“I cannot open a coffee shop because my market is too saturated!” Does this sound like something you have heard or even said yourself?  Today there are indeed a LOT of coffee shops. Way more than there ever have been. But does that mean the…

In order to assure our staff that we are listening and want to provide them solutions for issues they bring up we will often promise things in the moment, but then life gets in the way. In the moment it does not feel like a big deal, but slowly trust…

Whether it is a trade show, local business event, online or in-person summit, or a local throw down, coffee events are a way to connect and offer a lot of opportunities to grow and gain value for your career and business. That opportunity is there,…

At a certain point a manager or owner will need to have a difficult conversation with a staff member that ultimately is about accountability. This conversation is often done with a lot of pent up emotion and the stard being applied may or may not have…

These days a lot of coffee shop owners are thinking about how they can add value for the customer. Of course this is a question that should be asked and right now with costs and competition the desire to add value is at an all time high as we seek to…

When we talk about the virtues of hospitality, one of the ones that comes up a lot is kindness. The extension of this grace to others in spite of our mood is a discipline that requires us to find motivation beyond receiving thanks.  Today on…

Sorry to break it to you, but literally nobody who matters cares how you define yourself. In our quest to find belonging and quell the voice of our imposter syndrome, we tend to over define ourselves and posture in a way that limits our ability to run…

Now is the time to start redirecting our gaze from competitions and accomplishing greatness on a stage serving judges that do not matter to our shops, and refocusing our attention on the judges that truly matter. Our customers.  Today on Shift…

The search for a “superstar” barista seems to never die. It is a desire born from our tendency to attribute success and power to one person in-spite of the evidence around us that pretty obviously points to the opposite. But oh if we just hire a…

 We all know that in order for a business to be sustainable, it has to be profitable. We need financial margin in order to deal with the unexpected expenses and events, provide opportunities for others, fund growth as needed, and yes, pay…