Just 25 years on from when it started, Amazon has grown from start-up to one of the most valuable public companies on the planet, with Mr Bezos now the world's richest man.

Amazon started as an online book retailer but has become a global giant, selling multiple products with membership subscriptions, physical stores, groceries for sale, its own smart devices and a delivery system which can get things to customers in an hour.

In 2018, Amazon became the world's second-ever public company to hit a $1 trillion valuation, after Apple, and it has the second-highest market valuation in the world, after Microsoft.

Amazon has sales of over $234 billion and is expected to rise to over $300 billion by 2020. Their subscriptions alone exceed $100 million a year – in recurring revenue!

One of the reasons the company has grown is their partner programmes which enables online entrepreneurs and retailers to sell goods on the Amazon platform at a fraction of the cost of setting up a physical store.

In the past, you needed technical knowledge and skills to set up websites and marketing ability to work online. You needed to find a way of driving traffic to your site.

Amazon has solved these problems with its readymade store monthly visitors exceeding 199 million in the US alone.

The internet has opened up a new world of learning, working, socialising and doing business. We no longer need to go back to school or university to learn new skills. We can work from home, start a business or find a new life partner all from the comfort of our home.

Amazon has also enabled thousands of authors to easily self-publish their books online, as I have with my book, Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness! See link - http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook

If you want to quit the rat race and work from home, but can't quite replace your income from your paid job, why not try and gradually make the transition over a period of time? 

You can learn how to get started on Amazon or Facebook by following the steps of people who have done all the hard work for you and now want to pass on their knowledge.

For more information on Amazon and Facebook courses email charles@charleskelly.net