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,…
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. …
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…
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 …
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 …
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…
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 …
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…
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…
What does it take to be successful as a barista or even just a coffee professional today? I believe the main differentiator for cafes is the experience and the main differentiator for baristas is how they approach their role. This will determine what they can glean from their current position and who they become in the process of carving out …