We recently connected with Nate Fields and have shared our conversation below.
Nate, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I’m not the founder of CREDO, but I’ve been around for a cumulative five years now, and I and my wife Avery became Operating Partners two years ago.
I’ve always loved how Downtown CREDO has been a forerunner in the coffee industry. For a long time, folx in specialty coffee have highlighted the plight of subsistence farmers. This led us to believe that buying coffee is a big deal. So, when Fair Trade was all the rage in the markets, Downtown CREDO went where few had gone before and was among the first to define and pioneer Direct Trade coffee in 2010 by establishing relationships with farmers at origin and cutting out middlemen and importers to ensure that the farmers get a maximum return for their crop without intermediaries marking up prices or skimming from the top margin.
We recognize the systemic nature of the conditions that lead to the exploitation of farmers and while we make no pretense of believing that the initiative of our small company will lead a systemic overhaul, we recognize that our efforts mark a small act of resistance in a world that works to devalue the labor of workers worldwide. We (as individuals) may not make a difference on the system that bears down upon us, but CREDO has long sought to improve the conditions of farmers with whom we come into contact: it makes all the difference for them. We believe that it makes a difference in us as well, as the decisions we take form us into the sort of people we want to be: those who unflinchingly challenge the status quo, who seek to find meaning in our existence, community in our lives, and impact in our work.
Across my eight years in specialty coffee, the spotlight has been on getting farmers a livable wage, and rightfully so. Yet, I have always seen a contradiction in companies whose mission is to improve the pay for farmers when it neglects to grant livable wages to its own workers. I have seen, and personally experienced, the exploitation of labor by corporations and companies in the coffee industry. There is a certain internal pain that one experiences when explaining to a customer that their purchase is going to positively impact indigenous farmers when you yourself are uncertain if you will face eviction due to late rent, or if you should have bought groceries instead of putting gas on your credit card. But you had to get gas to come to work where you will inevitably not make enough money to pay rent on time next month either even as your credit card balance rises.
These are the conditions under which my wife Avery and I came to become Operating Partners at Downtown CREDO, and this is the primary internal contradiction which we seek to address. Though we have made progress we are not done, and we work tirelessly to bring ourselves and CREDO’s workers out of exploitative relations of production that contradict our mission to improve the lives farmers at origin as we move beyond merely ethical business.
Nate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I was in college, I had a cup of coffee that literally changed my life. I had been a coffee drinker since my grandfather spoon-fed it to me as a two-year old, but in that moment when I sipped a natural process Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee that tasted like fresh blueberries, the trajectory of my life was almost instantly changed: I became obsessed. I was constantly trying to become a roaster or a barista from that point forward, but for a long time no one hired me for lack of experience. It wasn’t until 2016 that I was able to break into the industry as a barista. I worked as a barista and manager at a few different companies but was always more interested in the prospect of roasting as opposed to café work due to its position in the supply chain as a connection point between worlds. I was managing the original Downtown CREDO College Park location when my opportunity to learn how to roast with a different company came up. So, I set out on the next phase of my journey, roasted coffee for an established corporation, and gained experience running a warehouse and interacting with international importers. During that time, my girlfriend Avery worked at Downtown CREDO, managing all its locations, and starting up its wholesale program. I graduated with my master’s degree at the end of 2019 and we left Florida together. After getting married in the fall of 2020 we decided to return to Orlando. Avery and I originally met at CREDO, and between the two of us we had three and a half years’ experience working at and managing the company and we felt a pretty deep connection to the company and its community. So we struck up a conversation with Ben (CREDOs founder) about returning to the company, becoming partners, and growing the business to previously unimagined scale. We returned to Orlando in June of 2021, bought a house, and got to work.
Our goal has been to make CREDO a place where coffee people can find a home for their career. We’re not there yet, but we know that good things take time and so we persevere. In the meantime, we’ve worked to elevate the experience of CREDOs cafés for customers and employees alike, turning our spaces into inviting places where you’re happy to spend your time.
A big part of that transformation involved us partnering with Zeppelin Books in our North Quarter location and we love the way that space has evolved as their operation has grown. Now it’s a space where you can peruse for your next favorite book and sit down with your coffee to dig into the first chapter, catch up with a friend, or bust out your chessboard when the Orlando Chess Club meets weekly on Saturdays. Starting in August, we’ll be operating a full vegan kitchen out of the North Quarter and adding catering services for offices and parties!
This summer we also opened a new location inside the Downtown YMCA where we first piloted our food menu. We’ve had a great time getting to know the staff and community and are looking forward to seeing that location develop and grow as it takes on a life of its own. You don’t have to be a member of the Y to go to the café, so stop by and say hey!
We’ve also been hard at work expanding our wholesale program. We started by working with Counter Brand & Type to update our wholesale and retail bags, and we love the finished product that came out of that project. In addition to looking great and communicating information about our brand for folx who will see the bags on café shelves across the country, this allowed us to finally sell two blends that I had developed -one for espresso and one for cold brew- that have become super popular with our café regulars and wholesale partners. In addition to white-label services for independent brands, we are proud to serve Downtown CREDO’s Direct Trade coffee to a variety of cafés, non-profits, restaurants, bars, and other businesses, with our current partners spanning across three states. I’ve also had some fun consulting for several other coffee companies on anything from equipment needs, buildouts, financial planning, and HR management and policies.
As we grow, we are looking forward to meeting new farmers from different parts of the world, helping them get their coffees into the specialty market, paying them higher prices, and roasting their product to share with our growing list of partners.
Any advice for managing a team?
When we returned to Orlando in June of 2021, Downtown CREDO was, like many other small businesses, emerging from the effects of the pandemic. Having suffered the loss of its flagship location in College Park, it had absorbed quite a blow that was apparent in the low morale levels of its staff. There was little accountability, a general air of apathy, an abject lack of direction, and leadership was absent and out-of-touch. All of this coupled with stagnant wages for over a year led the staff to feel that their work was unappreciated. Entering this ecosystem with fresh energy and a clear vision, it wasn’t long before things started to turn around. Collectively, we created a culture where our staff genuinely enjoyed their job and liked coming in to work. This may not be the perfect prescriptive equation, but here’s what we did:
First: Most importantly, wages were immediately increased, and a clear system was outlined for future, regular raises. At the end of the day, even with the best job, co-workers, and culture in the world we all have bills to pay and we’re ultimately all here for that paycheck. Somebody has to say it: Pizza parties are insulting. Raising pay will alleviate anxieties and boost morale every time.
Second: I was relentlessly present. Even spread across multiple locations, there was rarely a day that went by for over a year that I didn’t see and interact with multiple employees. I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve had or seen friends work where out of touch leadership has led to resentment and apathy among the workers. Sometimes my presence was just to say hey and check in on how the day was going, but often it was more about getting to know them not only as employees but as individuals. I have intentionally made myself empathetic, understanding, and caring so that when internal or external troubles come, everyone was and is more than comfortable coming to me for help in solving issues that rise. They can count not only on my presence, but also my defense of their individual and collective interest.
Third: Do the work. In being present, I was not idle. I did the work, not only the administrative and managerial work, but the same work that my employees did, and they all saw me do it shoulder to shoulder with them. We’ve all at some point had the thought that if our manager disappeared nothing would change, which may be one of the best arguments for a bottom-up employee-led company I’ve ever seen. I am resolved that this will never be the case at CREDO. We do the work, together.
Fourth: Communicate. I found it crucial and immensely helpful to communicate with our staff, not only regarding quotidian operations, but also the broader vision for the company and how I expect us to get there. I shared with them my successes and failures, and challenges and strategies. If you’re already doing the first three of these steps, this one comes somewhat naturally, but do not underestimate the intentionality that it still requires. It helps your staff understand not only where they are, but where they’re headed. It helps them understand their role in the broader picture and encourages them to take ownership and pride in even the smallest or seemingly inconsequential portions of their job.
Morale is an intangible asset that we cannot quantify, but we can certainly quantify the effects it has on a business as it rises and lowers with the strength of the business’ culture. This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s certainly a starting point. Much of it is not merely action but posturing. If you care, and make sure your employees see you care (about them as much as the business), then their care will certainly follow.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
In 2015 I had the opportunity to go to Honduras. I spent a week in the mountainous Yoro department and met some wonderful people. My Spanish is decent (better now than it was then) but I’m certainly not fluent, so when one of the women I met said she worked in coffee, the language barrier concealed from me that she worked at a washing station and drying warehouse. I asked her if she could bring me some coffee from work, in my ignorance expecting no more than a pound of roasted coffee. To my surprise, the next day she came to me with over 20 kilograms of green coffee. We exchanged lempiras for coffee, and I immediately set about emptying everything I had into my friend’s backpack so I could fit this coffee in mine for the trip home. I had no idea how to roast but I was up for the challenge. When I got home, I bought a hand-cranking popcorn popper, pulled out my compact camping stove and went to my back porch to experiment. Just like that, a year before I started making a living as a barista and three years before I would touch a commercial roaster, I was exploring the effects of heat, airflow, conductive and convective energy, charge temperatures and more. I was no expert by the time I was roasting commercially and I’m constantly learning new things even still, but that’s how it all got started!
Contact Info:
- Website: downtowncredo.com
- Instagram: @downtowncredo, @nathancfields
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downtowncredo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathancfields/
Image Credits
Raphael Loquellano