Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Latest Episodes:

Development in a Crisis Apr 03, 2020

Show notes

We are shaped by hardship more than times of ease. How we are shaped and who we become after it is largely up to us and will help define our business for the foreseeable future. Today we are talking about the opportunity presented in the midst of tough times to choose generosity and lean into higher levels of leadership, service, and connection.

Links:

The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens

Batch Brew like you never thought possible:

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

210 : The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens | CEO of The Retail Prophet Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

The future of retail seems pretty uncertain right now. Many of us are left wondering how things will look at the end of this crisis. What will happen to the physical shop and the customers that frequent it. Whenever we consider the future, it can be pretty murky. Today we get some clarity and direction on what the future holds for our businesses and what we can do to prepare for it.

I am very pleased to welcome to the show, Doug Stephens, CEO of Retail Prophet!

Doug Stephens is one of the world's foremost retail industry futurists. His intellectual work and thinking has influenced many of the most widely known international retailers, agencies and brands. Prior to founding the consultancy Retail Prophet, Doug spent over 20 years in the retail industry, holding senior international leadership roles.

Doug is also the author of two International bestselling books - Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World and The Retail Revival: Re-Imagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism. Doug is also the nationally syndicated retail columnist for CBC Radio and sits on multiple corporate and academic advisory boards. His unique perspectives on retailing, business and consumer behavior have been featured in many of the world's leading publications and media outlets including The New York Times, The BBC, TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company.

In our s=discussion today we are going to be discussing a wide variety of topics related to the future of retail. All of this is hugely instructive and clarifying in a time when we need it the most.

We will cover:

What is changing for the physical store?
How will online and digital influence consumers?
The value of experience
Luxury experience vs utility experience
The human craving for social experiences
Consumer reactions to crisis
How to create great experiences through tech
Connection between crisis and creativity
The opportunity we have in this moment
Branding vs advertising
Mistakes to avoid making

I hope you find this episode helpful!

Links:

www.retailprophet.com

Related Episodes:

Designing the Customer Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman

Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak

Social Media 101 w/ Jenn Chen

Death by Comparison

SB Your peers are not your Customers

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

COVID-19 Focus : Karl Purdy of Coffee Angel, Dublin, Ireland : Not going quietly, not giving up, and serving well Mar 29, 2020

Show notes

Karl Purdy is a coffee legend. Credited with kickstarting the specialty coffee movement in Ireland in 1996 he has since founded and run the amazing Coffee Angel in Dublin. From a humble mobile stand that offered great coffee and a smile, to now 5 cafes and roasting operation, Coffee Angel is an Irish coffee institution.

Since the COVID-19 crisis started Karls has had to make the painful, and now all to familiar, decision to close down all his shops, put his staff on unemployment, and now drives around the city delivering roasted coffee door to door in a fight to keep his business going for the sake of his community, family, and staff.

This is a conversation with someone who has seen a lot and been through a lot since 1996 and in this discussion we talk about the lessons he has from his history, how he communicated to his employees as things went down, his motivation that keeps him going, how he is pivoting to keep the business alive, his back-to-basics philosophy, and what his mindset is for the future in a post-pandemic world.

I hope you find this helpful and encouraging.

We are in this together.

Links:

www.coffeeangel.com

KTTS COVID-19 Focus Spotify Playlist

209 : Founder Friday! w/ Linda Thach of Little Skips, Brooklyn, NY Mar 28, 2020

Show notes

Today on Founder Friday we are talking with Linda Thach, the founder of Little Skips in Brooklyn, NYC!

Having come to the states as a Cambodian refugee with nothing, the comfort of food and family played a foundational role in setting the values that drive Linda today.

Little Skips is a communal, artistic, accessible, and fun coffee experience that seeks to create happiness in everyone. Since it's founding in 2009 it has quickly become a Bushwick institution. Now with 3 shops and 1 restaurant, Linda has been able to learn a lot through the peaks and valleys that inevitably happen when running a business and explores much of that for us here today.

I am thrilled to present this conversation to you because I believe Linda offers a critical message to owners that will help bring the clarity, freedom, and focus that is often sought but not found.

In this episode we will learn about:

How and why Little Skips came to be
What lessons were learned early on
Philosophy on partnerships
Systems that provide freedom
Communication
Self care as a priority
Overcoming problems outside our control
Reflection vs Rumination
The unique culture of an individual store

Links:

www.littleskips.nyc

Little Skips Instagram

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Leading and Understanding Staff Bitterness Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

Hurt feelings and processing grief are all too familiar to us right now. As an owner you have had to make some tough decisions for the sake of helping the business survive this time while also trying to do good by your staff and customers. No matter what the outcome is not ideal and staff will have some negative emotions to work through. The question is, how do you respond when they are upset at you, the situation, and the decisions made? How do you manage their bitterness or dejection when you are working like crazy to keep everything together? Today we will chat a bot about this tension and how to lead well in the midst of it.

Related Episodes:

The Broken Chair

6 Truths About Power

What you Must Know about Employee Culture

Batch Brew like you never thought possible:

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

COVID-19 Focus : Erica Escalante, The Arrow | Acting Quickly, Leading Well, and Fighting for Connection Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

Erica Escalante is no stranger to overcoming challenges. You might say that her experience in starting and running The Arrow in Portland, OR has prepared her to shine as a leader during this crisis.

Today Erica recounts how she prepared herself, her staff, and her business to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and offers an insightful, vulnerable, and passionate look into the world of an owner fighting to stay in business, maintain connections, and care for her family and staff through these hard times.

This is an awesome example of leadership and I hope Erica's words offer hope and strength to you.

Links:

Founder Friday w/ Erica Escalante

Erica's Instagram

208 : Building a Company that Cares w/ Kyra Kennedy of Baratza Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

One of the most unique things about Baratza, a legendary 20 year old home grinder company, is that people are not just loyal to them, but that those same people go out of their way to advocate for and recommend the brand to anyone who will listen. That does not happen by accident, it is cultivated and grown over time with am inset that sets out to care for and to be an advocate for the customer.

Today I am absolutely thrilled to present a conversation with the Co-Founder of Baratza, Kyra Kennedy!

You might say a concern for the well being of others has always been a core value of Kyra's having a background in environmental science before founding Baratza with her friend / Business partner Kyle Anderson in 1999. Their concern for the environment and being a sustainable company has been central to their identity from the start.

Innovation has also been their main calling card. Baratza has pushed the envelope, with innovative firsts for the Specialty Coffee market like macro/micro grind adjust system for fast and repeatable adjustment; Portaholder to grind hands-free into a portafilter; Grind by Weight; plus Grind by Weight directly into a portafilter (earning Best New Product Awards from SCA in 2011, 2013 and 2016). The full range of Baratza grinders and all their features, offer users the ability to create cafe quality coffee at home or on bar.

As we are currently in the midst of pivoting in the COVID-19 crisis we are deeper into teaching and promoting home brewing to our customers than ever before. Baratza plays a central role in making that possible. We are doing this because we want to continue to care for our customers even if we can't see them in the cafe. To me, Baratza embodies the kind of hospitality we would expect in the best cafes.

I have no doubt that this conversation and the insights Kyra gives into showing care as a company will inspire you as you continue to serve your community.

Enjoy!

Links and Related Episodes:

www.baratza.com

Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnot

Teaching Consumer Classes

Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rihnhart

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

COVID-19 Focus : General Guidance on Talking with your Bank and Landlord w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

Today we are talking with past guest Marshall Fuss Attorney at Law. Marshall is attorney and general counsel to the Specialty Coffee Association, World Coffee Events, and Coffee Quality Institute and was a guest on episode 101 of KTTS "Avoiding Legal Pitfalls"

Today he joins me to offer some guidance to shop owners on how to actions to take in talking with your landlord and bank during this crisis. Things are moving fast and this conversation is meant to help guide you as you pursue action appropriate to you local context.

MEMORANDUM ON IDENTIFICATION OF ESSENTIAL CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKERS DURING COVID-19 RESPONSE

Marshall's Website

Related Episodes:

101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls w/ Marshall Fuss

125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : Negotiating for your career's and your coffee businesses best interest

On a Resilient Coffee Community Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

These are hard times. It is difficult to know where to begin in discussing the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on our industry. I have, like many of you, spent countless hours trying to process this and attempting to help in any way possible. There have been tears and anxiety to be sure. There has also been many bright spots and encouraging moments as I see our community come together. That is what I want to focus on in today's extended shift break.

Resiliency, community, and the path forward in the midst of this unprecedented time in coffee history, that is what we are discussing today.

Ya'll...we have what it takes, we have each other, our community, and the heart for hospitality that drives us to keep serving, keep caring, to be creative, and ultimately to take this moment and use it for good.

Links to related episodes:

Spotify playlist of encouraging episodes

Resources:

The COVID-19 post from Christopher Feran (includes a list of resources)

Community-Contributed COVID-19 Resources from SCA

NCRLA Guidance on COVID-19 Preparedness

Follow KTTS on Instagram as I boost ideas and resources through the Stories

If I can be any help to you in this time please reach out: chris@keystotheshop.com

Batch Brew like you never thought possible:

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

207 : Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Coffee Roasters Mar 17, 2020

Show notes

In the midst of challenging times, there can still be hope and a way forward. Today we welcome back to the show Kathy Turiano to talk about finding hope in the face of difficulty.

Kathy is the Co-Owner of Joe Bean Coffee Roasters in Rochester, NY, an award winning Roastery and cafe in Rochester, NY that has consistently set the pace for specialty coffee in their city and beyond. Our initial interview with Kathy was a Founder Friday back in May of 2017 (link below). This interview was also focused on the overcoming difficulty and pivoting the business as that has been a theme of sorts since Joe Bean was founded.

During the last three years since we last talked, a lot has changed and they faced some of the biggest challenges to date. Challenges that crushed their spirits. In all of it they were able to find hope, light, and ultimately a better version of their business as a result.

My hope is that Kathy's story of overcoming hardships and letting it shape their business for good, will bring you hope in this very difficult time. To me it is a story of learned resiliency and taking things one step at a time. We will learn some pretty important mindsets to have and lessons in how to lead ourselves and communicate with other when things get really tough.

We need stories that encourage and I am certain this interview was meant for such a time as this.

Links:

www.joebeanroasters.com

Joe Bean on IG

Related Episodes:

043 : Founder Friday! Kathy Turiano / Joe Bean Coffee Roasters / A tale of overcoming challenges, new beginnings, and building a strong team, business, and community through coffee

200! : From Tragedy to Triumph : Navigating Change w/ Talor Browne of Talormade, Oslo, Norway

135 : Staying Motivated in the Midst of Difficulty

111 : Self-Care 101: Six Ways to Make Sure You are taking Care of Yourself While Taking Care of Others

Self-Betrayal and the Art of Action

008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May

184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak