Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

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405 : Beyond the Schedule w/ Wil Brawley of Schedulefly Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

Technology and tools are meant to serve people, not the other way around. As we multiply apps, software, snd services in the name of optimization and ease, it can become harder to truly connect as we begin relying on these innovations to replace the very relationships that will sustain our coffee shops.

The tech for making the schedule in your cafe is one of these areas that has seen an enormous amount of growth and proliferation over the years. Amongst these options stands a company that has been consistently and decisively people focused, radically simple, and hospitality minded in their quest to truly serve their clients the way their clients serve guests. I am thrilled to be talking with Wil Brawley of Schedulefly!

Wil is Co-Owner of Schedulefly, a simple online restaurant employee scheduling platform that has served over 17,000 independent hospitality businesses since 2007. He is also host of the Restaurant Owners Uncorked podcast and author of two Restaurant Owners Uncorked books.

In this conversation we will be talking about the genesis of Schedulefly, how they have stayed simple and effective for these past 16 years, and what Wil has learned as he has built relationships with and heard the stories of cafe and restaurant owners.

We cover:

The story of Schedulefly
The schedule's role in your businesses operation
Why integrations are not all they are cracked up to be
What hospitality looks like between service provider and client
Leaning into relationships
The art of saying no and knowing who you are
Lessons Will has gleaned form interviews on the podcast and in writing his books
The need for simple people first hospitality and systems

Links:

www.schedulefly.com

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Pitching your Ideas to Your Boss Apr 12, 2023

Show notes

"If only the boss would listen to my ideas this coffee shop would be so much better!" We all have ideas for how to improve different aspects of the cafe. Many times I have been frustrated when my really great ideas were not met with the same enthusiasm I had. What gives?!

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why your ideas may not be received well and how to pitch your ideas with the consideration, planning, and empathy it takes to make get buy-in and be taken more seriously.

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Kyle Rowsell's IG @kyle.rowsell

404 : Education, Home Brewing, and Launching a Roastery w/ Kyle Rowsell, September Coffee Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

Creating in depth, engaging, and ultimately helpful educational content is no easy task. Today the number of options we have for gear, techniques, and the coffee itself are daunting to say the least. It is this vast field of options that energizes the home enthusiast to passionately pursue coffee and for some they get into it so much, they turn pro. That is the case with today's special Guest, Youtube and TikTok creator and now coffee roastery owner at September Coffee, Kyle Rowsell.

For years now Kyle has been inviting his followers along his journey humbly pursuing knowledge and know how around coffee, gear, and brewing. As Kyle has been growing his platform and help countless people achieve tasty coffee at home , he has also created and now launched with his wife a new roastery called September Coffee

In this conversation Kyle breaks down his journey, coffee philosophy, goals with his platforms, and the story of launching his new roasting business, September Coffee.

We cover:

Finding coffee and following a nw career path
Content creation and representing the coffee industry to consumers
The evolution of how consumers view coffee at home
How cafe need to embrace the prosumer and why it matters
Starting a Roastery
Making decisions on what kind of coffee to roast
How the professional role as biz owner differs from the creator role
How does consumer purchasing in small amount impact green demand

Links:

www.september.coffee

Kyle Rowsell YouTube

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Baristas Are Not Magic Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

There are no shortcuts to creating something meaningful, dynamic, and sustainable. But that does not stop us from thinking that that there are! Whether you are leaning on the idea that you just need the perfect or award winning barista and then you will be successful, or if you can just get the right template, tool, or menu all will be well, you will be sorely disappointed.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the impulse we have to want this magic thinking to be true and what kind of thinking we need to employ instead that will actually work over time.

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403 : The Craft of Food, Coffee, and Writing w/ Matt Rodbard, Founder of TASTE Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

Most all of us are driven by a desire to create something that makes an impact. Be it through food, or through coffee, we craft an experience and hope that the values and culture that drives us shines through with each plate and cup served. In many ways, we are relaying a story through our craft in hopes that that story and experience will be accurately captured and told by others. Through his writing, that is exactly what today's guest does in the culinary world.

Today we are talking with award winning author and founder of TASTE, Matt Rodbard.

Matt Rodbard is a writer, editor, and author of food and culture books with more than two decades of experience working in television, magazines, book publishing, and online media. He's the author of Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times Bestseller, Food IQ, a Publishers Weekly Bestseller, and the Founding Editor of online food and culture magazine TASTE, winner of two James Beard Foundation Awards. He's the host of the long-running podcast TASTE, a show featuring conversations with the most interesting people in food, cookbooks, media, and more.

In this conversation we explore Matt's career, what he has learned writing about food, chefs and the culinary industry, how coffee can learn from the world of restaurants, and how the craft of cooking, writing, and coffee are connected.

We cover:

Matt's development as a writer and storyteller
The deeper meaning of food and culture
The difficulty of writing to effectively reflect heart and soul
What the biggest issues are in the restaurant world today
Awards and staying in touch with pleasing guests
Accessible luxury and rooted experiences
Why the flavor wheel in coffee needs to be thrown out
What coffee needs to do to improve and learn from our culinary counterparts

Links:

https://tastecooking.com/

https://www.instagram.com/taste/

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Managing Anger : Tips on how to deal with getting angry behind the coffee bar in a healthy way

Service, Spite, and Compromise Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

I was having a conversation with my wife and son about the practice of "decafing" customers and when anyone would take it upon themselves to do that. Ultimately it boils down to a decision we make in the moment to maintain integrity and hight standards for ourselves, or to create precedent within ourselves to let spite rule our actions.

In today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we can and do easily fall into pettiness and spite and how we can avoid this trap that ultimately ends up, more than anything else, damaging us and the coffee industry.

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Gossip: How this toxic element destroys community in the coffee shop and what to do instead

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RoR #20 : Challenging the Status Quo w/ David Lalonde of Rabbit Hole Roasters, Montreal, Quebec Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

When you think about success in roasting coffee, you will more than likely be concerned first and foremost with quality. While quality is critical, it is not the only factor. And success itself is more than a measure of your businesses profit, but how your business profits others. A new and more expansive view of quality and success is one of the things that characterizes today RoR guest.

In this episode of Rate of Rise we are going to be talking with, David Lalonde of Rabbit Hole Roasters!

David is the co-founder (along with biz partner Sophie) of Rabbit Hole Roasters in Montreal, Quebec. Roasting tasty coffee is obviously important for him, but challenging the coffee status quo is what drives him. By learning about coffee's inequalities, building long lasting relationships at origin and centering small holder farmers, he hopes to change the narrative, one that is not based primarily on cup score.

Rabbit Hole Roasters is known for hight quality coffee, accessible offerings, and a desire to create momentum for equity along the entire value stream.

Rabbit Hole is also the Roast Magazine 2023 Mirco-Roaster of the Year!

In our conversation we will be talking about David's entry into coffee, starting rabbit Hole, and the mission to take on the important and hard topics of the coffee industry through conversation and through the operation of Rabbit Hole Roasters itself.

In our conversation we cover:

Entering the coffee scene
Developing the ethos and values
choosing import partners
crafting an accessible and impactful offering
Longterm relationships and farmer commitments
Why quality is not the most important thing
Running a successful business
Developed coffee and expanding our marketing
Asking the hard questions and giving a platform to needed conversations

Links:

www.rabbitholeroasters.com
Rabbit Hole Roasters in IG: @RABBITHOLEROASTERS

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402 : Innovating a Generous Wage Structure w/ Mike Schroeder of Oddly Correct Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

In the hospitality industry, a guiding ethos that drives many successful coffee bars, restaurant, and bars alike, is the concept of generosity. When we operate with a heart to give and serve, we innovate ways to make that ethos a reality. Unfortunately there are many cafes that operate with the idea that they should only pay what they can get away with and have a less than generous disposition that leads to all sorts of problems.

That fact that this later disposition is so common is one of the reasons today's guest started down the road to innovate a way to create a generaous payment system that both challeneges the status quo and cares for the needs of the coffee shop's staff.

Today we are talking with Mike Schroeder of Oddly Correct in Kansas City, MO.

Mike Schroeder is a drummer turned aerospace engineer turned drummer turned co ffee roaster turned problem solver and business owner. Mike is brothers-in-law with Oddly's founder Gregory Kolsto and Oddly's first employee (in 2011) and is now being trusted to steer the ship.

In this conversation we dive into the story and values of Oddly Correct and how they flipped the script on the traditional way wages are viewed and can today provide their staff with a consistent living wage.

We cover:

Beginning oddly
Crafting the values
Making decisions
Expanding mindfully
The why behind projects and initiatives
Valuing your team
Guaranteeing a living wage
Pushback from the industry
Rolling it our and seeing the impact
Continual improvement
Advice for how to apply this structure

Links:

www.oddlycorrect.com

Boss Barista interview w/Mike

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SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! NYC 2023 Part 2 w/ Jesse Harriott, Jenna Gotthelf, Anu Menon! Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Part 2 of 2023 Coffee Fest Live NYC interviews! In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.

This time we are joined by Jesse Harriott, Jenna Gotthelf, and Anu Menon!

To start us off on part 2 we are going to talk with Jesse Harriott of Copper Horse Coffee!

Jesse is a long time friend of mine and Co-founder of Copper Horse Coffee in Ithaca, NY. He has been serving coffee for 20 years, Roasting, training, and consulting for 18 years and has accumulated a lot of recognitions and awards at Coffee Fest, Golden Bean, and has amassed an incredible amount of wisdom and experience over these decades of coffee craft and leadership. In this conversation we discuss what is at the core of a successful coffee shop's operations.

Next we chat with Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee.

Jenna Gotthelf is an advocate for creating progressive and approachable learning opportunities for anyone who brews coffee. Jenna is based in NYC and is the wholesale education manager for Counter Culture Coffee, where she oversees the barista training program carried out in Training Centers across the country. Jenna is also a long time US Coffee Championships competitor and has placed everywhere from first to last to somewhere in the middle in Brewers Cup and Barista Competitions

Jenna and I discuss the need for coffee bars to educate their customers in ways that empower them and give them tools for success and how to meet them where they are in their coffee journey.

Finally we are talking with Anu Menon of Driftaway Coffee.

Anu Menon is a founder at Driftaway Coffee, a sustainability-focused direct-to-consumer coffee roaster based in Brooklyn, NY. An engineer-turned-marketing consultant, she leads Customer Experience & Sustainability at Driftaway and is passionate about building an approachable, equitable & transparent coffee value chain.

Anu sits down with me to talk about how we can reach out to our customers via digital platforms and what practical steps we can take to create access, change, and culture regardless of physical location.

Links:

www.counterculturecoffee.com

www.driftawaycoffee.com

Related episodes:

162 : Discussing "Baristastainability" w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 2 w/ Marissa Childers, Jess Gulino, and Tony Dreyfuss 157 : Four from the Floor : Interviews from Coffee Fest Indianapolis 2019 142 : Entrepreneur Interviews from Coffee Fest NYC!