I’m struggling with balancing family, work, synagogue. I’m working hard to train new employees so that I can achieve that balance of life. I’m happy and I remember to Make Every Day a Friday, but I struggle with the challenge of finding a silver lining everywhere. I often feel an urgent need to change and […]
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If you live in a jungle…
“If you live in a jungle, you’d better act like an animal.” My father never lived in a jungle. Nor did he ever live in a truly rough neighborhood. But he understood how important it was to fit into your surroundings. Adapting allows you to survive and thrive socially and economically. The Wall Street Journal […]
What the heck do you do?
Pain. Pure pain. Recently, one of my favorite employees, my coffee roaster, left Chazzano Coffee to live a calm happy life in another state. Before she left, I wrote a job description to teach her about all of the crazy roles that she has held. While looking for someone to replace her, it was also […]
The Art of the Happy Mistake
There are times that my mind is in a dozen places at one time. I’m working on social media, writing a few books, sourcing green coffee beans, working on accounting, answering e-mails and also…roasting coffee. I’m busy helping a customer and I forget that I’m roasting coffee and to my dismay, the temperature of the beans […]
Showing Up and Sacrifice
The preacher at my nephew’s wedding talked about two ingredients for a successful marriage: Showing up and Sacrifice. He taught my nephew and his new wife that one needs to show up in their marriage. When one spouse has difficulties, don’t say: “You figure it out. And when you figure it out, then come back […]
Hiring Employees Who Will Grow Your Life and Business
Here’s a recent job description for prospective Chazzano Coffee associates that I posted on a social media site: “Chazzano Coffee Roasters is hiring! We’re looking for individuals who are passionate about coffee, love to learn, have great interpersonal skills, and who love their life.” That’s it. There’s no need for more information. We have a […]
The Bearded Coffee Cantor
If you’re a regular customer in our cafe in Ferndale and you’ve been around for the last two weeks, you may have noticed quite a bit of hair forming on my usually clean shaven face. There are three reasons for this new development. Exodus from Egypt to Mourning: From the second day of Passover […]
Pulling Your Own Weight
The Dream of Pull-ups I am not embarrassed to say that my fantasy life is heavily influenced by two television shows: Arrow and American Ninja Warrior. The star of Arrow and the contestants on American Ninja Warrior have incredible upper body strength and agility. They are not just bodybuilders, they are at their absolute highest […]
Anyone here? Hello? Learn from awful customer service.
My wife and I occasionally treat ourselves to a date night and visit a local restaurant or bar. On one night recently, we went to a restaurant at 7:30 p.m. that advertises that they are open until 9pm. With great anticipation, and a free hour without the kids, we walked in and no one said […]
Pascal’s Wager and Business Ethics
When business ethics is discussed, I immediately think about Pascal’s Wager. The 17th century philosopher, Blaise Pascal, is famous for his wager about the existence of G-d. With so many theologians before him attempting to prove the existence of G-d, Pascal came up with the Wager. Here is a summary: If you wager that G-d […]
