Jim Connolly Marketing

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

  • Articles
  • About
    • FREE: My very best marketing tips
    • About Jim Connolly
    • Contact
    • Great blogs
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • How I use cookies
  • Marketing Tips
  • Let’s Work Together
    • Let’s Grow Your Business!
    • Pick my brain
    • Copywriting that attracts clients and customers

A valuable business lesson from Starbucks and Instagram

By Jim Connolly - Published January 6, 2022

Jim Connolly marketing, Starbucks

Today, I’m going to share a strategy with you that’s used by the world’s most successful businesses. I’ll also show how I use it and explain why you should too.

I’m referring to operating your business with a focused and agile mindset. Those words almost sound like opposites. But they’re not. And in business they work together beautifully. Here’s how focus and agility work together.

  • You need to know what it is you want to achieve from your business and stay focused on it.
  • However, you also need to adopt an agile approach regarding how it happens. Then, as new feedback and opportunities come along, you can adjust your strategy accordingly. This is always sound advice, but in 2022 it’s essential.

In short, you remain both focused and agile.

Here are a couple of well-known examples, along with how I use the same strategy.

You couldn’t buy a cup of coffee from Starbucks

It’s hard to believe today. But it’s true. Starbucks had been in business for several years (and had already opened its first 5 outlets), before they sold a cup of coffee to anyone! Prior to that, Starbucks sold coffee beans. Agile thinking allowed them to identify a new opportunity, when they noticed how customers enjoyed sampling their coffee beans in-store.

Starbucks’ focus remained the same: to build a successful coffee business. However, their approach changed.

Instagram used to be a check-in app

Instagram started life in 2010 as a check-in app called Burbn. The developers decided their app was too similar to Foursquare, so they pivoted. All their efforts were switched to the photo-sharing component of the Burbn app. Instagram was born.

Their agile thinking allowed them to identify an opportunity for a filter based photo-sharing app. They ran with it. And just 2 years later, the app was acquired by Facebook for approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and shares.

The founder’s focus remained the same: to build a successful app. However, their approach changed.

I could have used examples from Suzuki, which used to manufacture weaving looms. Or Nintendo, which has previously sold instant rice, vacuum cleaners and even offered a taxi service. And I could have mentioned how Twitter was born from the ashes of a podcast sharing app called Odeo.

But that almost misses the point.

The point is that it’s not only billion dollar companies that use a focused and agile approach. There are businesses of all sizes, achieving breakthrough results from the exact same strategy.

Including mine.

How I use focus and agility

I started my business working as a marketing consultant, who visited clients at their premises or at my offices in London. When I relocated to a tiny village in the countryside in 2002, I quickly decided I didn’t want to waste hours every day travelling. So, twenty years ago I switched to working remotely. Initially I used phones, then switched to VoIP, Skype video and now Zoom.

Not only did this mean zero time wasted on travel, it also cut my overhead by around 98%! Plus, it opened up the whole world to my services. For the past two decades I’ve worked globally, in over 50 countries, (as well as every state in the United States).

My focus remained the same: to build a successful marketing business. However, my approach changed.

As we emerge from the worst of this horrible virus, one thing’s for sure. Success will continue to reward those with the strength to remain focused, combined with the agility to adapt to the new opportunities.

Grow your business with my Marketing Mentor Program! I can help you build a more successful business, increase your sales and boost your profits. Here's how it works.

If you found this useful, share it ❤️

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Updated February 6, 2022

Recent Posts

  • Here’s 1 word that can destroy your results. And 12 better alternatives May 17, 2022
  • 13 Important things to ponder as you start your week May 16, 2022
  • Discover how the top companies keep getting the best referrals May 12, 2022
  • Boost your sales. With Time Wasters! May 10, 2022
  • Marketing money versus Marketing creativity May 9, 2022
  • Contacts for vanity. Relationships for sanity May 7, 2022
  • 10 Proven ways to get free publicity May 5, 2022
marketing advice, marketing help Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help small business owners to increase sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. Read more here.

Featured by

marketing advice, marketing help

Categories

  • Blogging (407)
  • Business development (452)
  • Copywriting (295)
  • Email marketing & mail shots (182)
  • General marketing (1,556)
  • How to (296)
  • Misfits (43)
  • Professional development (509)
  • Publish the process (2)
  • Social media marketing (357)
  • Articles
  • About
  • Marketing Tips
  • Let’s Work Together

Copyright © 2022 Jim's Marketing Blog

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.