Wine snob, coffee snob, what kind of snob are you?

I confess: I’m a total coffee snob.

It’s gotten so bad that I can’t even stomach gas station or diner-type coffee anymore. Mediocre. Drinkable, maybe. But completely not worth it.

Now, I go all out.

Organic, fair-trade beans. Organic half and half. I even use non-bleached filters (because bleach is bad!).

I have a small, hand-crank burr grinder. The handle is wood. The burr and top are a pounded metal. The glass container at the bottom is a small mason jar.

And I bought something called a Chemex – it’s a beautifully simple glass carafe. I carefully fold and place a non-bleached filter in the top, add those organic, fair-trade, hand-ground beans, and slowly pour in filtered, boiling water. The water gently washes over the grounds and fills the carafe.

This whole process takes at least 20 minutes each morning. And there’s no plastic to be seen (because plastic is also bad!)

The result?

A beautifully perfect cup of coffee totally worth the wait and effort. Every single time.

Except when I get impatient and forget to fold the filter carefully. Or I pour the boiling water too fast. Then the filter bottom gives up the ghost and the grounds fall into the coffee.

Doh! Coffee ruined.

The lesson here?

If I follow the system, use the process, and do it with care, I get an awesome result.

If I skip steps, hurry, and get impatient, then my coffee is ruined.

The same can true for everything in your business:

• Forgetting to send hand-written thank you notes every single week
• Ignoring your billing and invoicing
• Letting “stuff” pile up
• Not following up when you said you would
• Treating clients and customers like interruptions and problems rather than the gift that they are
• Giving referrals with no expectation – just for the pleasure of being a resource
• Continually being curious about how you add value to your clients and customers each and every day
• Investing in your own education and learning – to be a better partner, boss, co-worker, and networker.

My new book reveals many of these crucial system details and includes downloadable worksheets. The whole point of focusing on the systems is how improving yourself and the experience your clients have with you makes your business much more successful (and profitable).

Just like taking care in making my morning coffee – the details matter (and the extra time and care are worth it).

Sincerely,

Angie

P.S. No Kindle? No problem. Amazon provides a free download of an electronic reader that allows you to download and read any Kindle book right on your computer. Sweet!