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Howard Schultz Starbucks

Article Overview: Howard Schultz, Starbucks visionary, once said, “I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It’s seeing what other people don’t and pursuing that vision.”

Howard Schultz Starbucks

Howard Schultz, Starbucks visionary, once said, “I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It’s seeing what other people don’t and pursuing that vision.”

In 2003, more people across America were working than the year before and unemployment was at a five month low. This was making the Starbucks CEO a very happy man; the company’s profits rose 23 percent in that same period. It seems that more and more people were celebrating the fact that they had jobs by splurging on a cup of Starbucks coffee.

He didn’t invent the idea behind the chain, but he had the vision to take the small operation that three men based in Seattle had started and turn it into something bigger. Today, the coffee giant that has emerged has become a national icon and has created a nation of coffee addicts. The success of the company is all the more impressive given that it spent almost nothing on advertising and marketing. Instead, the chain grew by the sheer force of word of mouth.

Today, many lessons on entrepreneurship can be drawn from the Howard Schultz Starbucks. Firstly, the entrepreneur himself advises to dig deep to find something that you are truly passionate about – and it might not be the product itself. Your passion will then inevitably be transferred to everyone you interact with – investors, customers, employees, and colleagues – and will make them more likely to want to do business with you and help you achieve your goal.

Secondly, the success of the chain demonstrates the rewards that come from having a clear vision. Schultz was able to rally a team behind his efforts, and tap into their emotions and inspire them by painting a picture of a world that was better because of the presence of Starbucks.

With the imagination and doggedness with which he pursued his goal, he was able to transform a small Seattle-based operation into the international success that has emerged today. With over 10,000 locations and hundreds of millions of loyal coffee addicts, it is difficult to imagine a world without the Starbucks.

Today, the Howard Schultz Starbucks is not just a place to go and grab a cup of coffee. It is a meeting place, a place to relax, a place to do business, a home away from home. And, the company is taking its vision even further. Having conquered the coffee industry, Howard Schultz is taking his first steps into the movie business. It was part of a promotional deal for the popular film “Akeelah and the Bee,” aggressively promoting the film in all of its North American retail outlets and selling the accompanying DVD and soundtrack. The success of this program has encouraged the company to continue venturing into new industries. After all, Howard Schultz never was one to deal well with limits placed on him.

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Article Tags: clear vision, coffee addicts, coffee giant, colleagues, emotions, entrepreneur, happy man, howard schultz starbucks, imagination, national icon, profits, rewards, seizing the day, sheer force, splurging, starbucks, three men, unemployment, visionary, word of mouth



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Entrepreneurs to profile - Here are my suggestions: Howard Schultz, Founder of Starbucks Jason Jiang, Founder of Focus Media
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
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]
The Starbuck's experience - [quote="Sebastien":3j66y8cv]Being French, I don't really understand what you call the Starbucks experience. We didn't have coffee shops in France until a couple years ago when (surprise!) Starbucks came in. So what's the Starbucks experience? Waiting in line 10 minutes for a cup of coffee? haha I think I understand what you're saying though. I think Starbucks has had tough competition lately with a bunch of coffee shop brands popping up and this is a natural move away from their core business (an actual coffee shop). We're seeing that Starbucks are actually not as profitable as everybody thought. As a side note, I've always said that some day there will be a huge financial scandal about Starbucks. A company just can't grow that fast in a healthy way. Anyways. So Starbucks is calling back founder and old CEO (I'm too lazy to look up his name on Google) to put Starbucks back on track and these vending machines might be some of his first projects. I think it is great to take advantage of such a good brand and do extend it further than a coffee shop.[/quote:3j66y8cv] Hi Sebastien, According to branding expert Martin Lindstrom, "Starbucks' objective is to create an intimate and even romantic atmosphere...The lighting is subdued to keep it cozy. The chairs and floor may be a little scuffed, but that makes it feel comfy and homely, and less intimidating...The music is soothing and sophisticated" (BRANDsense 158). So the Starbucks experience is essentially founder Howard Schultz's recreation of the coffee bar culture in Milan and the reason why they feel they can charge people outrageous prices for coffee. In fact, Starbucks isn't selling coffe, they're selling a unique and memorable brand experience to their customers.
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


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