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Howard Schultz Bio

Article Overview: The Howard Schultz bio is not necessarily a story of innovation. After all, Howard Schultz was not the first person to ever think of establishing gourmet coffee bars, where coffee was served in cups, not beans, and people could come to meet and relax; he had gotten the idea after visiting Milan, Italy, on a family vacation. Nor was Howard Schultz the original founder of Starbucks; he built upon the success of three men and their coffeehouse in Seattle, Washington.

Howard Schultz Bio

The Howard Schultz bio is not necessarily a story of innovation. After all, Howard Schultz was not the first person to ever think of establishing gourmet coffee bars, where coffee was served in cups, not beans, and people could come to meet and relax; he had gotten the idea after visiting Milan, Italy, on a family vacation. Nor was Howard Schultz the original founder of Starbucks; he built upon the success of three men and their coffeehouse in Seattle, Washington.

However, this is a story of passion and determination in realizing a goal. He grew up in federally subsidized housing in Brooklyn, New York as the eldest of three children. The first of his family to ever graduate from college, he earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Northern Michigan University, where he had earned a football scholarship.

This life story has come to the public’s attention because of what he did next. As vice president of Hammarplast – a Swedish manufacture of kitchen wares – Schultz noticed a small business in Seattle that had recently been buying many of a certain type of their coffee makers. In typical curious fashion of the entrepreneur, he flew from New York City to Seattle to meet these customers.

Howard Schultz was immediately impressed with what he saw there. Three businessmen – Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker – had established a small retail coffeehouse. They primarily sold coffee beans and coffee-related accessories, but Howard Schultz wanted to implement what he had seen in Italy and take the operation national. Demonstrating why the Howard Schultz bio has stood out over others, the three original owners of Starbucks were not keen on expanding; they were satisfied with their current business.

In 1984, after being unable to persuade the Starbucks’ owners to think national, he opened his own coffeehouse, Il Giornale. Its popularity immediately soared, and the entrepreneur was quickly gaining public notice. Three years later, he finally got the chance to buy out Starbucks, which he did for $3.8 million. The rest is history.

Today, this stands out as a story of vision, leadership, and resolve. He is a golden example of entrepreneurial drive and the success one can achieve with a sense of purpose and the willingness to put in hard work. He refused to work within the limits the original founders of Starbucks had given him and instead decided to venture off on his own. Starbucks currently has over 10,000 locations in over 30 countries.

Coffee drinking has never been the same since Howard Schultz and his idea for Starbucks came along. Both within and outside its home city of Seattle, visiting Starbucks has become something of a national pastime. Indeed, today, the average Starbucks customer visits an outlet 18 times a month. The Howard Schultz bio is that of a man who has not only been able to realize a tremendous profit for himself, but who has also transformed the cultural landscape of America.

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Article Tags: bachelors degree, bowker, brooklyn new york, coffee bars, coffee beans, coffee makers, coffeehouse, curious fashion, football scholarship, gourmet coffee, howard schultz bio, il giornale, kitchen wares, milan italy, northern michigan university, seattle washington, starbucks, story of passion, subsidized housing, three businessmen



Related Forum Posts
Quote of the Day - "Expect more than others think possible. - "Expect more than others think possible. Care more than others think wise." - Howard Schultz, goo.gl/SLcI4
Entrepreneurs to profile - Here are my suggestions: Howard Schultz, Founder of Starbucks Jason Jiang, Founder of Focus Media
Brand Babble - I recently read another great book called "Brand Babble" The book debunks a bunch of branding 'myths' that have seem to get passed around as conventional branding wisdom. The authors are Don E Schultz & Heidi F Schultz. ISBN 0-538-72714-4
Re: How do you overcome the fear of rejection while selling? - Evan you are killing with the video replies. Think I may have to follow suit;-) I'm a former sales rep for several Fortune 500 companies and the secret to overcoming rejection is ... sadly keep trying. I love autobiographies. One of my top 3 is the Howard Schultz Starbucks story. He told how daunting it was getting the company off the ground. When he had to raise funds to start, he made a list of the richest people in Seattle and started making the rounds. He said even if he had received No's from his previous 9 meetings, he'd make sure to pump himself up for the 10th meeting of the day. He said if the 10th meeting person knew that the other 9 had turned him down, they probably would turn him down too. I can't remember the exact number but of the 162 people he had meetings with only 44 or so said Yes. Cool huh. So keep going. And only dwell on the successes NOT the misses. Jalanda [New member link in profile]
Re: Defining ones self! - Welcome Howard! In all honesty, from the most successful entrepreneurs that I've met and profiled, most of them don't care about their titles - it's more about building a and a high quality team than it is worrying about what to call yourself. Just some food for thought.


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