How To Rewrite The Owner's Manual

This Sunday Morning Joe post directly relates to the above photo. Before you continue reading, please take another look.

This was our recent meal at VeloCafè, a relatively new coffee shop here in La Seu d’Urgell and owned and operated by our friend, Ferran.

On this day, Lisa and I grabbed the last open table. This is the norm.

Ferran is an avid cyclist. Everyone is welcome in his place. But, as soon as you walk in, you know and feel that Velocafè was built for cyclists. The floors accommodate cycling cleats. The hooks on the wall — inside the cafè — give riders a place to hang their bikes. The oversize bathrooms double as locker rooms for athletes who need a place to change.

Then, there is the coffee. Ferran prides himself on every aspect of excellent coffee. Aromas, patience, quality, and presentation uniquely blend together to create the one moment in the middle of a ride in which there is no hurry to finish.

Who appears to appreciate this moment the most? The 40 plus professional cyclists who live nearby in the Principality of Andorra, a few who are preparing for the Tour de France which begins in just a few weeks. These cyclists have already taken in a mountain climb or two on their bikes before their fast-paced ride down to La Seu for their mid-ride coffee break.

In this moment, the cyclists are hardly elite athletes trying to perfect their peak performance technique, bodies, and mindsets. Donned in their skin-tight, sponsor-clad lycra uniforms, they are just people — stretching out the minutes, sipping coffee, playing with the small children who have hero-worship in their eyes, and… checking their Instagram feeds. They are content. Ferran is content.

Step back for a moment and consider the bigger picture. You can’t run a coffee shop based on a few pro cyclists as your clientele. However, you can create something outstanding when you serve to us *what matters most to you.*

Which brings me back to the photo. Here are my three observations about the photo, with one a more direct observation about Velocafè:

The Reflection of a Universal Light

The Velocafè logo looks as if it is burned into the wooden table. However, the sunlight is simply reflecting the image through the logo on the front window and on to the table.

Simple and clean, which not only aligns with the color, shape, and vibe of Ferran’s cafe, but also the style and spirit in which every guest consumes their coffee, croissant, and especially their time.

Open Space

Everything about the space in Velocafè encourages room to grow an idea and scale an operation. Space for more tables. Space on the tables. Space on the hand-made wooden trays on which food and drinks are served.

Nearly every time we arrive, Velocafè is full but somehow there is one open table that seems to be waiting for us. I ask Ferran how he feels the business is going. He shares his thoughts about growth, saying “Slow is better. When it is slow, I learn. Then, I understand. Then, I do better.”

To fill space and expand capacity would signal a desire for more, which ultimately would demand more speed which equals less time. Speed is great for bike races and training, but would fail to serve what matters most to Ferran.

The work

What the photo does not reveal is that Velocafè is a one-person shop, which is not uncommon in many businesses here in La Seu d’Urgell. Velocafè has been open 6 days per week for seven months. Never has there been a second employee. It is on Ferran to make this work… or there is no Velocafè.

People here in La Seu d’Urgell do not launch a business with the intent to hang out on a beach while someone else runs “the shop.” The goal is not to set one’s self up for a life elsewhere by way of a hand-off. People don’t grow what’s important to them to cast it off into the hands of others.

An owner does the work because the work matters to the owner.

Not unlike the cyclists.

Not unlike what matters most to you.

With gratitude,

Joe

Ps — Do you know somebody that would benefit from reading this post? Consider sharing How To Rewrite The Owner’s Manual using THIS LINK and the hashtag #WhatMattersMost

And, if reading this post makes you want to come drink cafe con leches with me in here La Seu d’Urgell, just message me here on LinkedIn, in the comments, or at [email protected] and I’ll tell you how we can make this happen.

Hi, I’m Joe, the owner of 5 With Joe Performance Coaching. My clients are leaders, organizations, and teams who utilize my Olympic Gold Medal performance strategies and 40 years of navigating whitewater river rapids to streamline decision making and actions when engaged in complicated river currents of business and life.

The best way to interact with me is through Sunday Morning Joe, my weekly newsletter that explores the art of improving performance, overcoming challenge, and aligning with purpose for Sunday readers in search of more depth and motivation. Subscribe HERE for free.