Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Coffee is from Africa, yet the way we think of and enjoy coffee today is largely separated from the roots that produced that original fruit. The disparity we see in the value stream today, where those growing coffee do not receive the fruit of their labor, is the consequence.

Today we get to talk with someone who has been laboring hard to honor coffee's root in an effort to create a better future for both those who grow coffee as well as for under served communities whose own cultures are tied closely to coffee's history.

Bartholomew Jones is an emcee, cxffee nerd, and multi-hyphenate creative.

Alongside his wife, Renata Henderson, he is the co-founder of Cxffeeblack and co-owner of the Anti-Gentrification Cxffee Club, a coffee educational center and cultural hub located in Memphis, TN.

Founded in 2018, Cxffeeblack is a community-oriented, multi-disciplinary, education-based coffee company that became a trailblazer in the coffee industry by creating an entirely all Black coffee supply chain from Ethiopia to Memphis, TN, the first of its kind.

Cxffeeblack is on a mission to return coffee to its African roots and in the process create an equitable Black future. Bart is a Sprudge 20 honoree, an annual list of the Top 20 coffee influencers cultivated by Sprudge Media Network, a renowned international authority on coffee and its culture; Cxffeeblack was one of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity's 2024 Innovator of the Year awardees.

We discuss:

• Creating a Space for Authentic Creativity
• Honoring the Roots and History of Coffee
• The Impact of Colonialism
• Collaboration and Co-Creation in Coffee Culture
• The Evolution of Coffee Black
• Empowering Individuals to Find Themselves in Coffee
• Diverse expressions of Coffee
• Creating a Community Space: The Anti-Gentrification Coffee Club
• The Coffee Black Flagship: A Dining Room and Co-Generative Dialogue
• Inspiring Coffee Shops that Honor Roots and Engage with Communities

Links:

www.cxffeeblack.com

https://www.instagram.com/cxffeeblack/

Related episodes:

• 116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
• 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
• 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
• 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
• 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
• 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
• 315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast!

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If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

It is assumed that we should constantly be growing our businesses and looking to expand, scale, and add-to what we have now. Trouble is that, in today's abundantly resourced and optimized environment, we may actually be able to do so at rates that out pace our ability to become the kind of people we need to be to properly handle that growth.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why your own development as a person is key to successful growth as a business and why hardship and constraints are often not just signs of a problem, but rather an opportunity to shape you and prepare you for success.

Recommended episodes:

• Self-Awareness and Honesty
• 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
• 453 : The Craft of Operations
• The Myth of Hands Off / Automated Leadership
• Over Optimization
• 442 : We Need Confidence, Celebration, and Joy!

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

• 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
• 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
• 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
• Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
• Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
• You Can't Automate Quality

Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth

Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Every day in the cafe we are called on to communicate "in the moment". Whether we are baristas, trainers, managers, or owners ; how effective we are in those moments determines the culture and effectiveness of our business. Wouldn't it be great if there were tools and methods formed specifically to help you not freak out under the pressure of impromptu speaking but to be clear and confident instead?

Well you're in luck because today we get to talk with the author of the book Think Faster, Talk Smarter, Matt Abrahams!

Matt Abrahams is a passionate, collaborative and innovative educator, author, podcast host, and coach. He is the Larsen Lam Family Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business where he teaches two very popular classes in Strategic Communication and Effective Virtual Presenting. He received Stanford GSB's Alumni Teaching Award in recognition of his valued service to teaching Stanford Alumni around the world.

In addition to his teaching, Matt is much sought-after keynote speaker and communication consultant for Fortune 100 companies. His online talks garner millions of views and he hosts the popular, award winning GSB podcast called Think Fast Talk Smart.

Matt is also the author of the book that is the subject of today's conversation, "Think Faster, Talk Smarter" which equips the reader with tools and strategies to be confident, articulate, and effective when called upon to speak "in the moment"

We cover

• The Importance of Impromptu Communication
• Reducing the Pressure of Spontaneous Communication
• The Role of Listening in Effective Communication
• Crafting Clear and Concise Messages
• The Role of Values and Reputation in Communication
• Improving Communication Skills through Reflection, Repetition, and Feedback

LINKS:

Related Episodes:

• Blog: Good Communication is "For Here"
• 443: Want Impactful Messaging? Keep it Simple! w/ Author Ben Guttmann
• 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
• 415: The Best Lessons On How to Listen w/ Listening Expert, Oscar Trimboli
• 379 : Encore Episode! How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel : Plus Bonus Content
• 334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace
• 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

Seeing results form your efforts is what motivates most all of us. In the coffee shop you are engaged with a dynamic intersesion of moving and living communities that take your efforts and reward you with sometimes obvious and sometimes not-so-obvious feedback. It's when we don't see the results happening the way we imagined that we can be tempted to simply abandon the effort and sometimes the business altogether.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why you should not give up and how to be patient in the process of pursuing worthy goals in the face of frustrating but perhaps emerging results.

Recommended episodes:

• On a Resilient Coffee Community
• 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
• 100! Why YOU are the Key
• SHIFT BREAK: Owners, It's OK to Make Mistakes

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

• 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
• 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
• 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
• Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
• Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
• You Can't Automate Quality

Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth

Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

One of the most heartbreaking things I see is when an established cafe is forced to upend everything due to changes to the cost or use of a space that they do not own. All the dreams, emotions, investment in the space itself, and developing a customer bases habits around that location are all up in the air. While renting may always be a great first step for most owners with limited resource, it may also not be the wisest long term play as you grow. If you are looking for an alternative to that volatility, you may want to consider ownership

Joining me to unpack this topic is Paul Neal.

Paul Neal is the owner of Vantage Point Commercial Capital and a trailblazer in empowering business owners to create wealth, autonomy, and control by owning their commercial space. His new book, "Un-Lease Your Business: Unlock Wealth, Autonomy and Control By Buying Your Building and Firing Your Landlord," delves into this transformative approach to commercial property ownership.

Today on the podcast we are going to talk all about why you should consider owning your own space vs renting and what ownership can do for your businesses security, profitability and more!

We cover

• The Availability and Challenges of Commercial Real Estate Ownership
• Financial Factors and Timing for Purchasing a Building
• Managing Risk and Building Confidence in Ownership
• The Benefits of Owning the Building
• Creating a Unique Culture and Attracting Customers
• Building Equity and Generating Income
• The Process of Owning a Building

LINKS:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-neal-tea/

https://vpc.capital/about-us/

https://www.amazon.com/Lease-Your-Business-Autonomy-Building/dp/1955242747

Related Episodes:

• 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
• 388 : Insurance and Risk Mitigation w/ Brennan Pothetes of Butter Insurance
• 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
• 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)"
• 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

Managing in a cafe is one of the ultimate forms of leadership. Part of leading as a manager is planning for, responding to, or avoiding altogether, problems with people, operations, and quality. But instead of spending our best energies in prevention of problems, we tend to manage reactively when problems turn into a crisis. It's a vicious cycle.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why we need to flip our focus and pull ourselves away from the dependency the business has on us being crisis managers, and instead become people whose best energies are spent in preemptive leadership and at the very least in creating solutions to issues when they happen to prevent them from repeating.

Recommended episodes:

Stop Glorifying Chaos

When Small Problems Grow Up

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

• 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
• 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
• 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
• Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
• Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
• You Can't Automate Quality

Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth

Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

The Industry. What does that even mean? Owners and professionals use this term as though it has specific power to give clarity or meaning to the work they do, when in fact it is merely the most readily observable manifestation of millions of individual decisions across the supply chain, all made worse when based on a fixation on that reflection.

For many operators there is an assumption that their cafe and the decisions they make need to be compared against the wider industry to find validation and success. Today we will be talking about how this dependency is a mistake and why freeing yourself and your business from this collective narcissism is critical to sustaining your business, doing more good, and serving your community.

We cover

• Why the Industry is You
• Questioning Industry Trends
• Separating Ethic from Business
• Understanding Customer Habits
• Rootedness and Prioritizing Your Shop
• Success Beyond Industry Validation

Related Episodes:

Peers

• 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
• 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
• 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
• 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
• Your peers are not your Customers
• Who do we Serve?

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

Hiring is probably the most important decision you make in your coffee shop. As important as it is to choose the right people, we often are at the mercy of bad habits or are missing key practices we need to make that decisions and end up making too many mistakes that drain you, the business, and the your team of energy.

On today's Shift Break we will be discussing three BIG hiring mistakes that I see countless cafes making and how you can take steps to avoid them.

This is not just about the well being of your team and business, but also the ones you hire who were not a good fit. When you hire them, it cuts off other possibilities for them in places where they might have been more suited and that can really mess up their career.

So when you listen, hear this as an episode intended to care for ALL the people involved.

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

• 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
• 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
• 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
• Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
• Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
• You Can't Automate Quality

Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth

Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

In the the coffee industry, we all need help and we can all give help. In order to truly advance our own careers and those of others we want find success we need plan for and practice mentorship. The trouble is that the need we have for help also creates a lot of insecurities and the idea of mentorship can sound rather unapproachable or inaccessible. The good news is that it does not have to be this away and our guest today will help us demystify mentorship and approach it in a fresh and accessible way.

Dr. Ruth Gotian is Chief Learning Officer and Associate Professor of Education in Anesthesiology and former Assistant Dean for Mentoring at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is a globally recognized expert in mentorship and leadership development.

Hailed by Nature, Wall Street Journal, and Columbia University as an expert in mentorship and leadership development, she was named a top 20 mentor worldwide. Thinkers50 ranked her as the #1 emerging management thinker in the world in 2021, and LinkedIn recognized her as a top voice in mentoring in 2023.

A semi-finalist for Forbes 50 Over 50, Dr. Gotian is a prolific contributor toHarvardBusiness Review, Forbes, andPsychology Today, where she shares insights on optimizing success with a focus on the mindset and skill set of peak performers, including Nobel Prize winners, astronauts, Olympic and NBA champions, she's also an award-winning author of The Success Factor and The Financial Times Guide to Mentoring.

Today we are going to dive deep into what mentorship is, why it is critical for advancing both individuals and industries as well as how to pursue mentorship for yourself and how to be a mentor ot others.

We cover:

• Continuous Learning and Surrounding Yourself with Mentors
• The Strength of Vulnerability in Success
• Finding and Building Relationships with Mentors
• Defining a Mentor and Their Role
• The Difference Between Mentoring and Coaching
• Preparing for Mentoring: Recognizing What You Need
• The Value of Formal Mentoring Programs
• The Importance of Effective Matching
• Building a Community of Practice
• Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Judging Success

Links:

https://ruthgotian.com

https://mentoring-guide.com/

Related Episodes:

• 003: The Role of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee w/ Pete Licata
• 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
• 430 : Embracing "Unreasonable Hospitality" w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
• 127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen
• 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
• RoR #25 : Training Up the Next Generation of Roasters w/ Steve Lee of Pocket Knife Consulting + Linea Caffe

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

Making decisions about who to hire or even who might need to be let go are some of the hardest but most important decisions to make in a coffee shop. So hard in fact that we can often fall into avoiding the decision by deferring to our existing staff for their opinion on who is or is not a good fit. While involving key staff in these decisions is generally good, putting too much emphasis or all the weight on them can end up in wrong choices for hiring or needlessly extending a staff member's employment solely based on the fact that people like them.

On today's Shift Break we will be discussing why we need to making these types of decisions based not so much on the expressed preferences of the current staff (or your own bias for that matter!) but on values alignment and professionally established standards for the business and that role.

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

• 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
• 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
• 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
• Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
• Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
• You Can't Automate Quality

Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth

Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com