World Tea Conference & Expo 2021

                                                  Why Attend Tea Business Boot Camp:
I cannot tell you how many successful Alumni have told me that they attended Tea Business Boot Camp and that they still remember the speakers and useful information that they got from attending. Tea Business Boot Camp lays down the basics and must-have information for all new businesses. Learning from experienced Tea Luminaries gives you an opportunity to ask questions and learn from their mistakes and successes. Most of the students make a new friend or two during the sessions.
Strong knowledge of the tea leaf is most helpful during Boot Camp. Boot Camp is not the place to learn about tea appreciation or the leaf itself but the Business of tea.
We strongly encourage the completion of World Tea Academy 1 & 2 before taking this course or having a general knowledge of tea through reading The Tea Companion by Jane Pettigrew or Modern Tea by Lisa Bolt Richardson or Tea Lover’s Treasury by James Norwood Pratt.

8:05 am to 8:15 am Opening Remarks by Tim Smith -- Emcee

8:15 am to 9:15 am Standing Out From the Crowd. Key Questions to Ask Yourself When Building Your Brand -with Darren Hartford
Building your brand is more than just creating a logo. Your brand strategy should reflect and reinforce your business strategy. If you ask the right questions as you develop your brand, it can help you keep your entire business model on track, drive name recognition, strengthen customer loyalty and increase sales. This session will be a springboard to your World Tea Expo and Bootcamp experience, as a well-defined brand strategy will reflect and shape--your pricing, the people you hire, the products you offer, how you advertise, the layout of your store, even how you treat your customers!
Key Questions/Concepts as you develop your brand
1. How do you describe your business? Tell me a story...
2. Who is your Ideal Customer? Who needs to know your story...
3. How does your business meet your customer needs/wants? Draw a picture...
4. Own it.

9:25 am to 10:25 am Pricing Your Products for Profit & Financial Controls to Keep Those Profits with Tim Smith
You are in business to make money. Pricing your products and services is one of the most important decisions you make affecting your sales and income. And you need to have a way to track that income and your expenses to keep score of your progress and profits. This session will introduce you to some of the key considerations and tools to help make your business successful.
1. How to approach setting prices
2. Monitoring and adjusting prices
3. Financial fundamentals every small business must focus on
4. Critical internal controls and practices

10:35 am to 11:35 am Stress-Free Staffing!  Is that possible?  with Kevin Christiansen
Like an exceptional cup of tea, a stress-free employment culture doesn’t just happen, it’s crafted through careful planning and skillful execution. Are you looking to create rave reviews from customers and employees? Accomplishing this requires a plan to meet the needs of your company, customer and staff. A plan isn’t enough. As people change so do the rules of creating a satisfying workplace. Together, we’ll look at a few best practices to implementing your workforce management strategy. Beware, this is more art than science. Acknowledging and embracing the complexity of relationships is the entrepreneurial joy that reduces employer stress.
Key Questions:
Is there an ideal staff size?
How do I maximize ROI per staff member?
What’s the magic wand of employee retention?
 
11:35 am to 12:45 pm long break for lunch
 
12:45 pm to 1:45 pm Art and Science of Trend Spotting in the Tea Industry with Katherine Kern
In this interactive session, you'll learn how to identify trends and capitalize on the ones that are right for your business, using a data-driven approach. Part art, part science, we will share real-world successes and failures from our own experience of over 15 years in the tea industry.
Objectives
1. Learn where to spot and how to track trends, along with examples of resources available to you.
2. Hear ideas on how to determine the trends that are right for your business.
3. Learn practical ways to test and measure which trends will have the most impact.
 
1:55 pm to 2:55 pm Applications and Equipment that Fit Your Business Today and in the Future with Richard Sheffield
Applications and Equipment that Fit Your Business Today and in the Future. In this session, we will discuss how to set up the logistical systems behind operating your tea business such as point of sale, inventory management, equipment purchases as you start out and as you grow, and other helpful applications that supporting sales in various different channels such as brick and mortar, e-commerce and wholesale.

 3:05 pm to 4:05 pm Vendor Offenders: How Not to Be a Vendor Offender with Jason Walker
Understanding how to choose and work with tea vendors can seem confusing at first, but this course helps you uncover vendor capabilities and vendor qualifications you need while also learning how to best communicate with your vendor to tackle your supply chain challenges
Outline
1. Understanding your vendor: capabilities, offerings, and service standards
2. Know what you want: talking about the specs, MOQ and details of procuring tea
3. Know what you need: documentation and QA
4. Know how you're going to get your tea: SOPs for transactions, shipping and payment
 
4:05 pm to 5:00 pm Group Q & A:
Everyone has had all day to digest the information presented and now is when the questions start coming to the surface.  This is your chance to ask those questions.  All the speakers will be there for the Q & A

Tea Mixology 101 -- Expand your audience by blending tea and spirits. Crafting new experiences to entice your customers with tea-infused options.

Takeaways: Learn how to mix tea with spirits/learning the terminology of the trade/use this platform to recruit a new customer base.

Learn culinary tricks that turn ordinary recipes into tea-infused meals, snacks & desserts. These simple methods can elevate your menu into a true culinary experience.  A new way to look at tea in your pantry.  

Takeaways: Simple ways to create tea-infused food/ Perfect pairings/Simple go-to recipes.

World Tea is looking for new and upcoming tea educators with the necessary qualifications to speak at the next World Tea Expo on March 21 - 23, 2022 in Las Vegas, NV.  This is the first year that we have offered potential speakers the opportunity to make a pitch in person.  Everyone will be given 8 minutes to present their topic idea and why it is current and why you are qualified to speak on the topic, then you will receive feedback. Even if we like your topic you will still need to submit in the call for speakers and pass a review by the Education Committee but this will give us a chance to meet you in person which should be very helpful in the selection process.
Aaron Kiel, editor for World Tea News, with also be there from 1 to 2 pm and be available to hear story ideas and pitches for articles.