Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

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201 : Igniting your Curiosity w/ Cody Gough of the Curiosity Daily Podcast Feb 10, 2020

Show notes

Curiosity is the reason we got into coffee. As we go on in our careers though, the world we thought was so big becomes much smaller. We learn the rules, the ropes, and we get busy with the business of coffee often at the expense of being fascinated by it.

Today we will be discussing the importance of curiosity and how it has a tremendous impact on our personal and professional lives. To do this I am joined by someone who's job it is to inspire curiosity in people around the world, Cody Gough!

Cody Gough is the executive producer and co-host of Curiosity Daily, an award-winning daily science podcast from Curiosity.com. Curiosity Daily was recognized as the Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2019 Discover Pods Awards, and was recognized as the Best Science & Medicine Podcast at the 13th Annual Podcast Awards. Cody's broadcasting background includes more than a decade of experience working at Chicago's 720 WGN Radio in both on-air and production roles. He's also a seasoned podcaster with The GonnaGeek Podcast Network, an accomplished commercial actor, and former cooking show host.

I am so happy to have gotten a chance to speak with Cody. I really enjoy his podcast and believe that what we discuss here today will, not only ignite our curiosity, but will help us break out of our ruts and explore the world around us a bit more deeply. The return on investing in curiosity is immeasurable.

We will discuss:

How Cody has developed more curiosity through the show
What role curiosity plays in producing Nobel Prize winners
Why curiosity makes you better at hospitality
The importance of outside interests and hobbies
Steps to take in igniting your curiosity
Some of the coolest hangs Cody has learned from his show

Links:

www.Curiosity.com

Cody on Twitter

Related episodes:

165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli

137 : Essential Books for your professional Development

112 : The Power of Story w/ James Harper

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Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat

Don't Waste Problems Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Problems come up all the time in the cafe. We deal with them as best we can but often we are leaving a lot of value on the table with the ways we attack the issues we encounter. Today we are chatting about how get your problems to work for your companies benefit and not let them go to waste.

Related Episodes:

SOPs FTW

Being the Point of Clarity

Links:

chris@keystotheshop.com

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200! : From Tragedy to Triumph : Navigating Change w/ Talor Browne of Talormade, Oslo, Norway Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

Navigating unforeseen change brings about a ton of challenges that, in the moment, seem insurmountable. Today we will be exploring this subject by hearing an incredible story going from tragedy to triumph with the ever-awesome, Talor Browne!

Talor Browne is a 20 year specialty coffee veteran and pastry chef that ended up in Oslo via Paris and Melbourne. Former head roaster of Tim Wendelboe and founder of Talor&Jorgen, she is currently on the cusp of opening the first of three stores of her new roastery and doughnut shop, Talormade. Talor was a guest on our show back in May of 2018 for Founder Friday. Talor&Jorgen was a force of nature that was massively successful and showed no signs of slowing. Not too long after our interview though, the 16 hour days and 300 hour months began to take their toll on Talor. This all culminated in her business partners trying to force her from her from the company she founded. After an ugly lawsuit, settlement, and the best interest of the employees in mind, Talor stepped away. Now, after 7 months of preparation and planning she has the best equipment in the industry and a renewed determination to do it all over again, just bigger and so much better. Talormade was born from the ashes of this tragedy. So many questions...How did she do it? What was this journey like? What mistakes did she make in the first company? What is different about this new venture? What insights and advice can Talor offer us that will help us navigate unforeseen changes that we may face? This interview answers those questions and much more. I can think of no better way to celebrate a 200 episodes than to share this real-life inspirational coffee story with all of you. Please listen with open hearts and minds as Talor shares her story and wisdom gained as a result.

Links:

www.talormade.no

Talormade on Instagram

Related Episodes:

Founder Friday w/ Talor Browne of Talor + Jorgen

Self Care 101

Avoiding Legal Pitfalls w/ Marshal Fuss

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Simple, Powerful, Hospitality

199 : Founder Friday w/ Mario Jimenez of Banana Dang Coffee! Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

It's Founder Friday! Today we get to talk with Mario Jimenez one of the owners of Banana Dang Coffee in Oceanside, California!

Mario and his wife, Thanh-Thanh Dang started Banana Dang back in 2007 in Rincon, Puerto Rico before eventually relocating to Oceanside, California. Back on the island, they served Puerto Rican coffee and homegrown bananas in all their smoothies. Dubbed the "World's First ALL Banana Smoothie and Specialty Coffee Bar," Banana Dang became an institution in the Caribbean surf town. After selling the property in Rincon in 2014, they returned to California and opened the second Banana Dang shop in Oceanside in 2015.

Banana Dang is lovely and unique business in the specialty retail space with a simple mission and a lot to teach us. In today's interview we will be exploring the founding and evolution of Banana Dang in depth with Mario and learning all about the heart behind it and the insights gain from over 13 years of operation.

You will learn about:

How Mario went form band leader to shop owner
Why they are "Bananas about Coffee"!
Why coffee is like music
Winning with simplicity
Standing out as a brand
Staying true to your values
Closing a successful store to re-opening stateside
Cultivating culture
The balance between discipline and fun
Serving their community

Links:

www.bananadang.com

Instagram

Related episodes:

Founder Friday w/ Joshua Boyt

Founder Friday w/ Luaren Crabb / Andytown Coffee Roasters

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3 Keys for Work-life Balance Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

It is easy for us to be consumed with work. Especially if you are passionate about it and desire to achieve great things, to move the needle in the company, and to help those you lead. Trouble is hough, we tend to blur the lines between work and home and end up burning out for lack of clear borders. Today we will talk about three tactics that will help bring balance and ultimately keep you healthy and thriving at work and at home.

Related episodes:

Blood Sucking Bosses

Self Care 101

Asking for Help

Links:

chris@keystotheshop.com

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Your Peers are not Your Customers

198 : The Evolution of the Coffee Shop w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

Coffee and the coffee shop have an amazing history. From the Ottoman Empire to your favorite 3rd wave coffee bar, there have been many evolutions and critical pints in time that have led us to where we are today. In order to move forward well, we need to be well informed of our industry's past. To help us in this effort we are chatting with coffee historian, Prof. Jonathan Morris

Jonathan Morris is a Research Professor in History at the University of Hertfordshire, specializing in the history of coffee. His latest book Coffee: A Global History explains how coffee became popular the world over, and why tastes in coffee differ all over the world. Jonathan was the European Editor of Coffee: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry (2013) and directed the Cappuccino Conquests research project which traced the history of Italian-style coffee from the origins of espresso through to the global coffee shop chains of today.

In this episode we are talking with Prof. Morris about some key points in the evolution of the coffee shop that impact us today.

We will discuss:

The democratic intent of the cafe
Eras of the cafe's evolution and why they were significant
Alcohol's connection to the cafe and what is concerning about it today?
The social importance and role of the cafe in society
Coffee prices in the shop and politics
Differentiating ourselves to the consumer
Are we niching down too far?
What things should we be focusing on now as we write this next chapter of cafe history

Links:

thecoffeehistorian.com

Buy the book on Amazon

prof.jonathan.morris@gmail.com

Related Episodes:

090 : Researching the Cafe w/ Dr. Jennifer Ferreira

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Harnessing your Emotions at Work

Asking for Help Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

On bar, things get stressful. We are not just managing the physical space but we are also managing and navigating our emotions. It's all too easy to let our pride keep us from asking for help when we most desperate need it. In this shift break I talk about a recent experience I had that inspired the episode and we dive into vulnerability, team support, communication, and ultimately allowing ourselves and others to be humans at work.

Related episodes:

When you're Losing it

Self Care 101

Dealing w/ Stress in the Cafe

Links:

chris@keystotheshop.com

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Terry's Top 10: How not to Kill your Espresso Machine

197 : Getting the most from your Equipment w/ Melissa Vaiden of Counter Culture Coffee Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

It's tech time! Equipment breaks, that is just a fact of life. How and why it breaks depends on the way we maintain (or don't maintain) it over the corse of its life. right now there are thousands of bars working on machines that are either about to break or are well on their way because of improper care. Today we are talking with Counter Culture Coffee NYC equipment tech extraordinaire, Melissa Vaiden. The goal of our conversation? To help us avoid an untimely demise for the equipment we depend on.

Melissa Vaiden is a service technician for Counter Culture Coffee in the NYC region. After working as a barista for years, she found a tech internship at Boxcar Coffee that sparked her love for fixing coffee equipment. She speaks on panels sharing her experience as one of the few women working in the technical field. She also is a stage manager for the Coffee Champ's Cup Tasters competition.

In this conversation e cover a LOT of information and best practices for your brewers, grinders, espresso machines and filtration. If you follow Melissa's advice here you will be sure to save yourself a world of suffering form needless maintenance issues.

We cover:

Preventative maintenance for Espresso, brewer, grinders
Why so many businesses get behind in their machine care
Mindsets for getting the most from your equipment
Budgeting for inevitable costs in machine care
Filtration best practices
Purchasing the right machine for your business

Links:

Counter Culture Coffee

Related episodes:

Talking Tech w/ Tom Ritz

Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rhinehart

Got questions, comments, feedback? Want to work with KTTS Consulting? Chris@keystotheshop.com

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

Example > Words Jan 15, 2020

Show notes

How do you inspire people? This was a question I was asked recently while conducting a day-long workshop for a group of cafe managers. The answer is easy to give, but hard to live. You can think of this also as policy -vs- relationship.

Today we are going to talk about our tendency to try and force inspiration, why it falls short, and what to do instead.

Related episodes:

Introducing Chaos

Self-Betrayal and the Art of Action

The Broken Chair

Reach out!

chris@keystotheshop.com

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