Coffee Maverick Blog

My Old Bike

2012-01-31T11:19:00.000-08:00

So this post won't mean anything to most of you. Some of you in the coffee biz know that I used to be a BMX stunt rider.(see video on the right of the page) I competed as an expert nationally and a Professional in the Pacific Northwest in the 80's and went on the to do motivational assemblies at school, fairs and sporting events up until 1992 when I got I the coffee business. Anyway my last factory sponsor was Redline bicycles in 89,90. and 91. My last bike they gave me was a Redline RL-20 II. my goal is to build a duplicate bike and start riding again. (Yes at 44 years old). So I am posting this parts list on my blog so can refer people to it to aid in my quest for some of these hard to find parts. Most haven't been manufactured in 20 years.
thanks, David

Frame: chrome RL-20 II
Fork: Chrome RL-20 II w/ welded pegs on the bottom
Grips: mushroom half plastic half rubber
Bars: Redline Forklifter
Stem: ACS tilted forward made for a rotor forgot the name
Detangler: modified ACS rotor with one cable from the top and 2 cables coming out the bottom with a 2into one cable connector from an old Seiko stem that had a bult in Detangler
Seat post clamp: Dia-compe hinged
Seat post:straight chrome
Seat: ? Padded
Brakes: front ACS Boa Constrictor
rear:
Dia Compe 990s
Wheels: Chrome 48s with sealed bearing front hub and suntour coaster brake w/ welded arm and 17 tooth sprocket
Rear pegs: ???
Tires: ACS RL Edge
Cranks: Chrome Redline flights
Sprocket: Redline flight 41 tooth
Pedals: MKS Graphite
Chain: Chrome

Our new Core Values

2012-01-27T17:01:00.001-08:00

We just recently revamped our core values. After 20 years in the coffee industry we thought we would upgrade and adjust our values to properly reflect how we do business today. One of our newest accounts (Prince Street Coffee in Lancaster, PA) wanted a copy so I thought I would post them for all to see. I am writing a new book to replace "Brewing a Creative Culture" (still available at Amazon.com) with each core value representing a chapter. This book will be kind of a "how we do business at Dillanos Coffee Roasters" kind of book. It will feature lessons, stories and principle's that will help any company, not just those in the coffee business. If you would like a full size copy emailed to you just contact my assistant Melissa at Melissah@dillanos.com

Book summary of Superself. A really old business book

2011-09-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

I read this book many years ago and loved it. My Executive VP read it recently and wrote down some nuggets of wisdon

• Learn from the experiences of others, rather than your own. If you live your life as most people do, you will forced to settle for what most people settle for.
• To design and control your future effectively, you must first let go of your past. Dwelling in the past limits and controls your future.
• To get to where you wan to go, first firmly plant your feet on the ground where you are. Complaining about your circumstance will only distract your focus.
• Use the losses and failures of the past as a reason for action, not inaction.
• To win in other peoples ballparks, play by their rules. Whether your way is right or better is irrelevant. Your objective is to win.
• Accept the rules or change ballparks.
• Use near misses as a sign that you’re off course, not a sign that you have failed.
• Use negative feedback to make positive course corrections.
• Develop your blueprint or life plan
o Dreams list – Create them as if there were no limits to your life.
o Goals list - Specific and measurable with expectations. Keep a copy of your top 10 goals where you will see them every day.
o Values list – Determine your top 10 values, align your goals with your values.
o Action plan –Break each goal down into a manageable objectives
o Daily activity list – Transform efficiency into effectiveness with a prioritized activities list.
• Overcome doubt with positive, present tense affirmations.
• Apply the 80/20 rule – 20 percent of the activities you choose to spend time on will produce 80 percent of the results you are after. It’s a waste of time, talent and energy to spend time on anything not in the top 20 percent of your activities.
• Build your effectiveness my learning to maintain focus.
• Earn confidence and trust in others by keeping your agreements.
• Promise only what you can deliver, and deliver what you promise.
• Take control of your time – prioritize, plan in advance, be on time, eliminate interruptions, maintain a positive attitude.
• Leave your car keys in the same place every time you arrive home.
• Change all door locks so that one key fits all.
• Ignore the phone and doorbell when getting ready.
• Fill your gas tank on your time, not on a stress time.
• Add a ten minute window of time for appointments
• Schedule personal time and activities as if they were appointments
• Don’t allow job related problems to interrupt personal time.
• Eliminate mundane maintenance activities – remove all of the activities that do not contribute directly to your dreams and goals.
• If the cost is less than your per-hour value, hire someone else to do the job.
• When in doubt, let someone else do it.
• Screen incoming calls and check your messages no more than twice a day.
• Don’t give your business number to personal acquaintances.
• Determine your peak performance time (hours when your brain is functioning at its maximum and your energy level is high).
• Write all letters and memos in your peak performance period.
• Hire the best people
• Set limits on time spent with a talker.
• Listen carefully so you only have to listen once.
• Use commuting time to increase your knowledge
• Always keep a recorder in your car for capturing ideas and dictating actions.
• Exercise at least once every other day.
• Cut down on the quantity of food, fats and alcohol.
• Drink plenty of water
• Breathe deeply and sit up straight.
• Use short naps to overcome fatigue.
• Eliminate worry by refocusing on the future.
• Constantly confront things you fear. Act even in the face of fear.
• Visualize a positive outcome for every fear-triggering situation you face.
• Eliminate negativity from your life.
• Don’t make value judgments about people or events.
• To reduce stress state preferences instead of expectations or demands.

Mini-Review for Tim Sanders new book Today We Are Rich

2011-06-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

I have been reading Success/Motivational/Self Help books for the last 25 years. As the CEO of a coffee roasting company in Seattle I like to keep my mind fresh with ideas both old and new. While reading Tim's book, Today We Are Rich, I couldn't help but think of all the classics. This book offers straightforward advice through interesting personal stories. Tim comes across as a such a genuine giver. His writing makes you feel like he truly cares about your success and fulfillment. The Chapter on "Promises Made, Promises Kept" alone was worth the price of the book for me. I am looking forward to reading all of the other books from this modern day Dale Carnegie/Norman Vincent Peale. Thanks for a great read Mr. Sanders!! BTW, This is not an affiliate link for $$ I just loved the book get it here: http://is.gd/rWr4Fq

Coffeemaverick's 22 books for entrepreneurs

2011-06-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

1) Holy Bible- God and various Authors
2) How To Win Friends And Influence People-Dale Carnegie
3) The Power of Positive Thinking-Norman Vincent Peale
4) Think and Grow Rich- Napolean Hill
5) How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success In Selling- Frank Bettger
6) Awaken the Giant Within - Anthony Robbins
7) The One Minute Manager- Ken Blanchard
8) The Strangest Secret- Earl Nightingale (audio)
9) The Magic of Thinking Big- David Schwarts
10) Go for the Magic- Pat Williams
11) Superself- Charles J. Givens
12) The Greatest Salesman in the World- Og Mandino
13) Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand
14) The Sales Bible- Jeffrey Gitomer
15) The Success Principles- Jack Canfield
16) I Feel Great (and you will too)- Pat Croce
17) How to be Rich- J. Paul Getty
18) psycho-cybernetics- Maxwell Maltz
19) Empowering your Health- Asa Andrew
20) Lives Greatest Lessons- Hal Urban
21) Success through a Positive Mental Attitude- W. Clement Stone
22) Swim with the Sharks without being Eaten Alive- Harvey Mackay

Dillanos Named 2011 Roast Magazine Macro Roaster of the Year

2010-11-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

2011 Roast Magazine Macro Roaster of the Year

The FIT 22 PROGRAM

2010-04-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

I use this Fit 22 program to get healthy so I decided I would post it for everyone's benefit

1) Daily/ Read the Bible- I use a program from youversion.com, it's for a computer, iPhone and iPad

2) Daily/ Relax and be joyful in all things- I tend to be high stressed. It's time to not get blown by every wind and take things as they come

3) Daily/ Pray and have at least 15 minutes of quiet time- I tend to do this in my car

4) Daily/ Give others money, time or sincere compliments- It doesn't take a lot for you to be a "giver" make it your mission to do it daily

5) Daily/ Use organic shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, soap, and laundry detergent- The toughest one on the list is the deodorant, but some brands actually work. This helps keep your home a healthy environment

6) Daily/ Set myself up for a good, healthy and rejuvenating sleep each night- For me this means relaxing and turning the TV off. It also helps to go to bed at about the same time and have a cool, dark room

7) Daily/ Drink half my body weight in ounces of water every day- Read the research, proper hydration is linked to a healthy weight, improved moods and even a longer life. I use an app on my iPhone called "Water Your Body"

8) Daily/ Drink a fresh extracted glass of diluted carrot juice daily- There is a huge rush of sugar in fresh carrot juice, so by diluting it you reduce the sugar but still benefit from the living enzymes in fresh vegetable juice
9) Daily/ Make a habit of lifetime learning- A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that their education ends at high school or college. Make it a point to devour personal development books and audio programs, take night classes, and learn, learn, learn

10) Daily/ Take a vitamin regimen of a whole food multi-vitamin, Fish oil, and CoQ10- with Supplements, a lot of times, you get what you pay for so buy quality products. Your health is worth it

11) Daily/ Do not eat white flour, white rice or refined sugar-stick with whole (preferably sprouted) grains, brown rice and use agave nectar as a sweetener.

12) Daily/ Eat organic and local when possible- This applies to fruits, vegetables and especially meats. Use meats that have not been pumped full of antibiotics and hormones

13) Daily/ Drink red wine in moderation- The heart healthy benefits are huge but turn harmful when drinking too much. 2 glasses max for most people

14) Daily/ Drink organic coffee and tea - Instead of drinking 5 cups of commercial grade coffees and teas just drink one or two cups of organic, high quality, specialty grade beverages. Once you taste the difference you'll never go back. Have fun experimenting with all the different blends and varieties of both coffee and tea
15) Daily/ Maintain Healthy Vitamin D Levels- We need the suns rays to create proper vitamin D in our bodies. If we don't get enough from the sun we should consider additional supplementation. Most people in the U.S. are vitamin D deficient. This can cause a whole range of health problems. Get tested by your Doctor and discuss options for raising and maintaining healthy levels of this much overlooked and very important vitamin

16) Daily/ Eat Super green food- There is a lot of green powders available at the health food store. There are tons of carotenoids, chlorophyll, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals packed into these green powders. I like Dr. Ben Kim's Organic Greens. I mix it with coconut water. The coconut water's slight sweetness makes the greens a lot more drinkable plus CW has a huge boost of potassium

17) Daily/ Jump on a mini Trampoline- do this 5 to 10 minutes a day. This has been proven to stimulate your lymph system

18) Bi-Weekly/ Use weights for strength training- strength training provides improvements in overall health including increased bone strength and muscle mass, and can even increase your good cholesterol

19) 4 days per week/ Get Cardio Exercise - Just 30 minutes of light to medium intensity cardiovascular exercise with do wonders for you health. This could be the treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical trainer, or my favorite the Rowing machine. I have recently discovered this and it just feels great!

20) Monthly/ Go to the Chiropractor- It's so important to make sure the structure of your body is working properly. I am not a person who claims Chiropractic is the "cure all" for everything. However it does have its place among a regimen of healthy habits. Making sure your spine is aligned properly will contribute massively to how you feel on a daily basis as well as your long term well being

21) Monthly/ Get a Message- Get a monthly massage from a qualified practitioner at least once a month. Get more if you can afford it. Use it as a time to "check out" and go into a total relaxed state. It's not only relaxing, but it stimulates your body’s release of toxins so drink plenty of water. Also don't put up with a crappy massage. There are all different styles and skill levels out there. Find yourself a good therapist and stick with them.

22) Weekly/ Take a Day Off- Even God took a day off after 6 days. With all of these Fit 22 principles moderation is the key. Take one day a week loosen up. Eat what you want, lay around a little, and give your self a break.

“So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.” A. J. Reb Materi

Check Out The Dilly Awards coming April 23, 2010

2010-04-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Coffeemaverick’s Twitter Tips for Retailers

2010-03-30T06:59:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from an article I wrote coming up in Fresh Cup Magazine, It's a story about social networking for coffee retailers. The article to be published talks about the future of social networking, success stories and ends with 11 tips. Here are the first 5. Basic stuff but often overlooked by retailers, coffee or otherwise

Twitter and other social networking is not the place to blatantly promote your products. It is the place to blatantly connect with people.

1. Always be three things:
Be interesting, funny and a little bit vulnerable. It’s important to come across as real. This is not a place to always be selling. You build your brand on Twitter, one tweet at a time by adding value, humor and a sense of real life to your followers.

2. Customize your background
Twitter has a several stock backgrounds available, but resist this easy way out. Use a photograph or logo of your business as your background. (For effective real life examples, go to this website: http://tinyurl.com/y8kwcqz

3. Complete the bio section
There is a bio section on your Twitter page that allows 140 characters to tell your followers or prospective followers who you are and what you do. Make it count! Also include your website or Facebook fan page address in the space provided.

4. Use the right name in the rights spots
There are two spots to enter your name: one is your Twitter user name. The second is your real name, located above the bio. For example your Twitter user name would be @joecoffeeshack, but your real name would be Joe Johnson, or whoever is doing the tweets. This gives a sense of reality to your page. It tells the customer that there
is a real person behind your tweets and not a robotic computer.

5. Have a great profile picture
This is the picture that everyone sees next to your tweets, even when they’re not on your page. It can be a logo or a real photo of you. Don’t use a generic drink photos or clip art. They have no personality.

Seattle Magazine Dillanos Feature

2010-02-05T00:05:00.000-08:00

February 2010
Branding a local coffee experience.
By Tim Newcomb

Creating a local coffee brand with high-quality roasts is crucial for independent coffee retailers, says David Morris, CEO of Sumner's Dillanos Coffee Roasters.

Morris decided to enter the world of roasting after quickly moving beyond the Buckley espresso cart he opened in 1992. Now, he creates branded "coffee experiences," which include roasts ranked in the top three nationally by Roast Magazine in the last four years. He says that melding traditional Italian roasting techniques with current technology "coaxes the finest flavors out of each bean."

Along with top-notch taste, Morris gives independents the support he never received. Dillanos offers brand coaching to all its clients (75 percent of its roasts are sold under the retailer's brand), which helps them create a local experience. "It is about the branding," he says. "How it looks, everything the customer touches, feels or sees. It's an overall experience, of which coffee is a part."

Dillanos has cashed in on being from Washington. Its clients are located in all 50 states, range from small stands to 160-store chains and include, locally, Pacific-based Big Foot Java, with more than 20 locations. Dillanos pulls in $20 million in annual revenues. Across the country, building an intensely local brand is the strategy to beating out the big boys.

But Morris isn't against Starbucks. He likes the stores and credits the company with opening the door for independents. "We are all riding the coattails of Starbucks," he says. However, his focus now is beating them, with branding and the "third wave" in coffee: high quality. "People are growing to love true specialty coffee," Morris explains. "Starbucks' quality has declined and allowed locals to compete."

Morris defines "quality" as a complex cup of coffee that gives customers "pause in their day." There is room for more independents that stress the local and quality coffee, he says. Those two things create success.

"I'm watching you Dad" www.floodgateproductions.com

2010-02-02T17:19:00.001-08:00

21 keys in my business value statement

2010-01-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

I for the life of me can't remember where I got this. I found it in an Evernote file . But I thought it was really cool and valuable. It says to "rob and copy it" so I did.I think I am going to change a few things and make it 22 keys (my favorite number) but in the meantime I wanted to post it. Also,if anyone know where its from let me know

Here’s the 21 keys in my business values statement:

1. I am a wealth creator, and attract money every day.

2. I am a thought leader.

3. I create a winning team. I’m careful about who rides on my business bus.

4. I love people and use money, and never get those two reversed.

5. Regarding my business associates, my job is to keep them in their greatness.

6. I speak positively of others, and defend those that are absent.

7. I am never cocky, needy, or greedy.

8. I work harder on myself than I do on my business.

9. I refuse to participate in financial downturns. I create my own economy.

10. My work environment is a “no drama” zone. No gossip, no whining.

11. I don’t “spend” time. I focus on the 20% that earns 80%

12. I am a master delegator and don’t waste time on triviality.

13. In tough times, I am the first to arrive and the last to leave.

14. I respect money and use it wisely. My business is fed, not bled.

15. I do not separate my business and religion. I live my religion through my business and am a shining light and good example to others.

16. I leverage my time and resources through effective use of technology.

17. I spend a lot of time with those that share my values, and little time with those that don’t.

18. I am strictly honest, and don’t steal in any way, including music, movies, and software. I am 100% trustworthy.

19. I add more to the marketplace than I take.

20. I am an example of charitable giving in both time and money.

21. I leave my work at work. At home I am 100% husband and dad.

I keep these above my desk on a huge sticky note, and review them every morning. As you can see, it’s personal to me, but I hope you get some good ideas from this for your own statement. Feel free to “Rob and Duplicate” all you want!

Costa Rica 2010

2010-01-15T08:28:00.001-08:00

Pay it forward

2009-12-05T14:58:00.001-08:00

So I just got pulled over by a Washington State trooper. I was slightly speeding as I passed the cop. However I didn't notice that I was passing him cause I was tweeting on my iPhone. As we made eye contact I noticed I didn't have my seatbelt on so I put it on while driving as he looked on in amazement. Needless to say he pulled me over immediately. As he walked up to my passenger side window I rolled it down with Success Magazine's latest motivational CD blaring out of my stereo. I didn't even notice because I was a little flustered about most likely getting the book thrown at me. He motioned for me to turn it down and with a huge smile on his face said " I don't even know where to start" he graciously went on to explain to me that texting while driving make you 24 times more likely to get into an accident. Compare that with drunk driving making you 6 times more likely.
He then said that he wasn't going to write me a ticket, but it would have been several hundred dollars. He asked me to pay it forward by doing something nice for someone during this holiday season and to also tell people about these shocking texting statistics. Then he said Merry Christmas and sent me on my way. Wow! So starting this day forward I'm done screwing around on my phone while driving. We're talking some seriously dangerous stuff. It's not worth the risk. Hopefully this statistic will help other people to quit texting and driving. After this experience and the heroism of the fallen officers from last weeks coffee shop shooting I am very "Pro-Cop" right now. So thanks goes out to our men and women in blue for putting their lives on the line for our safety everyday.

Great video about Social Networking

2009-11-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

45 Rules for Creating a Great Logo Design

2009-11-27T12:42:00.000-08:00

1.Do not use more than three colors.
2.Get rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary.
3.Type must be easy enough for your grandma to read.
4.The logo must be recognizable.
5.Create a unique shape or layout for the logo.
6.Completely ignore what your parents and/or spouse think about the design.
7.Confirm that the logo looks appealing to more than just three (3)
individuals.
8.Do not combine elements from popular logos and claim it as original work.
9.Do not use clip-art under any circumstances.
10.The logo should look good in black and white.
11.Make sure that the logo is recognizable when inverted.
12.Make sure that the logo is recognizable when resized.
13.If the logo contains an icon or symbol, as well as text, place each so
that they complement one another.
14.Avoid recent logo design trends. Instead, make the logo look timeless.
15.Do not use special effects (including, but not limited to: gradients,
drop shadows, reflections, and light bursts).
16.Fit the logo into a square layout if possible, avoid obscure layouts.
17.Avoid intricate details.
18.Consider the different places and ways that the logo will be presented.
19.Invoke feelings of being bold and confident, never dull and weak.
20.Realize that you will not create a perfect logo.
21.Use sharp lines for sharp businesses, smooth lines for smooth businesses.
22.The logo must have some connection to what it is representing.
23.A photo does not make a logo.
24.You must surprise customers with presentation.
25.Do not use more than two fonts.
26.Each element of the logo needs to be aligned. Left, center, right, top,
or bottom.
27.The logo should look solid, with no trailing elements.
28.Know who is going to be looking at the logo before you think of ideas for
it.
29.Always choose function over innovation.
30.If the brand name is memorable, the brand name should be the logo.
31.The logo should be recognizable when mirrored.
32.Even large companies need small logos.
33.Everyone should like the logo design, not just the business that will use
it.
34.Create variations. The more variations, the more likely you are to get it
right.
35.The logo must look consistent across multiple platforms.
36.The logo must be easy to describe.
37.Do not use tag lines in the logo.
38.Sketch out ideas using paper and pencil before working on a computer.
39.Keep the design simple.
40.Do not use any "swoosh" or "globe"symbols.
41.The logo should not be distracting.
42.It should be honest in its representation.
43.The logo should be balanced visually.
44.Avoid bright, neon colors and dark, dull colors.
45.The logo must not break any of the above rules.

My source for this list can be found here http://is.gd/57WMB

My tweets and their sources

2009-11-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

I was on twitter one day and I was thinking about how people know what to tweet. When I try to explain Twitter to people they always say "I wouldn't know what to tweet". So I thought I would write down a general Idea of where the inspiration for tweets come from. This is just 5 of my interests but it gives you a general Idea.

1) Interesting Business/entrepreneurial articles
Sources: Inc Magazine retweets, Success Magazine retweets,Openforum.com
2) Tech/Lifestyle stuff
Sources: engadget.com, boygeniusreport.com, lifehacker.com, wired.com
3) Fun stuff
Sources: interesting stuff while travelling,funny pictures, fun articles found at popurls.com, crazy stuff people say
4) Coffeestuff
Sources: "coffee" on google alerts, coffeecupnews.com, reporting on coffee tastings, SCAA.org, Trade magazines-Specialty Coffee Retailer, Fresh Cup, Tea and Coffee Trade Journal
5) Inspirational Quotes
Sources: quotegarden.com, Success Magazine, The Twitter accounts of @j_canfield, @tonyrobbins, @tomziglar, @Jairekrobbins, @marvintowler, @darrenhardy

A Veteran Experience

2009-11-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

I had a great business trip to Texas and Florida this last week but the trip's highlight didn't happen until the very end. Last night, when our plane landed in Seattle, they announced that a Pearl Harbor survivor was seated in the very back. When the plane came to a stop we all stayed respectfully seated while this hero slowly made his way up to the front of the plane. When he got to the front door this older gentleman said a few words on the intercom. He quietly and emotionally talked about how proud he was to be an American citizen and he said to please pray for our men and woman risking their lives for our freedom. It was an amazing and moving experience, there was not a dry eye on the plane. God Bless and Happy Veterans Day everybody

Twitter: 72 hours of silence

2009-10-19T15:21:00.000-07:00

I recently open my @coffeemaverick twitter account and to my horror the numbers for my following and my followers were both ZERO! Holy Cow, I just had 55,000 followers an hour ago. Where did they go? I literally had a sick feeling in my stomach. I quickly tried to refresh the page, nothing changed. My mind raced with thoughts like, “Will I ever get them back?” and, “These people are like my family!” Needless to say I was totally freaked out. This went on for 3 LONG days. This was 72 hours of having a lot to say and no one to say it too! As well as all of my “family” talking and me not be able to listen. It was weird; I actually felt lost. People were @replying me (that still worked) and saying, “Dude, what happened to your account?” I actually tons of support from everybody but nobody could get my tweeps back! Finally after a supportive @reply and subsequent emails from a well known Washington Tweeter who finally gave me a top secret twitter email address, I had my solution. I emailed the person and POOF! Instant gratification. I constantly refreshed my screen as my numbers come back one by one. There I was like a kid at Christmas staring intently as my followers and following numbers returned to their rightful place. As I am reading this post back to my self it sounds extremely dramatic. But in reality it wasn’t life and death, it is just twitter. But Twitter has become an important part of my business and personal life. It just has to be put into perspective like anything else. This month marks one year that I have been using Twitter regularly and it sure has been fun.

Update from Nicaragua

2009-10-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

I recently took a trip to Nicaragua with our Director of Coffee; Phil Beattie and Dillanos' Vice President; Keith Hayward. Here is a Berdahedda version of Phil's update of our time there. Enjoy!

Greetings from Nicaragua!It has been a great time here at Let’s Talk Coffee in Montelimar, Nicaragua. It is extremely hot and humid here, the temperature and humidity are in the upper 90’s. The meetings have been going very good and the educational sessions have been top notch. The lectures have been a good mix of content that is applicable both to the roasters as well as to the coffee producers who make up the vast majority of the over 300 people attending.

Sustainable Harvest’s staff always does an amazing job of putting together an action packed weekend full of opportunities for networking, learning, and of course...talking coffee.We have seen presentations on subjects such as the history of espresso, agro-economics, coffee and your health, and traceability and technology in coffee. But, as in past years, the real value of Let’s Talk Coffee comes not from the lectures but from the opportunity to meet with producers, exporters, and non-profits from around the globe. This event always presents the best opportunity to get the pulse of the industry from a global perspective.On day one of the event David, Keith and I met with representatives of Kanyovu who made the long trip from Tanzania to Nicaragua to meet with us and discuss the successes and challenges of the past year. Because of cultural situations and the size of the cooperative in Kanyovu it has been difficult to find the path to the next level, but Sustainable Harvest’s staffers continue to make steady progress towards higher quality and traceability. The successes have been huge over the past years with huge jumps in cup score and consistency of the coffee. One challenge that we are addressing this year with the Kanyovu coffee is the rapid aging of the coffee do to fluctuations of temperature and humidity during the long journey that the coffee takes from eastern Tanzania to Seattle.

The long journey takes the coffee across the arid central area of Tanzania where temperatures soar well above 100 degrees inside of the container, then once loaded onto a boat in Dar es Salaam (which may take weeks) the coffee travels South around the horn of Africa where temperatures can drop to nearly freezing. Finally the coffee arrives in New York and makes the long railroad trip to Seattle. The extreme journey puts stress on the beans that begins to show in the flavor after around 8 to 10 months. This year in order to extend the life of the green coffee we are having the burlap sacks lined with a material called grain-pro. This material, that was developed to maintain the integrity of grains, is breathable but maintains a constant humidity and reduces the fluctuations of temperature within the bag. Studies have shown this lining to be very effective and we can’t wait to see how it works for us.We also met with a group of indigenous farmers from Colombia that are members of a cooperative called Tierradentro which translated means “the deep land” as in deep in the jungle. I cupped this coffee a few weeks ago at the Sustainable Harvest offices in Portland and was immediately impressed with the This group of 280 indigenous farmers grow a really spectacular organic coffee on the border of the Cauca and Huila regions in southern Colombia. They have done an amazing job of maintaining the integrity of their culture while integrating modern technology to trace each bag back to the individual farmer. This could be a great addition to the One Harvest line of coffees.

On day two we met with the remainder of our One Harvest producers, starting with the Chacons from Las Lajas. As usual, the meeting with the Chacons was a lovefest. The main focus of this meeting was planning for an upcoming trip in the beginning of January. We are going to be bringing a small group of our customers to Costa Rica to visit the farm there. They will spend some time harvesting coffee, touring the farm, visiting the beneficio (wet mill) and we will also be visiting a large commercial mill so that they can see the contrast. They also let us know that interest rates in Costa Rica have been rising. If you’re not familiar with how farmers finance themselves, at the beginning of the year they take a loan that will pay for fertilizer inputs, harvesting labor, and the cost of running the mill. For a farm the size of Las Lajas this loan adds up to around $100,000 dollars per year, this year the interest rate that they will be paying for that loan will be 20%! That means that it actually only costs them around $80,000 to grow and ship the coffee but they have to pay the bank $20,000...this is the struggle of a coffee farmer.

When I return we will be brainstorming on ways that Dillanos might be able to help them receive a more reasonable interest rate.Following the Las Lajas meeting we had a chance to sit down with Ramon the Managing Director and Jesus the President of the Rio Azul Cooperative in Guatemala. It was great to see them again, it has been nearly two years since I was able to meet face to face with them as visa issues kept them from attending last years Let’s Talk Coffee.

Their cooperative is still utilizing the original medical grant that we extended them, apparently they are either a very healthy group of people or they are being very conservative with how they use the funds. Most likely I will be making a trip to see them next year in an effort to meet with a large group of grower members to maintain the relationship. We will also be looking into how we can develop more effective fertilizer processes with them as this is the major obstacle that is preventing them from transitioning more of their coffee to organic.

Once again Let’s Talk Coffee was a huge success and continues to be a breeding ground for innovative ideas that will continue to keep our company competitive in an ever changing industry.

Recent Q: and A:

2009-08-07T08:54:00.001-07:00

I thought I would post a recent Q: and A: I did for a busienss priodical to give you some insight into what we do:

Tell us a little about yourself. Why Sumner? Why coffee? Why are you in Sumner roasting coffee?
When I was younger I was a professional bicycle stunt performer and although I had worked my way to the top, eventually becoming a freestyle pro, that industry was still growing and it just wasn’t an occupation I could do forever. When that wrapped up I was either going to open a specialty bike shop or get into the coffee business. I had family members suggesting the idea and I was noticing the industry just starting to really grow and its potential to me was exciting. So, I borrowed some money from Howard Heyer (my step-father) and started up Dillanos (named after my son Dillon) as an espresso cart in front of the Sunshine Mart in Bonney Lake, which belonged to Howard. Within a couple of quick years my brother Chris Heyer became a partner and we had evolved into multiple retail locations and also began the biggest thing for our company’s future; roasting coffee for ourselves and to sell wholesale to other espresso bar retailers.
Although our roots were in Bonney Lake, we strategically chose Sumner as our home because of its ideal location for servicing our customers regionally. Its uniquely between Seattle and Tacoma and makes customer interaction, assistance and participation much easier. We are very proud of our staff and roasting faciltity and encourage all of our customers to visit anytime.

Talk a bit about your original vision for the company and how does that compares to where it is now?
When the company first started we were focused on building a wholesale presence for our brand locally and were looking to gain more participation in the industry as a whole through trade shows like Coffee Fest. The overall vision and real roots of how we work and live both then and now though are all in our company mission statement; Help People, Make Friends and Have Fun! Sounds simple but these words have guided our growth and made the right impressions and have surrounded us with great employees and customers for all of these years. It’s something we truly live by.

What made the difference?
Two main things have really gone into what we feel made the big difference; customer assistance and company culture. The biggest difference we make for our customers is how we treat, support and assist them in their own growth and success. We differentiate ourselves intentionally, we want our business building help and assistance to be and stay as a real and tangible benefit for everyone we help.
Our company culture is paramount to us and something we carefully nurture and protect. We have even written and published a book called Brewing a Creative Culture that is mandatory reading for all new employees. It was actually written by members of our staff representing all levels and departments from the company and each chapter explains in their words why we do what we do.

How has the company evolved into its various branches and why structure the company that way?
For diversification we have expanded into commercial real estate, retail coffee ventures and several other business interests. But, even at Dillanos we have gone through many organizational changes in our company structure and have worked very hard and finding the best people with the strongest skills that can represent both the company culture and specific skills needed for their job. From the top down. We are all still active in the company growth and development and have found ourselves in company roles that best represent our strongest individual skill sets. Howard is our Chairman of the Board, Chris acts as President and has a strong focus and influence on the operations and company systems and I act as CEO and tend to focus more on the company vision, growth, marketing and sales. Keith Hayward is our Executive Vice President; he oversees all overall aspects of the company by working with our four company directors who each represent a specific part of the company. Rand Hill is our CFO, Jeff Woods our Director of Sales, Mark Ireland our Director of Operations and Phil Beattie our Director of Coffee.

How has the company's annual revenue and sales changed during the years since it was founded?
We have been very fortunate to have such a great balance of strengths between Howard, Chris and myself to manage change and growth and finances especially in the early years. We have always worked hard to keep the company and revenues strong and constantly growing. In the beginning our growth was around 100% for many years and although those numbers and percentages can’t really be sustained as you get bigger and bigger, we still typically grow around 15-25% each year.

How has the recession affected your operations and the industry in general?
The recession has made and impact on our business there is no doubt. Our customer same store sales have dropped anywhere between 5-15% as a reflection of consumer spending dipping down as people try to balance what they find as discretional spending. These numbers are already going back up, even in these tougher times specialty coffee is an affordable luxury that people like to treat themselves to. We have had to make up these dips by gaining new customers, it turns out there are a lot of businesses out there that haven’t had the type of help that was needed; it’s a good and welcome fit for us. Operationally we have made many adjustments to our business because of the economy but the changes have to do more with changing what we offer to our customers and building new programs to help them keep their businesses strong and viable as things improve. We want to help them in every way we can so we care share in their individual success.

What lessons have you learned during the downturn in the general economy?
1) Keeping morale in the company is a high priority so our employees and staff feel supported and safe.

2) Our customers depend on our participation and assistance to help keep their businesses growing. Our assistance and growth programs for store operations, employee training, branding and marketing have become a key ingredient. Showing real value has kept our customers more confident and loyal.

What did you learn during your career that you wish you’d known in the beginning?
Wow, that is a tough question, we have always been pretty good at knowing when someone else in the family or company could handle something better or be more suitable for a certain task, we all have our strengths and talents. I wish I would have known how absolutely important it was to show the benefits of a strong partnership with our customers. There was no template for us to follow, this is a young industry and although we do specialize in helping our customers realizing the level of interaction that could really be would have been great. We know now that it’s all about relationships and a real partnership with each customer that brings success.

What is the most surprising thing you have learned in your career?
I always knew what big potential the coffee industry had, but to look back now at its massive growth and evolution it is amazing. You can’t be afraid of growth, you need to be open to change whenever possible participate at the highest levels you can so that you may have your own influence in the growth as well. The need for flexibility and creativity are huge and they will lead you to success, while rigidity and traditionalism can easily lead to collapse. Flexibility means approaching each new challenge and each new evolution of our company without putting our decisions under the burden of strict traditional management and business tactics. I am excited to have such great and supportive partners with Howard and Chris and to be part of such a young and constantly developing company and industry.

If you had it to do over, what would you do differently?
Looking back, the one thing that really could have benefited us better was starting off immediately with having actual and current budget meetings to help us guide our spending and balance throughout our growth. But in retrospect, the lessons we have learned from our mistakes have laid the foundation for all of our successes.

What does the future of coffee and coffee roasting hold? Are there still opportunities in the marketplace or is the industry saturated?
The industry is still growing strong and is far from being saturated. There are many opportunities for people to do something really big in the industry, the cost of entry and level of participation in individual growth does need a lot of focus as competition is pretty strong. Differentiation and quality will be key. What you will see is a lot more consolidation between brands, especially nationally. A stronger focus on high end quality coffee or third wave movement, businesses will become more connected to the community and social interaction. We all think that you will also see a big push and growth through the newer trends of marketing, advertisement and connection by social networking tools. Exciting stuff.

What else should South Sound businesses know about you and your company?
We have had some great successes and its been amazing watching our company develop into what it is now. All this excitement, growth and success is a direct result of the employees and family I get to work with daily. It’s every single step in the process of helping our customers that makes you successful. If you truly care for your employees, they will make every step matter. Then we all share in the success.

Top Things Accomplished Using Twitter

2009-07-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

Over the last several months I have been using twitter. During that time I have had so many fun experiences that I wanted to jot some down, so here we go.

· Met and became friends with speaker Chris Widener. Chris introduced me to Dino Rossi; Dino was the Republican candidate for the governor of our state and came very close to winning. Now he invests with a commercial real estate group that we are going to be investing with. Chris, along with my company, started up a Conservative themed coffee brand called Positively Republican. (He has a Facebook group has more than 100,000 members. Also Chris has introduced us to the Editors of Success Magazine. He is on their advisory board and has a regular column for possible inclusion of our company in a future issue of the magazine.)

· I was featured and quoted twice in a national cover story in USA Today along with other CEO’s including Jack Welch and Steve Case.

· I learned about and adopted some policies from Zappos since following Tony Heisch the CEO of Zappos and got a super extended tour of the HQ including extra 3 hours of Q&A with different dept on their outstanding policies and procedures.

· The Ford Motor Company gave me a sweet Lincoln MKZ to test drive for an extended weekend just so I could tweet about it and give honest feedback on the vehicle.

· We have sold hundreds of lbs. retail coffee on the Internet with very little promotion on twitter.

· It’s been a really productive way to get answers and opinions to business and personal questions.

· When we go to a trade show such as Coffee fest Las Vegas the rest of the staff is kept abreast of what is going on when they follow us on twitter.

· I have gotten to know what our people do for fun, allowing us to better understand our amazing staff.

· I’ve become top 30 Conservative on Twitter.

· I’ve become the #1 libertarian on Twitter.

· I’ve been ranked #1 for the categories of Coffee, Espresso and CEO on wefollow.com

· I’ve been introduced, had a cool tweet up @ my roasting facility with Nansen Malin (@nansen) the #1 top female Conservative on twitter.

· I’ve been inspired by tweets from @tonyrobbins, @johncmaxwell and many others which I follow from my other twitter account (@davidjmorris).

· Facebook and Twitter are the #1 and #2 reasons people go to our Dillanos.com website according to Google analytics.

Of course along with all of the specifics results. I have had a ton of fun!

Reach out and talk to someone

2009-06-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

I had a great meeting on Wednesday with the Executive Director of Specialty Coffee Association of America, Ric Rhinehart. We discussed the future of the coffee industry, increasing retailer attendance at the annual conference, and his diverse background. I thought the conversation was both productive and stimulating. It really made me realize how important these interactions are. In your business make a point of getting to know the top people of your industry's trade organization. Their insights and perceptions of future trends in your field will be invaluable as you make decisions as to the direction of your business. So get out there and make a point of talking to someone you respect. All of my best ideas come from sort of outside trigger, and great conversations are a big one.

Thanks for the talk Ric!

A New Dawn

2009-05-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

Today I started a "Get Healthy" program. It includes Cardio 4 times per week, Weights 3 times per week, and an eating plan that involves not eating processed foods, white rice, potatoes, or white flour. I will be eating lot's of fresh vegetables, legumes, and Lean Proteins. I am 42 as of last month, and over the last several years I have focused a little too much on entrepreneurial activities and not enough on my overall health. I am committed to my company and will continue to help run it with the utmost enthusiasm and my healthier lifestyle will give me even more energy to give my all to the people and duties that I love!

The Culture Club

2009-05-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

One of the best things we have ever done at our company is to write our book "Brewing A Creative Culture". Each chapter is written by a different staff member. The subjects of the chapters range from going the extra mile, to giving back to the community. We wanted to write a book on our culture to not only specifically define it, but to document it permanently forever. And while it is available at Amazon and Borders etc, it's commercial aspirations were secondary.
Now as the company has grown, with more and more employees, it gets harder and harder to maintain that culture. Our solution was to create "The Culture Club". The culture club is a 10 person committee with a sole focus of perpetuating our culture and creating new ways of improving it. I have to tell you it's working awesome. They have come up with so many fun games and events. Some examples include company wide dodgeball tournaments, impromptu barbeques, the "Dilly" Awards, old school video game "excita-bike" championship, biggest loser competition, and most recently the homemade Salsa competition. Trust me when people walk in to our facility they can just "feel" the culture. I am very proud of our people. check out our book when you get a chance.

Kindle 2- A little Review

2009-04-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading “Tribes” by Seth Godin. This was the first book I’ve read on my Amazon Kindle. I have to tell you how impressed I am with both. The book I wholeheartedly recommend . It has wonderful stories on leadership and the way things and ideas will be spread throughout the world in the forseeable future. But the Kindle, Good Lord, the Kindle. It’s the coolest thing ever. I am a huge reader and to be able to carry up to 1500 books with me at all times is awesome. The only negative, and I mean only, is that Sometimes you want the actual hardcover book. To keep and share and have it as part of your library. In that case buy it!! But if you’re like me, you’re a sponge, and want to suck every bit of information you can because learning is not just a passion , it’s a frickin necessity! So to be able to carry around all this info in one small electronic package is life changing. This thing downloads books (most 9.99, some more, but some even FREE.) in like 40 seconds! Are you kidding me? I find out about a book from a trusted business associates recommendation and poof I"m reading it right then!! I was in church today, of course I have the bible on it , and I updated my twitter status on it. Ok maybe I should have been paying more attention to the message, but the point is I updated twitter because I could. And it felt good. Now to be realistic you can read any review and they’ll point out that it’s not “perfect”. True, but are you kidding me, this thing rocks . The new Kindle iPhone app even knows where you left off. So say you're reading your Kindle and put it down. You can open the program on your iPhone 2 weeks later and it opens up to right where you left off. Reading on the Kindle is nice with the big screen and E-ink and all, but sitting and waiting somewhere the iphone does the job. Yes I am a fan , even a zealot. So order a Kindle 2. Seriously order it now. And oh yea Tribes is awesome! Maybe get that too. Next book? Groundswell, by Charlene Li.

Recieved this as an E-Mail Today

2009-03-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

What a profound short little paragraph that says it all!!!

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

~~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931 - 2005 ~~~~~

2009-03-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a Business road trip that was extremely productive.I was on the road with my trusty partner in crime Lon LaFlamme. we traveled to Bellaire, Michigan for a trade show put on by Clark Foods. Clark is a Large food distributor with several locations throughout the midwest. The response to the coffee was unbelievable. we had a great time. We were accompanied by our highly capable and always crazy director of coffee Phil Beattie. His coffee knowledge wowed the crowd AND sold the beans. Saying the trade show was a success in an understatement. A big thank you to Phil and Lon for a great time (like always) but also for your hard work that helps Dillanos reach its ultimate potential. I am reminded daily of the constant extra mile efforts of our entire brilliant resourceful staff. I love all of our employees, Past employees, and even people that got fired or didn't work out!! I literally still love all of them. Life's waaaaaaay too short for grudges. I don't have the energy to waste on a grudge anyway. What I do have the energy for is to Help People, Make Friends, and Have Fun!

2009-03-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I told my staff that there was a mandatory Financial meeting at 1:30 sharp. I said it was urgent and every employee needed to attend. As soon as they all arrived in our training room, it was obvious that some of them were kind of concerned. I proceeded to tell them the following: "As most of you know the US economy is not doing well. In fact you could say it's in a bit of a pickle. I brought you all here today to tell you that because of your efforts and teamwork we are getting through it. it's not perfect but we're on track thanks to you guys" as the sigh of relief was visible througout the room I said "so to celebrate We brought everyone a frozen pickle juice popsicle". We all opened our pickle pops and tried them together.Some loved them and some hated them, but we had fun! It was just a goofy little gesture, but it was our way of saying thank you and living up to our mission statement: Help People, Make Friends, and Have Fun! I Love our employees.

Operation Mobile Desk Update

2009-03-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

My last day in the finance department! It's been totally fun. Like I said earlier what seemed like a mild mannered, serious group, turned out to be just as fun as every other department so far. I've learned that they do work hard to be accurate, and take tremendous pride in keeping our financial house in order, but cut loose on a moments notice. So thanks for the memories guys! next I will be over at the other building. Its the same building where my "real" office is. I'll start in the lobby of that building and move around from there.

Our Newest book and a Proud Moment!

2009-03-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

Lon LaFlamme (our Marketing Director) and I wrote a book called 'Brewing a Hot Brand'. It's basically a branding book focused mostly retail businesses, not just coffee, but any retail business. Our newest book is going to be called 'Brewing a Hot Business'. It will be about the Business principles that our company has used to become successful over the last 17 years no matter what is going on in the economy. It will be written, in a way that any business can adopt our principles into their business. So to get started on the outline, I asked each and every one of our 80+employees to write the 10 reasons that they thought Dillanos was successful. I was so amazed at the e-mails. I literally got choked up on several of them. Not because of how great we are, but the fact that everyone was totally on the same page. Our culture is working! They were all incredible, but the best one came from our newest employee Lorin Seeks. he had only been with us for 3 months, but had already fully understood and embraced what we stand for. Anyone who has ever been on a tour of the roasting plant, know that it's the people here that make dillanos so special. Here is Lorin's original text:

David,

Since embarking on my adventure with Dillanos it has been abundantly obvious to me why we have such a successful company. What follows are 11 reasons (I had one extra that I didn't want to leave out), in no particular order, why I feel Dillanos is so successful. After each reason I have provided a brief example or description.

Continuous Leadership Development - Dillanos works with it's leadership to help them learn and grow, and encourages the leadership to pass these lessons on to their teams. For Example, we have discussed personality profiles, ways to communicate with different employees, and lessons in leadership from other great leaders.

Fiscally savvy - Dillanos does a great job of balancing resources. This year for instance, the operations team is working incredibly hard to become lean and efficient, saving money wherever possible, which allows the company to focus its spending on our counterparts in sales so they can aggressively pursue new business.

Hire great people - I am amazed every day by the quality and caliber of people I work with. I can say with no hesitation that I work with the best group of people I have ever worked with in my career thus far. The time and effort we put into finding people with the right balance of skills, experience and cultural fit, and then assuring they are properly trained, pays incredible dividends.

Culture of continuous improvement - Dillanos has fostered an environment in which people feel free to express their ideas, where managers and supervisors attentively and enthusiastically listen to those ideas, and where people with great ideas are recognized. There are so many challenges in our work, and yet somehow Dillanos makes those challenges fun! Rather than getting stressed out about challenges, we have an environment where people tackle them head on, have fun with it, and are proud of their accomplishments.

Maintain a fun atmosphere - On Sunday night there are so many people in this world that are bummed that the weekend is ending, but not Dillanos employees. When my alarm wakes me up at 5:30 am I am actually excited to come into work! A big part of this goes back to hiring the right people. I love the people I work with and have a great time with them. The company also makes an active and conscientious effort to make work fun. Our MMMs, Dodge Ball, BBQs, Culture committee, our Halloween Party, Christmas Party, Skee Ball Tournaments, Etc., Etc. Etc. The list could go on and on! There is no question that happy employees are productive employees. When people can work hard and have fun in the process they are enthusiastic, exited, and have a lot less stress.

Focus on Brand Awareness - We achieve success by branding in two distinct areas.

First, we brand ourselves and do a great job of it. We put ourselves in events like the Barista Competitions, we get great publicity in trade magazines, we brand everything that leaves Dillanos including our delivery trucks, we make a name for ourselves by actively being involved in the industry - writing articles, giving seminars at Coffee Fest, etc. And now we are on the cutting edge, branding ourselves on Face Book, our Blog, Twitter, on our website.

Second, we help our customers create their own unique brand identity, something many of our competitors don't do, which helps us sell a lot more coffee. Big props to the amazing job our art department does in creating logos, signs, menus, and a lot of other stuff for our customers. This is a big selling point for Dillanos.

Produce a consistently superior product with a focus on quality - We don't rest on our laurels once we create a great blend or source a new single origin coffee. Our roasting department is constantly testing, tweaking, adjusting, sampling, judging to assure our coffee is of a consistently high quality. Our good name rests on the quality coffee we produce.

Go the "Extra Mile" for customers - Dillanos goes above and beyond to help out the customer. Our customer service is exceedingly friendly and accommodating, and our delivery and shipping departments assure the customer gets their coffee on time no matter what. If a customer is out of coffee we don't tell them to go get some at the store until their next regular delivery comes, we drive it out to them! Even if it means driving to a place like Bellingham. Doing this ensures loyalty from our customers and keeps them coming back for more week after week.

Encourage ALL employees to build their knowledge of the companies product and industry - Everyone from our CEO to our delivery drivers, from our director of sales to our packagers knows coffee. When employees are not only interested in, but passionate and knowledgeable about a companies product, it makes a huge difference in their enthusiasm and devotion to a company.

Give something back to society - This one is tough to quantify in terms of how "successful" it makes us, but I feel it is tremendously important none-the-less. You could call it Karma, you could say were following the Golden Rule, you could say "good things happen to good people". However you look at it, service to your community, city, country, world, or humanity plays an important role in the success of a business or individual. I have always been a big believer in doing service and one of the things that really drew me to Dillanos was that this company makes a conscientious effort to do good. Dillanos sponsors a child for every employee that works at the company. We give to Toys for Tots. And recently there has been interest in initiatives to make Dillanos a "greener" more sustainable business, which benefits the earth and every person in it. (By the way, I am really interested in doing more to make Dillanos a more environmentally sustainable business. Not only is it a great thing to do, it would be a great boost in marketing and selling our product. If we ever form a committee to focus on these issues I'd be thrilled to volunteer to head the effort)

Ease of Doing Business - We are a one stop shop for our customers. They can order just about everything they need from one company (us) and have it delivered/shipped to them on a regular schedule. If I was one of our customers I would LOVE the ease of doing business with Dillanos. This also goes back to one of my earlier statements that Dillanos "Goes the Extra Mile for Customers".

Well, there you have it. Take care and good luck with all the potential customers you have been out visiting. See you when you get back.

Lorin Seeks

Fulfillment Manager

Dillanos Coffee Roasters

ready to get back in the saddle

2009-02-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

I just finished my last meeting of my latest business trip. I am in Omaha, Nebraska and will be heading for the airport in about a half hour. I am looking forward to getting back to operation mobile office. I am returning to the finance department because I didn't get a full week in yet. I have been thinking a lot about my allergy to green coffee dust. This makes it difficult to spend any time in the Roasting, packaging and shipping departments. I have come up with an Awesome solution which I will unveil in the next couple of months. It's not fair to not spend time with those departments, so I am really going to go the extra mile for those guys. Watch out coffee warehouse cause I'm coming out there soon!

Social Networks: Our New Frontier

2009-02-20T08:21:00.000-08:00

We’ve recently dove into the world of Twitter and Facebook, not just personally, but as a company. The benefits in just a short time have been really good. I wanted to go over the main reasons how any company, can us social networking to their advantage.

1) To locate and network with potential customers.

Let’s not forget we are in business to sell stuff, and we need people to sell that stuff to. On social networks It’s important to let people know what you sell, why it’s the best, and how they can buy it. But this is not a hard sell, this is a relationship sell. It’s about letting people know you’re there, and when opportunities come up (which they will) then, and only then, go after it. The idea is they get to know us through social networking, and we are communicating our message effectively, then they’ll want to do business with us.

2) To communicate with each other.

At our company , culture is huge! So huge, that we wrote a book about it. Part of a great company culture is communication and getting everyone on the same page. Now I’m not talking about official corporate communication, but just here’s what going on. It could be related to work or not. I f I see on Facebook that our receptionist is excited about going camping , I can ask her about it ,t hen we have more of a connection. If someone’s Twitter update says that they don’t feel good, then someone can make sure they’re Ok or if they need anything. It give us all a little glimpse into each others lives, but it’s not invasive, because each person chooses what they Share.

3) To communicate with our existing customers

We are actively encouraging our customers to “friend” or “follow” us individually or as a company on Twitter and Facebook. Just a little disclosure, we are a very productive group. It wouldn’t be acceptable to mess around on Facebook when there’s work to be done. Or be “Tweeting” during important meetings. Also social networking is encouraged but not required. We can link our customers to our latest blog posts, or just say hi or happy birthday with Twitter or Facebook. It’s a great way to stay top of mind with our precious customers. Just another touch point we can have to keep them thinking about our company and our people.

4) To Have an Informal Board of Directors or Focus Group.

If you have a business problem or are trying to decide which of two packaging ideas looks the best, I bet there is someone out in Facebookland or the Twitterverse that has been through it or has a helpful suggestion. Just post a picture and say “Any suggestions”. I’ve already been using this with great feedback and insights from my Cyber friends. And don’t forget, you are helping other people too, by being their Coach or sounding board. Famous Author and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar once said “ You’ll get what you want in life, as long as you help enough other people get what they want” . Sound advice.

5) To have fun!

What good is any of this without a little fun. Our Mission Statement at Dillanos is to 1) Help People 2) Make Friends and 3) Have Fun. As Im writing this I’m Realizing that social networking accomplishes all three. It’s fun to see your friend list grow on Facebook. It’s fun to connect with old friends and new friends. It’s fun to increase your “followers” on twitter. So go start the process. You’ll be glad you did.

Mobile Office Update 4

2009-02-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

I am at my third stop on the "Operation Mobile Desk"tour. This time I'm in the Finance Department, or as they like to say,"FUNance" Department. In the past this department has kind of a reputation for being quiet, or to themselves, off in their little bean counting (pun intended) lair. Considering how important it is to be accurate and timely with the fiscal dealings of a business, I don't expect them to be dancing on their desks. But like the other departments they genuinely seem to be enjoying their jobs. In finance we have Rand -CFO, Brian- Controller, Debbie-Accounts Recievable, Marylee-Purchasing, and Angela- Accounts Payable. Each one with their own unique personality. It turns out they're all totally fun! Witty comments, Lot's of laughter, and a collaborative, can-do attitude. They made a little welcome sign for me, and Debbie even had treats celebration my "arrival" As usual my Mobile desk is right smack dab in the middle of the department, so I get a true sense of the dynamics of the group, and it's Awesome. Luckily our exciting Dillanos culture has infected our financial folks. I'm staying here for this week and next week as well. I still have so mant stops on the tour, uncluding the roasting warehouse. Most people don't know I (and by brother Chris) are extremely allergic to the dust from unroasted coffee beans. So I am literaly going to rig up some kind of a enclosure, Boy in a Plastic Bubble style, with a little air purifier inside. I will be showing photos of that adventure for sure. More updates coming soon.

Mobile Office Update 3

2009-02-07T11:02:00.001-08:00

I finished my 2nd week in my new "mobile office" concept. Last week was the customer service department, and the week before that was the front lobby. I wanted to point out some interesting things I've learned so far. First of all, this experiment code named "operation Mobile Desk" OMD for short, has been extremely valuable. Being able to see the business from the trenches is something everyone should do. Doing that was easy in the when we started 17 years ago cause there was no one else. It was just My brother Chris and I, with one or two other helpers. Now that we have 80+ employees in 2 separate warehouses, it gets a little trickier. Combine that with a rigorous Travelling schedule and several other companies that we own or are partners in, and you can imagine getting a little insulated from day to day goings on. I probably should add that this was by design, and that we have great people in place to operate Dillanos, but I think it is important to get a fist hand look at times.

The Insights
Insight #1. Our employees are even nicer to customers that I had thought. I new they were nice, but holy cow, they treat our customers like they were the most important person in the world.
Insight #2. Our employees are even nicer to EACH OTHER than I could imagine. The lesson here is that the fun, creative, and friendly culture that we put such a focus on is working!
Insight #3. Humor is a huge part of every one's day. the consistent laughter is so beneficial to this really, really hardworking group.
Insight #4. there are so many different personalities, even in such a tight knit group like ours, that you have to treat each person according to their specific needs. Now I understand you can't be everything to everybody, so why try right? Wrong. even slightly different ways of praising or redirecting can be way more effective to certain personalities
Insight #5. When instituting a MAJOR change in policy, the communication of that change should come from one person and all at once. It doesn't necessarily have to be from The CEO, President or top executive, but from the ONE person who can best explain and answer questions about the change.

Of course I've also learn tons of little specific things important to our specific business, but that covers the top 5 insights. I gotta say, love our customers, employees,and vendors and I can't wait for Monday.

Mobile Office Update 2

2009-02-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

Today is actually my first day in the customer service department. I have placed my mobile desk right smack down in the middle of the girls. I am about to attempt to have a meeting with our Director of Sales and Marketing Jeff and our Executive VP Keith. This is our weekly meeting for our "Little Orange book of Directives". We each have these little orange notebooks with 12 big business goals we want to accomplish in 2009. Just making a fun thing out of our company objectives, Dillanos style. we'll see how this goes while all the reps are taking our customers weekly orders.

Mobile Office Update 1

2009-02-01T16:52:00.001-08:00

I am really excited about moving my Super-Deluxe mobile office into the customer service department from the front lobby. I learned a lot from the lobby stay, but look forward to even more insights in the CSR Dept. (customer service representative). These fabulous girls take our orders every week from our wonderful and loyal customers. I start tomorrow. I have already moved the desk upstairs, and I'm ready to rock and roll. Will report about my experiences. DJM

Moleskine, The Legendary Notebook

2009-01-30T10:05:00.000-08:00

I love my Moleskine notebook. For the uninitiated, a Moleskine, pronounced "Mole-Skin" is a little notebook that you write ideas, drawings, thoughts and anything else that you want to capture. I have an iPhone with well over a hundred apps, many of which are for jotting down ideas and such. But there is just something about a real Pen and paper. The story of this thing is extremely intriguing. When you first tear off the plasic wrap, there is a little piece of paper that reads: MOLESKINE is the legendary notebook that has held the inspirations and ideas of everyone from Van Gogh, Picasso and Hemingway to famed author, Bruce Chatwin. Artists, authors, and geniuses of all variety have long appreciated the simplicity and superior functionality of these notebooks. That's just the beginning of the story, but it makes a person feels like the little book is a conduit for extreme creativity. Ok, well at least I feel like that. Heck, I'm even a member of the Facebook group "I love my Moleskine Notebook". Check them out at http://tinyurl.com/broppk

My New Mobile Office Project

2009-01-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

I've learned so much by moving my "office" into our lobby, that I'm making it a habit. I will be placing myself in other areas throughout both buildings. I even bought a new little red desk with wheels.(God bless Ikea). You really see what going on when you are sitting where the action is! Next stop will probably be the customer service department. So watch out Marcie, Cassie, Leta, Amy, Amber, Kahler, Tara, and Michelle. I'm heading your way. David's my name and Company Culture is my game. See you girls upstairs.

Evaluation Day

2009-01-27T11:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a large group of our employees fill out an anonymous survey. The form that they filled out rated me on a scale of 1 to 10 in the following areas: integrity, generosity, friendliness, gratitude, attitude, perseverance, dedication, passion, motivation, excellence, optimism, communication, negotiation, networking, Self management, relationships and knowledge. I have a great, and HONEST staff. I asked them to rate me accurately AND be brutally straight-forward with there comments. they were. the result were very interesting, and after being a little defensive (in my mind) I completely embraced the whole survey. I did well and received mostly 9s and 10s on integrity, generosity, perseverance, passion, optimism, excellence,, negotiation and Knowledge. the rest averaged 8s, except the following: Relationships-6, friendliness-6 and Communication 7. Now the communication was expected because I can be a little ADD to say the least. (I'm working on it, OK). But HOLY CRAP! Friendliness and relationships. what the Heck! I pride myself on our company culture. Friendliness and relationships are everything. We literally wrote a book about it ( Brewing A Creative Culture). The worst part is I received some 2s and 3s and some 9s and 10s on the same traits. Which means that there are dramatically different perceptions within the company on friendliness and relationships. Well I have my marching orders. I feel like this was a great exercise and I'm glad I did it. Time to get more friendly to EVERYBODY and cultivate better relationships with EVERYBODY! I recommend this to anyone. You never know what you'll find out.

Cool Quote

2009-01-26T10:27:00.000-08:00

“This coffee falls into your stomach . . . sparks shoot all the way up to the brain. From that moment on, everything becomes agitated. Ideas quick-march into motion like battalions of a grand army to its legendary fighting ground, and the battle rages. Memories charge in, bright flags on high; the cavalry of metaphor deploys with a magnificent gallop; the artillery of logic rushes up with clattering wagons and cartridges; on imagination’s orders, sharpshooters sight and fire; forms and shapes and characters rear up; the paper is spread with ink—for the nightly labor begins and ends with torrents of this black water, as a battle opens and concludes with black powder.”

–Honore de Balzac

The Champs Of Dodgeball

2009-01-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

We started a monthly dodgeball game today at Dillanos. We value company culture here, it's a huge priority, but I had no idea how fun a simple game of dodgeball could be. Now, I tend to get a little competitive, so I usually stay out of company games, but I couldn't resist. I was the captain of one of the sides and we picked the team old school playground style one by one. There ended up being about 22 people on each side. When we said go I could tell that we were in for a real battle. We were playing 2 out of 3, but there was no need for the third game. My team kicked butt 2 games in a row. One of the guys on the other team was a champion in a dodgeball league. I didn't even know there were dodgeball leagues. He was tough, but our side got the job done. See that's my competitive side getting the best of me again. In reality the whole experience was a wonderful team building event and a great time for everybody. All this for a few bucks worth of balls and an hour of time. So get you're people together out of the job environment once in a while. You'll be amazed at the results. Pictured on the right is my winning roster. DJM

Dillanos Blog Launch

2009-01-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Dillanos new blog will officially launch tomorrow at dillanosblog.com. we will be talking about marketing, promotions and of course coffee. it will be updated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Check it out! DJM

The Page Of History Turns

2009-01-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

Waking up early today. it's inauguration day 2009. Barack will take office in a few hours and a new page will be turned in history. Although not aligned politically(at all) with the new Commander in Chief, I wish him the Best. On the positive side (which I'm trying to think about) there is a renewed hope in America, and we elected an African-American into the highest office in the land. Amazing. So I pray for our Leader and wish him total success. DJM

NWRBC

2009-01-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

The Northwest Regional Barista Champion is upon us. Located in Tacoma, WA, this year promises to be a good one. I checked out the scene last and the Temple theater is a perfect spot.
I got to see some old friends and some new ones too. what's up, Stephen, Nicholas, Rob, Roberto, Gianni, and Julian. Some Press has gotten messed up because of our flooding, (how could they pick natural disasters over professional baristas,what's wrong with those tv stations?) but overall we've gotten some good write-ups. the competition is today and tomorrow and it's gonna be sweet. see you at T-Town. http://tinyurl.com/6tx5tb

2008-12-27T13:41:00.000-08:00

check out this Video and

My post below. Its about

the Sony Vaio Z series

notebook computer.

2008-12-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

Sticking with Sony

2008-12-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

Well it's time to get a new laptop. I love my iPhone so of course I've been kicking around the idea of a Mac. Alot of my "cool" business associates have them and are very happy, make that obsessed, with them! I have had a Sony Vaio (the small James Bond style version)since the late nineties. I travel alot and it's portability is very convenient. I just recently come across a Vaio Z series laptop. I have to tell you its screen, weight, memory, battery life, and just plain awesome looks is just too much for me to switch to becoming a Mac addict. This beauty staring at me off the shelf at Best Buy is keeping me on the PC side of things. I am going to get it on Monday. At 3.4 lbs it is a mere half pound bigger than my my tiny Vaio TX series( with an 11 inch screen size, but way lighter than Most 13.1 inch screen size laptops. check it out at www.sonystyle.com . DJM

How I Get Things Done

2008-12-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

WHAT THE HECK IS RTM?
Note: this article first appeared as a chapter in the book "Brewing A Creative Culture" it"s my way of getting thing done!
My name is David J. Morris. I am a chronic procrastoholic.
There I said it! The ﬁrst step in realizing you have a problem is to admit it.
I was an “I’ll think about it tomorrow” kind of guy since grade school. If a job was to be done, don’t look to David. While I never openly admitted it, I was always looking for any angle to avoid action -- of any kind.
So what the heck is RTM? RTM stands for Right This Minute. Right is for doing the right thing and This Minute means now!
So you’re probably wondering, what in the world would a chronic procrastinator be doing as chief executive ofﬁcer of a fast growing coffee company? Even worse, who am I to be writing about the power of RTM?
I am hoping the lesson will wake up a few other procrastoholics into discovering what I learned just ﬁve years ago. I know you can use this information to transform your company and your life.
Before getting into this helpful new twist on that tired old subject known as “Time Management 101,” I need to point out that I’m not talking about shooting from the hip. Of course, we have all worked with people who rush to conclusions, then strike out without the right facts. That was me a couple of years ago. This can be extremely frustrating and unproductive.
Notice I said the right facts. And for most action, you don’t have to spend all day debating or contemplating them.
I am not talking about analysis paralysis here. We all know that no action is an action in itself. Indecision can lead to the death of your culture and ultimately your company.
So just make sure you have the meaning correct and relevant facts before dashing for the door like a wild person.
I know that most of us want to get all the facts and consider all the possible outcomes before taking an action. So get the facts and ask yourself these four simple questions. It won’t take more that a couple of minutes.
RTM Quick Questions:
What are the relevant facts --not all the facts?
How does this action ﬁt into our long-term plans?
Will this take us closer to our company’s goals?
What resources do I have to make this happen?

When used in the right way, RTM powers your every step and action like you wouldn’t believe without experiencing it yourself.
Move! Do something right now! Quit talking, reading and analyzing. It’s time to be proactive and make it happen.
I can promise you this, if you start to live this way and take RTM action, the results will blow you away. Of course it’s not a magic bullet -- there’s no such thing -- but it’s a company changing addition. Go for it!
Here’s a powerful example of RTM at work: In one of Dillanos’ marketing meetings, we decided to contact a local television personality and invite him to our new state-of-the-art roasting plant. This particular station was featuring a weekly segment where the anchor would go to different communities trying out other people’s jobs. One week he was a baker, the next he was a teacher, so we ﬁgured we would ask him to act as roast master, dressed in Dillanos’ attire during three 90-second news features. It is important to recognize that this promotional opportunity did not come from a member of the marketing team, but from Cassie, our executive assistant, who was eager to share an idea. At Dillanos, everyone’s opinion counts.
Now remember, the Paciﬁc Northwest is coffee country, with specialty coffee roasters around every corner. Starbucks and a host of other major brands are a stone’s throw from the television station. We had what many would consider to be a slim to none chance of getting a “Yes” to our request.
We all loved the idea and, just like everything else at Dillanos, we wanted it to happen just about as fast as the thought came to us. So our marketing director quickly pulled together some background information to drive to the television station to personally pitch the story, which in itself, demonstrated the power of RTM.
Meanwhile, I decided the way to make the offer irresistible was to create a customized label with the television personality’s name and picture on the signature blend. You know, it never hurts to play to the anchor’s ego a little. I enthusiastically “convinced” our very busy graphic artist, Paul, to take on an almost impossible task of developing a custom label. I knew, based on my own graphics experience, it could be done within an hour. So complete with a professional look, it was printed on glossy adhesive paper. We attached it to several one-pound bags and were ready to go.
Our marketing director was already en route to Seattle to make the pitch when I gave him a call.
“Lon, where are you?”, I asked. “On my way to the television station”, he said.
With a smile in my voice, I told him to turn around and come back. We wanted him to bring along the bags of beans with the custom label.
“That’s impossible. Paul hasn’t had the project more than an hour,” he said. “There’s design, printing…”
“Don’t forget RTM, Lon. Hurry up and get back here. You won’t believe this label!”
I bet you can guess how this story ended. Not only did the television anchor love the custom packaging, but also he was out at our roasting plant with his crew in less than a week.
The three-part series was posted in streaming video on www. dillanos.com within three weeks of the initial brainstorm.
Another example of RTM is something I like to call the “Bathroom Technique.” Here is how it works. I am at a point in a meeting when there is a decision to make a phone call relevant to the topic at hand. Without interrupting the meeting, I quietly excuse myself for a moment “to go to the bathroom,” and make that contact on my cell phone. In less than ﬁve minutes, I am able to return to the meeting with the response.
While you have to use good judgment when and when not to dash in and out of a meeting someone else is leading, more often than not, this technique will add to its value and outcome.
The national magazine Selling Power had heard about the Dillanos’ way of making things happen in sales. A bold quote in a feature story on Dillanos Coffee Roasters says, “At specialty coffee trade shows, attendees are surprised to get back to their hotel rooms and ﬁnd a follow-up email from a Dillanos’ salesperson they met less than two hours before.”
I guarantee you that nobody has more fun or gets new business from industry trade shows than Dillanos. We make a game out of contacting people the fastest. Our sales staff will have made three calls and be closing in on sealing a purchase agreement with a potential customer by the time the competition has fully proﬁ led and considered whom to contact on their prospect list.
For many of our sales reps, a computer linked to the Internet has become their lifeblood. They hop on the prospect’s website and proﬁle them in a few minute’s time before a planned meeting or minutes after the unexpected contact.
While nothing replaces face-to-face interaction, e-mail can begin forming a relationship you can build on.
I have to credit a big part of Dillanos’ growth to the power of RTM in sales. Quick response in every aspect of sales gives us a unique edge and instant evidence to customer prospects that they can count on us to take care of their needs now

Our salespeople are expected to carry their Blackberries at all times . If customers would like to meet, our salespeople can email their reply with a copy of their daily Outlook calendar, leaving it up the customer to ﬁll in a time slot that works for them.
I could ﬁll this entire book with examples of our staff living the power of RTM, but you get the idea.
Remember though, RTM isn’t always the answer. Annual budget planning, capital investments, acquisitions, employee performance reviews and a short list of other activities beneﬁ t from patiently investing time to ensure a quality outcome.
Notice, I said short list.
Chasing after and getting new customers, saving those about to leave and just about every other daily action can and should be turned into an adventure in making big things happen in little time.
I would rather see our staff enthusiastically grab onto what they perceive to be the right facts, then aborting if it turns out to be the wrong direction, versus losing an opportunity over indecision and inaction. At least they are doing something and with guidance
and experience, they’ll hit the nail on the head nine times out of ten.
I bet you didn’t know that airplanes ﬂy off exact course over ninety percent of the time. That’s right. Only a small percentage of the time is the plane exactly on course. If a pilot really worried about being exact, they would never leave the ground.
Too often we regret having taken the wrong action when the problem can be corrected in minutes, just by using RTM. Big deal, you made the wrong decision. Buck up and head in the right direction.
Leave your ego at the door and decide to undo the damage as quickly as you helped create it. How many of us have spent minutes coming up with an idea and then defend it for hours, regardless of its merits.

Grab onto the power of RTM and soon you will ﬁ nd those around you either jump on board or are soon left behind. Since our humble beginnings, one of the things that has differentiated Dillanos from the other companies in our industry is our culture of acting on every assignment as though it is a grand adventure, a game of beat-the-clock that none of us would live without.
Remember, if saying “I’m not sure” is death then saying, “Let’s hold off” is suicide. Follow the plan -- then do it “Right This Minute.

Jott For iPhone

2008-12-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take the time today to talk about Jott. Jott is an application that I have been using on my iPhone. I'm not sure it's the same company, but I remember a Jott app from the days when I used a Palm Pilot. It was a Handwriting recognition progran that worked better that the standard one included in the device. I was re-introduced to this new version of Jott from Timothy Ferris, author of "The four hour work week". He has talked about it's functionality and ease of use on his blog several times.
Jott is a free app from the iTunes app store. There is a paid upgrade version, but this free one has been working great for me. Essentially it's a voice to text program but the way you use it is awesome. I use it to update my tweets on twitter, my status on Facebook, and to create goals and notes with my voice. It then translates those to text and automatically posts them online and in my iPhone. I spoke at lenght about the iPhone in my last post, but it's apps like this that make it even more useful AND fun!! I think they have versions for other phone also so check it out and let me know how it works for you. I've included a short video tutorial that show the basic list functionality of Jott below. my next blog will be a guest writer named Lon LaFlamme. Lon and I wrote a book together Called "Brewing a hot Brand" available at Amazon of course. His topic will be about the importance of branding in this economy. CM

2008-12-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

2008-12-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

2008-12-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

2008-12-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

So here I am in Hawaii, at our Condo on the Big Island. I'm going back tomorrow and I'm not one bit depressed. In fact I'm excited. the weather is like 38 degrees at home, and its a beautiful 82 degrees here, but I'm totally content. I should probably explain. You see, I came here 3 weeks ago a normal entrepreneur and I'm leaving as an IPhone psycho!! I am really having fun with it. I am so amazed at the huge lead Apple has in the phone department. The Blackberry Storm came out 2 weeks ago and it's basically a joke. I have been a huge BB supporter for several years but come on RIM, stick to what you do best. Phones with little qwerty keyboard geared toward hardcore business people. Unfortunately while you were "consumerising" your stuff. Apple took what was originally a phone for consumers and Mac-addicts, and turned it , into literally the best phone for all mankind. The apps are fantastic, the form factor is oh so tight, the screen, the buttons, the accessories, EVERYTHING is PERFECT. Dramatic? yes, but oh so very true. I Told you I was a psycho. I'm in love with this darn little pile of metal, plastic and computer chips. there, I said it! and I don't care who knows. next time we can talk about some of my other new, or fairly new, loves. did someone say Facebook, Twitter, or The Flip?

2008-12-04T11:32:00.000-08:00