Over Optimization

Chris DeferioPodcast

Systems, efficiencies, and optimizations of your business are needed elements to make sure it is healthy and thriving. There is, however, a dark side of optimization. When taken too far and left unchecked it becomes obsessive and starts to drain the…

283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop

Chris DeferioBusiness, Podcast

  People open coffee shops for many reasons. Some good and some-not so good. It really all depends on how you approach the “why” behind your business that determines your success. In a time where the barrier to enter the coffee house space is quite low we see a deluge of new cafes opening and quickly struggling then closing due …

Curse of the Favorite Barista?

Chris DeferioPodcast

Every shop has that one barista that seems to attract more attention the the rest. The comment is made by customers often about this person that they are my “favorite” barista. The question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well as with any…

282 : How to Listen to your Customers

Chris DeferioBusiness, Podcast

Running a coffee house is all about making sure you are able to serve the needs of your customers and to do so consistently. In order to do that you need to be able to not only listen to them but you need to know how to then respond to what they say. For a ton of coffee shops there …

Exercising Self-control as an Owner

Chris DeferioPodcast

We like to be in control. The shop is your baby and you have all the authority in the world to assert yourself into the operations and correct things you see that are off. Trouble is that this is not always helpful and often can create more problems…

281 : The Vietnamese Coffee Revolution w/ Sahra Nguyen of Nguyen Coffee Supply

Chris DeferioPodcast, Supply Chain

“Vietnam is the future of specialty coffee!” Today we are going to unpack this statement and discuss how the Vietnamese coffee movement is creating opportunity for a marginalized coffee variety and people with our very special guest, Sahra Nguyen! Sahra Nguyen is the founder & CEO of Nguyen Coffee Supply the first-ever specialty Vietnamese coffee company importing and roasting in …

Turning the Ship

Chris DeferioPodcast

When we seek to change things in our coffee shops we often underestimate the amount of time and investment it will take to actually turn things around. I have experienced this both in my consulting as well  throughout my career in cafe management…

280 : A Conversation with Jesse Hartman of The Coffee Podcast

Chris DeferioPodcast, Supply Chain

Questions and conversation. They are powerful tools to bring clarity and inspire action. Perhaps nobody knows this better than those of us whose job it is to ask questions of experts across our industry to bring understanding to a global audience. Today I am so please to be sitting down for a conversation with one such person. He is the …