Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

We have a problem. Dreaming up a vision and writing out our list of core values, missions, etc. is an exciting and crucial part of any business. The problem is that most cafes stop there. The list of ideals an noble pursuits never make their way into reality and are soon relegated to only being invoked at staff meetings. So many of the issue we have with toxic work places, burned out staff, and needless turn over stem from the values-actions gap.

Today we are going to discuss this issue and how you can make sure your values are not just nice ideas, but are lived out in the real life of the business.

Interested in consulting & coaching : [email protected]

Links to related episodes:

• 156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe, Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Fransisco
• COVID-19 Focus : Jonathan Pascual | Taproom Coffee and Beer | Atlanta, Georgia
• Systems as Care
• 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap

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Humility, serving wholesale clients, accessibility, and creating an inclusive community. These are some of the many topics discussed in this fantastic conversation with today's guest, Anthony Ragler! Native of Brooklyn, NY, Anthony Ragler is a coffee professional who combines his craft with his culture and upbringing to cultivate unique and individual experiences for those he encounters. From working as a wholesale manager, to roaster, and technician, Anthony's experiences allows for him to adapt and connect to many different perspectives and people within and outside the supply chain. Anthony is a 2019 Glittercat Barista Bootcamp Cohort member, a 2020 United States Barista Championship finalist, a 2020 Re:Co Symposium Fellow and currently works as the Regional Developer for Black & White Coffee Roasters in Wake Forest, NC. In this conversation we get to explore Anthony's evolution as a coffee professional and hear the lessons and insights he has gained over the years of serving others and working to create community and support diversity. This is definitely ranks up there as being one of my favorite conversations to date. After you listen you will know why. Enjoy! We discuss:

• Growing and learning through trials
• Serving your customer vs serving yourself
• Cultivating community for POC
• Learning roasting, wholesale, and support roles
• Benefits of competition
• Tips for wholesale support and service
• Tailoring your approach to the customer
• How to know if you did a good job
• The demand chain vs the supply chain
• Playing favorites

Links:

Anthony's Instagram

Black and White Coffee Roasters

Related episodes:

230 : Making room for Community in your Shop 183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson Your Customer's Relational Baggage 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters 133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Writing a job description is the first step in getting the right people in the right positions in your shop. They seem pretty straight forward but there are some elements that you need to consider when creating these documents that, if applied, will create a document that is truly a resource that benefits the business and the staff. Today we will cover some of these elements and why they are critical.

Links to related episodes:

Broken Chair

Systems as Care

You need SOPs

Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat

Visit our awesome sponsors!

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:

www.flairespresso.com

As we seek to rebuild our staff in the midst of the pandemic, many different questions come up about re-hiring, deciding who not to bring back, how to decide who to promote, and generally how do we do this in a way that is good for everyone involved. It is not enamors easy task but today we are going to gain a lot of clarity about these topics and more as we talk with the always insightful, Dave Stachowiak.

Dave founded Coaching for Leaders in 2011. Since them the podcast has been downloaded 12 million times and is consistently ranked as the #1 podcast in business, coaching, and management.

Dave was named in Forbes as one of the 25 Professional Networking Experts to Watch in 2015 and has also been featured in U.S. News & World Report.

He previously served as Senior Vice President with Dale Carnegie of Southern Los Angeles and led training programs for top organizations like the Northrop Grumman Corporation, The United States Air Force, the Boeing Company, and the University of California system.

In our conversation today we will cover:

• Why it is an employers market
• Making smart hiring decisions
• The consequences of poor staff placement
• Longterm thinking vs rushed hiring
• Assessing readiness
• Adjusting our decision mindset
• Job Descriptions
• Choosing the right person for the role
• Immediate steps to take in the right direction

Links:

www.coachingforleaders.com

Dave's past KTTS episodes:

184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak

025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak

My past episodes on Dave's show:

How to Lead Part-Time Staff

415: Employee Retention in Small Business, with Chris Deferio

Related episodes:

172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!

074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond

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

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

When is comes to community and serving the neighborhood well through the cafe, you'd be hard pressed to find a better example than Franny Lou's Porch, in Philadelphia, PA.

Blew Kind began her entrepreneurial journey in 2010 with Leotah's Place in North Philly then, moving across the street and renaming it, she established Franny Lou's Porch. All along the way Blew's goals have been to create an inclusive, loving and distinctly human coffee shop experience. With an emphasis on activism, health, and the history, art, and culture of the black community, Franny Lou's Porch has been a dynamic for peace and change.

In today's Founder Friday interview we are going to explore the genesis of Blew's coffee career and also that of her shop and the challenges, lessons, and experiences that she has had seeing this vision into fruition.

This was a fantastic conversation and I hope it inspires you.

We discuss:

• Faith in your vision
• Setting up a board for accountability
• Serving community and co-creating the culture
• Starting again after moving locations
• Overcoming financial burdens
• Experiences of being taken advantage of
• Strength of vision but reliance on community
• The maternal, non-heirachical business model
• Discussing black owned business, wealth generation
• What can coffee do to be more accessible and equitable?
• Creating a place of humans and love

Links:

www.frannylousporch.org

https://www.gofundme.com/f/franny-lous-porch-covid-relief

On Instagram

Related episodes:

230 : Making room for Community in your Shop

139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka

183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson

116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

You've heard of FOMO, but what about the insidious FOLO? This is the Fear of Limited Options and is a big mental hurdle that most coffee bars have to leap over. If you want to run a healthy business and not have your menu built on a very shaky foundation then today's episode is for you.

We are going to discuss what is behind FOLO, why you don't need to fall into or follow it, and what to do instead.

Recommended episodes:

• Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Marrocco
• 219 : Building a Winning Food Program w/ Marilei Denila, Culinary R&D Manager, Go Get em Tiger
• Taste the Rainbow! : Menu knowledge, tasting, flavor, coffee cupping approach to your offerings
• "Local" does not Equal Quality

Visit our awesome sponsors!

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:

www.flairespresso.com

This is going to be a deep dive into some foundational ideas related to your shop and the way it exists in your community. I wasn't planning this episode but I really felt a gut-level urgency about the message.

Thing is, if we want to build something that lasts and is resilient in the face of our resent and future challenges then prioritizing community what we should be doing. Do we we leave room for, or even really consider, the community when we set out to start and run our stores? What are the ramifications of not doing this and what are the benefits of focusing on it?

Today I am sharing some deeper thoughts that tap into the roots of the what and why of our profession and I hope you listen with an open heart.

Some things we will cover:

• Your experience-vs-the customer experience
• Co-creation and knowing your neighbors
• Connecting with and leaving room for community
• The relationship between the shop and the customer
• Stifling growth and giving up control
• The coffee bar as a platform for others
• Gentrification and cognitive dissonance
• The future of coffee bars and resiliency

Conversational nature of your business

139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka

227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds

181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

There is an abundance of stress to go around right now. I'd say it is likely the most tense and uncertain time I have seen in coffee in my 20 years of working in retail. Stress leads to more stress and as someone who is prone to stress/panic attacks etc I feel this reality all too well.

The question is, since it does not seem to be letting up, what do we do with it?

Today I wanted to briefly chat about not stressing about stress and turning the tables on it to use it to our advantage. Please follow the links below for more helpful resources and to listen to the great talk by Kelly McGonigal that was the inspiration for this Shift Break.

I love you all. You can do it.

Links:

TED Talk: How to make Stress your Friend by Kelly McGonigal

Related Episodes:

095 : Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Wellness Counselor, Joe Sanok

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

Visit our awesome sponsors!

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:

www.flairespresso.com

Entering into a new role, or even just taking over a new cafe or team, is a daunting challenge. Many burn out and the experience leaves a bitter taste in their mouth and a lot of destruction in their wake. In the midst of the reshuffling during COVID there are a lot of opportunities to establish a new way of approaching management in the shop and in this episode I am going to be giving what I think may be some the most important practices to put in place to thrive as a new manager or to make your management new.

As I recorded this I got the feeling that it may be one the most essential episode in the KTTS library on the subject.

Please listen deeply and share widely.

I can honestly say that if you practice these things consistently you will have a very strong foundation for the rest of your career.

We will dig into and expound on:

1. Pacing yourself
2. Gaining clarity
3. Meaningful change + Small wins
4. Trust based relationships and leadership
5. Communication standards
6. One-on-Ones
7. Scheduling your week

Related and recommended episodes:

226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan

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

028 : Why it's Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan

The One-on-One : How one meeting can dramatically impact your coffee shop's culture and morale.

Visit our awesome sponsors!

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Not everything we do is fun. Actually, there are a lot of dirty, time-consuming, repetitive tasks that we have to do everyday on order for the cafe to function. Even though these tasks seem rather dull, we can transform them into something of great worth and in the process push ourselves and our businesses forward.

Today we are going to talk about how becoming a work alchemist will help you to turn the every thing you do into gold!

Related Episodes:

098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work

121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings

Visit our awesome sponsors!

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:

www.flairespresso.com