Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

055 : Personal Growth & Development w/ Jared Truby, Cat & Cloud Coffee

341 : How to Think About Success Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

How do you think about success and your coffee shop? For many people it boils down to financial metrics only which, in the long run, may not bring the kind of fulfillment the we seek when we first set out to begin in coffee. In fact without some more nuanced goals and metrics for success, even the profitability will and does suffer.

Today I want to talk about four ideas of what I believe success can look like that go beyond the financial and help balance our pursuit of profit in a way that bring sustainability to both you and the people you serve through the business.

We cover:

Out normal understanding of sucess
The importance of employee care
Legacy and long term creation
Intentionality and Community impact
Personal and professional growth

Related episodes:

293 : Thoughts on Defining Professionalism

206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger

009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk : Simon shows us how we should be thinking of numbers and their relation to our shops, baristas, and businesses

302 : Data's Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube

227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds

Blog: Who we are and What we do

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

262 : Understanding the Homeless Community w/ Natalie Harris, Executive Director of The Coalition for the Homeless

Are We Giving our Best to the Least? Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

I witnessed a heartbreaking scene unfold while at SCA EXPO in Boston. The situation was a common one in most of our cafes but in this context it really impacted me and inspired this Shift Break.

What are we doing in specialty? Is our talk about accessibility just talk? Are the best expressions of coffee the most exclusive? Lot's of questions rolling around the ol' noggin after this trip and today I wanted to chat about it with you.

As you listen, ask yourself what you would do in this scenario and how we as an industry might be able to do better in welcoming a larger variety of people into our spaces while we simultaneously pursue excellence.

Related episodes:

338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan

337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles

Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

Spiders! What they can Teach us About Hospitality

340 : Encore Episode of 10 Reasons to Love the Customer! Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

It is the 5 year anniversary of episode #19 titled "10 Reasons to Love the Customer"!

Coffee professionals tend to pit themselves against the customer as and us vs them battle. The original episode in 2017 was inspired by a magazine article about what baristas hate about customers. This mentality does not good for anyone and because we easily fall into thinking negatively about the customer, I thought it was time we refocus and exercise thankfulness and positivity.

All of these reasons are general enough to be true of almost any car or coffee shop. Truth be told, beyond the general reasons, there are a ton more specific ones that are unique to your own community.

It is my hope that you take this episode and contextualize it, and put in place as a regular thankfulness practice for yourself and your team.

Related Episodes:

Ignoring the Customer

045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner

016: Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth

277: Encore Episode: How to respond to Negative Feedback

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

Don't Force Vulnerability Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

We love the idea of developing a culture of trust. A place where it is safe to open up and be honest without worrying. Vulnerability is the new metric (among others) by which we judge how successful we are as leaders and I am happy that is. But if we are not carful then we risk using vulnerability as a weapon against people.

In today's Shift Break we will be chatting about how our desire to have a team where there is openness and trust can lead to us resorting to coercion and essentially forcing people into vulnerability, making it weird for everyone.

Related Episodes:

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017

339: What Good Barista Training Produces Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

What does you baristas training produce? For many shops barista training is a loose and rushed experience that falls short in equipping staff with what is needed to succeed. It also creates stress in leadership who desperately want to see good results but through poor mindsets toward training, sabotage the chance of seeing them.

In today's episode we will be talking about what goals and outcomes you need to be shooting for when thinking of and developing your your training programs.

We discuss:

Why we don't see the things we want
What baristas need vs what we give them
Pitfalls of rushed and overly wrought training
Memorization and Understanding
Standards and Consistency
Excitement and Curiosity

Related episodes:

330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop

080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement

248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team

301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.

Getting Them In By Getting Out! Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

How do we get people to come to our shop? This is the question at the root of most of our marketing efforts. So many of us have stories of how customers will tell us, even after years of business, "I never knew you were here!". It's frustrating.

In todays Shift Break we will be chatting about how we have been limiting ourselves with the way we are approaching marketing and the change of mindset and tactic that I think may help get people in your shop and aware of your brand.

Related episodes:

304 : Inside the Coffee Data Trends Breakout Report w/ Katie Von Der Lieth of the SCA

120 : Social Media 101 w/ Jenn Chen

234 : Actions and Strategies to Improve your Messaging w/ Garrett Oden

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

Subscribe to Roast Magazine! Use code "ROR" to get $5 off

RoR #13 : The Norm Roast Protocol w/ Dave Baxter Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

How do we test the energy efficiency, emissions, and impact of or roasting machines?. We all want to be responsible with our environmental impact but all we have to go on for data is supplied by marketing from the manufacturer. Wouldn't it be nice to have a real measure of the performance of a roasting machine? Well that is exactly what today's guest is out to provide.

Today on the Rate of Rise series from Roast Magazine we are going to be talking with Dave Baxter about The Norm Roast Protocol!

Dave Baxter has avidly roasted coffee for more than 15 years. He applies an analytical approach to master the enigmatic art of coffee roasting. Dave joined the Artisan team in 2015 and is a founding member of the NORM-ROAST Consortium. Many of the analytical tools and other features in Artisan were created by him. Dave is an inventive engineer with over 60 granted patents.

In our conversation we cover:

How Norm Roast Protocol was conceived
Verifying Marketing claims
Key components of the protocol
Establishing specification for the protocol from research
Incentivization of manufactures to adopt a universal protocol
How to begin using the protocol
Balance of Innovations focus on emissions vs maintaining quality
Mass adoption as key to create efficacy
Small vs large roasters
Optimizing existing equipment for efficiency

Links:

www.norm-roast.org

Related Episodes:

RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters

RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises

RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee

RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak

RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind"

RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister

RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants

ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients

RoR #9 Inside the Roaster's Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine

RoR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee

RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow

RoR #12 : Inside Coffee Packaging w/ Ever Meister

338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

In order to have clarity on how to operate effectively in coffee we need to view it thought a global lens. The tapestry of people and cultures that make up our industry are rarely represented and even less often do they benefit from coffee culture. The answer to this problem is something that today's guest calls "The Sepia Coffee Project".

Martell Mason is Co-Founder of the Sepia Coffee Project(SCP), a boutique roastery based in Detroit's North End. Although a native of the city, Martell has lived a very nomadic life with years spent throughout Asia, East Africa and Scandinavia. With a BA in International Affairs and grad work specializing in Sustainability and Coffee Value Chains; Martell continues to search for ways to bridge the gap from "farm to cup" while ensuring there is greater representation of all persons involved with an emphasis placed on those of color.

In 2017, he established Arabica Trading House in Istanbul, Turkey, being one of the first specialty traders to import high-quality, transparent coffees direct from origin. Pivoting after the shocks of the pandemic, Martell arrived back in the US in 2021 and saw an opportunity to be of service to a young, yet vibrant coffee community in Detroit.

Sepia Coffee Project's mission is to make specialty coffee more accessible to underserved markets, creating a more inclusive and equitable platform for coffee consumers, industry peers and the greater community at large.

In our conversation today we are going to be learning about Martell's unique journey through coffee and how his experiences shaped his views and the work he does today to create equity and inclusion for all.

We cover:

Getting into coffee and developing a broad perspective
Global travels and working in coffee
How story adds value
Learning by connecting directly with people
Improve systems through deeper understanding
Looking at what quality is and who defines it
Farmer livelihoods and mainstream coffee
Celebrating a wider range of coffee
Addressing "Coffee Deserts"
The establishment and goals of The Sepia Coffee Project
Bringing coffee to the underserved and marginalized

Related episodes:

116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton

183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson

233 : A Conversation w/ Anthony Ragler, Black and White

297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee

092 : Tony "Tonx" Konecny of Yes Plz : Consumer Accessibility, roasting, 3rd wave, subscription

227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds

Visit our amazing Sponsors!