Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

It is Founder Friday and boy is this a wonderful conversation with a wonderful person. You simply cannot underestimate the importance of what an owner brings to a cafe and business. You as a leader have the opportunity to bring meaning, soul, and vision that creates electricity and momentum for your staff and customers. This is exactly what today's Founder Friday guest brings to her cafe and its people. We are talking with Megan Wilson of Spuds Coffee!

Megan Wilson was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the United States to attend Johnson and Wales University where she would pursue and achieve a degree in culinary arts and food service management. From a very young age she had a great interest in the kitchen. What began as a passion for baking would blossom and extend to a passion for cooking and coffee. Connecting with people, creativity, and serving her community is what drives her.

Recently, Megan opened the doors to her first establishment. Spud's Coffee. There she and her team strive to create a space that inspires and motivates others to create, think outside their box and get after that dream. It is firmly rooted in the purest expressions of genuine hospitality.

In our conversation we cover her entry into coffee from food service, the harrowing journey through the pandemic to open Spud's and the lessons and experiences she has had through its founding and operation thus far.

We discuss:

• History of hospitality and finding coffee
• The innate desire and mission to serve and care for people
• Leading and caring for a team
• Creating an intuitive and welcoming space
• Overcoming challenges in building the business
• Pivoting and creating community before open
• Learning along with your staff
• Not letting fear and uncertainty stop you
• Counting the cost
• Operating the cafe and resilience
• Advice for aspiring and existing owners

Links:

www.spudscoffee.com

Instagram: @spudscoffee

Related episodes:

• 129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO
• 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
• 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
• 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga's Coffee Roasters

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

Even though it is one of the most objectively identifiable defects, the presence of tipping seems to continue to plagues roasters. With the end result ruining an otherwise perfectly roasted coffee, this largely preventable defect deserves special focus.

In this episode of Rate of Rise we are going to be interviewing the great Rob Hoos who has dedicated a significant amount of his attention through a new downloadable booklet aptly named "Tipping and It's Avoidance", to helping us mitigate tipping for good.

Rob Hoos is a coffee roasting consultant and owner of Hoos Coffee Consulting and Iteration Coffee. Rob is the author of Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee and has been a roaster since 2008. He has extensive experience in the specialty coffee industry, including roasting, training, purchasing, and profile evaluation. He is a subject matter expert for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and conducts coffee roasting workshops online and in-person at his lab in Rainier, Oregon.

In our conversation we cover:

• What is tipping and how is it unique among defects?
• The impact of tipping on taste
• What actually causes tipping?
• The kinds of coffees prone to tip.
• Best practices during roasting to catch it happening
• Steps to avoid or eliminate tipping our roasting

Links:

• www.hoos.coffee

Related Episodes:

• RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
• RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
• RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
• RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind"
• RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
• RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
• RoR #13 : The NORM ROAST Protocol w/ Dave Baxter
• RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert
• RoR #16 : Ideal Resting Times for Roasted Coffee w/ Joey Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol

Visit our sponsor ROAST MAGAZINE and subscribe!

I am helping my clients establish values all the time. Having a clear understanding of what is important to you and your business is incredibly important because it informs everything you put your hand to. For this show, and in my consulting work, I have my own set of values that have been developing over the course of my career.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the 4 core values that guide and inspire KTTS, what they mean to me, and how they can also apply to the work you do in your shops.

I hope you enjoy!

Related episodes:

• Scaling Values
• Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
• 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
• Who you are vs What you Do
• 059 : Founder Friday w/ Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Subscribe to KTTS

Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

Being competitive in business is often thought of in the same vein as being aggressive, leading with fear, and creating an us vs them scenario that is antithetical to community. The reality is that while we need to be competitive in order to run successful businesses, we need not do so in a way that alienates.

In today's episode you and I will talk about seven way to be what I will call "Consciously Competitive" in order make you business stand out in and become a better version of itself year over year.

We discuss:

• Making space for staying connected
• Service and open communication
• Presence and involvement
• Well curated menus with fresh rotating options
• Don't employ desperation and Never bad mouth
• Trends and what they signal
• Generosity

Related episodes:

• Differentiation Takes Time!
• Customer Loyalty
• Getting Them In By Getting Out!
• You are not your Competition
• 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
• 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?

• Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
• Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

The future of staffing our cafes depends on how effectively we hire and set up our teams for success. Rather than having an unsustainably low or high number of staff working, we need to create lean and effective teams of thoroughly trained, resourced, and well paid professionals.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about investing into and professionalizing the barista role and how we can challenge ourselves and our baristas to do more and better with less and actually thrive in the process.

Related episodes:

• Simplicity is the MVP of the Cafe
• 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
• 356 : 5 Barriers to Progress in Your Coffee Shop
• 002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
• 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
• 162 : Discussing "Baristastainability" w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Subscribe to KTTS

Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

A lot has changed in coffee over the last couple decades. As roasters and baristas, our understanding of the current landscape of coffee processing, its impact on flavor, and the possibilities it contains will greatly determine our success. Thankfully our industry has some very bright minds who create clarity around the ever complex world of coffee, and one of those voices is here with us today.

Christopher Feran is a coffee industry consultant, green buyer, roaster and lapsed Q-grader with years of experience helping startups and established companies in the Midwest, California and New York City as well as exporters and coffee growers in producing countries like Guatemala, Colombia and Ethiopia.

A pioneering coffee professional, he regularly publishes thought provoking blogs and articles that have challenges and pushed the industry forward.

Most recently he has published the "sort-of glossary" to coffee processes; which inspired today's conversation.

We will be exploring the topic of processing, it's evolution, and how to think about their use and application in your roasting company

We cover:

• Evolution of his understanding of processing
• Recent developments in processing
• Shifting expectations of terroir
• Who is driving these innovations?
• How much of our menu should be experimental?
• How some processes roast differently
• Who is buying these coffees? Pros or consumers?
• Processes create more consistency?
• Choosing what is right for you and employing patience
• First steps in adjusting your coffee roastery's program

Links:

www.christopherferan.com

Related episodes:

• RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert
• ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
• 251 : Fermentation and the Future of Farming w/ Lucia Solis
• RoR #16 : Ideal Resting Times for Roasted Coffee w/ Joey Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?

• Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
• Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Professional development and opportunities for betterment and advancing are areas that operators must bake in to the business as much as possible. If you are a barista, manager, trainer etc and you want to take advantage of those things, create opportunities, or simply take charge of your own development for a better future then you must focus on adding value.

Today on Shift Break we will be discussing how to make yourself more valuable as an employee both in the job you have now and in preparation for the opportunities you have yet to encounter.

• Related episodes:
• 292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts
• 077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work
• 226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan
• 015 : What to do if You don't Advance w/ Anne Nylander : How to take the next step in your barista/coffee career
• 014 : A Barista's Guide to Advancing: How to take full advantage of where you are and set yourself up for success in coffee
• 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Subscribe to KTTS

Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

Running a coffee shop means you take on a fair degree of risk. This is why having and understanding of insurance that is appropriate for your shop is critical. On top of that you need to make sure the insurance you do have is optimized and that you are providing an environment that puts safety first.

Unfortunately, while all small businesses carry the required insurance, it is often not optimized for their needs and the shop itself is run in a way that invites accidents rather than mitigates risk.

This is your livelihood and you own it to yourself, your staff, and customers to throughly explore these subjects. Today we are priviliged to get to talk all about these things with Brennon Pothetes of Butter insurance.

Brennan Pothetes is the Co-Founder and CEO of Butter Insurance, which offers a more accessible and efficient insurance experience for coffee shops coupled with a safety program, making them more sustainable. He is a veteran entrepreneur with a background in insurance, banking and software development for companies like Bloom Credit, Rhino and Simple. At Rhino, he helped build a product that saved renters $500 million dollars since the onset of the pandemic by replacing cash security deposits with affordable insurance.

This is a very helpful and informative conversation and I hope you apply these insights ASAP!

We cover:

• Understanding insurance and the right coverage
• Why the big guys have teams
• How we make mistakes with insurance
• What you are made to get vs what you need
• Risk mitigation and safety
• The small print and getting blindsided
• Exclusions and Optimizing insurance
• Negotiating with landlords
• The importance of talking with your insurance person
• Safety education and checklists

Links and resources:

www.butterhq.com

Risk + Safety Winter Checklist

Related episodes:

• 101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Retail w/ Specialty Coffee Attorney, Marshall Fuss
• 175 : How to Keep your Cool : A Fridge, Cooler, and Ice Machine Masterclass w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department!
• 197 : Getting the most from your Equipment w/ Melissa Vaiden of Counter Culture Coffee
• 128 : Terry's Top 10 w/ Terry Ziniewicz : Best practices for how not to kill your espresso machine
• 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
• 334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?

• Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
• Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Nobody is perfect. No coffee business is perfect. Therefore there will inevitably be complaints that staff have about the business. This could be anything from the schedule and state of the bar, to the performance of co-workers and even your own performance as a boss. Even the best companies deal with complaints. The trick is how to do so well.

In today's Shift break we will discuss a few ideas for how you can handle staff complaints with a clear head in order to create a better culture, system, and coffee shop.

Related episodes:

• Taking Offense to Critique
• 277: Encore Episode: How to respond to Negative Feedback
• Coffee Compass Article: The Wrath of the One Star Review
• Shift Break: Stop Lying
• Shift Break: Creating a Feedback Culture

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Subscribe to KTTS

Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

As the 2023 begins it is a great time to take inventory of our cafes and roasteries and really look at what we have done and where we can not only improve, but what needs to change. How can we keep up with the changing industry while still serving our customers? Where do we need to innovate and what are the first steps to building a better business?

Today we are discussing all of this and more with our guest Miranda Caldwell!

Miranda Caldwell is a coffee business coach and the founder of The Coffee MBA, a community where she teaches business courses for the specialty coffee industry. Since 2000, she has held leadership positions at coffee roasting companies in roles spanning operations, procurement, quality, sales, retail, and education. In 2022 she completed her Masters of Business Administration from a joint program with The University of Manchester and Indiana University. Her primary goal is to improve profitability for coffee roasters, believing they're the key to unlocking profitability for the rest of the value chain.

In this conversation we will be discussing Miranda's bold approach to coffee business operation, innovation, and values based leadership and product development that will give you a head start on reaching the next level in your coffee biz.

We cover:

• Discovering, leaving, and returning to the coffee industry
• Professional development
• Defining success
• Profitability
• Change perspective on our product
• Where to start to build better
• Curiosity and innovation
• Values to rally around
• What an MBA taught her about what our industry needs
• Innovation pipelines and Learning from Nestle
• Customer feedback

Links:

• www.mirandacaldwell.com
• Miranda on LinkedIn
• Tik Tok @miranda.caldwell

Related episodes:

• 089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday : Leadership, Innovation, service, heritage
• Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
• Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe
• Special! "Thinking Differently" Series | Radical Sustainability w/ James Combs of Combs' Coffee
• 020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop
• 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
• 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?

• Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
• Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com