EPISODE · Oct 11, 2023 · 48 MIN
Howard Lerner - Planting the seeds of a thriving coffee culture
from The Business of Whats Next · host Howard Lerner
Some key business lessons learned from this interview include:- Pay employees a livable wage to attract and retain talent long-term.- Focus on quality, customer service, and atmosphere as the three main levers to control the customer experience.- Effective communication between ownership/management and store-level teams is critical as a business grows.- Competitions can help drive industry standards and skills development for employees.- Sourcing green coffee beans requires developing relationships with specialized importers over time.- Providing alternative "currencies" like recognition helps motivate employees beyond just financial compensation.- A business owner should develop their skills alongside industry evolution for continued success.- Mistakes will happen early on but can provide valuable learning opportunities if addressed properly. Howard LernerKaldi's Coffee Roasting Co. Connect with the HostMatthew ShippBe a GuestLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewshipp/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewjshipp/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emberisolutionsEmberi Solutions: https://emberisolutions.com/Buy me a coffee ☕ https://buymeacoffee.com/mattshipp
What this episode covers
Howard Learner is a pioneer in the third-wave coffee movement and co-founder of Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting. In this episode, he shares his insights on the evolution of the industry, the challenges of learning coffee sourcing and roasting, and the lessons he's learned along the way. Kaldi’s Coffee, was founded in St. Louis in 1994 by Howard Lerner and Suzanne Lengua. They started by buying coffee from a roaster in central Missouri but soon realized they needed to roast their own to keep up with demand. Howard discussed the challenges of learning to roast and the coffee industry in the early days. He also talked about how Kaldi’s helped drive higher quality standards in coffee and trained baristas through competitions. The interview covered Kaldi’s journey of sourcing better coffee beans and developing their skills to match. Finally, he discusses the three levers to balancing a successful coffee shop and how using alternative currencies is a great way to build and maintain your team.
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Howard Lerner - Planting the seeds of a thriving coffee culture
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