Sometimes I go into a Starbucks and scratch my head. How do they maintain their business when they charge too much, their lines are too long, the wait is too long and the coffee is too bitter? Then I stop and remind myself that they are brilliant marketers, they have the best locations, their service is actually really good given the volume they do, their people are generally nice and the coffee has remarkable consistency.

I am in the middle of reading “Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time”. If you are running a business or have any interest in entrepreneurship, read this book! It may be the most honest and practical perspective I have read from a business leader. It takes you back to the beginning and covers their start up and early national expansion in the 90’s and at the root of it, you get the feeling that this company was different from day one.

According to my research, at the end of last year there were 21,366 Starbucks stores around the world. Think about that! I am amazed by their business success. When I was building School of Rock, we went from 5-55 schools in three years and it was overwhelming. We got a lot right and a lot wrong. We didn’t have the investment in infrastructure to make growing easier. Building a business is the quintessential art project. It takes creativity, vision, perseverance, risk, and the capacity to do something that you one-day hope others will appreciate.

Pour your heart into it…

Monday, April 6, 2015