Published by: Julia
Anyone that is serious about business will benefit from taking Howard Schultz´s Business Masterclass. He explains how to start from scratch and lead effectively through tough as well as good times.
Why now is a great time to start your own business
Now is an enormously exciting time for a young entrepreneur. There are endless opportunities out there. You no longer need a lot of money to start a business and the potential market is huge. It is literally global.
But, you need to be committed. To be prepared to take the calculated risk. If you are this type of person, Howard´s short and to the point masterclass is for you.
I dont´t have an MBA. I did not go to an ivory league school. I am just an regular person just like you who had a dream to try and build a great enduring company.
Howard Schultz Business Leadership Masterclass
How to combine strong values with making a good profit
Howard and the rest of the founders of Starbucks worked hard to make sure that they treated their workers well. In his first video, he explains why they took that approach and how it has benefited everyone, over the years.
In fact, it was looking after their people that enabled Starbucks to crack the Chinese market, after 10 years of failing to do so. But, you will need to take the course to find out how they did it.
By the way, we recommend purchasing Masterclass for more than just one single course. The value comes when you take several. If you want to read our review of the whole platform, check out this Masterclass review article.
If you want to just find out what some of the best masterclasses are, this is the article for you.
How curiosity can help you to succeed
Being curious puts you in a position to learn. It exposes you to new things, new people and ways of doing things. This opens up opportunities that you would otherwise miss.
In this video, Howard explains how to make the most of these experiences. As well as cope with being put into what will sometimes be uncomfortable situations for you.
Why disrupting an existing sector is a faster way to be successful
Starting a business is always hard work and it will take time to be successful. There are two possible approaches you could take:
- disrupt an existing sector or market
- create something new, be a pioneer
Howard has found the disruption route to be the best option. He provides several examples that demonstrate why this is the case and shares some ways you could follow this approach.
Success is not an entitlement. It has to be earned. It has to be earned every day.
Howard Schultz Teaches Business on Masterclass.com
The basics of leading an organization
It is important for you to lead rather than simply manage. You have to work out what your organization’s goals are, what direction you are going in.
Making sure that your targets are realistic is essential. Howard lists out the metrics he uses to achieve this.
This is one of the best sections of the masterclass. In it, Howard goes into a lot more detail than he does in other parts of his course. Unfortunately, this is not an in-depth business masterclass. It is more of an overview of how Howard works that is designed to provide some direction and encouragement to would-be entrepreneurs.
Now, I am not saying don´t take this course. You will learn quite a bit from it. But, it would be a good idea to buy an all-access pass and take the other business classes that are available on masterclass.com. If you do that you will learn an awful lot more than if you were to take just one of their entrepreneurship courses. Fortunately, the all-access pass does not cost a lot. You only pay what you would if you were to buy 2 individual masterclasses. So, it is a great deal.
The right way to raise money for your business
Every business that wants to really grow will have to borrow money. So, you need to be ready to do this. To be thinking about the fact that you will need to do this from the very start.
Finding investors is not easy. But, you must not rush in. You need to vet your investors properly. In a relatively short time, Howard quickly explains how to do this. He covers:
- how to find an investor that shares your values
- how to research and check out potential investors
- working out how much money you need to raise
- understanding how much equity you may need to give up
- what you need to do to meet your investor´s expectations
Why and how to overinvest in your business´ culture
Every business needs a set of guiding principles that define its reason for being. Making it clear to everyone what you are there for, what you are trying to achieve is important. Everyone needs to feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves and to believe they are working towards a common goal.
Howard has worked this way for decades and believes that this has been essential to his success. He explains why you need to define your culture early and keep things on track.
How to build a strong team
Building a strong team is essential. It is the foundation on which your business is built.
Doing this is about far more than the recruitment process. As you will see, networking, employee induction and immersion and fixing hiring mistakes also play a role.
You need to lead rather than manage
People don’t want to be managed. They want to be part of something larger than themselves.
Howard Schultz Masterclass
The transition from being the person who does everything to someone who allows others to work independently is not easy. But, it is essential that you learn to take a step back and allow those you hire to do their job.
In this masterclass, Howard talks about how to do this. As well as, how to resist avoiding difficult situations and ensuring that people meet their obligations. As you will see, that should be done in a firm yet empathetic way.
Don’t be afraid to change things up
An awful lot of firms fail because they take too much notice of what their competitors are doing. You need to understand what their strategies are, but not take things too far and let that dictate what you do next.
To be an entrepreneur, you´ve got to jump into the deep end of the pool, without a life jacket, and learn how to swim.
Howard Schultz on Masterclass.com
You need to be open to changing things within your own business. Howard explains how to establish new categories and find new markets. You have to invest ahead of the growth curve with your people, systems, and products.
How to lead in a crisis
You have to be able to lead even when things are going wrong. It is vital that you are not afraid to address issues. At times, you will need to stand up in front of the whole company and be honest about the challenges that are ahead.
You can only do this if you have built a strong and trusting culture. Having a committed workforce will make it much easier for your business to weather the storm.
Overall, I enjoyed this course. But, it is extremely short and only covers some of the subjects in general terms. You will definetly will learn something by taking it, but there are better businesses and leadership courses available on masterclass.com.
My recommendation is that you read my full masterclass review and perhaps my Chris Voss, Bob Igor, Anna Wintour, and Sara Blakely reviews. Doing so will enable you to better understand what is included in the courses you can buy and choose the business-related one that best suits your needs.