That's it! The year is done and to help us ring in the New Year I am re-airing a classic from way back in the day. January 17 2017 is when "Leadership in the Cafe : 10 Steps to being a People First Leader" first aired. Now, three years and 274 episodes later, the message rings just as true and is just as relevant as ever before.
If there is anything you need to do to secure a great year for yourself, your staff, and your business it is focusing on how we show up as leaders in the specialty coffee retail space. This episode gives you some great first steps to achieve that.
I hope you have a happy New Year. Thank you sincerely for listening, sharing, and allowing Keys to the Shop to play a part in your coffee journey.
As you seek to unlock new levels this coming year just remember that YOU... are the keys to the shop!
Related Episodes:
013 : Leadership & Managment Master Class w/ Eva Attia
089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday
105 : Leadership & Management Masterclass w/ Maria Cleaveland
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome
028 : Why it's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
Click here to vote for Keys to the Shop for "Best Coffee Podcast" in the 11th Annual Sprudgies!
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link!
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
It's Founder Friday! Today we get to sit down not once, but twice with Colin Whitcomb of the newly opened Canary Coffee Bar in Milwaukee, WI.
In this episode we talk with Colin a couple months before Canary opened and then 3 months after to get a detailed look inside the planning and running of a new business
Along with being an amazingly nice guy, Colin has been in coffee for 14 years having worked in some of the nations tope coffee bars. He is also a BGA Executive Counsel member and a long time barista competitor. Colin knows coffee and coffee shops and this move to open his own cafe is quite exciting.
There is a lot covered in this 2 part episode and I hope you get a lot form Colin's experiences as an entrepreneur.
You will learn about:
Links:
Related episodes:
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
002 : Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
When you start or run a coffee bar you are going to be faced with a ton of options for what products and ideas you will adopt. Saying yes to any and everything can get you and your business in trouble down the road. Today we are going to be talking about why saying "No" can open up more opportunities for success than it closes off and why limitations in the beginning produce freedom in the long run.
Related episodes:
Reach out!
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
This Episode brought to you by ODEKO!
Painless and accurate ordering and inventory
27 Million. That is the number of people who are trapped in modern day slavery. It is a number that may leave many wondering what they can possibly do in the face of such a daunting statistic. However, today's guest decided that she needed to take action and try to make a difference. Esther Hope-Gibbs is a veteran coffee professional, AST instructor, and the Director and Founder of Manumit Coffee Roasters.
Manumit Coffee offers dignity & hope to survivors of modern slavery through training & employment. Their coffee is roasted by men and women who have suffered horrendous exploitation at the hands of traffickers and modern slave traders but are now rebuilding their lives through coffee.
In today's conversation we get to hear the Story of Manumit Coffee and all the positive impact it has had over the last two and a half years since its founding. I am so honored to talk with Esther and love that we get to share this episode about giving people the gift of freedom through coffee on Christmas Eve.
I hope this is inspiring and encouraging!
In this episode you will learn:
Links:
BUY MANUMIT COFFEE! www.manumitcoffee.co.uk
Related Episodes:
Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
Solving Teen Homelessness w/ Rugid Grind
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Most everyone has had fun playing this game as kid. While it's a great game parties, it's not so great for the coffee shop. Today we talk about how this game gets started in the cafe and what we can do to "ruin" it before it creates major communication and quality problems in our business.
Related episodes:
Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat
Please Clarify: Being on the same page as your boss
Reach out!
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
This Episode brought to you by ODEKO!
Painless and accurate ordering and inventory
Has it been a while since you last trained the staff and practices are outdated or ineffective? As a business grows the need for raising the standards in the shop becomes an absolute necessity. The new year is approaching and if you seek to bring in a new level of quality to you operation then making the right steps in implementing these changes is key to determining whether they stick in the long term and your business stays relevant and competitive.
Today we get to talk about the 3 phases of successfully taking on retraining in the shop and some of the pitfalls to avoid in the process.
You will learn about :
Related episodes:
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
In the coffee shop there are so many expectations placed on us but often the results of the work are not fully within our control. When you combine these two things it is a recipe for stress and burnout. Today we are talking about how we can approach the situation with grace and facilitate staff success rather than blaming them for things that they cannot control. Every shop deals with this in some way and I hope this helps inspire better understanding as we strive for excellence together.
Links:
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
This Episode brought to you by ODEKO!
Painless and accurate ordering and inventory
Writing the schedule is one of the hardest things a manager has to take on. It is also one of the primary ways to care for the staff and the success of the cafe. It determines labor cost, quality of service, consistency of standards and more. If there is one thing that I focus on a lot with my consulting clients it is scheduling well.
Today we will be discussing 6 tips that will aid you in the schedule writing process and save you and your staff from getting caught in the cycle of feeling perpetually unprepared, behind, and stressed out.
Links:
Hiring, Culture, and the Future of Your Shop
Founder Friday w/Casey and Jeremy Miller of The Mud House
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
The idea of transactional is not what most of us have in mind when we think about hospitality. We tend to think of that more in relational terms and hold the transactional out as the antithesis to hospitality. What if we are wrong? What if we are mischaracterizing transactions and in the process failing to give our customers the hospitality they want and need?
Today we chat about these ideas and how our mindset surrounding this can help us through the business of the holidays and beyond.
Links:
Related episodes:
This Episode brought to you by ODEKO
Painless and accurate ordering and inventory
While tea is a staple menu item in virtually every coffee bar around the world, our understanding of tea can be fairly limited and the selection of teas often stagnates over the years. Much of this maybe because we don't know where to start with tea and need some guidance in our approach and in setting up a dynamic tea menu. All this and more is what will be addressed on today's episode talking about tea with special guest, Jeffery Champeau, Vice President of Business Development at Rishi Tea!
Rishi Tea and Botanicals has been an importer of organic teas and botanicals from the very best sources since 1997. Their Direct Trade is founded upon long-standing, personal relationships with growers who cultivate ecologically sustainable gardens in remote locations around the world. They offer a highly curated. variety of teas and botanicals from Ooolong, green , white, and pu-erh - to matcha, chai, botanicals, and more.
Jeffery has been with Rishi since 2011 but has been fascinated by and immersed in the culture and world of tea for the better part of his life. He possesses a deep understanding of the history and culture of tea as well as its preparation and is passionate about advocating for the farmers who make it all possible.
As Jeffery has traveled the world experiencing tea in many different settings I am excited to talk with him specifically about where we stand coffee shops his advice to help us present tea with the same care and mindfulness we give to our coffee.
In this episode you will learn:
Links:
Related Episodes:
037: Chocolate and Coffee w/ Brian Bykke
117 : Coffee and Cocktails w/ Amanda Whitt
039: Lessons from the Restaurant Industry w/ Eric Cattiatore
Prima Coffee:
Now listeners get 5% off their purchase (some restrictions apply) when they use promo code "HOLIDAY5"
Visit : www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Pacific Barista Series: Plant Based Performance Beverages
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
In just 7 years, Onyx Coffee Lab has become one of the industry's most recognizable, respected, and progressive coffee companies. Whether you know them from their championship performances on the barista, brewers, or roasting competition stage - their multiple Good Food Awards and Golden Bean coffees - or their effort in transparency and exquisite retail shops, Onyx Coffee Lab is an inspiration in presentation AND in substance to the global community of specialty coffee.
Today we get to talk with one of the founders of this awesome company, Jon Allen, and dive into the details of how he and his wife, Andrea Allen, built, grew, and operate this business.
I am thrilled to have been able to talk with Jon and to present this very insightful conversation to you all!
Enjoy be sure to check the links below to learn more!
In this episode you will learn about their:
Links:
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Shop Local! Small Business Saturday! Independently Owned! These are phrases we use to get people to come in to our stores and support the local economy. That's all well and good but do we deliver the quality people expect? Or do we rely a bit too much on being local to cover up for our shortcomings? Today we chat about this issue of using our small business status to excuse ourselves from improving and the better approach to delivering value where it counts.
Related Episodes:
This Episode brought to you by:
Painless ordering and inventory with ODEKO
Opening a pop-shop is one of a number of great ways to get started in specialty coffee retail. It is a lower start up cost, you get to test the concept, and you get to know your community (and they, you) in the process. Today's guest, Nikki Outlaw, has just wrapped up her first year running her pop-up coffee shop, Anecho Coffee.
In this conversation we get to hear about her journey into opening Anecho, her experiences in this first year, what she has learned about business, operations, and herself along the way.
I hope you are encouraged by Nikki's story and the dedication she has to improving the business and providing great hospitality experiences to those Anecho serves.
Enjoy!
Links:
Related Episodes:
115: Finding Success in Mobile Coffee
174: Saying yes to Business Opportunities
55: Personal Growth and Development w/ Jared Turby of Cat and Cloud
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Ignore your baristas, but listen to podcasters. Ignore your staff, but listen to authors. It is too easy for us to immediately turn to outside resources and , in the process, discount and overlook the resources we have under our very noses. Today we chat about the proper mindset to have when you pursue resources and the problem of being blind to what we have.
Related Episodes:
Growing and learning from the experiences of others is what this show is all about. A lot of growth and learning happened this past weekend in Tacoma during the Coffee Fest PNW trade show where I was able to record three interviews with people I met during my seminars.
In order of appearance we will be hearing from:
Scott Palmer who, along with his wife Alana is opening Palmer House in Grand Rapids, MI in the Spring of 2020.
Next we talk with Kristine McRae who owns Bering Tea and Coffee in Nome Alaska.
Finally we wrap up with Stephanie Kayser, Director Operations for Dalina in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
All three of of these interviews offer unique insights that will help and encourage you in your coffee journey and it was a joy to get to meet them and hear their stories.
Some of the things we will learn about are:
Expect another one of these Coffee Fest interview episodes next time for Coffee fest NYC. This time with even more interviews and tons of value.
Links:
Recommended past episodes:
079 : Interviews from Coffee Fest Baltimore 2018
142 : Entrepreneur Interviews from Coffee Fest NYC! 2019
157 : Four from the Floor : Interviews from Coffee Fest Indianapolis 2019
Go visit our awesome Sponsors!
Prima Coffee:
Now listeners get 5% off their purchase (some restrictions apply) when they use promo code "HOLIDAY5"
Pacific Barista Series: Plant Based Performance Beverages
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Managers are looked to all day long as agents of clarity. Questions are a constant and this aspect of management is core to being able to drive results in creating a great culture and a successful bar. That said, it can be frustrating since you don't always have the answers and the steady drip of questions and need for clarifying information can wear you down. Today we are going to chat about the importance of being the point of clarity and the issue around it.
Related episodes:
More great episodes on www.keystotheshop.com/episodes
Visit our sponsor Odeko to make inventory and ordering a breeze!
One of the world's most compelling cafes is also run by one of the world most iconic and trusted espresso machine companies. Located in the lobby of KEXP, the La Marzocco Cafe in Seattle, WA has been operating for almost 4 years. Every 4-6 weeks the cafe is taken over by different world-renowned roasting companies who design a full experience that represents their brand to the guests visiting the shop.
La Marzocco Cafe staff and management are not only tasked with representing the coffee well in each residency, learning new workflows, and information - but they must also be able to communicate the ethos and vision of the resident roaster to the customers who come to experience what that particular roaster has has to offer.
When you are essentially opening a new cafe every month you need systems, communication, and the right people to work in this environment of constant change.
This is what we will be discussing today with the two people who head up this mammoth effort, Program Director, Amy Hattemer and Cafe Manager, Carolyn Reddy. Between the two of them we get an inside look at how the cafe came to be and how it operates such an amazing concept so successfully.
In this conversation you will learn about:
Links:
* Get the bonus audio and transcript! Get on the email list HERE! *
Related Episode:
089 : Andrew Daday, GM of La Marzocco USA : Leadership, Innovation, Service, Heritage
163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Littlefield
Get amazing equipment from amazing people!
Your cafe needs the plant-based beverage goodness of
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Creating a new role in a coffee shop is often done when we face the prospect of losing on of our key staff members. We scramble and promise the world if they would just stay. This is missing the mark in several ways and today we will be chatting about a better approach that will actually serve the business and your staff better long term.
Visit our sponsor!
Painless ordering and inventory with ODEKO!
Running a successful business is all about the quality of your decisions. Whether large or small, each one plays a part in shaping the company and either strengthening or compromising it. To help give us a frame-work and foundation for making quality decisions we welcome back to the show, Dave Stachowiak.
Dave is the host and founder of Coaching for Leaders, a top-rated management podcast downloaded 10 million times. With more than 15 years of leadership at Dale Carnegie and a thriving, global leadership academy, he helps leaders discover practical wisdom, build meaningful relationships, and create movement for genuine results.
Dave is also founder of the Coaching for Leaders Academy, a year-long leadership development cohort. The Academy is an intimate group of managers, executives, and business owners who work personally with him and other participant leaders to develop their leadership excellence -- and empower each other through global relationship building.
Among other great things, you will learn about:
Links:
Book mentioned by Dave on Vision: Vivid Vision by Cameron Harold
Related past episodes:
059 : Founder Friday! Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee
135 : Staying Motivated in the Midst of Difficulty
Visit our sponsors!
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
This is a truly scary reality that so many cafe employees have had to deal with. Symptoms of getting bit by these bosses looks like overloaded schedules, no boundaries, burnout, stress, and unhealthy self-sacrifice to "prove" yourself to the company.
Today we are going to chat about this reality and what we can do to avoid it, deal with it , and not to be a blood sucking boss ourselves.
Be careful out there!
Visit Our Sponsors!
Painless ordering and inventory with ODEKO!
Clean that equipment with the best!
Creating a coffee bar and working in retail all boils down to practicing hospitality. We want to practice this on behalf of our guests and our staff but without taking a critical look at how and who we welcome in, we are not really showing hospitality. We need to look at our thoughts, behaviors, and actions critically in order to grow in any area of life and it is in that spirit that we are going to be exploring diversity today with one of our industry's most accomplished and impactful thought leaders on equity, diversity, and inclusion, Phyllis Johnson!
Phyllis Johnson is the co-founder and president of BD Imports, an award-winning social enterprise focused on responsible sourcing of specialty coffees. The company is the recipient of numerous awards including, Responsible Business of the Year and Diverse Supplier of the Year. A pioneer of the women in coffee empowerment movement, Phyllis led the conversation at the United Nations to secure initial funding and work to support women in coffee initiatives. She has consulted for the United Nations International Trade Centre, leading the formation of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance chapters in east Africa. She has had the pleasure of sharing her perspective and the value of working with women entrepreneurs at the World Trade Organizations and United Nations. Her work has been the subject case studies taught at Oxford University and Harvard Business School.
Phyllis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Harvard Kennedy School, Barbara Jordan Award for Women’s Leadership. Her work was recognized by a 2019 Maggie Award for Roast Magazine article, Strong Black Coffee, Why Aren’t African Americans More Prominent in The Coffee Industry.
Phyllis has served on numerous boards including the Specialty Coffee Association, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance, Coffee Quality Institute, and the National Coffee Association
In this episode we will be encouraged, challenged, and equipped with insights to take the first steps in making diversity a reality in the shop or anywhere we have influence.
Among may things, we discuss:
Links:
Related Episodes:
159: Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop
116: Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
139: Founder Friday w/ Phil Sipka, Kusanya Cafe
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
Thank you to our sponsors!
The right equipment for your situation!
The best plant based beverages on the planet!
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Today we are talking about scaling and transitions with the founder of Indie Coffee Roasters, Alec Tod!
Founded in 2013 with a home roaster on his back patio, the business has undergone several stages of change and growth over the years to get them to where they are today in their new retail / roasting facility serving the people of Indianapolis, IN.
Today we are not only hearing the story of Indie Coffee Roasters but we are focusing on life in the transition points. What was it like to scale the business and what was the impact it had on the relationships of those in charge of the business.
It has been 7 years of pretty constant growth and change and Alec lays out what contributed to their success in navigating these inflection points behind the scenes.
Some of the things you will learn:
Links:
Thank you to our sponsors!
The right equipment for your situation!
The best plant based beverages on the planet!
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Sometimes we can overestimate how bad the customer is and in the process make ourselves out to be so very righteous. It is a reality in every bar I have seen that we are blind to the double standard for what we accept from the customer vs what we allow for ourselves. Today we talk about this pesky little habit and how we should move forward and away from our tendency to think we are always right.
Related Episodes:
10 Reasons to Love the Customer
Visit Our Sponsors!
Painless ordering and inventory with ODEKO!
Clean that equipment with the best!
How well do you know your business? I'm not talking about the numbers and the stuff that is accessible through the POS or spreadsheets. I am talking about the life of the business and the people and cultures that make it up. The incredible number of intangibles that create the life of an organization. A lot of us assume we know well enough and instead to being curious and diving deeper into what we have, we search for answers, meaning, insight, etc outside of our organization.
Today we are going to be chatting about 7 things to consider when seeking to have organizational self-knowledge.
Just like having personal self-knowledge is critical to leading others well, organizational self-knowledge is critical to being able to lead your company.
You will learn:
Related episodes:
80 : Changing Things in the Cafe
179 : What you MUST Know about Employee Culture
Thank you to our sponsors!
The right equipment for your situation!
The best plant based beverages on the planet!
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We tend to have a mindset toward systems that breeds a lack of clarity, break downs in communication, and generally an unpleasant and even toxic environment in the work place. Today we are going to chat about viewing systems as a primary form of showing care to staff and where to start in embracing them as such.
Related episodes:
4 Keys to and Effective Checklist
Visit Our Sponsors!
Painless ordering and inventory with ODEKO!
Clean that equipment with the best!