Success Week: Apple

Most people wouldn't have to do much research to figure out that Apple is one of the most successful companies of all time. Ranked at number 9 of the Global 500 list of 2017, Apple has proven to be a company that is forever-growing. A company this successful must have some reasons as to why they have become this successful. In this blog, I will be going through three of the reasons why Apple is as strong of a company as it is.

[www.apple.com]

1. They create technology that people feel they can't live without. In his article 6 Reasons Why Apple Is So Successful, Tim Bajarin points out that "geeky" tech designers often get too excited with what the new technology can do versus what the consumers actually want. Just because a new feature is available and possible doesn't mean that people will want to use it. Apple realized this early on. They build their products not around what they CAN do but what people WANT them to do.

2. Another reason why Apple is one of the most globally successful companies is because they only make products that they know they can improve. They will not put the time and money into a creating and designing a product if they know that it won't go anywhere. Similarly, Apple doesn't often create a new idea, they simply recreate it better. For example, Apple did not invent the smartphone. They based the iPhone off an existing product and just made a better one. Keeping this as a company idea has kept Apple competitive in the global market for years and will continue to keep them strong.

3. Possibly the most important reason why Apple is doing so well is because they always stay ahead of the competition. They are two years ahead of themselves at any given time, according to Bajarin. For example, the iPhone X that will come out in 2018 has already been in the making since 2016. Apple does this with all their products. This is scary to competitors of Apple, as most of them are just trying to stay competitive while Apple is going above and beyond in preparation for the future. If they continue this initiative, Apple should be ahead in the market for a very long time.

As future business-people, it is important to understand why certain companies do very well long-term and why others do not. Watching companies such as Apple and observing their business strategies can prove beneficial to future leaders and entrepreneurs.

- Aaron Gomez