The international best seller titled The Secret, as well as the underlying message behind a plethora of books about how to succeed in life, are grounded in the Law of Attraction. Put simply, the Law of Attraction is all about passion, a clear vision of what you expect (not hope) to happen and taking every step in the direction of that coming "reality' .
What does the Law of Attraction mean to the success of your retail specialty coffee business?
Everything!
Apply the Law to its fullest and you are an instant magnet for good happenings attracting to you, your employees and your business bottom line.
Dillanos Coffee Roasters CEO David Morris lives the Law of Attraction. His incredible excitement over even the smallest things makes everything he engages in an adventure. His focus is always on "get to" not "got to". You can always see the outcome of his latest vision in his eyes the second he births the idea. You just know it is going to happen, from his body language and contagious energy.
As Anthony Robbins underscores in his classic book Awaken the Giant Within, emotion = motion = outcome. Now more than ever your staff is looking to you to apply the Law of Attraction to every aspect of your business.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Define Your Culture by Lon LaFlamme
Do you have a clearly defined culture that you and all you employees embrace and live everyday?
Our mission at Dillanos is to 1. Help People 2. Make Friends 3. Have fun. What is your simple and easy to understand credo that guides the way you treat each other, your customers and the foundation for all financial, branding and staff guidance and decisions?
I constantly hear theme lines like "A place to connect" that is no way represent what is happening when the customer crosses the threshold into your business. Caring is a concentric circle. It starts with the owner's respect and personal support and relationship with his/her staff. Don't expect your staff to create a nurturing atmosphere "where hearts and minds connect" unless you are meaningfully connected to them.
Our mission at Dillanos is to 1. Help People 2. Make Friends 3. Have fun. What is your simple and easy to understand credo that guides the way you treat each other, your customers and the foundation for all financial, branding and staff guidance and decisions?
I constantly hear theme lines like "A place to connect" that is no way represent what is happening when the customer crosses the threshold into your business. Caring is a concentric circle. It starts with the owner's respect and personal support and relationship with his/her staff. Don't expect your staff to create a nurturing atmosphere "where hearts and minds connect" unless you are meaningfully connected to them.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Motivate Staff During Rough Times
While we are beginning to see the light, the past months have been challenging, to say the least, for the majority of independent and chain retail specialty coffee businesses. A 12 percent spike in grocery coffee sales and competition from everything from McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts to Panera Bread have taken a toll on worried owners.
Drop all dire language.
Vague language heightens anxiety, and alluding to fear rarely inspires the culture you need to stand apart profitably from your competition.
So don't tell them "We need to turn things around or the business (your job) could be in jeopardy."
Instead , ask them what ideas they have for making the most of slow times, like moving from order takers to profit makers. Starbucks teaches baristas "the perfect pairing" to up sale ALL times of the day.
`Trust me, Dillanos has a number of one to 10 family owned coffee house businesses who have never stopped fueling their business and customers with love. Their reward: sales increases of up to 10 percent in 2009. It all starts with you owner and the cheerleader and innovator to power your business.
Drop all dire language.
Vague language heightens anxiety, and alluding to fear rarely inspires the culture you need to stand apart profitably from your competition.
So don't tell them "We need to turn things around or the business (your job) could be in jeopardy."
Instead , ask them what ideas they have for making the most of slow times, like moving from order takers to profit makers. Starbucks teaches baristas "the perfect pairing" to up sale ALL times of the day.
`Trust me, Dillanos has a number of one to 10 family owned coffee house businesses who have never stopped fueling their business and customers with love. Their reward: sales increases of up to 10 percent in 2009. It all starts with you owner and the cheerleader and innovator to power your business.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Costa Rica 2010 - By Anna Gutierrez
I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on a coffee tree. I had just started working for Dillanos and was in Mexico on a mission trip with my church when I noticed a building with the big word 'Café' on the side. It was a blur in the photo I tried to take while we were driving, but there it was, my first coffee tree sighting planted at the entrance.
Since then, I have always had a desire to go to origin and meet the hands that work so hard to pick every single cherry from the tree for our amazing coffees. Think of that...for every two roasted coffee beans you use in your business, someone's hands picked one cherry for that. Kind of blows your mind, huh?
When the opportunity arose for me to finally travel to Costa Rica and visit one of our relationship coffee estates, Las Lajas, I really felt that it was too good to be true. However, Wednesday, January 6th, 2010, I boarded a Continental Airlines flight that would take me to a place that would finally bring my understanding and appreciation of the coffee industry full-circle.
Our first full day of events began with a visit to a large commercial coffee mill called Tres Volcanes. They receive coffee cherries that are picked and then go through the sorting process separating the beans by size and weight and then drying them out on large cement patios. The coffees they process are typically used for commercial-grade purposes and we had quite and experience in having our first cupping comparing these coffees. Although they don't have the same standards of roasting as we do, it was interesting tasting coffees of lower quality. At that moment, I really was able to appreciate and be thankful for the amazing coffees and roasting process we use at Dillanos that really do aim for the best coffees and pulling the ideal flavors from the beans.
From there, we grabbed some lunch and then were headed off to Las Lajas, the relationship coffee estate we order directly from that is owned by the Chacón family. As we drove up the mountainside, we passed cherry pickers walking home from a long day's work in the sun selecting only the most ripe cherries to be processed. Even as we spent our first few moments with the Chacóns, trucks were arriving with the sweet fruit to begin the milling process. We all ran around with our cameras trying to get the best photos as the sun set.
Once we had a chance to look around and the various drying patios, fermentation tanks, de-pulpers, etc., we ended up at a familiar gathering place-the cupping table. The evening was cool and the coffee was hot. We tasted four different processes of coffee that the Chacóns were trying to decide on which to submit for the Costa Rican Cup of Excellence. Shortly after, tired from the day, but wired from coffee, we all shared our most impactful part of our first day to origin. A lot of answers were similar, but I was most impressed with the ways the Chacóns constantly strive to grow and process some of the best coffees in Costa Rica. Never feeling as though they have all the answers or have yet reached their full potential, they are continuously experimenting with ways to process and dry their coffees to make it taste even better than the previous crop.
Our second full day started amidst the coffee trees. We began with a background on the Chacóns and what they do to maintain their soil nutrients for their trees. Then we were all given baskets and sent out into the fields to pick cherries for 30 minutes. With the wind blowing through the trees and a coffee cherry constantly in my cheek, it was one of the most peaceful times I've had in a long while. I was able to finally let it sink in that I was pulling cherries from trees that myself and my customers would be drinking in a matter of months.
Once we pooled our cherries together to show our hard work, we got a nice tour of their property and a lesson on the different types of trees they grow. After getting our fill of the landscape, we piled into our van and headed to enjoy a celebratory lunch of our time with the Chacon family. Bellies full, we went back over to their mill for some free time to just walk around and appreciate all that goes into processing coffee.
Our final full day, we decided to make the three hour drive to check out Volcan Arenal. The clouds decided they didn't want to cooperate with our desire for a view, but we were able to enjoy some of the Costa Rican wildlife. After lunch, we made our way down the mountain to a small town to do a little sightseeing and from there, we made our way to the Tabacón Hot Springs for a little rest and relaxation before packing our things to head home.
I feel so blessed by the few days that I was able to spend enjoying the landscape of a land native to me, yet appreciating something it produces that I know so well. I finally feel as though I have a complete understanding of this magical fruit that brings people together in so many ways from so many parts of the world.
Since then, I have always had a desire to go to origin and meet the hands that work so hard to pick every single cherry from the tree for our amazing coffees. Think of that...for every two roasted coffee beans you use in your business, someone's hands picked one cherry for that. Kind of blows your mind, huh?
When the opportunity arose for me to finally travel to Costa Rica and visit one of our relationship coffee estates, Las Lajas, I really felt that it was too good to be true. However, Wednesday, January 6th, 2010, I boarded a Continental Airlines flight that would take me to a place that would finally bring my understanding and appreciation of the coffee industry full-circle.
Our first full day of events began with a visit to a large commercial coffee mill called Tres Volcanes. They receive coffee cherries that are picked and then go through the sorting process separating the beans by size and weight and then drying them out on large cement patios. The coffees they process are typically used for commercial-grade purposes and we had quite and experience in having our first cupping comparing these coffees. Although they don't have the same standards of roasting as we do, it was interesting tasting coffees of lower quality. At that moment, I really was able to appreciate and be thankful for the amazing coffees and roasting process we use at Dillanos that really do aim for the best coffees and pulling the ideal flavors from the beans.
From there, we grabbed some lunch and then were headed off to Las Lajas, the relationship coffee estate we order directly from that is owned by the Chacón family. As we drove up the mountainside, we passed cherry pickers walking home from a long day's work in the sun selecting only the most ripe cherries to be processed. Even as we spent our first few moments with the Chacóns, trucks were arriving with the sweet fruit to begin the milling process. We all ran around with our cameras trying to get the best photos as the sun set.
Once we had a chance to look around and the various drying patios, fermentation tanks, de-pulpers, etc., we ended up at a familiar gathering place-the cupping table. The evening was cool and the coffee was hot. We tasted four different processes of coffee that the Chacóns were trying to decide on which to submit for the Costa Rican Cup of Excellence. Shortly after, tired from the day, but wired from coffee, we all shared our most impactful part of our first day to origin. A lot of answers were similar, but I was most impressed with the ways the Chacóns constantly strive to grow and process some of the best coffees in Costa Rica. Never feeling as though they have all the answers or have yet reached their full potential, they are continuously experimenting with ways to process and dry their coffees to make it taste even better than the previous crop.
Our second full day started amidst the coffee trees. We began with a background on the Chacóns and what they do to maintain their soil nutrients for their trees. Then we were all given baskets and sent out into the fields to pick cherries for 30 minutes. With the wind blowing through the trees and a coffee cherry constantly in my cheek, it was one of the most peaceful times I've had in a long while. I was able to finally let it sink in that I was pulling cherries from trees that myself and my customers would be drinking in a matter of months.
Once we pooled our cherries together to show our hard work, we got a nice tour of their property and a lesson on the different types of trees they grow. After getting our fill of the landscape, we piled into our van and headed to enjoy a celebratory lunch of our time with the Chacon family. Bellies full, we went back over to their mill for some free time to just walk around and appreciate all that goes into processing coffee.
Our final full day, we decided to make the three hour drive to check out Volcan Arenal. The clouds decided they didn't want to cooperate with our desire for a view, but we were able to enjoy some of the Costa Rican wildlife. After lunch, we made our way down the mountain to a small town to do a little sightseeing and from there, we made our way to the Tabacón Hot Springs for a little rest and relaxation before packing our things to head home.
I feel so blessed by the few days that I was able to spend enjoying the landscape of a land native to me, yet appreciating something it produces that I know so well. I finally feel as though I have a complete understanding of this magical fruit that brings people together in so many ways from so many parts of the world.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
New In January!
DaVinci Chocolate and White Chocolate Powders!
Save up to $10.00 when you order DaVinci Chocolate Powders (25lb boxes) in January!
Order with your Customer Service Representative, and save this New Year!
Save up to $10.00 when you order DaVinci Chocolate Powders (25lb boxes) in January!
Order with your Customer Service Representative, and save this New Year!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Ramping up Sales in A Bad Economy
While no economist can even begin to forecast what tomorrow will be like for retail specialty coffee businesses, you have it within YOUR CONTROL to make immediate changes. Act today in major value menu pairings and overall menu/pricing strategies. Start really promoting whole bean coffee for no more than 8.99 for a 3/4 ounce blends and 12.99 for select origin coffees. Most importantly….your attitude will determine your success. A positive attitude and positive proactive thoughts will produce positive results.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
100% Culture
Don't forget to check out our Dillanos' Culture Blog:
Culture Club Blog
Updated frequently with the latest Dillanos' Fun and More!
Culture Club Blog
Updated frequently with the latest Dillanos' Fun and More!
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