

Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Chris Deferio
A coffee podcast providing coffee shop owners and leaders, with insights, inspiration, and the tools you need to grow and advance your coffee business or coffee career. 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
Mentioned books

Nov 24, 2023 • 1h 8min
444: Founder Friday! w/ Julia Peixoto Peters of Peixoto Coffee, Arizona
Between the moment a farmer hands over their crop, to the moment a barista hands a customer a cup of that same coffee, there is a complex system that will either bring hope and equity to those most vulnerable, or reinforce the hopelessness that is too common with those who cultivate the coffee we love. Today's guest grew up seeing this hopelessness on her families farm and decided to do something about it. I am so excited to welcome to the podcast a leader in innovative trade models and the owner of Peixoto Coffee, Julia Peixoto Peters! Julia Peixoto was born and raised in a coffee farming-family in Southern Brazil watching her father and relatives give their lives to produce the best coffees they could but, when it was time to sell those coffees, they were at the mercy of the ups and (mostly) downs of the commodities market. Julia wanted to do better for her family and farmers in her region, changing the equity of the coffee trading game from the middleman to the farmers, who bear the brunt of the risks involved in farming and harvesting coffee. Julia and her husband Jeff left their promising corporate careers to start Peixoto Coffee in Arizona in 2015 to produce, import, roast, and bring to the market coffees farmed at their own family-farm, challenging the status-quo of the market and the traditional profiles expected of Brazilian coffees. We discuss: Julia's life on the coffee farm The hardships producers face Leaving her career for her higher calling in coffee Developing skill and finding mentors Running a coffee shop with a deeper narrative The first steps in vertical integration The challenges of leadership and importance of systems Having faith that you can figure it out Sustainable relationships and long term commitment Hiring staff to represent the vision and story Links: www.peixotocoffee.com Instagram: @peixotocoffee Related episodes: 288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee 413 : Coffee Education and Training at Origin w/ Fabiola Solano of Soy Barista 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama! Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now! https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min Thank you to our amazing sponsors! Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

Nov 23, 2023 • 10min
SHIFT BREAK: The Weight of Relationships
The coffee shop environment is filled with more that just coffee. It is a swirling mix of emotions, thoughts, expectations, communication, action, interpretation of actions, and everything in between. In other words...Relationships. The hardest part of coffee is the people they say. And while it may be true, it is also true that people are integral to coffee and to the joy and fulfillment of the experience. On today's annual thankfulness themed Shift Break we will be talking about how the relationships and resources we have now are both a weight of responsibility but also a necessary fuel that we and the business are designed to run on in order to find sustainable success. Happy Thanksgiving! -Chris In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people? Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation! https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min Related episodes: Thankfulness and Giving Energy to the Positive Priorities and Deep Thankfulness 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown The Miracle of the Mundane: How curiosity helps our sustainability Thank you to out sponsors! Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Nov 20, 2023 • 49min
443: Keep Your Communication Simple! w/ Author Ben Guttmann
Why do we overcomplicate things? Certainly details matter with SOPs , recipes, etc...but communication to our customers and staff can often be more confusing than helpful in delivering the impact and purpose we intend. The coffee shop is a dynamic place with a ton of inputs and noise swirling together. Having a simple clear way to communicate will help cut through the noise. Today we will be exploring how to do just that, and in turn how simple communication and messages can bring big results for cafes. I am happy to be joined today by author and expert in simple messaging, Ben Guttmann! Ben Guttmann is a marketing and communications expert and author of Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win — and How to Design Them. He's an experienced marketing executive and educator on a mission to get leaders to more effectively connect by simplifying their message. Ben is former co-founder and managing partner at Digital Natives Group, an award-winning agency that worked with the NFL, I Love NY, Comcast NBCUniversal, Hachette Book Group, The Nature Conservancy, and other major clients. Currently, Ben teaches digital marketing at Baruch College in New York City and consults with a range of thought leaders, venture-backed startups, and other brands. In our talk we cover: The reason and ways we over complicate massages What makes a simple message impactful The negative impact of too many words How do we ensure the right result from our communication? Nobody cares and the paradox of choice Applying constraints to challenge ourselves The perception of confidence We can only care about so much Links: Buy the book : Simply Put! www.Benguttmann.com Ben Guttmann on LinkedIn Listen to these episodes next: 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D. 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee BLOG: Good Communication is "For Here" 321 : Marketing and Moral Injury w/ Josh Tarlo of Kiss the Hippo Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now! https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min Thank you to our amazing sponsors! Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

Nov 16, 2023 • 11min
SHIFT BREAK: Make Customer Feedback a Priority
Do we care what our customers think? If so, how do they know? When you talk to almost any operator of a cafe you will hear them say that they value the customer and their feedback. The question though is how are the customers supposed to deliver it and are you making it easy for them to do so? On today's Shift break we will be talking about how we can pursue customer feedback in a clear and meaningful way that builds trust, connection, and a sustainable coffee shop. Listen to these next! 282 : How to Listen to your Customers Feedback Culture : Making feedback a part of what you do not just something you sometimes do 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people? Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation! https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min Thank you to out sponsors! Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Nov 14, 2023 • 29min
442 : We Need Confidence, Celebration, and Joy!
You hear it everywhere. Owning and running a business is hard, taxing, a battle even. And while there is truth to this, it is not the whole truth. In the entrepreneurial journey we have accepted, with no degree of irony, that it is a miserable business bringing joy to our communities through coffee. Don't buy it. Today we are going to be talking about the transformational role that confidence, celebration, and joy play in not only helping your business succeed, but in allowing you to find fulfillment and life through the running and growing of it. This is an incredibly important truth that needs to be given priority in our daily lives. Lets embrace confidence, celebration, and joy together through coffee! Listen to these next: 008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth 394 : Happy Coffee People w/ Wendelien van Bunnik 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge Over Optimization Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now! https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min Thank you to our amazing sponsors! Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

Nov 10, 2023 • 12min
SHIFT BREAK: Your Manager Has No Time To Manage!
High expectations are fine as long as they are coupled with the resources and tools to actually achieve them. No position in the cafe gets the short end of the stick of resourcing than the cafe manager. As baristas watch their manager lose their mind, they in turn pass on the opportunity. Come be a manager where there is more stress, more work, less time to do it, and more expectation. No thanks. Today on Shift Break we will be discussing how you can set up your manager with the structure and time they need to thrive in the role. Who knows, maybe people will actually see the position as an attractive role to aspire to rather than one that receives their pity. In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people? Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation! https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min Keep the conversation going! Listen to these episodes next: 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers 435 : Encore! It's OK to be the Boss, w/ Bruce Tulgan 425 : Some Thoughts on Supporting Your Manager 383 : How to Train a Manager Thank you to out sponsors! Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Nov 7, 2023 • 1h 1min
441: How to Achieve Operational Excellence w/ Laila Ghambari
A coffee shop cannot survive without having excellent operational systems and tools that bring together and make consistent all the craft, values, and magic we want from a cafe experience Just like the work of a barista, 75% of what we do in ownership and leadership has to do with the things that happen off bar. The foundations of business. How we create, employ, and refine structures means the difference e between realizing potential and courting disaster. Today we are going to be talking with the great Laila Ghambari. An expert in operations and coffee shop training and management, all about achieving what she calls operational excellence. Laila Ghambari has nearly 20 years of specialty coffee experience. She won the prestigious title of United States Barista Champion in 2014 and was elected member of the Executive Counsel for the barista guild from 2012-2016. Her experience is in running multi-unit retail operations, training and education, as well as team and organizational leadership. This year Laila founded "by Laila Ghambari", her coffee and consulting business that is Providing Simple Tools Every Coffee Shop Needs to Achieve Operational Excellence. In this conversation we cover: 🔑Laila's family legacy of coffee 🔑Pursuing education and training 🔑How winning the US barista championship helped her mindset approach to achievement and 🔑Lean management and the role of gemba kaizen 🔑managment of multi-unit retail 🔑Defining operational excellence 🔑Tools to begin and tools Links: www.lailaghambari.com IG: @LAILAGHAMBARI Listen to these Episodes next! SHIFT BREAK: Defining Excellence and Success 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop 057 : SOP's FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures SHIFT BREAK: Pull Out The Fridge 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides 375 : Founder Friday! w/ Roland Horne of WatchHouse SHIFT BREAK: Ineffective Training Thank you to our amazing sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacificfoodservice.com

Nov 2, 2023 • 14min
SHIFT BREAK: Quality Still Matters
Quality is subjective. What is not subjective though, is that quality matters. That begs the question, how should we define quality and pursue it in an age of coffee where we want both excellence and inclusivity of expression of preference. Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why quality still matters and how we should think about what, how, and for whom are we crafting these coffee experiences. Related episodes: 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality 393 : The Tyranny of Taste w/ Kosta Kallivrousis RoR #20 : Challenging the Status Quo w/ David Lalonde of Rabbit Hole Roasters, Montreal, Quebec 430 : Embracing "Unreasonable Hospitality" w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference 282 : How to Listen to your Customers Prioritize In-House Training and QC 426: Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co.

Oct 31, 2023 • 30min
440 : What Should Scare You About Coffee
Working in coffee, you come across a lot of unexpected career pitfalls. Things that you may not have expected that can lurk just around the corner and lead us off track in our careers and our businesses. That should scare us. At least it should make us vigilant to pay attention and walk out our careers in a way that avoids these dangers. Today on this slightly Halloween themed episode we will be talking all about what I believe are the major coffee career and business pit falls to look out for and what to do to protect yourself from getting caught in their trap. We cover: The Industry Insecure bosses The path of least resistance Comparison Anger and lying to yourself Over commitment and boundaries Related episodes: When "Going above and Beyond" goes too Far Service, Spite, and Compromise 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison 267 : The Power of Delegation Special: Grossest Stories from the Bar Blood Sucking Bosses! Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com

Oct 26, 2023 • 52min
Founder Friday! Youth, Foster Care, and Human Connections Through Coffee | w/ Miah Sommer of Astute Coffee in Omaha, NE
More than 23k youth age out of the foster care system each year. Many of these young people, because of the trauma and instability, end up at higher risk of addiction, homelessness, financial instability and worse. One man whose own past parallels those he seeks to serve, has been working to change this seemingly hopeless cycle through founding a coffee business that serves these youth and gives them a better chance for a brighter future. Miah Sommer is a social entrepreneur and the founder and Executive Director of Astute Coffee (formerly The Bike Union), a non-profit coffee shop that provides workforce development and life skills to youth who have been impacted by the foster care. Sommer is the past recipient of the Donna Tubach Davis Children's Advocate Award from Child Saving institute. He was also a speaker with TEDxOmaha, and has taught a workshop at Homeboy Industries' Global Homeboy Network in Los Angeles, CA. The Bike Union is a winner of the Excellence in Innovation through the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Sommer Lives in Omaha with his wife Katie and their sons Henry and Charlie. Today we will be getting deep into the story of Astute Coffee, the stories of the people in it, and how it has evolved and made a real difference. An astute observer will see , that hospitality is about empathy, seeing in others a sameness and using this perspective to serve their needs with every cup we make. I hope this episode inspires you to reach out, pay attention, and soften your heart to all the humans we serve and serve with. (-This episode has potentially sensitive content -) Links: www.astutecoffee.org IG: @ASTUTE_COFFEE Related episodes: 180 : A Conversation with Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale 192 : Freedom through Coffee w/ Esther Hope-Gibbs of Manumit Coffee 262 : Understanding the Homeless Community w/ Natalie Harris, Executive Director of The Coalition for the Homeless 106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com


