My Sunday Night Thought

Dec

2008

I know it’s a little late but something came to mind and I wanted to share it with everyone. Any other good examples of companies that have taken awhile to perfect their first offering before moving onto their second?

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Steve 1 year ago 1 point
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You should do a little more research into the Starbucks story. They only had one store for 16 years because they were a wholesaler...

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Derek Johnson 1 year ago 1 point
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Steve, your missing the point. They refined their business plan over those 16 years, and realized during that time they could do more then just wholesaling. If they would have taken the original idea and started expanding on that, they would have never been as successful as they are today. It takes time to figure out what exactly your company is going to offer, for Starbucks it took 16 years.

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Rob 1 year ago 1 point
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Your is possessive. You're is "you are"

Secondly, he isn't missing the point at all. Starbucks did not expand because of what the business was, when they changed the model they had the ability to become something else, and franchise. Starbucks basically created a new company in the process of deciding it would expand.

Expansion has nothing to do with time, there was no coffee market at the time Starbucks started in the same fashion that exists today. WalMart on the other hand (a few comments up) had a platform (cheap home goods) that could expand almost instantaneously. Time has nothing to do with anything if a market is already willing to accept growth.

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Bret 1 year ago 1 point
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Good Sunday night thought. The lesson I take from this is that you always need to have a challenging, yet attainable goal in mind. Someone who's not thinking about future opportunities in expanding the business is destined to remain small and not open up that second store. Aspirations combined with determination will help you make that next step, but you must build the bridge before you cross it. Never forget about the future while giving it your all in the present.

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Derek Johnson 1 year ago 1 point
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I find most business owners have the hardest time going from one to two. Wether this be the second employe or the second store, this is the most challenging barrier to expanding. I think it can help though, if you are able to master the first thing (ie. Starbucks), but the problem is I see to many people not have enough confidence to move to number 2.

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MLDina 1 year ago 1 point
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Yes, I think Starbucks is doing "pretty well." :) I don't even like coffee, and if I'm in the mood for some for some odd reason, I'm on auto-pilot to Starbucks and it's probably my least favorite place! I think your point is valid, though. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. You have to perfect your first idea before expanding.

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Derek Johnson 1 year ago 1 point
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I think what you are talking about is more of a product of their their ability to build a solid brand. I was actually in Texas at a Seattle's Best Coffee store and someone on their cell phone was saying, "yea, I'm at Starbucks right now". You know you have a solid brand when a product like coffee is linked directly to your company name, hence Starbucks.

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Luke Irvin 1 year ago 1 point
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I agree with this. To build something great, or to where you really want it to be is going to take patience. You need to get the feedback from the people and know what they like so you can continue to add on, and when the people are really satisfied, you can take what you have done and start spreading it out and opening up more stores or more businesses and just expand.

Great idea!

Can't wait till your next video/idea!

Luke

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Cameron Watters 1 year ago 1 point
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Or how about a counter-example: http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/7603.aspx. Wal-mart had 24 locations within 5 years. I think your advice is 90% on target, here. I think the issue is less about the amount of time (6 months vs. 17 years), but instead about the idea that you have to "get it right" before you expand/grow.

Depending on your specific business idea and your experience in the industry (Sam Walton spent a number years working in department store retail before founding Wal-Mart), it may not take more than 6 months to "get it right". In other cases, it may take many years. Regardless, the key is not forcing expansion too soon.

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Derek Johnson 1 year ago 1 point
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Yea, you are completely correct! I think it's more about getting the first thing right and then expanding on that. If you can prove out a concept really quickly and multiple, that is amazing, but for the most part, it takes awhile. Thanks for your comment, greatly appreciated!

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JohnDubya 1 year ago 1 point
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Great thought. Our culture is always so ready to move on to bigger and better things. Sometimes, the biggest and best thing to do is to...wait.

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