Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

It happens all the time. We create and conduct training sessions, programs, and systems that contain a lot, but do not produce a lot. We end up with staff that are ill equipped for handling the day-to-day work and challenges that await them and as a result the customer receives an inconsistent experience.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the number one way we create ineffective training programs and what we should be investing into in order to properly train and prepare ours staff and business for long term success

Please listen to these related episodes:

• 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
• 313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee
• 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
• 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
• 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
• 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
• 119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies

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The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

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How we perceive something impacts the decisions we make when buying or selling it. That in turn shapes consumers perceptions and then the market. Tea has long been a part of the coffeehouse, but has suffered from a severe lack of attention and intentionality. As a result the way we represent tea in many cafes has a negative impact of the tea farmer in effectively disappearing their work and craft.

These are the types of issues that today's guest has sought to address.

After leaving her corporate job Annie Xiang founded Volition Tea. As an Asian American owned business is core to how Volition operates with every decision centering around serving their community and the farmers whom we have the privilege to know.

Instead of focusing on transparency and direct-trade for the sake of marketing, Volition shares the stories of tea farmers to cultivate empathy across communities.

Through their intensive focus, highly curated offerings, and education Volition is making a real impact.

In this interview we will be talking with Annie all about how Volition began, its values, and the practical ways we can adjust our mindsets and practices to usher in a better future for tea and tea farmers through our cafes.

We discuss:

• Starting volition
• How tea farmers are unique
• Telling their story
• Breaking down the Types of tea
• How to curate your menu
• Getting staff exited about tea
• Tapping into the tea market
• True transparency in tea
• Training people in tea
• Tips for selecting, storing, and using
• Re-steeping
• Sourcing and relationships

Links:

www.volitiontea.com

@volitionteaco on IG

Related Episodes:

• 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
• How to talk to Customers about Coffee
• 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
• Eliminating menu items Humanely
• 080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
• 002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?

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

How do you measure the impact of you business? We talk about metrics mostly related to finances and judge success accordingly. But the deeper and more fulfilling impact a coffee shop can have is based in relationship. You may ask yourself the question, does what I am creating or have created have "heart and meaning"? If your answer is yes and you stick to it long enough, you might end up with a legacy similar to our guests today, Cindy and Cary Arsaga

In 1992 Arsaga Coffee was founded in Fayetteville Arkansas and this month marks the 30 year anniversary of Arsaga's. Cindy and Cary have been serving generations of people through their unique, warm, and welcoming shops. Their goal has always been to provide a space that fosters true community, connection, and the positive life change that results.

Today they are pillars in the North West Arkansas community and continue to serve great coffee in authentic spaces with simplicity and integrity.

Arsaga's was the first coffee house I was a regular of and where I first learned to love coffee and the coffeehouse as a dynamic space. I was not only the catalyst for my career but it was the force that inspired innumerable lives. Needless to say this a really special episode to me.

So today we get to hear the story of how Arsaga's was born from an, how it grew organically and with soul, how they took on bigger projects such as baking, food, and roasting, all while staying true to their roots of "Heart and Meaning".

We cover:

• How coffee basically saved Carries life
• The epiphany
• Goals for creating community
• Beginning the journey and finding their way
• Early inspiration and creating energy and a community space
• Staying true to yourself Fostering connection
• Learning how to operate a public space
• The journey of roasting and scaling without losing culture
• Hiring the right people
• Creating magic in peoples lives
• Going from organic growth their intentional development / being organized
• Working with family
• Challenges, lessons, and proud moments

Links:

www.arsagas.com

Instagram @arsagascoffeeroasters

Related Episodes:

• 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
• 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
• Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
• 208: Building a Company that Cares w/ Kyra Kennedy of Baratza
• 166 : Founder Friday! (Special Curated Edition) : Four Awesome Perspectives on Caring for Staff from past Founder Friday Episodes
• 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
• 232 : Founder Friday w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou's Porch
• 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
• 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

Thankfulness, positivity, affirming others, and seeking out the good can easily be things that get pushed aside in favor of the problems, stresses, and challenges of this life. As a result we develop a lob sided perspective in reality.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we can pursue thankfulness and seek out the positive in the midst of the challenge to have a full and truer view that actually gives life.

Related episodes:

• Priorities and Deep Thankfulness
• Thankfulness : The key to joy in the journey
• 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
• Skewing Positive
• The Affirmation Vacuum

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Visit these amazing sponsors!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Communicating hard things is hard! The good news is that is does not have to be ineffective or worse yet, turn into something problematic or toxic. There are ways to deliver necessary feedback to employees (or anyone for that matter) that will not only show that person respect but also allow you your dignity as well.

I wanted to re-share this old episode today with our friend Tom Henschel because there are many of us who are struggling with communicating to our staff regarding their performance, behaviors, expectations, etc. In this conversation Tom outlines a simple 4 step process that you can use to deliver difficult feedback well.

Tom Henschel is an expert in workplace communications and executive development. Over the past 25 years, he has helped hundreds of senior leaders achieve The Look & Sound of Leadership.TM

In addition to coaching executives, Tom facilitates team events and delivers highly interactive trainings in the areas of effective communications, presentation, and influence skills.

Tom's popular podcast, The Look & Sound of Leadership, airing since 2008, is consistently cited as "What's Hot" in the business podcasts on iTunes.

Links:

Tom's Company: www.essentialcomm.com

Tom's Podcast: The look and Sound of Leadership

4 Step Feedback Model PDF — Keys to the Shop

Related Episodes:

• 363 : Setting Boundaries in the Coffee Shop w/ Tom Henschel
• 052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
• 221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
• 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?

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

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" This quote from Voltaire has been passed around a lot over the years, even still it seems we always find ways to procrastinate on starting things because we either want it to be perfect, feel fear of looking bad, don't think we have the time, or perhaps we jus don't feel the urgency.

On today's shift break we will be talking about how embracing the practice of taking imperfect action can radically transform you and your coffee shop.

Related episodes:

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The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

It is easy to assume that a managers main role is only to take on basic administrative tasks. At least this is the way I would argue most shop treat the role of manager. It is too often a "set and forget" scenario that inevitably leads to managers being in the dark, ill equipped, and frustrated. Ultimately this is all due to a lack of development and a failure of ownership to play an active role in it.

On todays episode we will be talking about five key areas that need to be developed in managers consistently as the primary way to facilitate their success, and in turn, the success of your business.

We will cover:

• Admin tasks
• Leadership skills
• Accountability to Standards
• Cafe evolution
• Clarity, communication, and being informed
• Maintaining a constant focus
• Avoiding misuse of your authority

Related episodes:

• 028 : Why it's Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan : A guide to defining and fighting the under management epidemic in your cafe so you can be the manager your staff need
• 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
• 229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
• 373 : The Owner's Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?

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

It's wild to me that this still exists in coffee. The idea that we can throw a new hire in to the mix of a shift in a new cafe and expect that they will prove themselves as being valuable based on if they fail or thrive.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why this "sink or swim" mentality is glorified laziness, culturally dangerous, and what we should be doing as leaders to train our people.

Related episodes you need to hear:

• Unofficial Trainers & Fair Compensation
• 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
• 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
• 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
• 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff

Like the episode? Subscribe, share, and rate the show!

Visit these amazing sponsors!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Photography and coffee seem to just go together. There is something about creating moments and capturing moments that is a common drive where we can see the beauty in the mundane and get a whole new appreciation for our work and world. Today we are going to chat with of one of our industries great photographers, Rob Sykes.

Rob Sykes lives in Houston, TX with his wife and daughter. H practices Zen meditation, writes haikus, and works full time as a PICC RN at North Cypress Medical Center.

In addition to this, Rob is a serious coffee and street photographer and content creator who you can catch around the Houston cafe scene, roaming the streets of major metropolitan areas, and of course capturing magic at Coffee Fest's Latte Art World Championship Open.

In this conversation we talk about Rob's journey into coffee, photography, and how he sees the world through those lenses.

We cover:

• Getting into photography through coffee
• Mindfulness and intentionality
• Zen meditation and coffee shops
• Capturing culture
• The beauty of the mundane
• Knowing what to shoot and why
• Staying aware of your surrounding
• Focusing on community

Links:

Instagram @layman_rob

Related episodes:

• 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
• 365 : Spilling the Beans on Global Coffee Culture w/ Lani Kingston
• 199 : Founder Friday w/ Mario Jimenez of Banana Dang Coffee, Oceanside, CA
• 024 : Chermelle D. Edwards, The Coffeetographer : Documenting Art and Culture Through the Lens of Specialty Coffee : Barista Culture, Consumer Experience, Movements in coffee culture

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?

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 coffee shop is a can be a stressful place. There are no shortage of challenges big and small that confront us daily whether you are a barista of cafe owner. The trouble we run into is when our confirmation bias kicks in with every challenges and our emotions run away with us and we start telling ourselves a story about what is happening that may not be true but certainly feels true in the moment

On today's shift break we will be talking about how we can combat overthinking and negative emotions through pursuing objectivity, truth, and growing in confidence as a result.

Related episodes:

Getting Over Guilt

224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown

111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others

176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab

Professional Distance (Blog)

When Going Above and Beyond Goes too Far

258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence

Make Your Problems More Specific

Like the episode? Subscribe, share, and rate the show!

Visit these amazing sponsors!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Want clarity, perspective, and solutions? Sign on for KTTS Consulting coaching calls today!

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