Howard Schultz’s Life Story
In his book, Pour Your Heart Into It, Howard Schultz describes Starbucks as a corporation with two sets of parents.
The first parents were the company’s founders, Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl.
The second set is him after he, through his startup, Il Giornale, bought Starbucks for $4 million. Schultz wasn’t the founder of Starbucks, as many may assume. Starbucks was already a decade old with four stores when he joined it.
The success of Starbucks is mainly credited to Howard Schultz. In 1987, Schultz purchased this struggling six-store company and transformed it into a worldwide corporation with more than 33,000 outlets worldwide.
Schultz also infused the Italian style of coffee drinking into Starbucks by introducing coffee bars where customers could sit, relax, work, and socialize as they enjoyed their beverages. He positioned Starbucks as “The Third Place,” meaning somewhere customers could visit outside home and work.
Nevertheless, Schultz’s journey with Starbucks is less about luck and more about grit and determination.
Here is the story of a man who transformed Starbucks into an empire.
Birth and Childhood
Howard Schultz was born on July 19, 1953, in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. His father, Fred Schultz, was a working-class man who’d worked a series of blue-collar jobs throughout his life.
His mother, Elaine Schultz, was a receptionist but later took up the full-time role of managing the household.
Being the eldest of three children, Schultz felt he needed to grow up quickly and assist with finances and raising his siblings, Ronnie and Michael.
Howard Schultz grew up in poverty despite having two working parents. His father relocated the family to Bayview Housing Projects, Canarsie, New York, when he was only three years old.
It never occurred to Schultz that they were impoverished, at least not until he grew up and faced the stigma of living in the projects. Life in the projects forced Schultz to get along with different people. It taught him to live and appreciate diversity since he would associate with Italian, Black, and Jewish kids.
Coffee was never a big part of Schultz’s childhood. His mother drank instant coffee, which she made using an old percolator they owned. She wasn’t interested in learning her coffee’s origin, roasts, or flavors.
All that mattered to her was that it was coffee, and she could drink it. Schultz also had no passion or interest in going into business. He, however, had a longing desire to one day leave the projects.
Schultz was a natural athlete and played sports every day, mostly baseball, basketball and football.
His first passion was baseball. After joining Canarsie High School, he turned to football. Schultz was so good at playing that he later earned a football scholarship at Northern Michigan University. Without this scholarship, he probably wouldn’t have made it to college.
Schultz joined Northern Michigan University in 1971, around the time when Starbucks was getting established in some city far away. It would be his first time traveling outside New York.
Unfortunately, Schultz wasn’t as talented at football as he had initially thought. He wasn’t drafted to the college football team and thus lost his scholarship. He had to seek out loans and work part-time and summer jobs to get through his studies.
Schultz majored in communication but also took short courses in business, interpersonal communication, and public speaking. He graduated from college in 1975, thus becoming the first person in his family to earn a college degree.
Schultz was 22 then and had no idea what to do with the rest of his life. He remained in Michigan, working at a ski lodge, and moved back to New York a year later.
Adult Life
Shortly after moving back to New York, Schultz joined a sales training program at Xerox. This program would later propel him to become a full-time salesman at the company.
The job required Schultz to cold call at least 50 prospects daily, gaining his sales, marketing, and presentation skills.
Schultz later joined a Swedish company called Perstorp, where he worked in sales. By this time, he was already dating Sheri Kersch, but the two were far apart.
Sheri was back in New York while Schultz sold word processors for Perstorp in North Carolina. He grew fond of working in sales but never really developed an interest in word processors.
In 1980, Perstorp promoted Schultz to vice president and general manager of Hammarplast, a brand division in the company. The position came with a high-paying salary, a company car, an expense account, and unlimited travel.
Even better, it enabled him to move back to New York and closer to Sheri. It was also in this position when he first encountered Starbucks.
In 1981, while working for Hammarplast, Schultz noticed that there was one company that placed large orders for drip coffeemakers. The company’s name was Starbucks.
He decided to investigate further by visiting the company in Seattle. Little did he know, this innocent visit would change the course of his life.
Schultz never thought he could develop a passion for a product, at least not until he tasted his first cup of Starbucks coffee.
He loved the coffee and the company’s culture so much that he was willing to leave his high-paying job in New York to work for this Seattle company with only four stores.
It took Schultz a year to convince Jerry Baldwin to hire him. Jerry was always reluctant and afraid that Schultz, being a New Yorker with high energy, might come and change the company’s culture and values.
Successes
In 1982, Starbucks eventually hired Schultz to head retail sales and marketing. The company had initially sent him a rejection letter, but Schultz called Jerry to plead his case.
He knew he would get a significant salary cut but wanted to work in a company and product he believed in. The job at Starbucks would also require Schultz and Sheri to relocate from New York to Seattle, which was 3,000 miles away.
The couple got married in July of 1982, just before Schultz started his job at Starbucks.
In 1983, Starbucks sent Schultz to Milan, Italy, to attend an international housewares show. Schultz was amazed by the Italian culture of enjoying coffee while working, socializing, and relaxing in an espresso bar. Back home, the only coffee culture was taking the drink to go.
Schultz returned to the United States excited to tell Jerry and Bowker about the coffee bars. He wanted Starbucks to introduce coffee bars and infuse the Italian flair of coffee drinking, but the founders remained unconvinced. They insisted that Starbucks was a retailer of coffee beans, not a restaurant or a bar.
Unable to convince Jerry and Bowker, Schultz left Starbucks and established Il Giornale using Italy’s coffee bar concept. His departure from Starbucks was amicable, so the company’s founders were willing to invest in his new entity.
Schultz’s business idea, however, needed significant capital to start, and so Schultz spent a year or more looking for funds. He knocked on 242 doors, but only about 25 investors poured in money.
In 1986, Il Giornale opened its first store at Columbia Center, which was, at the time, the tallest skyscraper in Seattle.
He later opened two other stores, one in Seattle and another in Vancouver, Canada. In 1987, an opportunity presented itself when Schultz heard that Starbucks was struggling and that Jerry and Bowker were looking to sell the company. He bought it for $4 million and changed his company’s official name and branding to Starbucks.
Under Schultz’s leadership, Starbucks opened over 2,000 coffee outlets in and out of the United States.
The company added new products to its catalogs and opened the Starbucks Foundation. Today, Starbucks has more than 33,000 stores in 77 countries.
Schultz retired as CEO in 2000 but returned eight years later when the company faced a setback. He then stepped down again in 2017 and returned as interim CEO in April 2022.
Management Style
Howard Schultz didn’t just value Starbucks coffee and culture. He also appreciated his employees so much that he paid them higher than the industry standard.
Schultz also offered comprehensive medical and dental benefits to all full-time employees and introduced a stock option program for full- and part-time employees. Employees at Starbucks are not just the company’s staff; they are also partners.
Lifetime Achievements
Besides Starbucks, Schultz is also a renowned business author. His popular books include Pour Your Heart Into It (published in 1997), Onward (2011), For Love of Country (2014), and From the Ground Up (2019).
His first book details his childhood, teenage, and adult years and life in Starbucks before his retirement in 2000. Onward narrates how he helped Starbucks regain footing from the 2008 financial crisis that threatened the company’s survival.
Character Traits
Here are two character traits of Howard Schultz:
- Passionate
Schultz’s passion for coffee drove him to quit his high-paying job at Perstorp and join Starbucks.
His enthusiasm for the Italian coffee culture motivated him to leave Starbucks and start Il Giornale. Schultz was passionate about making coffee drinking a more relaxing, enjoyable, and social experience.
- Persistent
Schultz didn’t just accept rejection. He remained persistent in achieving what he wanted.
If Schultz had gone along with Jerry’s initial rejection letter to join Starbucks, the company wouldn’t have been what it is today.
Likewise, Schultz was so determined to make espresso bars a reality in America that he started Il Giornale after Starbucks rejected his idea.
Lessons Learned
The one lesson we can take from Howard Schultz’s story is not to be quick to brush off your employees’ ideas.
Hire people brighter than you, and when they come to you with a concept, listen and assess if it’s something worth pursuing.
Schultz’s idea for coffee bars was not what Starbucks was envisioning. The company would probably still be a coffee retailer if not for his idea.
Howard Schultz Timeline
1953
Howard Schultz is born in Brooklyn, New York.
1956
Fred Schultz relocates his family to Bayview Housing Project in Canarsie, New York.
1971
Schultz joins Northern Michigan University through a football scholarship.
1975
Schultz graduates with a degree from Northern Michigan University.
1976
Schultz starts a sales job at Xerox.
1979
Schultz leaves Xerox and gets another sales job at Perstorp.
1980
Schultz gets promoted to vice president and general manager of Hammarplast, a division of Perstorp. He relocates to New York.
1981
Schultz travels to Seattle to visit Starbucks.
1982
Starbucks hires Schultz as director of retail sales and marketing.
1983
Starbucks sends Schultz to Milan, Italy, where he experiences the espresso bar culture.
1986
Schultz starts Il Giornale after leaving Starbucks.
1987
Schultz’s company acquires Starbucks for $4 million.
2000
Schultz steps down as CEO of Starbucks. Orin Smith becomes CEO.
2008
Schultz returns to Starbucks to become CEO after the 2008 financial crisis.
2017
Schultz retires as CEO of Starbucks.
2022
Schultz returns to become interim CEO of Starbucks.
Quotes
“I am convinced that most people can achieve their dreams and beyond if they have the determination to keep trying.” ~ Howard Schultz
“If you dream small dreams, you may succeed in building something small. For many people, that is enough. But if you want to achieve widespread impact and lasting value, be bold.” ~ Howard Schultz
“Treating employees benevolently shouldn’t be viewed as an added cost that cuts into profits, but as a powerful energizer that can grow the enterprise into something far greater than one leader could envision.”~ Howard Schultz
“Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone. The best reward is to get there surrounded by winners.”~ Howard Schultz
“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.”~ Howard Schultz
“The challenge of the retail business is the human condition.”~ Howard Schultz
Search Results – Howard Schultz quotes.
Books
Look at the books available about Howard Schiltz’s life and achievements if you wish to learn more about his life.
There are a few books from amazon you can pick up. I have listed three that I found worth looking into.
Onward:
How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul – by Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon | Mar 27, 2012
Pour Your Heart Into It:
How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time – by Howard Schultz | May 22, 2012
It’s Not About the Coffee:
Lessons on Putting People First from a Life at Starbucks – by Howard Behar, Janet Goldstein, et al. | Apr 28, 2009
View the most recent books related to Howard Schultz on Amazon.
News
To see what’s in the news related to Howard Shultz, you can check out Google news offering the latest and most popular news results from the link below.
See Google’s news search results related to Howard Schultz.
Videos
A few videos on YouTube related to Howard Schultz and Starbucks allow you to gain more information about Starbucks and Howard Schultz’s life, accomplishments, and contributions.
See the most recent videos related to Howard Schultz.
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