Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders Chris Deferio

One of the most heartbreaking things I see is when an established cafe is forced to upend everything due to changes to the cost or use of a space that they do not own. All the dreams, emotions, investment in the space itself, and developing a customer bases habits around that location are all up in the air. While renting may always be a great first step for most owners with limited resource, it may also not be the wisest long term play as you grow. If you are looking for an alternative to that volatility, you may want to consider ownership
Joining me to unpack this topic is Paul Neal. 
Paul Neal is the owner of Vantage Point Commercial Capital and a trailblazer in empowering business owners to create wealth, autonomy, and control by owning their commercial space. His new book, "Un-Lease Your Business: Unlock Wealth, Autonomy and Control By Buying Your Building and Firing Your Landlord," delves into this transformative approach to commercial property ownership. 
 Today on the podcast we are going to talk all about why you should consider owning your own space vs renting and what ownership can do for your businesses security, profitability and more!
We cover
The Availability and Challenges of Commercial Real Estate Ownership Financial Factors and Timing for Purchasing a Building Managing Risk and Building Confidence in Ownership The Benefits of Owning the Building Creating a Unique Culture and Attracting Customers Building Equity and Generating Income The Process of Owning a Building LINKS:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-neal-tea/
https://vpc.capital/about-us/
https://www.amazon.com/Lease-Your-Business-Autonomy-Building/dp/1955242747
 


Related Episodes:
223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll 388 : Insurance and Risk Mitigation w/ Brennan Pothetes of Butter Insurance 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)” 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop  
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
 

Managing in a cafe is one of the ultimate forms of leadership. Part of leading as a manager is planning for, responding to, or avoiding altogether, problems with people, operations, and quality. But instead of spending our best energies in prevention of problems, we tend to manage reactively when problems turn into a crisis. It's a vicious cycle. 
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why we need to flip our focus and pull ourselves away from the dependency the business has on us being crisis managers, and instead become people whose best energies are spent in preemptive leadership and at the very least in creating solutions to issues when they happen to prevent them from repeating.
Recommended episodes:
SHIFT BREAK: Embracing Problems as Blessings
Stop Glorifying Chaos
When Small Problems Grow Up
Don't Waste Problems
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now: 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes: 
159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions Don't Hire on a Trial Basis Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop You Can't Automate Quality Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
 
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
 
 
 

The Industry. What does that even mean? Owners and professionals use this term as though it has specific power to give clarity or meaning to the work they do, when in fact it is merely the most readily observable manifestation of millions of individual decisions across the supply chain, all made worse when based on a fixation on that reflection. 
For many operators there is an assumption that their cafe and the decisions they make need to be compared against the wider industry to find validation and success. Today we will be talking about how this dependency is a mistake and why freeing yourself and your business from this collective narcissism is critical to sustaining your business, doing more good, and serving your community. 
We cover
Why the Industry is You Questioning Industry Trends Separating Ethic from Business Understanding Customer Habits Rootedness and Prioritizing Your Shop Success Beyond Industry Validation

Related Episodes: 
Peers
317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge Your peers are not your Customers Who do we Serve?  
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
 

Hiring is probably the most important decision you make in your coffee shop. As important as it is to choose the right people, we often are at the mercy of bad habits or are missing key practices we need to make that decisions and end up making too many mistakes that drain you, the business, and the your team of energy. 
On today's Shift Break we will be discussing three BIG hiring mistakes that I see countless cafes making and how you can take steps to avoid them. 
This is not just about the well being of your team and business, but also the ones you hire who were not a good fit. When you hire them, it cuts off other possibilities for them in places where they might have been more suited and that can really mess up their career. 
So when you listen, hear this as an episode intended to care for ALL the people involved. 
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now: 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes: 
159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions Don't Hire on a Trial Basis Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop You Can't Automate Quality Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
 
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
 
 
 

In the the coffee industry, we all need help and we can all give help. In order to truly advance our own careers and those of others we want find success we need plan for and practice mentorship. The trouble is that the need we have for help also creates a lot of insecurities and the idea of mentorship can sound rather unapproachable or inaccessible. The good news is that it does not have to be this away and our guest today will help us demystify mentorship and approach it in a fresh and accessible way. 
Dr. Ruth Gotian is Chief Learning Officer and Associate Professor of Education in Anesthesiology and former Assistant Dean for Mentoring at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is a globally recognized expert in mentorship and leadership development.
Hailed by Nature, Wall Street Journal, and Columbia University as an expert in mentorship and leadership development, she was named a top 20 mentor worldwide. Thinkers50 ranked her as the #1 emerging management thinker in the world in 2021, and LinkedIn recognized her as a top voice in mentoring in 2023.
A semi-finalist for Forbes 50 Over 50, Dr. Gotian is a prolific contributor toHarvardBusiness Review, Forbes, andPsychology Today, where she shares insights on optimizing success with a focus on the mindset and skill set of peak performers, including Nobel Prize winners, astronauts, Olympic and NBA champions, she's also an award-winning author of The Success Factor and The Financial Times Guide to Mentoring.
Today we are going to dive deep into what mentorship is, why it is critical for advancing both individuals and industries as well as how to pursue mentorship for yourself and how to be a mentor ot others. 
We cover:
Continuous Learning and Surrounding Yourself with Mentors The Strength of Vulnerability in Success Finding and Building Relationships with Mentors Defining a Mentor and Their Role The Difference Between Mentoring and Coaching Preparing for Mentoring: Recognizing What You Need The Value of Formal Mentoring Programs The Importance of Effective Matching Building a Community of Practice Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Judging Success
Links:
https://ruthgotian.com
https://mentoring-guide.com/
 
Related Episodes: 
003: The Role of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee w/ Pete Licata 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference 127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals RoR #25 : Training Up the Next Generation of Roasters w/ Steve Lee of Pocket Knife Consulting + Linea Caffe  
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
 

Making decisions about who to hire or even who might need to be let go are some of the hardest but most important decisions to make in a coffee shop. So hard in fact that we can often fall into avoiding the decision by deferring to our existing staff for their opinion on who is or is not a good fit. While involving key staff in these decisions is generally good, putting too much emphasis or all the weight on them can end up in wrong choices for hiring or needlessly extending a staff member's employment solely based on the fact that people like them. 
On today's Shift Break we will be discussing why we need to making these types of decisions based not so much on the expressed preferences of the current staff (or your own bias for that matter!) but on values alignment and professionally established standards for the business and that role.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now: 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes: 
159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions Don't Hire on a Trial Basis Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop You Can't Automate Quality Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
 
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com