Sign Up for Alerts About Our Community (coming soon) – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://mailchi.mp/018d9c38a953/valorcafecommunity Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way! We were stoked to have the opportunity to take a break from the action at SCA Expo 2024 to sit down with a true veteran of the coffee industry, Chris Deferio. Chris has 20+ years of experience in specialty coffee, ranging from working behind the bar to where he is now, consulting and podcasting through his business, Keys to the Shop. KTTS has released hundreds and hundreds of podcast episodes with many high profile guests and leaders in the industry, and Chris is a fount of knowledge. We were honored to chat for an hour about a fun topic: barista wages and how cafes can implement certain things to give their people better pay. For those of you looking for consulting for your coffee business, Chris is your guy. Hope y'all enjoy this one, we sure did! Follow all things Keys to the Shop: Website: https://keystotheshop.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keystotheshop/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3oo9RbKT8tXmEDsXezeKje?si=4858ad750e224836 Email Chris: [email protected] *If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale* We're partnered with Clive to bring you sweet deal at a discounted rate! Use Discount Code VALOR5 at checkout for 5% off Lucca and Eureka products! Shop Clive products here: https://clivecoffee.com?sca_ref=5315485.6axWuRlcEr Buy Valor Coffee: https://valor.coffee/shop Watch on Youtube: https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16 Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at [email protected] to set up an account! Want us to review your coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to [email protected] Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod Follow Valor on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valor.coffee ____ Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel:  https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook Follow Riley:  https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook Follow Ross: https://instagram.com/rosswalters Follow Ethan's Parody Account:  https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777 00:00 Introduction 06:21 Why today’s topic is important to us 12:59 Should owners sacrifice their income? 17:36 Be transparent with employees about what they should expect 25:56 Discussing different leadership models for cafes 35:49 How to make a smaller team more efficient, for everyone’s benefit 40:49 Discussing robotics & automation in cafes 48:06 Can a decentralized leadership model work? 55:24 How many baristas are asking for raises rather than waiting? 59:00 One on Ones with employees build trust & improves culture 01:03:41 Balancing baristas admin responsibilities 01:09:46 Taking care of your staff won’t break your business 01:13:34 Conclusion