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Overview
Starbucks is a popular coffee shop chain that has grown to be one of the most successful in the world. The company’s CEO, Howard Schultz, attributes its success to high standards for their products and work environment. Starbucks’ story shows that authenticity is essential for a business’ growth, and trust and strong principles are vital as well.
Here are some key points from this article: Milk threatened Starbucks’ high quality standards; spending more than you have isn’t always a bad idea; and an experiment in 1988 made coffee-flavored ice cream possible.
Big Idea #1: Success in business comes from selling an authentic product.
Starbucks is a successful company. Have you ever wondered how it came to be?
Starbucks’ success is due to the company’s focus on selling quality coffee.
Starbucks was a small retail store in 1981 that sold coffee. It had dark-roasted Italian style coffee, which is now ubiquitous but was still novel at the time. The company stuck to its guns and continued to sell premium quality dark roasted beans, even when prices were high due to frost destroying much of Brazil’s coffee plants. Starbucks maintained its standards instead of cutting corners by selling cheaper beans during this crisis; it reduced other costs instead. When the world market recovered, customers appreciated Starbucks’ dedication to quality and kept coming back for more great tasting java.
Big Idea #2: In business you have to be stubborn to succeed.
From the first key point, we know that Starbucks has a strict business model. Therefore, its founder must be someone who is stubborn and doesn’t like change. In fact, that would describe Howard Schultz perfectly because he was too stubborn to take no for an answer when he wanted to join Starbucks in 1981. He really liked their coffee but Jerry Baldwin didn’t want him on board because his partners thought Schultz had too many new ideas and was too eager to create change.
Schultz was disappointed when he didn’t get the job. But, as he wanted to join Starbucks so much, he called back and convinced Baldwin that it would be a mistake not to hire him.
Starbucks initially did not want Howard Schultz to join their company, and he left the organization later on. He also opened his own coffee shop called Il Giornale, which was very successful. However, in order to get funding for it, he had to pitch to 242 investors who rejected him 217 times out of 242! This shows that even when you’re facing obstacles, a stubborn attitude can help you overcome them.
Big Idea #3: It’s vital to build trust with your employees.
It’s important to be stubborn when dealing with people at the top of the food chain. However, you should focus on building a relationship of trust with your employees.
Starbucks has worked hard to build trust with its employees and customers. The company motto reflects that: “Treat people like family, and they will be loyal.” Starbucks offers great benefits for full-time employees (part-timers are eligible for stock options) so everyone is a partner. In addition, the company encourages open feedback at quarterly meetings.
Because of this, there is a great bond between Starbucks and its employees. They trust management, so much so that they have refused to be represented by unions since 1992.
It’s a fact that if employees trust their employers, they’ll stay with them longer. Another benefit is that this can improve customer loyalty. For example, Starbucks has a lower turnover rate than other stores—it costs money to train new hires and it takes time for the business to get back on its feet after an employee leaves.
