What Howard Schultz Taught Me About Creating a Feeling

The Business Story: Schultz and the “Third Place”

When Howard Schultz stepped into Starbucks, it wasn’t just about coffee.

He had a bigger vision: to create what he called the “third place.”

Not home.
Not work.
Something in between.

A place where people could meet a friend, read a book, or feel part of a community.

It sounds obvious now, but at the time, it was revolutionary. Coffee shops were largely transactional. You grabbed a cup and left. Schultz turned Starbucks into a place you wanted to stay.

That single shift: coffee as experience rather than commodity is what transformed Starbucks from a Seattle chain into a global brand.

People weren’t buying lattes. They were buying the feeling of belonging.

The Tip: Emotion Builds Brand Memory

This story highlights one of the simplest but most overlooked truths about branding:

Emotion builds brand memory.

Think about it:

• Facts inform.

• Logic convinces.

• But emotion sticks.

It’s why you remember the smell of your grandmother’s kitchen but not the details of last week’s grocery run.

It’s why a Nike ad can make you want to lace up your sneakers even if you haven’t run in years.

And it’s why Schultz built Starbucks into a cultural icon, because he understood that people don’t crave caffeine nearly as much as they crave connection.

If you want your brand, your pitch, or your content to be remembered, you can’t stop at information. You have to connect to feeling.

Here are two quick ways to do it:

1. Ask: what emotion am I selling? Pride, relief, belonging, confidence? Make it explicit.

2. Show it in action. Don’t just tell people what you do, but show them how it makes someone feel through story.

That’s what makes people carry you with them long after they scroll past your content.

The Personal Story: From Transaction to Emotion

I had to learn this lesson the hard way.

Early in my ghostwriting business, I pitched everything as a transaction. “I’ll help you grow your following. I’ll create better posts. I’ll build your funnel.”

It sounded professional. Logical. Clear.

But it didn’t move people. I got polite nods, but not much traction.

Then I shifted my focus. Instead of selling “content,” I started selling the feeling behind it.

I painted the picture of founders walking into a room and being recognized because of their online presence. Of executives feeling confident when people reached out to them because their voice was already out there. Of business owners feeling proud (not embarrassed) of their personal brand.

When I sold that feeling, everything changed.

Clients didn’t just want content. They wanted to feel that pride, that confidence, that recognition. And they saw me as the one who could get them there.

That’s when the real growth started.

Bringing It Home

Howard Schultz didn’t scale Starbucks by selling beans.
He scaled it by creating a place where people felt something.

The same applies to you.

If your brand feels stuck, it might not be your product or your service that’s holding you back. It might be the feeling you’re leading with or failing to lead with.

Because people rarely remember the pitch. But they always remember how it made them feel.

If you’re tired of content that sounds transactional and want to build a brand that people actually feel, I can help.

Through my Creative Catalyst Method, I help founders and executives create systems that connect not just with the mind, but with the heart, so your brand is remembered, trusted, and chosen.

Reply with “Feeling” and I’ll show you how to make your content unforgettable on a 15-minute call.