A tale of five coffee shops: a parable of the myth of market oversaturation

Do you like coffee? Chances are you do. If you’re an adult, you likely start your day with a cup of joe. And if you don’t have time for coffee at home, you might stop for coffee on your way to work or to take the kids to school. Or you may just like to treat yourself on occasion and I’m guessing you have your favorite place to go, for one reason or another. It may be convenient or it may be your favorite flavor, or an awesome promotion too great to pass up. Here’s a story about coffee, that’s not really about coffee at all. Let me explain.

I’m a part of multi-level marketing (MLM) company. I love the products, love the discount, and enjoy meeting others who share my love of the products. However, sometimes I hear people say they don’t want to join the team (and this is universal- it happens for all companies, not just mine), because the market is “oversaturated.” They may just be looking for an out or may be saying whatever they think will make me (or any other distributor) leave them alone. Or they may actually believe this. I know for a fact that the market isn’t oversaturated. Not just in my product line, but in any other lines, either. Whether it’s makeup or cooking goods or oils or candles, the market isn’t saturated. Even if you live in the place where your company is founded, the market isn’t flooded with too many purveyors of goods and too few customers. How do I know? Let me tell you!

On 83rd and Thunderbird (about a mile from my house) there are quite a few shops and stores in a strip mall on all sides. On one corner is a Dutch Bros (the best coffee in the biz, in my opinion...not just the sweetened and sugared kinds either, but the straight up coffee and espresso). Diagonally across the street on the same corner is ANOTHER Dutch Bros. Yep, same corner. They are both super busy all the time. Also on the same corner across from both of those places is Dunkin’ Donuts, also known for their coffee and often a competitor of the major coffee chains. Right next door to Dunkin is a McDonald’s and everyone knows that McDonald’s has been known for good coffee for decades. There’s also a Circle K- and many tout them as the best cheap coffee around. And until about a month ago, a mile from this location, there was a Starbucks. I went there not long ago and there was a sign on the door. They moved.

Guess where they moved to?

Yep. You guessed it. They moved to 83rd and Thunderbird, home of four other major coffee places (plus a Burger King and a second Dutch Bros).

And guess what? Their line is always busy, too! Starbucks didn’t decide to move to some random place to get away from other coffee stores. They didn’t think, “the market is saturated. Let’s just close up shop.” They moved right where all the action was.

So, if you ever find yourself in a business, entrepreneurial, or marketing situation or opportunity and you think the market is too saturated, think again. Unless you’re selling hard cover encyclopedias, I’m pretty sure there are folks who are buying whatever it is you’re selling. You could live next door to the CEO and still find customers on your block. I’m sure of it.

If you do decide to go into business or to start selling something as a side gig (or a main gig), rather than ask yourself if the market is saturated, ask yourself these questions: do I love the product? Do I have a passion for this company? Is the compensation package fair and profitable? Do I think this product or company is forward thinking and is going to be around a decade from now? Five decades from now? If you answer those questions affirmatively, that is far more important than the question of how many people sell that product in your neighborhood.

Now, it may be a matter of how hard you want to work it, and whether or not you want to live on excuses or hard work. Whatever you prefer, just be honest with yourself. If five major coffee sellers can all share a corner and make a profit, you can do it with your products, too. There’s room for everyone! Scarcity only exists in the land of excuses.

Now, I’m going to go decide which coffee shop to visit.

See you all next week!