Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

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236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!

264 : A Conversation with Abner Roldan of Cafe Comunion and La Crema Podcast! Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

On today's episode we get to have a conversation with Abner Roldan who, along with his wife Karla Quiñones founded one of Puerto Ricos best coffee shops, Cafe Comunion. Abner is also Puerto Rico's latte art champion 2014 & '15, a member of the Barista Magazine Editorial Board AND the recent Sprudgie Award winner of Best Coffee Podcast! (La Crema)

In this interview we start right at the beginning to learn about Abner's entry into coffee, the story of founding Cafe Comunion, starting his award winning podcast, and his experiences as he has grown as a coffee professional serving both the Puerto Rican coffee community and the Spanish speaking coffee community globally.

We cover:

Starting in coffee and building a career
Starting the shop
Deciding to building in Puerto Rico
Connecting community
Why the industry needs to expand its reach to other cultures
Inspiring other businesses
Not forgetting about your culture, language , and roots
How to welcome more people and offer better resources

Links:

Abner's IG

Cafe Comunion IG

Related Episodes:

061 : You Don't Know Beans about Brazil w/ Kelly Stein, Coffea Podcast

072: Taking an Origin Trip w/ Kim Elena-Ionescu : How to go to origin in a mutual beneficial way

103 : The Colombian Coffee Connection w/ Ervin Liz

Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

263 : Founder Friday w/ Mike McFall of Biggby Coffee Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

Well now! Today we are going to get an inside look into one of the biggest and most successful coffee brands in the nation! We are talking with the Co-Founder of Biggby Coffee, Mike McFall!

Biggby Coffee was founded in 1995 in Lansing, Michigan a fast-growing $100-million-dollar coffee franchise with 250+ locations across the Midwest and quickly expanding into the East Coast in 2020. Biggby is one of the largest coffee chains in the USA.

Having originally started with Biggby in 1996 as a minimum wage barista, Mike has since held every subsequent position within the company, including his current title as co-Founder and co-CEO (May 2016). Mike believes his time in each of his previous roles has allowed him to form a bond with his employees based on understanding, credibility, and respect. Two decades later,

Mike also wrote and published the Inc. Original book, Grind, with the mission to help founders and entrepreneurs take their business concept and turn it into a positive cash-flow business. In the book Mike shares his personal experiences having led Biggby through survival mode, stability, and aggressive growth.

In our conversation today we will be hearing the story of both Mike's and Biggby's development from concept to present day and all the failures, lessons, and success in between.

This is a very insightful interview and Mike truly hits on some crucial keys to success that apply to everyone from coffee shops with 1-2 spaces to a large chains with hundreds.

We cover:

The beginnings of the business
The journey from barista to co-owner
Mission and vision
Catalyst for changing problematic leadership and management styles
What is "Love in the workplace"?
Commitment to support
Why they chose the franchise model
Selecting franchisees
Biggby's keys to a successful store
Why people are not the problem
Self-awareness
Your impact on others is paramount

Links:

www.biggby.com

https://grindthebook.com

Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

243 : Encore Episode! "The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)"

Paving the Way Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

All of us want to wake up, look around, and be happy with where we are and what we're doing. How we accomplish that is often thought to be in the "big breaks" and in exclusive opportunities. But in most cases, who we become and what we are able to do is based on the daily decisions we make that pave the way.

Today we will be talking about how we can most effectively build our careers by embracing this mindset.

Related Episodes:

Laziness and the most important Decision

Work Alchemy

"It's not my Job" & Self-Sabotage

Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!

Chris@keystotheshop.com

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

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https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/take-a-course/

262 : Understanding the Homeless Community Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

How does your shop address and interact with the homeless community? If you are like most people, the answer is not very defined and born more from fear and misunderstanding than empathy and informed policy. As we provide spaces to serve the community, it is important that we focus in on how we interact with every person within it, including the homeless.

To help us rewrite the narrative and bring some understanding to the conversation on home we and our businesses treat the homeless we are going to be talking with the Executive Director of Louisville Coalition for the Homeless, Natalie Harris.

Natalie Harris joined The Coalition for the Homeless in April of 2010.

The Coalition is a nonprofit organization committed to advocacy, education and collaboration on the issues of homelessness. It is member agency of over 30 homeless shelter and service providers serving Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. They have a staff of twelve. Natalie was responsible for working to create Rx:Housing/Louisville and effort to end both veteran and chronic homelessness in Louisville.

Natalie was also the Chief Executive Officer of Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, a nonprofit supportive housing provider in Dayton, Ohio. Natalie also served as director of the Specialized Housing Resources Department at Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), the state housing finance agency. There, she was responsible for development, implementation and coordination of policies and procedures relating to special needs housing. She has served as a consultant to the U.S. Census Bureau, Corporation for Supportive Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Urban Institute on issues related to rural homelessness and supportive housing.

In this conversation Natalie gives us insight into the factors contributing to homelessness and helps give us practical and actionable steps to take to equip ourselves and our staff with the mindsets and tools to really connect with and help the homeless community in meaningful ways.

Please look into the links provided here to learn more.

We cover:

Systems that create homelessness
Profit over people
Segregation
Blaming the person
Broadening your perspective
Listening and connecting
Coffee shops role
Gaining more information
Communicating with your staff

Links:

https://louhomeless.org

email: nharris@louhomeless.org

Related Episodes:

180 : A Conversation with Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale

182 : Founder Friday w/ Alec Tod of Indie Coffee Roasters

106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista

183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson

139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe Co-Founder, Phil Sipka

Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

246 : Selecting a Wholesale Coffee Provider

Be honest with your Wholesale Accounts Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

In the relationship between wholesale coffee roaster and client, there are things that do not get talked about as much as they should. Largely this is based the desire to maintain the relationship and any harder or awkward conversations present themselves in the course of business are subsequently ignored, often util they reach a critical point.

Today we are going to be discussing why honestly should be the cornerstone of this professional relationship and how it benefits both you and your client.

Related episodes:

133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond

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

Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!

Chris@keystotheshop.com

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Your Own Branded App!

028 : Why it's Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan

261 : The Basics of Managing Managers Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

When we set up a manager in the cafe we are not just delegating authority and freeing up some of our time, we are setting up the business for failure or success. All of it boils down to how we manage and lead them in their responsibilities and roles.

Today we are going to explore the basics of managing your managers and cover many aspects that get over looked. As I have said plenty of times in on this show, managers are one of the most important, if not THE most important role in the cafe. We need to determine to invest in their success from the beginning in tangible and consistent ways.

I hope todays conversation will help you do just that.

Be sure and listen, or re-listen to the recommended episodes below.

Related episodes:

179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap

013 : Leadership & Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia : Leadership | management | hiring | career

109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it

141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan

Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

4 Tips for training your staff

Training TMI Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

We love to talk about coffee! So much so, we often fail to give people the information they need to be successful on the bar. If you have ever gone off on a tangent about extraction science and esoteric processing methods with a new hire (I think we all have) then this episode is for you!

Today we will talk about training TMI and how we should be approaching the communication of information if we want baristas to be successful as a result of their time in the training process.

Related episodes:

Shifting the Shadow Shift

025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak

Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!

Chris@keystotheshop.com

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Your Own Branded App!

www.happentoyourcareer.com

260 : Is you Current Job the right Job? w/ Scott Anthony Barlow Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

Sometimes everything will seem to suggest that leaving our job or career in pursuit of something better is the best option. But is is always the best option? What if the job we have now is actually the perfect one for us? What might we be missing out on if we leave and how do we get clarity to make these kinds of decisions in the first place? Today we are going to be exploring these questions with returning guest, Scott Anthony Barlow of Happen to your Career.

Scott Anthony Barlow is the Founder and CEO of Happen to Your Career. He's been featured on CNBC, Yahoo, CareerBuilder, Fast Company and Huffington Post and various Colleges and Universities as a top expert on Career Happiness. He gets way excited about careers, coffee, and helping people take control over their life and work.

In our discussion today we cover specific mindsets, frameworks, and questions to ask yourself in order to gain career clarity and truly know that you should either stay or go.

We cover:

Reasons people leave jobs
The danger of missing out on what your current job has to offer
Questions to ask yourself to determine your values
7 Needs we have at work
Contextualizing those needs
Using the power you have to change your current circumstance
Good stress and bad stress
Wants vs needs

Links:

www.happentoyourcareer.com/8day

Related Episodes:

077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work

073 : How to be Awesome at Your Job w/ Pete Mockaitis

121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings

125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity

Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

120 : Social Media 101 w/ Jenn Chen

Digital Hospitality Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

Your customers are not just in the shop. They are not even just in your city. They are anywhere your digital footprint treads and how you manage that experience will determine the quality of the experience people have with your brand.

Today we are going to be chatting about the importance of digital hospitality and why it needs to of equal importance to in person service.

Related Episodes:

227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds

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

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

Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!

Chris@keystotheshop.com

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Your Own Branded App!