Colext/Macondo
Cantina virtual de los COLombianos en el EXTerior
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es interesante como muchos colombianos se creen mas vivos e inteligentes que
cualquiera. como el confundido pajaro picon picon lo escribio la semana
pasada cuando pensaba que una vez 'desyerbada' la selva los farcos se
podrian mover sin ningun problema dando a entender que 'ellos se las saben
todas'.
claro ignorando leer, como es costumario entre sabelotodos, la historia del
secuestrado Tom, quien da una vista sobre la vida cotidiana de estos que se
semeja mas bien a un manada de encocados (una simple leida del libro 'The
Man Who Made It Snow' de MM muestra la clase de vida esta clase de traba da)
que un grupo disciplinado, lleno de vivos y listos como el pajaro
erradamente (como es costumario) cree.
pero el tema que queria tocar aca era el hecho que fue un yanqui, si masca
chicle o no que me importa, oriundo de nyc, fue el que cogio un producto que
muchos identificaban con colombia y se convirtio en un multibillonario.
mientras que los colombianos cada dia mas jodidos y los unicos de billete
son los que venden la amarga, el azucar y ofrecen mas tarjetas de credito.
aprendan colombianos que una cosa es creerse listo o vivo y otra es brillar
con ideas. este ultimo punto es algo totalmente oscuro para muchos de los
sabelotodos que creen que lambiendole las nalgas a otro pa' que no los echen
del puesto, como el roque en portland, o convertirse en una pi�os de la
burocracia del estado, como guzman, o ser dependientes del gobierno son las
unicas maneras de echar pa' delante.
y que diria don leonidas ante esta perdida de oportunidades, que verguenza
huy como asi.
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Wake up 'n smell the profits
How Starbucks' founder made coffee the craze and price no object
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - It takes a certain talent to make people pay top dollar
for a basic commodity. But a creative entrepreneur from Brooklyn managed to
do it. Howard Schultz glamorized the average cup of coffee and, with his
coffee bar Starbucks, kicked off not only a popular retail business but a
national coffee craze.
"He took a commodity product and built it into a premium brand," says Lehman
Brothers restaurant analyst Mitchell Speiser.
Schultz built that premium brand in just over 10 years -- expanding from 11
stores in 1987 to 1,600 today. Sales last year reached over $1 billion.
"It's a great American story and I think it shows the entrepreneurial
spirit, that the entrepreneurial opportunity in America is alive and well,"
Schultz says. And like all true American success stories, Schultz struggled
to become one.
"We raised money from what is called sophisticated individual investors in
the early stage, and basically anyone who would write us a check fit that
criteria because so many people turned us down.
But I had a hard time. It took me a year to raise the first $1 million for
this business," he says. Once he had access to money, Schultz was on a
roll. From 11 stores in Seattle, he expanded at the rate of one shop a day
across America, Japan and now -- with the acquisition of the Seattle Coffee
Co.
"They did it . . . (by) meticulously building this brand from step one,
meaning always focusing on the customer, always focusing on quality," says
Speiser. Another key ingredient to Starbucks' success, analysts say, is the
company's focus on employees. One of those employees, Aileen Mitchell,
gives high praise to Starbucks' praise of its workers. "People are always
telling you when you're doing things right. . . . Like 'Great, you did a
great job on that.'"
Just as importantly, says roaster Deanna Mathews, "they want to make sure
they provide opportunities for you to excel within Starbucks." Developing
employees' ideas is another perk of the job. Employees are encouraged to
come up with new products, a policy that led to Starbucks Frappucino, its
most successful drink in 10 years -and an idea that Schultz thought would
never succeed.
"That was created by one of our people in southern California and that has
become a multimillion-dollar product for the company. . . . I was wrong,
they were right. What a great story," says Schultz.
With products like Frappucino, Starbucks has extended its brand by branching
out beyond hot drinks. But not all ideas have been winners. Schultz refers
to Mazagran, a failed carbonated coffee beverage, as the Edsel of Starbucks:
"Carbonated coffee was a little hard for people to take, and it was just too
early," he says.
As far as rain on a parade goes, such setbacks are dew at worst. Analysts
have equated Starbucks with Coke and Microsoft, and Wall Street is betting
that people will continue to pay for a cup-a-joe at Starbucks (SBUX) that
they could get across the street for a third or even half the price.
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