Jeff Lincoln traveled from California to New Jersey to attend a wedding where he met the love of his life. He promptly finished his MBA and returned to marry her and start a successful coffee business. Thirty years later, his passion for coffee is stronger than ever. COVID-19 has forced changes, but as one of the Luckiest People in the World, Jeff is resilient, finding new avenues to continue in business. Learn about Jeff's commitment to coffee and community on this episode. Visit www.theluckiestguyintheworld.com for info on how you can be one of The Luckiest People in the World, too.
www.passeroscoffee.com
Transcription
Diane Dayton 0:02
This is changing the rules, a podcast about designing the life you want to live, hosted by KC Dempster and Ray Loewe, the luckiest guy in the world.
KC Dempster 0:13
Good morning, everybody. This is Changing the Rules. I'm your one of your co hosts, KC Dempster and Ray Loewe did make it in spite of what the traffic was trying to do to him this morning. And we like to bring you this podcast, because we believe that we're given rules from the day we're born. And most of the time when we're young, they're, they're well intended. They're meant to keep us safe. They're meant to teach us how to live in society successfully. But as we get older, sometimes they become more restrictive to what we want to do. And so we believe that there are a group of people in the world called the luckiest people in the world. And one of the things that makes them lucky is that they've learned to adjust the rules or change Change them to fit what they
Ray Loewe 1:02
Or break them even.
KC Dempster 1:04
That was Ray, and he's breaking the rules already.
So at any rate, we believe that we need to change the rules sometimes to fit what we need to do so that we can be successful. And every now and then I remind people, we're not talking about laws. We're talking about rules, which are there is a difference. And so I am now going to introduce you to Ray Loewe, the self proclaimed luckiest guy,
Ray Loewe 1:33
right, you know, I hate that. So it's my turn now, right? Yes. Okay, so the luckiest people in the world are a group of people that I've been tracking for most of my adult life. Okay. And we're sitting here in a studio with a bunch of them today. So I'm kind of like, there's a glow that's emanating through the whole studio. But but the luckiest people in the world I decided were people that you know, always had this kind of aura about them, you know, they work like like dogs, and they're successful, but they seem to know how to play too. And they've got good balance in their life. And they have smiles on their face most of the time. And I decided a while ago that this was the kind of person that I wanted to hang out with.
And in fact, this was the kind of person I wanted to be. So I started looking at them and I'm a slow learner. It took me 45 years to get through this. But But I'm almost there now. And, and what I decided is that the luckiest people in the world are people who design their own lives. They personally are responsible for their own lives, and then they kind of step into it and they live them to the fullest. And that's the biggest thing that distinguishes them from everybody else. Now, we've got a guest this morning, and I'm going to throw in two rulesets two mindsets that I think he demonstrates over all the others. One of them is he certainly deals with rules. Well, and he deals with tradition. Well, and he deals with business interruptions. Well, I guess. And and the other thing that's really important is that he gives back. And and these are two of the traits that I think luckiest people in the world exhibit. So we're going to take a very, very short break just to let everybody know what channel they're listening to over here, and then we're going to come back and introduce Jeff Lincoln.
Diane Dayton 3:28
You're listening to changing the rules with KC Dempster and Ray Loewe the luckiest guy in the world. We will be right back with more exciting information.
KC Dempster 3:37
Welcome back, everybody. And we are just about to make an interesting introduction and to do that we have a guest introduction person, Kris Parsons, our PR expert and she would like to introduce you to our guest today.
Kris Parsons 3:51
Sure. I love coming on the show. It's just fun. We are are all smiling. And it's and it's great. It's it's exciting and it is fun, and I actually I'm one of the luckiest people in the world I've been told so you have a mug mug. I have a mug to prove it. So I'm excited to introduce this. This new one. Jeff Lincoln, Jeff Lincoln, it actually began as a love story. Lincoln in 1988, Jeff Lincoln fell in love with Linda Passero. Now Linda Lincoln. And that's when he began writing his coffee shop business plan. And of course, we can guess what's the name of the coffee? Passero coffee? So, Jeff, I I'd like you to tell us a little bit about how your business started and, and your mission and how you went from a lovestruck business plan to a three major locations in the Greater Philadelphia area and what your life's like and your mission and what's going on with the changes going on now. Welcome.
Jeff Lincoln 4:50
Well, it's great to be here guys. Thanks for inviting me. And so it's always fun to talk about. Not only my love story, but the business I grew up and was educated out in Northern California. And in fact was getting my masters of business out there when I met my wife, actually in a church she loves that story was actually at my brother's wedding in Haddonfield NJ. And we literally we walked up and down the island. I fit fell head over heels for telogen say that right now. That's very, very much fact.
KC Dempster 5:28
That's probably the hope of every bridesmaid that she's going to meet her husband at that wedding.
Jeff Lincoln 5:33
Yeah, again, love at first sight for me, certainly. And so I finished getting my degree and I wanted to start a business after I graduated and long story short, came up with a coffee that had started to percolate out in California, but when I came out to visit Philadelphia area, it had not taken hold yet. And so when I moved out, the summer of 1990 mediately again, I had my business plan which I had written in business school and started looking for a location. The first one was down in the Suburban train station in the middle of Philadelphia. And it was a success literally from day one, and grew the business. And, you know, it's it's been it's been a pleasure I, I kind of fell in love with this business. For many aspects. It's perfectly suited for me because I really enjoy people. And enjoy giving back to communities and putting smiles on people's faces. I hope you enjoy coffee, too. I am a coffee.
Ray Loewe 6:40
So I have I have two real important questions. So who caught the garter and who caught the bouquet at this?
Jeff Lincoln 6:47
Well, I don't think either of us did, actually. But again, it was it was pretty much written in stone from then on.
Ray Loewe 6:53
So that gets rid of some myths, doesn't it?
Jeff Lincoln 6:55
Yeah, right. Yeah.
Ray Loewe 6:57
Okay, so So first of all, Jeff I think one of the things that you found recently is your hand you're in the midst of changing rules whether you like it or not. So one day we had coffee shops and one day we had people going into coffee shops to buy coffee and they were located in offices and stores in great locations and then the next day all of a sudden people weren't coming to their offices. Okay. So What went through your mind over here and and how did you figure you have to change in order to make things continue to work?
Jeff Lincoln 7:36
Well, it's still a really an ongoing because we're obviously still in this and nobody knows when the the end of this is or what the end might even look like. So I'm taking this in and trying to roll with it as it comes because certainly when we were closed down, beginning of March, like everybody in the Center City Philadelphia, let alone the state at That point we kind of thought it was a two three week close. Here we are five months later and and still, I've got one of my shops reopened, but two are closed and I really do not know exactly when they'll reopen, I would say fall. But who knows? It really depends on what the city of Philadelphia and obviously flattening the curve here and just bringing down the numbers so people can return to their offices, at least in some numbers so we can reopen and serve our customers. Because if they're not there, it makes no sense to be open.
Ray Loewe 8:32
Yeah, and but the the need for coffee and the desire for coffee hasn't changed. I mean, you look at the lines at these inferior places like DD and places like that, but but and they're booming. Okay, so coffee goes on and one of the things that what's happening with roasting your own coffee as part of your business plan now going forward and everything that happened
Jeff Lincoln 8:57
well, without a doubt, we've been roasting You know, and we primarily do organic and Fairtrade coffees. And we've been doing that for many, many years. And so kind of our shift is certainly more people are at home working. So we've developed our online business for selling beans, we always had a web page. But that was really just, you know, web face as, we would call it. And now we've really in the last three months pushed to that side of our business and we're pushing to grow that we need to get more, you know, our product in front of more and more people in sell online so they can, you know, brew their own at home and enjoy Passero's You know, while they're working in their own, you know, back studios. The other side of it is the wholesale business. We've always had a few wholesale accounts being restaurants and other coffee shops in the Philadelphia area. And without a doubt over the last two months, I've been what I call planting seeds, because a lot of the retailers that I'm speaking with in restaurants that I'm speaking with, currently aren't open or they're only partially open and so they're kind of in the same boat but I'm Trying to really promote and build that wholesale business, which, you know, will be another leg to stand on from a business standpoint going forward
KC Dempster 10:08
so quickly so that people can find you. What is your website address to purchase coffee?
Jeff Lincoln 10:14
Passeroscoffee.com
Ray Loewe 10:16
Oh, that's, that's original.
Jeff Lincoln 10:19
We want to keep it simple guy.
Kris Parsons 10:20
Gotta get the name out there all the time, Passeros.
Ray Loewe 10:22
Okay, so I want to get into this giving back thing, but I want to hold that for a little bit because I want to talk about roasting coffee and I want to talk about the whole coffee experience here. You were on one of our coffee hours that we do on a Thursday and add you were a big hit by the way. Yes, people love that. Well, because, you know, basically Jeff came on and he showed us how he does coffee when he is on vacation. Because obviously when he's working, he has coffee done for him. Right. And I know I'm a fairly good sized coffee drinker, I probably drink six, seven cups a day I've had, I've had three already this morning.
Jeff Lincoln 11:05
That's why I like you so much.
Ray Loewe 11:06
And I don't know that I'm a gourmet, per se, although we did have an experience in Hawaii years ago where I roasted my own coffee and that was that was kind of an interesting experience in and of itself. But let's talk a little bit about this whole aura of coffee the way you should brew it. Maybe some tips about what not what to do what not to do. And then let's particularly talk about Black Dog blend just because
Kris Parsons 11:35
he likes the name
Jeff Lincoln 11:37
Well, you know, the idea is the bottom line to anything is enjoying it. And and so I'm I could easily be a coffee snob but I'm not I don't want anybody to come into any of our retail locations and feel put off because of the aura of if you don't know what you're doing here, you know, if you don't know what you want, you shouldn't be here. We're a welcoming shop, all of ours and I mean Customer service is really the key to our our success, love coffee, but reality is, I just want people to enjoy what they're doing. So if they're adding cream and sugar, knock yourself out if they want to put vanilla in or they want flavored coffee, great, my hope is that you taste what you're drinking. And when you are really thinking about what you're drinking, you're want a higher quality, a better tasting cup, you know, day in and day out and so you'll slowly and surely move towards a better roasted a more single origin, origin type of coffee from a specific country. And again, we are we focus on organic and Fairtrade because we think it's important for the local communities. So, my probably number one tip if you're making your coffee at home, go by a grinder. fresh ground coffee has so much more flavor left in the cup. versus if you pre grind it. Obviously if you use it in Immediately or even over the first week, that that's, that's fine. But if you're keeping that ground coffee for more than a week, you're losing flavor. Every time you smell the coffee in your kitchen, out of that bag, that's flavor that's disappearing. So I, you know, it's a little more of a hassle. But, again, take care of yourself, you're focusing on something very positive, it's a great way to start the day, or get on with the afternoon. And so, you know, we've all learned how to adjust a little bit and focus on ourselves maybe just a little more. And, and having a coffee routine in the morning, I think is a great way to, you know, take care of yourself and think about yourself and start the day off.
Ray Loewe 13:37
Especially now. Coffee can put you in a great mood, you know, and, and there is nothing I can't define a satisfying cup of coffee, but I know when I have one. Yeah. And I remember back in the supermarket, the old A&P, I think was eight o'clock blend, something like that. And it was the grinding of the beans. That was the whole aura. Oh yeah. I was
KC Dempster 13:59
I would Have to help my mom unpack the groceries and I would take that I wanted to be the one with the coffee and I would just be going inhaling it. And one of the things that came out on our coffee call that surprised some people is that you should not keep your coffee in the refrigerator.
Jeff Lincoln 14:16
Right? Yeah, that's kind of a misnomer. A lot of people say you know, freezer refrigerator. Basically, it should be an airtight container. And so again, you're trying to trap or keep those flavors in the in the beans themselves. Basically, if you were packing something for months on a time, you can put it in the fridge or freezer but taking it in and out of the refrigerator, adds moisture, and that's not a good thing for freshness.
Ray Loewe 14:42
Okay, so once you grind it, okay, and you have any recommendations on grinders in terms of
Jeff Lincoln 14:48
Well, there's two basic ones one's called a brewer and that's a higher end a little more expensive and that's more of a consistent there's also the the blade which is a less expensive type of grinder so you got to figure that out. Even the blade one is a huge step in the right direction towards a fresher cup of coffee a coffee that's got more right you know you don't you don't have to have all the high end equipment you know the idea is you take baby steps and and as you get more addicted to this then you can you know it's a yellow brick road I call it you can really go down the rabbit hole and get really crazy on it. And I think that's great, but for most of us, you don't have the time you know, you know, just just focus on trying to consistently make a coffee that you enjoy,
Ray Loewe 15:34
What is the type of Brewer of choice?
Jeff Lincoln 15:37
Again, most people do what's kind of like a rendition on a Mr. Coffee. It's it's got a paper filter, and those are fine and a lot of people ask, Well, how much you know how much coffee you're doing to water. My recommendation for everybody because everybody's got a different palate, right? Everybody's got a different you know what they really like so, you know, write down how much you're using. taste your coffee that morning or that day. Go, that was good, but I would like a little more I'd like a little less and then adjust it and then come up with how many you know how much beans you're using for your Brewer. And then and then it's locked in once you once you hit it but just kind of keep track of what you're you're tasting and then adjust the amount of beans either plus or minus. And then you've got your own formula. So for me to tell you and and you know, the recommendation to me, just just trial and error and taste, taste taste.
Ray Loewe 16:28
Yeah. Now the whole aura of coffee drinking I remember when Starbucks kind of came into the forefront over here, and all of a sudden you went from $1 cup of coffee at the diner to a $5 cup of coffee, and we loved paying for it. Okay, so so i think i think your whole point is if we can't get to the coffee shop today, okay. Then turn the coffee into an experience and get out the grinder and get out the beans and let's talk about beans for a minute, Because I pulled this off your website and and we had things like organic black gold blend and then we have Sulawesi and and we have 10s Tanzanian and Sumatran you know how do you decide where you're going to get your coffee or do you get what's on sale?
Jeff Lincoln 17:21
No, no. Again our focus is to try online on our website we have at least 15 different coffees and most of them are single origin from a specific farm at a you know, from a specific country. And my hope and Frank who's our roaster who's just amazing. His objective is to try to get a different flavor profile so that you know Sulawesi which is an Indonesian coffee has a wonderful chocolatey smoothness to it, the the Tanzania and again, two of my favorite coffees you pick there, that one's got more of a plum fruity finish to it. So each coffee and we have descriptions of course have different flavor profiles and the ideas you can you know, test around taste different ones and go boy, this is the one I like. And so you can then kind of concentrate on coffees that are similar like that.
Ray Loewe 18:12
Cool. Well, unfortunately we're getting near the end of our time already Time flies when we're having fun and, and we're going to skip our break. Okay, I'm because I want to talk a little bit about your corporate philosophy of getting giving back. Because I think it's one of the traits of the luckiest people in the world. They, they, they get into the community that they serve. So tell us a little bit about what you do.
Jeff Lincoln 18:36
Well, growing up in California, I remember a professor of mine saying you know, if you're making money from a community, you should be giving back and that just stuck with me so literally from day one at Passeros and it was pretty easy day one because we don't make any money. To say that we you know, Passeros for these 30 plus years now has given percent of our profits to nonprofit organizations in the community as well as national ones. And it's a great thrilled. Anytime someone comes up and goes, Hey, I'm doing the AIDS Walk, will you sponsor me? Hey, you know, our churches doing a fundraiser? And can you donate a coffee basket? Or we're doing a you know, whatever it happens to be? Yes, yes, yes. Is the answer from us because this is part of what we do it not only you know, some of my staff members are part of different great nonprofit organization, we support them through that. And at the end of the year, there's money leftover, we write a check and send it off to girls and boys club to national defense. You know, there's a lot of organizations we love and it's just again, what goes around comes around, you want to support people who are less fortunate.
Ray Loewe 19:49
Okay, so Jeff Lincoln, Passeros Coffee. Thank you for being with us. And obviously, I think our listeners can see right away that Jeff is one of the luckiest people in the world. Well, you know, you He does everything he changes the rules to he deals with the rules. He figures out what his plan is going to be, and he's going to make it happen. And then the giving back part is a really important part too. And, Casey, why don't you take a minute and sum up and
KC Dempster 20:16
well, I just want to remind everybody that they can learn more about the luckiest people in the world by going to our website, which, surprisingly, is called theluckiestpeopleintheworld.com. And you can put the www in the front if you want to, but I don't think you have to. And this is changing the rules. And we've got lots of information available for everybody on how they can become one of the luckiest people in the world as well. So tune in next week, when we have another exciting guests and take care of take care and wash your hands and wear your mask.
Ray Loewe 20:51
Yeah, everybody have a great week. Take care.
Diane Dayton 20:53
Thank you for listening to Changing the Rules, a podcast designed to help you live your life the way you want. give you what you need to make it happen. Join us in two weeks for our next exciting topics on Changing the Rules with KC Dempster and Ray Loewe the luckiest guy in the world.