Shows / Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
A coffee podcast providing coffee shop owners and leaders, with insights, inspiration, and the tools you need to grow and advance your coffee business. We learn from experts both in and outside the coffee industry as they deliver specific, practical, and actionable advice about ownership, optimization, profitability, barista work, employee culture, management, scaling, leadership, personal development, and anything else that will help you achieve success in the coffee shop.
Episodes
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
192 : Freedom through Coffee w/ Esther Hope-Gibbs of Manumit Coffee
27 Million. That is the number of people who are trapped in modern day slavery. It is a number that may leave many wondering what they can possibly do in the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
How to ruin a Game of Telephone
Most everyone has had fun playing this game as kid. While it's a great game parties, it's not so great for the coffee shop. Today we talk about how this game…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
Has it been a while since you last trained the staff and practices are outdated or ineffective? As a business grows the need for raising the standards in the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
High Expectations + Low Control
In the coffee shop there are so many expectations placed on us but often the results of the work are not fully within our control. When you combine these two…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
190 : 6 Tips for better Scheduling
Writing the schedule is one of the hardest things a manager has to take on. It is also one of the primary ways to care for the staff and the success of the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
In Praise of the "Transactional"
The idea of transactional is not what most of us have in mind when we think about hospitality. We tend to think of that more in relational terms and hold the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
189 : Talking Tea! w/ Jeffery Champeau of Rishi Tea and Botanicals
While tea is a staple menu item in virtually every coffee bar around the world, our understanding of tea can be fairly limited and the selection of teas often…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
188 : Founder Friday! w/ Jon Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab
In just 7 years, Onyx Coffee Lab has become one of the industry's most recognizable, respected, and progressive coffee companies. Whether you know them from…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
"Local" does not Equal Quality
Shop Local! Small Business Saturday! Independently Owned! These are phrases we use to get people to come in to our stores and support the local economy. That's…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
187 : A Conversation w/ Nikki Outlaw of Anecho Coffee
Opening a pop-shop is one of a number of great ways to get started in specialty coffee retail. It is a lower start up cost, you get to test the concept, and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Source vs Supplement
Ignore your baristas, but listen to podcasters. Ignore your staff, but listen to authors. It is too easy for us to immediately turn to outside resources and …
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
186 : Interviews from Coffee Fest PNW, Tacoma, WA
Growing and learning from the experiences of others is what this show is all about. A lot of growth and learning happened this past weekend in Tacoma during…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Being the Point of Clarity
Managers are looked to all day long as agents of clarity. Questions are a constant and this aspect of management is core to being able to drive results in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
185 : Exploring the La Marzocco Cafe w/ Amy Hattemer and Carolyn Reddy
One of the world's most compelling cafes is also run by one of the world most iconic and trusted espresso machine companies. Located in the lobby of KEXP, the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Build it for the Business, not the Person
Creating a new role in a coffee shop is often done when we face the prospect of losing on of our key staff members. We scramble and promise the world if they…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
Running a successful business is all about the quality of your decisions. Whether large or small, each one plays a part in shaping the company and either…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Blood Sucking Bosses!
This is a truly scary reality that so many cafe employees have had to deal with. Symptoms of getting bit by these bosses looks like overloaded schedules, no…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
Creating a coffee bar and working in retail all boils down to practicing hospitality. We want to practice this on behalf of our guests and our staff but…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
182 : Founder Friday! W/ Alec Tod of Indie Coffee Roasters, Indianapolis, IN
Today we are talking about scaling and transitions with the founder of Indie Coffee Roasters, Alec Tod! Founded in 2013 with a home roaster on his back patio…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Customer Service Pro is not Always Right
Sometimes we can overestimate how bad the customer is and in the process make ourselves out to be so very righteous. It is a reality in every bar I have seen…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
How well do you know your business? I'm not talking about the numbers and the stuff that is accessible through the POS or spreadsheets. I am talking about the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Systems as Care
We tend to have a mindset toward systems that breeds a lack of clarity, break downs in communication, and generally an unpleasant and even toxic environment in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
180 : A Conversation W/ Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale
Coffee is more than just a drink. It can also be a vehicle for change. Ending teen homelessness through coffee is the vision of today's guests, Brian…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Sink or Swim
Bringing a new employee onto the bar is often a hasty effort. Unfortunately, when we do this, we end up paying for it in the long run. Today we chat about the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
As goes the culture, so goes the company. This is just a fact. All of us want to be able to say that our employee cultures are strong, vibrant, and dedicated…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
2 Qualities of Quality Baristas
There are many qualities that contribute to being a solid professional in the coffee shop. Today we are going to focus on two particular qualities that are…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
178 : Training Masterclass w/ Emma Haines of London School of Coffee and Caffeina Consulting
We all know that training is one of the most critical skills to master in the professional coffee world. Entire careers are made or broken by the influence of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia
Coffee! Beer! Founder Friday! Today we get to talk with founder and owner of Tap Room Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, GA. Jonathan founded Tap Room in 2014 and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Should You be Behind the Bar Right Now?
There is a little problem we need to talk about that may not seem like a biggie but can wear away at morale and breed needless frustration. The bar area can…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
We will always have our emotions with us at work. In the fast-paced customer facing work of coffee retail we can cycle through a whole host of emotions in just…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Counterbalanced Barista
When it comes how we divide our attention and energy we can tend to skew to one side or another. This leaves us with too much focus on one area and not enough…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
175 : How to Keep your Cool : A Fridge, Cooler, and Ice Machine Masterclass w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department!
When the fridge goes down, the ice machine is not making ice, and the display case is making weird sounds...it's time to call a tech ASAP! Well that is exactly…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
I've Got Your (bar) Back
Bar backing is one of the most important roles in the cafe. Either as a dedicated position or as a set of responsibilities shared, when it is embraced and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
174 : Saying Yes to Business Opportunities w/ Kyle Wells of Torpedo Coffee & Close Quarters
How do you decide which opportunity for expansion is good and which one is not for you? If you are in business you will get offers to open a location in many…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Your Customer's Relational Baggage
Customers impression of your business is going to be filtered through the lens of their past experiences in coffee. Unfortunately that is too often a bad thing…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
To be successful in retail coffee today you need to be able to give your time and attention to the things that will truly make a difference. The standards for…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Your Peers are not your Customers
It is easy to be so focused on comparing yourself and your business to what you see in the industry that you end up ignoring your customers and the community…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
This is absolutely critical! One of cornerstones of running a coffee bar is the ability to stay in tune with the performance of the people that work in it…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
The Indian specialty coffee market is growing by leaps and bounds. Today's guests Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana and their company, Blue Tokai Coffee…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Fear or Inspiration?
Which one best describes how staff react to your presence in the cafe? The problem is that, no matter what, management will always be seen in a different light…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
170 : Why your Inventory Counts w/ Albert Amar and Pierre-Francois Rio of SwiftCount
What you have on your shelf is of the utmost importance. Tracking it and evaluating its performance is key to being able to make good decisions that will…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Selfish Self-Awareness
Being self-aware is over-rated. Why? Because without action following it up, self-awareness becomes useless and quickly creates a situation where we seek…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
169 : Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
The design of your shop communicates the level of care you have for your customer and the community. Crafting the details of your space to evoke a sense of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Currency of Urgency
We communicate either care or apathy depending on how we conduct ourselves on the bar. The way we expertly handle all the work necessary to provide a great…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
168 : Getting the Best From Your Coffee w/ Pete Licata
Dialing in your coffee can be hit or miss. There are so many factors to consider for the extremely large variety of coffees we are tasked with brewing…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Familiar Apathy
When a customer comes into our bar they expect that they will be taken care of and the best cafes strive to get the details of the guests visit right. Over…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
167 : Handing off the Shift : 4 Tips to Avoid Chaos
The most confusing moments in the day are when the shifts switch. People finishing tasks, gathering items to leave, and others coming in tying to get caught up…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
166 : Founder Friday! (Special Curated Edition) : Four Awesome Perspectives on Caring for Staff from past Founder Friday Episodes
From the Founder Friday vault we are diving into the subject of how to care for your staff, staff culture, and setting up yourself and your people for success…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
When You're "Losing it"
Sometimes it seems like everything is crashing down around you. You break a cup, your co-workers are annoying you, customers are frustrating, you're tired, you…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
165: The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
When we listen, we tend to stay on the surface of what is being said but rarely ever venture into the deeper meaning of what is being communicated. This means…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
"I'm Sorry"
This phrase is rarely heard in the cafe, especially not from leaders. Too many shop cultures are void of genuine and humble apologies as those with authority…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
164 : Six Tips for Cooler Cold Brew w/ The Cold Brew Chick, Rachel Dillon
For so many people cold brew is the first step into the world of specialty coffee. In order to truly serve our customers well we need to make sure that, when…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Exceptions to the Rule : Toxic Traditions
Huge problems come up for staff and customers when we are not on top of the may unique situations that spring up on the bar. In spite of trying to be…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Littlefield
There is no better feeling than when the cafe gets busy, the pressure is on, and you and your fellow baristas dig deep, communicate well, get orders out…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Broken Chair
Caring for staff is one of the main functions of leadership. Unfortunately, the reality experienced by baristas the world over is that of a dysfunctional…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
162 : Discussing "Baristastainability" w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee
The sustainability of the barista profession is a subject that needs to be talked about more. Trouble is that we have accepted that the kind of turn-over we…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
161 : Founder Friday Drive-Thru Edition! w/ Jasmine Diedrich Wilson of Diedrich Espresso, Everette, WA
Drive-Thru coffee stands play a huge part in spreading the good word of specialty coffee. The convenience they offer makes both consuming coffee and getting…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Differentiation Takes Time!
As your competition increases, standing out becomes more of a struggle. We chase ways to be unique and often we grab hold of trends, products, and concepts…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
160 : The Smart Way to Approach Money w/ Jill Schlesinger
Managing money can be super stressful. This is especially true when you own and operate a coffee shop, the margins are thin, and there seems to be more going…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Customer Experience - vs - Coffee Quality
Coffee is too cheap, and we all want customers to pay more for specialty coffee. How can we more effectively shift customers over to paying more, is it through…