The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers

Jack from Dead Rabit (www.DeadRabbitNYC.com) really inspired me to share what he did with his menu. Of course a cafe and cocktail menu are different, but you'll be inspired to hear what he and others are up to.

Also, thanks to Ken Burgin from Profitable Hospitality for having me as a guest on episode 89 (http://ht.ly/zmxx4)

If you're like me you like to eat food and drink coffee. Do you expect to wait longer for one item over the other? Should somone warn you how long a wait is? Let's discuss.

How nice do you dress for work? This episode is in a direct response to under-dressed baristas. You know the kind, the kind who look like they just rolled out of bed. Here are some lessons I learned the hard way so you don't have to. Short, sweet, and helpful.

Share your thoughts vie twitter @Boyrista, or in the comments on www.AudioCafePodcast.com/21

We get too familiar with our own shops and ignore the imperfections like smudges on the wall or a squeaky door. But how often to we look outside of our own business and to our competition for inspiration?

For a full list of the challenges visit http://boyrista.com/2014/06/07/competition/

Just like hand writing a letter, an email, over the phone, or face to face conversations all have different tones and way to convey a message - so do different social media sites! It it time to talk about what tone of voice you should have on Twitter vs Facebook. Did you know this is important? Did you also know this is a HUGE opportunity for you?

To everyone out there who has a dream to one day own a coffeehouse I give you this small piece of advice: start small.

Eric Spivack wants to own an amazing cafe someday. So he decided to take it one step at a time, and part of this is taking the time to learn more about the industry, and get his feet wet with a small shop. I mean small.

Like, real small.

Like, can only fit 1 grinder inside.

Because it is inside of a tow-behind trailer.

Now after running his mobile shop he has the experience he needed to launch into a retail location (way to go Eric!). To learn more visit www.AudioCafePodcast.com/18 for this episode, or www.Boyrista.com for more of what Levi is up to.

Here are my favorite quotes from talking with Scott:

"The biggest thing is what you do outside of work." Don't force your way into a new position, rather "Nobody becomes a rockstar by trying to be a rockstar" you need to instead be a person of value.

"Coffee beginning to end is just community"

"Coffee is wine of the morning. Its not the thing that gets me caffeinated and jacked up for the day, it does get me firing on all cylinders but at the end of the day its mainly just that delicious thing that you get to drink and enjoy the profile and taste of it. And that's the most important thing to me."

My personal challenge to you:

"Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If you listened to the interview you heard at the 38 minute mark I gave a big compliment to Scott about being at my shop and how he provided me value and didn't treat me like I had to buy from him. How do you view every relationship in your business? From your baristas to your milkman? Is there something you can learn from Scott's example of helping me learn a little more about espresso, rather than telling me all the reasons why I should buy Caffe Vita? Come to think of it, I don't remember him making a hard sales line about why I need to buy his coffee and immediately switch.

Start by adding value after hours, if you want to roast coffee, what does your current roaster/barista/manager/owner need help with or not love to do?

For a transcript and PDF file of the content we covered visit www.AudioCafePodcast.com/16

Thank you to Todd Janes fro the intro music (Free Drip Friday's), and to @MenasheDIsrael from @JungleFires for the outro music.

Audio Cafe podcast is the brainchild of Levi Andersen, from Boyrista.com. Levi has been making coffee since he came to career-day and made a latte for his teacher. Levi owned and later sold a drive-thru in Maple Valley, WA. Levi serves DaVinci Gourmet, Big Train, and Oregon Chai as their Beverage Product Specialist.

Jordan was kind enough to join me and share two kettles of tea and share his experience and also concerns or thoughts about tea vs coffee. Consider this a tea 101, or two pals sharing conversation.

There are some things we don't think about in our business, but we notice when they are missing or have changed. Lids on drinks are one of those odd necessities. But did you know there were more than just one type of lid? Its worth considering and that is what this episode is all about, cheers! More at www.AudioCafePodcast.com/14