Many years ago in 2012, myself and a small team of people along with Coffee Fest Trade Shows had the pleasure of developing and running a competition called “America’s Best Coffee House”. The first of it’s kind team cafe competition that was, IMO, the most accurate to real cafe work competition ever made. To this day it remains unmatched in …
It could be roasting, kitchen, drive thru, bakery, or any other area of where special focus is required or different systems and staff work all under the same brand and even under the same roof. When you have multiple departments you need to create a plan to bring prevent silos and promote harmony. Today on Shift Break we will be …
Entering the New Year is always seen as a time to make good on our intentions that got put on the back burner. Many of those intentions, if acted upon, would absolutely transform our cafes and the relationships in them. What keeps us back from acting upon the things we know to do and following through to see greater fruit …
We all want to see positive growth and good numbers in our cafe. We also want to see the ROI for the effort we put in to generate those numbers. For many, to look at the reports and see profit and everything looking healthy is a sure sign that all is well and we are doing the right things. The …
How we care for people through our work should be the primary focus. From healthy and strong relationships and systems the help support them, we get healthy and strong businesses and a real chance at a long term sustainable operation. Today we will be talking about some substantive ways that you can care for yourself, the staff, and your customers …
Do you feel the pull, the itch, the compulsion to add more, buy more, and create specials and new things for your customers all the time? You are not alone. The industry is filled with cafe that are stuck in a never ending cycle of making, buying, and adding new things so they do not fall out of favor or …
I love an origin story where the pluck, confidence, and unwavering belief of the founders for each other and their idea is met with the support, enthusiasm, and positive feedback of the community they set out to serve. They say your calling is where your talents intersect with what people need and today we get to talk with people who …
A listener asked me a question recently about how to approach operating a coffee shop in a rural setting versus a larger city. After a short exchange over email I decided it was some thing that we should probably chat about here on the show. After all, specialty coffee shops are popping up more and more in suburban and rural …
The life of your business is going to be determined by how easily and frequently you and your staff can identify, during the workday, behaviors and events that represent the values of your company. The problem is that because we are so busy with the tasks of the work, it makes it difficult for us to identify those times in …
Many owners struggle to make a profit and to pay themselves. This inevitably will lead to burn out and disillusionment and sadly for many closing down the shop before ever really seeing what it’s potential could have been. Making money in your cafe has a lot to do with how well you track and manage what you already make. Enter …
