Hello coffee lovers!
Are you thinking of taking your passion for coffee to the next level? Like, share it with the world next level? Does sharing it mean a coffee shop to you?
We know that a well-run café looks like it might just be one of the best career choices ever. But obviously, there are many things one needs to consider when getting into any industry, your labour force for one.
As coffee entrepreneurs and people who have started a café, we cannot stress enough how important the people you choose to be in your business are. And in a café business, the most important of those, is the role of barista.
The coffee industry has put a huge focus on education and skills upliftment in the last decade especially - we have seen the Regional and National Barista Competitions become an invaluable driving force for excellence, we have seen the introduction of the SCA courses and AST trainers (The Global Standard of Coffee) become available locally, we have seen innovations in equipment and technology improve the lives of those who work the espresso bar day in and day out.
Other initiatives have been Creative Coffee Week - baristas, barista trainers, Roasters and Coffee Business Owners, taking a deep dive into coffee education, discussion and discourse.
But most importantly, in our opinion, We has been the launch of the Barista Wage Calculator - an invaluable web-based app that helps baristas and Business Owners fairly remunerate baristas according to their skills and experience.
It is probably the question we get asked the most at Coffee Magazine: "What should I be paying my Baristas? " and it is a very, very important question! So the Barista Wage Calculator allows you to input a number of very specific data fields, and personal information about the barista (like how much do they spend on transport, how many people they support at home, how much they are hoping to save each month, how many people they are putting through school etc) which means - Employers are taking an interest in the barista's life beyond the cafe - and in turn, the baristas know that their employers care about them as humans, and not just as units of labour - in the end, it is the baristas that serve the customers, make their beverages and reflect the brand and business values - so happy, well respected and well remunerated staff, usually means a successful coffee business!
Click on the link and try it - just as an exercise - you get to choose the "Are you a Cafe Owner" or "Are you a barista" on the landing page, so you can explore this very delicate topic from both sides. Slide the toggles around and experiment with it - you'll be very surprised at the results!
So if you're thinking of opening a café or a coffee bar in 2022 - the above resources are a great place to start! You will find this industry a progressive and inclusive community of wonderful people and we look forward to hearing about your growth!
