Culture of Excellence-the seed

Owners and Managers,

Of course, any business striving to hire and motivate employees to take pride and become personally involved in the company charter, has to be fairly small. The seed of the culture must be the passion of the owner. An authentic passion for coffee that stands the test of time, and the rigors of small business, must be present in the owner. There is no hiding.

Staff members are like family in one important aspect: they can see your true priorities through your actions over time. You are key to their livelihood and they will keenly zero in on your true priorities whether or not you know them yourself. They will give you what you prioritize. It’s an easy thing to say “we will make the best coffee possible every day!” But to succeed it is a classic case of actions speaking louder than words.

For example, if you visit the shop and staff says the grinder seems to be heating up and shots are coming out thin and whitish. But you are busy heading to an important branding meeting. “Ill try to get to that as soon as I have time” Staff will quickly surmise that marketing is more important to you than excellent coffee. As owner you have missed a chance to be authentic to your charter: making great coffee. Staff are not stupid, they know as owner you are very busy. However, if you pull that grinder immediately and change the burrs (or replace it with a back-up grinder) they will believe in you as having authentic passion. In the long run this is much more important than marketing.

You cannot fake passion because running a small business is too tough and will wear you down to your true nature quickly. But if your true essence is passion for coffee, that passion can create a wonderful business model containing many hidden treasures.

On your side of the counter having a reputation for authentic passion attracts intelligent, sensitive applicants to work there. In the US right now, many happening young people want to dedicate their time and energy to something beautiful. An authentic artisan business has a deep meaning to the people that bring it to the world. It is more than just chasing the almighty dollar. So, staffing is easier. Great people apply all the time.

On the other side of the counter, quality attracts a discerning customer. It sounds elitist of me but over time I see a correlation between possessing a discerning palate and intelligence. (The opposite is not necessarily true, I know lots of brilliant folks that are simply not interested in quality food or drink.) In espresso preparation artisan preparation is almost impossible to find, so the sensitive customers are very appreciative and respectful of the staff and the gorgeous coffee they can create. This appreciation manifests in better tips and excitement over the drinks trained staff can create. This excitement from the customers makes an artisan espresso business an exciting place to work. Although artisan espresso preparation is very difficult,if you can pull it off the customers will be exceedingly loyal, and your business will stand the test of time. (People will cling to their coffee even when money gets tight. We prospered right through a the sub-prime mortgage recession, and are going to come through our first pandemic.)

So as a business model, artisan espresso brings in great applicants to work there and great customers to appreciate them and that fosters an environment wherein staff can remain happy over time.