Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

135 : Stay Motivated in the midst of Difficulty

Your Own Branded App!

www.espressly.co

243 : Encore Episode! "The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)" Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

I am excited to re-share this oldie with you. Mainly because it has a ton of very useful insights that I think we all need to ponder these days. Life (aka 2020) won't let up and the 7 things I talked about back in November 2017 could not be more relevant. In many ways, we spend a lot of our energies reinforcing self-sabotaging behaviors and habits. Thing is, even though I originally broadcast this as being for baristas, you can just as easily see these 7 things in your life as a business owner.

So on behalf of the Chris of 2017 and the Chris of 2020, I hope you enjoy this blast from the past!

Links to recommended episodes:

Main Episodes:

083: 6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth

008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May

207 : Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Coffee Roasters

Shift Breaks:

Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game

2 Qualities of Quality Baristas The Barista Slump Your Peers are not your Customers

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann

Lack of-Self-Awareness Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

One of the main ways that coffee shops fail has a lot to do with the level of self awareness leaders. So many issues we experience can be traced back to this skill. It is a skill we need to practice in order to set up everyone in the business for success.

Today will be chatting about self-awareness and the critical role it plays in running a coffee shop and, more importantly, leading people.

Related episodes:

239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez

Selfish Self-awareness

067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe

The Broken Chair

165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli

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

Your Own Branded App!

www.espressly.co

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Subscribe to James' You Tube Channel

242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann Sep 26, 2020

Show notes

OK! Today we get to talk with coffee legend James Hoffmann! On top of being the 2007 World Barista Champion and Co-owner of Square Mile Coffee Roasters, a renowned roastery in London, James is also the author of the World Atlas of Coffee, and runs one of the world's most popular and fun coffee YouTube channels where he dives deep into everything from coffee equipment, coffee science, brewing, extraction, agronomy, taste, and really anything to do with coffee.

In essence, James is a purveyor of ideas for and about coffee that, over the years, have helped us all to better navigate the landscape of specialty coffee either as enthusiasts or professionals.

James is an excellent teacher and has a gift for clearly articulating his thoughts and ideas around topics and his approach to questions that can be at first a bit confusing, both disarms and welcomes people into the world of coffee.

In this fantastic conversation we get into a number of those questions that are at the heart of what we do in specialty coffee and the cafe. I believe James' thoughts here will be of great value as we seek to build a better industry and better businesses into the future.

We cover:

What makes specialty coffee special
How accessible should it specialty be
What it means to be inclusive of customers
What are good mindsets to have for business
The role does the cafe plays
When differentiators become a barriers
Winning the trust of customers
The problem of low barriers in starting a coffee business
How cafes have contributed to problems in the industry
Good business models post-COVID

Links:

www.jameshoffmann.co.uk

www.squaremilecoffee.com

James on Instagram

Related Episodes:

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

138 : Joseph A. Rivera on Organic Acids and the Importance of Coffee Science

223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll

082 : Knowledge and Flavor w/ Cosimo Libardo

198 : The Evolution of the Coffee Shop w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris

085 : How we Ruin the Specialty Experience

022 : Founder Friday w/ Colin Harmon of 3fe Coffee, Dublin Ireland & Author of the new book, "What I know About Running Coffee Shops"

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

118 : Founder Friday w/ Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters founders, Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb

241 : Founder Friday! w/ David Morris of Dillanos Coffee Roasters Sep 24, 2020

Show notes

Today on Founder Friday we get to explore the Coffee Maverick himself, David Morris!

David J. Morris is Founder and Co-CEO of Dillanos Coffee Roasters, based in Sumner, Washington. Dillanos sells wholesale coffee and other supplies to specialty coffee retailers across the U.S. and several countries. He is a serial entrepreneur, leadership expert, and commercial real estate investor. David, along with his brother Chris Heyer, have several business interests in hotels, apartments, office buildings and various other business ventures. David is also the co-author of several books including The Rolling Desk.

Dillanos has been in business for 30 years and has become the iconic brand it is today from the humble beginning of a small coffee cart in Sumner, Washington. Dillanos Coffee Roasters is consistently roasting some of the best coffees in the world, and is well known for their motto, "Help people! Make Friends! Have Fun!"

In this conversation with David we are getting a detailed and candid look at the very beginnings and evolution of Dillanos' three decades of operation. We the challenges, the secrets to their longevity, the lessons learned in relationships and business, and much more.

I hope you draw a lot of inspiration from today's discussion.

Enjoy!

We cover:

Early growth and challenges
Becoming only a roaster
Scaling the business
Knowing your strengths
Following the vision
The Evel Knievel connection
Hiring standards
Supporting + communicating w/ staff
Impact of COVID
Evolution their approach to coffee
Curating the message and communicating the right things.
Establishing customer expectations and delivering excellence
Biggest lessons from the past

Links:

www.dillanos.com

David on:

Instagram

Twitter

Related episodes:

081 : Founder Friday w/ David Schomer of Espresso Vivace

204 : Founder Friday w/ Jeff Taylor of PT's Coffee Roasting Co. & Bird Rock Coffee!

232 : Founder Friday w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou's Porch

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!

Prep for Performance Reviews Sep 24, 2020

Show notes

Performance reviews have become a place where we tend to unload on the barista all the issues we have been seeing over the past months. They tend to be frustrating because they include some surprising bits o feedback that are news to the barista and generally end up being disheartening in stead of encouraging and motivating.

Today we will be talking about the what we need to be doing before the performance review to really make it effective and and create the positive impact on performance it can have.

Related episodes:

The One-on-One

Being the point of Clarity

Communicate, duplicate, repeat

Tips for Great Staff Meetings

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

175 : How to Keep your Cool : A Fridge, Cooler, and Ice Machine Masterclass w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department!

Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:

www.flairespresso.com

240 : What to do before you Build your Bar Sep 22, 2020

Show notes

Designing a coffee bar requires a lot of forethought and attention to detail. Unfortunately, it is often he case that bars are designed for looks and not functionality. This creates a huge amount of problems down the road with the way you baristas work, the speed of your drink prep, the way customers feel when ordering, and much more.

In today's episode I am sharing a few tips that I use with clients whose bars I have helped design that will help you to build a functional bar from the very beginning. Even if you have already built your bar, these principles will help you rearrange it where you van, or build a better bar in store #2.

We will cover:

Barista Workflow
The role of the menu
Customer order flow
Ergonomics
Designing with cleaning in mind
Health department/ Regulations

Need help designing (or redesigning) your bar?

KTTS Consulting can help!

Email me:

chris@keystotheshop.com

Related episodes:

169 : Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman

042 : Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rhinehart: Prima Coffee

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin

SPECIAL: Stories from the Ground #3 w/ Chi Sum Ngai of Coffee Project NY! Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

Here we go! Stories from the Ground is a series of interviews that are designed to give you insights and guidance on how to thrive in the midst of the COVID crisis by hearing from amazing cafe owners and learning from their stories and experiences dealing with the shutdowns, caring for their staff, serving their customers, and keeping their businesses going.

In this 3rd and final installment of "Stories from the Ground" we are going to be talking with the co-owner of the Coffee Project NY, Chi Sum Ngai!

Chi Sum (Sum) Ngai is the co-founder of Coffee Project NY. Coffee Project NY, founded in 2015, has three locations, including their latest addition in Long Island City facility that includes a café, roastery and the only Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Premier Training Campus in New York State. At the Campus, Sum and partner Kaleena Teoh teach certified classes to coffee industry professionals seeking to further their education and career opportunities. Sum herself is a certified Q grader and roasting championship competitor who oversees the company's roasting program.

Their starting goal was simply to share their passion for coffee with the neighborhood. They quickly received recognition for brewing delicious pour overs and deconstructing lattes to elevate the coffee experience; paying tribute to the craftsmanship of the professional barista.

Coffee Project NY has grown from a two-person-team to a team of professionals specializing in different facets of the industry

Sum gives us a shinning example of what it means to be a people-first organization and offers so many incredibly helpful insights in this conversation. A perfect way to cap off this series !

Enjoy!

* IMPORTANT! Be sure to down load the "Take Aways" for this episode at the link below!

"Stories from the Ground" is brought to you by Ground Control. Visit them to learn more about their amazing Cyclops Brewer.

www.Vogacoffee.com

Download the "Take Aways" from this episode. A PDF of all the takeaways and major points made by our guest!

Poaching and Hiring from other Shops Sep 17, 2020

Show notes

It can sometimes be hard to find qualified employees and when we see great baristas at other shops we "can't help" thinking of offering them a job in our place. But there is a bit of an ethical problem here. When we cross a certain line, we are violating an unwritten rule.

We are, in fact, poaching.

It's not black and white though, and in today's shift break we will chat about some of the nuances of this issue and offer some insight to help you avoid crossing the line and clarity to help you make peace with hiring decisions you've made where you think you might have crossed that line, but did not.

Related Episodes:

My #1 Interview Mistake

My Favorite Interview Question

The Right People?

Need consulting or coaching? Let's talk

Chris@keystotheshop.com

Elevated batch brew and so much more!