system keep working. The more energy you put in, the more momentum the system has and the longer it keeps working.

Flywheels are everywhere and they have a lot of applications in different fields to make things happen more easily. Of course, the flywheel effect can be used for wholesale Amazon sellers as well.

Why does it matter for wholesale amazon sellers?

The flywheel effect can be used as a metaphor, but it's also an actual business strategy. Understanding flywheels is important for wholesale Amazon sellers in order to build repeatable, scalable systems to allow you to grow your business and increase your profits.

The flywheel effect is the reason that Jeff Bezos was able to turn Amazon into what it has become today. He saw an opportunity and built a flywheel revolving around product selection, customer experience, and lower prices. The flywheel spun for years until it became so massive and unstoppable that Bezos was able to stop spinning the flywheel himself and let Amazon keep going on its own.

This same flywheel effect is also the reason why Elon Musk has been able to build a billion-dollar empire in just 20 years. He took his $180 million from the sale of Paypal and put every dollar of that back into building new flywheels around electric cars, solar energy, space exploration.

It's no coincidence that two of the most successful people in the world base their success around flywheels. They keep building flywheel after flywheel, creating momentum and spinning faster with each turn.

The flywheel effect is a powerful concept to understand for wholesale Amazon sellers because it can help them grow their business exponentially if they are persistent enough with the actions that drive flywheels in this way. If you want to build something sustainable and long-term, then you need to invest in building (and spinning!) flywheels.

Stay tuned for part two where we'll dive deeper into flywheels, how you can apply them to your wholesale business, and explore the "blueprint" of how to build flywheels.

Tom Myers
Tom is one of the cofounders of Wholesale Inspector, leading the product, engineering, customer success, and marketing teams. When not at his desk, you can usually find him rock climbing somewhere in the world.
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