How I learnt about competition from Starbucks

I’m reading the story of Starbucks at the moment.

As you might have noticed, the chain has grown incredibly over the last few years, often opening up a shop just down the road from another ‘mom and pop’ coffee shop, or even next door.

“The cheek of it!” says my indignant British side.

But another side, the one that’s interested in people having their dreams come true, said “How did he do it?”

If you want to know how, then you can read the book; what’s relevant to this blog is the reaction of the mom and pop coffee shops to Starbucks ‘encroaching on their territory’. Because basically they had an opportunity to think poorly, or think richly.

Those that thought poorly, and resented Starbucks and tried to prevent them from opening, often went out of business. Those that thought richly, and either sold as good a coffee, or raised their quality to at least the same, benefitted from Starbucks. They benefitted because in the long run, customers who might never before have had coffee went to Starbucks — and then, a few months later, would begin to explore other coffee places, and often one of the mom and pop shops would become their favourite!

So it pays to be a RichThinker!

How this could compare to your practice or business, is if someone else moves into your area, offering the same service or product as you. How could this be a benefit to you? Once you start your mind thinking along those lines, it’s amazing what it can come up with!

Jane