

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 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

Oct 26, 2023 • 14min
SHIFT BREAK: Wrong Fit For the Role, or Wrong Fit For Your Business?
It can be difficult to tell the difference between and employee who is not the right fit for your business, vs a barista who is is simply not the right fit for the role they are in. Many great employees have been unduly let go, passed over, or simply remain in ill-fitted positions because their boss is not able to tell the difference or may to even be paying enough attention to notice and take the right next action. On todays Shift Break we will be talking about how to discern between employees who need opportunity and shifting to flourish and those whose performance is not just a problem of execution but a sign of a deeper cultural and values clash. Knowing the difference could not only save their job but also your business. Related Episodes: 121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee 437 : The New Age of the Barista: Mindsets + Habits for Success The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co.

Oct 24, 2023 • 50min
438 : How to Build a Successful Cafe w/ Erin Young of Red Buffalo Cafe
Opening a running a successful cafe is no easy task. I requires passion as well as attention to the details around systems, relationships, and being able to grow yourself as a leader in that environment. Today we are going to be exploring one owners journey who not only has done this well, but has just published a book about her experience that gives others insights and tools to find success in their shops! Erin Young is the founder and CEO of Red Buffalo Cafe in Silverthorne, CO. A passionate small business owner and advocate, Erin has actively worked to build kind, conscious, and responsible communities. She has experienced the challenges and opportunities faced when considering improvements to business planning, recruitment and hiring, and other features that contribute to long-term business success. In addition to being a business owner, Erin is an active community leader who has served on several local non-profit boards and as a local elected official for various jurisdictions. Erin loves the outdoors and spending time with her family. Erin holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver, School of Public Affairs. Erin's new book, The CEOwner, is the chronicle of Red Buffalo Cafe from inception to today. Additionally, it is a checklist for starting and succeeding in a small business. The CEOwner will approach business ownership using the lens of conscious business techniques and community improvement. In it she also covers the process of building and planning your business profile from the very beginning; moves along to suggestions in ethical business management; and finishes with how to create a legacy beyond you as the business owner. In this conversation we talk about Erin's journey and dive into the books main message and insights. I know this will be an encouraging episode! Links: https://redbuffalocafe.com/ https://redbuffalocafe.com/order-shipped-1/ols/products/the-ceowner IG: @redbuffalocafe Related episodes: 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez 387 : Innovation and Building a Better Coffee Business w/ Miranda Caldwell 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak 416 : People-First Principles for Growing Your Shop w/ Mike McFall of Biggby Coffee 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com

Oct 19, 2023 • 9min
SHIFT BREAK: Making Minimum Viable Changes
Once we see that there are changes that need to be made tyo improve our shops, we can tend to either freeze under the enormity of the task, or we can respond by going all out in a fast and intense bid to fix that area. In reality, neither of these approaches lead to great results. On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we should be approaching making changes in the cafe by making Minimum Viable Changes over time and in the direction of our goals. Related episodes: 399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You Embrace the Fallout Turning Radius Limiting New Things The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co.


