We recently connected with Colin Shepherd and have shared our conversation below.
Colin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
I have been working in the coffee industry for 10 years. At the time of writing this, I am 28 years young, and have spent over 1/3 of my life completely submerging myself into the world of specialty coffee. For most of my journey I have been behind an espresso machine or register chatting up my regulars about their plans for the day, or hyper-obsessing over having the most consistent and clean latte art.
What most people didn’t see, but they sure did hear about, was my dream to roast coffee. This craft- this form of expression- this art form, was such a deeply mysterious process to me, yet it was so far away from even remotely being possible.
Everything changed when I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 2020, and took a job with Mom ‘n ’em Coffee in June of 2021. On several occasions I had brought up the idea of roasting coffee and how it had interested me, and my two bosses sat me down and said “If you really want to do this, and make it happen, let’s give it a shot.” They believed in my dream, and were willing to make it a reality.
Very soon I had endless email threads with equipment suppliers, farmers, green coffee importers, and mentors. The biggest leap of faith I had taken in my life was starting, in what felt like slow motion, but things were progressing incredibly fast.
Next thing I knew, we had cupped and tasted over 400 individual coffees from different farms, I had a spreadsheet with over 14,000 cells filled with data I was tracking on these coffees.
Then our production roasting equipment arrived, capable of roasting 25lb’s of coffee per batch, and I immediately started roasting my first batches of coffee to then be used in our cafes.. I was on cloud nine! Before I could even come down from the high of starting my dream position in the coffee industry, we were full steam ahead, and I was roasting upwards of 500lb’s of coffee per week, and still climbing!
My leap of faith turned into something I am exceptionally proud of, yet I am always asking myself, ‘How can I make this even better?’
We’re just over a year into this project, and we are just getting started!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Colin, I’m the director of coffee for Mom ‘n ’em Coffee in Cincinnati, Ohio. My role in the company is to source and roast the coffee we serve in our cafes, and to markets. Alongside sourcing and roasting coffee, I lead our sales department, quality control, and training. In short, if someone wants to sell our coffee, or brew it in the cafe, I see the whole process, and I am with them until the end!
I’ve been in the coffee industry for 10 years, and just recently started diving head first into roasting coffee!
I believe the attention to detail we take into account sets us apart in the industry. Our main focus in the cafes and throughout the company is to have incredible hospitality, coffee, food, and wine. We want to curate a space where everyone is welcome, and where people come to meet, hangout, and enjoy themselves. The goal is to create the perfect third space. This follows suit into my portion of the business, where I am interacting with our wholesale accounts, importers, baristas, and guest on a daily basis making sure everyone is happy and things are running smoothly.
All of our ingredients are sourced locally (within reason; it’s hard to find avocados grown in the midwest, hahaha), and the coffee is sourced from incredible farmers who pour their life into their crop, and are compensated well above the industry norm! We take every aspect of the business, and try as hard as we can to hit 100%.
The community surrounding our cafe, and the support we have is one of the things I am the most proud of. Hundreds of our guests who come into the cafe every single day know us, and we know them. When you’re in the cafe, you’re in our home, and we want you to feel welcome.. We’re definitely going to give your dog a treat, then proceed to ask how that big job interview went yesterday! The level of support we all have with the community is so hard to come by, and it is one of the things that makes me so incredibly proud of my position at Mom ‘n ’em.
Any advice for managing a team?
Be honest, and be human.
Leading my team has had its fair share of ups and downs, and the biggest thing I learned was to just be honest with people, and understand that we are all just humans flying around on this big rock in space. Life is short, and we all take things a bit too seriously sometimes. Zooming out on the whole perspective will put things into reality, and it is humbling!
Remember to have fun and laugh!
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?
We have quite a few different revenue streams other than normal cafe service at our two locations. We’ve curated a wholesale list of goods we either import, or produce in-house that we sell to other businesses. Our coffee cart can can be rented out to bring the cafe to anyone and anywhere. We also get hired to cook private dinners for a wide array of clientele quite frequently! This is a great opportunity for us to get creative, bust out our hospitality chops, and have a fun time!
All the property our businesses are located on are owned by us, so we can then lease out the extra units to other tenants.
All businesses should diversify their revenue streams, but not too broadly. Stick with what you know, and expand on the concept! Don’t extend yourself too much. :)
Contact Info:
- Website: momnemcoffee.com
- Instagram: @momnemcoffee (cafe) @roaster_colin (online roasting diary) @theferraribros (parent company)
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-shepherd-b3498b273?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Image Credits
Bri Nicole Photo Co.