Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Community is an incredibly important part of our industry. In fact it is the number one thing cited by professionals as the main reason they love coffee. Unifying around a common love is so powerful and helps us all become better...or does it? On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how community can often be a way to avoid difficult parts of working together and keep things at a perpetually shallow level of enthusiasm and keep us from making real progress both professionally and industry-wide. Related episodes: 055 : Personal Growth & Development w/ Jared Truby, Cat & Cloud Coffee 125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli SB: Don't Force Vulnerability SB: The Agreement Visit our Sponsors!!! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co Subscribe to KTTS Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

The journey of a barista often will lead to management. That particular role of leadership in the cafe comes with a host of changes that call on people to not only care for the quality and operations of the cafe, but the people themselves. Today we are going to be talking with Justin Duenne of Quills Coffee, a manager whose journey into the role is marked by a focus on team and the constant goal of providing a great experience for both barista and guest alike. Justin began working in coffee in 2018 with Quills Coffee in Indianapolis. With a passion for coffee and community growing, Justin stepped into a manager role for the Indianapolis shop. Throughout this time he's helped Quills Indianapolis step into a new chapter of the company and location. Justin is also an accomplished musician and songwriter. In this conversation we will be talking about Justin's jouney into coffee and then into management and the lessons he has learned regarding leadership, and the importance of a great team We cover: Becoming a barista Taking on and learning leadership Lessons in teamwork and relying on others Hiring and creating the vibe Delivering a great coffee experience The connection between music performance and management Thankfulness and the importance of perspective Links: www.quillscoffee.com Justin on Instaram @justinduennemusic Justin's music on Spotify Related Episodes: 054 : Founder Friday w/ Nathan Quillo, Quills Coffee 216 : Helping your Customers Brew at Home w/ Brian Beyke , I Brew my own Coffee Podcast 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching? 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 is Founder Friday and boy is this a wonderful conversation with a wonderful person. You simply cannot underestimate the importance of what an owner brings to a cafe and business. You as a leader have the opportunity to bring meaning, soul, and vision that creates electricity and momentum for your staff and customers. This is exactly what today's Founder Friday guest brings to her cafe and its people. We are talking with Megan Wilson of Spuds Coffee! Megan Wilson was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the United States to attend Johnson and Wales University where she would pursue and achieve a degree in culinary arts and food service management. From a very young age she had a great interest in the kitchen. What began as a passion for baking would blossom and extend to a passion for cooking and coffee. Connecting with people, creativity, and serving her community is what drives her. Recently, Megan opened the doors to her first establishment. Spud's Coffee. There she and her team strive to create a space that inspires and motivates others to create, think outside their box and get after that dream. It is firmly rooted in the purest expressions of genuine hospitality. In our conversation we cover her entry into coffee from food service, the harrowing journey through the pandemic to open Spud's and the lessons and experiences she has had through its founding and operation thus far. We discuss: History of hospitality and finding coffee The innate desire and mission to serve and care for people Leading and caring for a team Creating an intuitive and welcoming space Overcoming challenges in building the business Pivoting and creating community before open Learning along with your staff Not letting fear and uncertainty stop you Counting the cost Operating the cafe and resilience Advice for aspiring and existing owners Links: www.spudscoffee.com Instagram: @spudscoffee Related episodes: 129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga's Coffee Roasters Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com

Rob Hoos, a coffee roasting consultant and author, dives deep into the prevalent issue of tipping, a defect that can ruin roasted coffee. He explains how tipping affects flavor and what causes it, with practical advice for roasters to avoid this common pitfall. The conversation covers tips on adjusting roasting profiles, understanding coffee growth altitude, and best practices in moisture management to enhance coffee quality. Rob also introduces his informative booklet, which provides valuable resources for coffee professionals.

I am helping my clients establish values all the time. Having a clear understanding of what is important to you and your business is incredibly important because it informs everything you put your hand to. For this show, and in my consulting work, I have my own set of values that have been developing over the course of my career. On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the 4 core values that guide and inspire KTTS, what they mean to me, and how they can also apply to the work you do in your shops. I hope you enjoy! Related episodes: Scaling Values Bridging the Values-Actions Gap 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff Who you are vs What you Do 059 : Founder Friday w/ Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee Visit our Sponsors!!! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co Subscribe to KTTS Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

Being competitive in business is often thought of in the same vein as being aggressive, leading with fear, and creating an us vs them scenario that is antithetical to community. The reality is that while we need to be competitive in order to run successful businesses, we need not do so in a way that alienates. In today's episode you and I will talk about seven way to be what I will call "Consciously Competitive" in order make you business stand out in and become a better version of itself year over year. We discuss: Making space for staying connected Service and open communication Presence and involvement Well curated menus with fresh rotating options Don't employ desperation and Never bad mouth Trends and what they signal Generosity Related episodes: Differentiation Takes Time! Customer Loyalty Getting Them In By Getting Out! You are not your Competition 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching? 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 future of staffing our cafes depends on how effectively we hire and set up our teams for success. Rather than having an unsustainably low or high number of staff working, we need to create lean and effective teams of thoroughly trained, resourced, and well paid professionals. Today on Shift Break we will be talking about investing into and professionalizing the barista role and how we can challenge ourselves and our baristas to do more and better with less and actually thrive in the process. Related episodes: Simplicity is the MVP of the Cafe 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team 356 : 5 Barriers to Progress in Your Coffee Shop 002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles 162 : Discussing "Baristastainability" w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee Visit our Sponsors!!! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co Subscribe to KTTS Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

A lot has changed in coffee over the last couple decades. As roasters and baristas, our understanding of the current landscape of coffee processing, its impact on flavor, and the possibilities it contains will greatly determine our success. Thankfully our industry has some very bright minds who create clarity around the ever complex world of coffee, and one of those voices is here with us today. Christopher Feran is a coffee industry consultant, green buyer, roaster and lapsed Q-grader with years of experience helping startups and established companies in the Midwest, California and New York City as well as exporters and coffee growers in producing countries like Guatemala, Colombia and Ethiopia. A pioneering coffee professional, he regularly publishes thought provoking blogs and articles that have challenges and pushed the industry forward. Most recently he has published the "sort-of glossary" to coffee processes; which inspired today's conversation. We will be exploring the topic of processing, it's evolution, and how to think about their use and application in your roasting company We cover: Evolution of his understanding of processing Recent developments in processing Shifting expectations of terroir Who is driving these innovations? How much of our menu should be experimental? How some processes roast differently Who is buying these coffees? Pros or consumers? Processes create more consistency? Choosing what is right for you and employing patience First steps in adjusting your coffee roastery's program Links: www.christopherferan.com Related episodes: RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients 251 : Fermentation and the Future of Farming w/ Lucia Solis RoR #16 : Ideal Resting Times for Roasted Coffee w/ Joey Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching? 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

Professional development and opportunities for betterment and advancing are areas that operators must bake in to the business as much as possible. If you are a barista, manager, trainer etc and you want to take advantage of those things, create opportunities, or simply take charge of your own development for a better future then you must focus on adding value. Today on Shift Break we will be discussing how to make yourself more valuable as an employee both in the job you have now and in preparation for the opportunities you have yet to encounter. Related episodes: 292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts 077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work 226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan 015 : What to do if You don't Advance w/ Anne Nylander : How to take the next step in your barista/coffee career 014 : A Barista's Guide to Advancing: How to take full advantage of where you are and set yourself up for success in coffee 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career Visit our Sponsors!!! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co Subscribe to KTTS Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

Running a coffee shop means you take on a fair degree of risk. This is why having and understanding of insurance that is appropriate for your shop is critical. On top of that you need to make sure the insurance you do have is optimized and that you are providing an environment that puts safety first. Unfortunately, while all small businesses carry the required insurance, it is often not optimized for their needs and the shop itself is run in a way that invites accidents rather than mitigates risk. This is your livelihood and you own it to yourself, your staff, and customers to throughly explore these subjects. Today we are priviliged to get to talk all about these things with Brennon Pothetes of Butter insurance. Brennan Pothetes is the Co-Founder and CEO of Butter Insurance, which offers a more accessible and efficient insurance experience for coffee shops coupled with a safety program, making them more sustainable. He is a veteran entrepreneur with a background in insurance, banking and software development for companies like Bloom Credit, Rhino and Simple. At Rhino, he helped build a product that saved renters $500 million dollars since the onset of the pandemic by replacing cash security deposits with affordable insurance. This is a very helpful and informative conversation and I hope you apply these insights ASAP! We cover: Understanding insurance and the right coverage Why the big guys have teams How we make mistakes with insurance What you are made to get vs what you need Risk mitigation and safety The small print and getting blindsided Exclusions and Optimizing insurance Negotiating with landlords The importance of talking with your insurance person Safety education and checklists Links and resources: www.butterhq.com Risk + Safety Winter Checklist Related episodes: 101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Retail w/ Specialty Coffee Attorney, Marshall Fuss 175 : How to Keep your Cool : A Fridge, Cooler, and Ice Machine Masterclass w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department! 197 : Getting the most from your Equipment w/ Melissa Vaiden of Counter Culture Coffee 128 : Terry's Top 10 w/ Terry Ziniewicz : Best practices for how not to kill your espresso machine 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez 334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching? 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