Finding Joy in Every Season of Work: Part II - Ep# 441

Cat & Cloud Podcast

Cat & Cloud

Education

4.8 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Finding Joy in Every Season of Work: Part II – Ep #441 Summary In part two of this conversation on finding joy in every season of work, the team (Chris, Jared and Casey) digs deeper into the shift from barista life into leadership, ownership, and building something that lasts. Chris and Jared reflect on how early work experiences, both inspiring and dysfunctional, shaped the kinds of leaders they wanted to become and reinforced the importance of community, fun, and genuine human connection in coffee. The episode explores how easy it is for owners and leaders to lose sight of the original passion that got them started, especially under the pressure of business realities, but argues that joy can still be created intentionally through trust, teamwork, better systems, gratitude, and a commitment to improving the experience for both staff, guests and for yourself. Ultimately, it’s a conversation about staying connected to purpose, remembering where you came from, having gratitude, and building workplaces where success and joy are not enemies. Chapters 00:00 Welcome Back: Finding Joy in Every Season (Part 2) 4:00 The Transition from Barista to Leadership 11:00 Early Lessons from Tough Work Environments 20:00 Creating Culture Through Energy and Hospitality 30:00 When Business Pressure Steals the Joy 36:30 In a Tough Season of Business Ownership, Where to Next? 41:00 Where Did You Come From? Where Did You Go? 46:45 What Still Fires Us Up Today Cat & Cloud: Instagram www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/ Webstore www.catandcloud.com/ Roasters Choice Subscription www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscriptions Wholesale Partners! Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first. Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations. Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby Produced by Casey Ryan March 2026

Transcript

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0:00.0	Catin Cloud Podcast, episode 441.
0:07.4	So this is part two of our conversation on finding joy in every season of work.
0:12.2	If you missed last week, go back and listen to that, and you'll be up to speed on where we're going with this one.
0:17.3	So in this episode, we talk about how moving from barista to leader to owner changes
0:22.1	the game and brings new challenges and new opportunities. We reflect on how early work
0:27.4	experiences, both inspiring and dysfunctional, shape the kinds of leaders we wanted to become
0:32.4	and reinforce the importance of community, fun, and genuine human connection in coffee.
0:39.0	We discuss how joy has to be built on purpose and how the pressure of running a business
0:43.5	can crush your original spark if you're not careful.
0:46.7	Ultimately, this is a conversation about staying connected to purpose, remembering where
0:50.9	you came from, having gratitude, and building workplaces where success and joy are friends, not enemies.
0:58.2	Enjoy this one, y'all.
1:01.9	Hello.
1:02.9	Welcome to Monday.
1:04.2	Welcome to Monday.
1:05.1	Casey Ryan.
1:06.0	Yeah, welcome to Monday.
1:07.1	Casey Ryan, the third.
1:08.2	Casey Ryan the third.
1:10.2	Bring the heat, dude. Good morning, everybody. Oh, hi. Oh, man. Killer start. Good morning. It's always morning. All right, everybody. This is going to be episode 441. Oh, cool. The Cat and Cloud podcast. For your notes. It's a pretty big number. That is a big number. This is Chris Baca. I'm here with Jared Truby. That's me.
1:46.6	And For your notes. That's a pretty big number. That is a big number. This is Chris Baca. I'm here with Jared Truby. That's me. And Casey Ryan. That's me. Casey Ryan, two first names. That's right. Actually, this is a good note. Sorry. I'm a good note. All right. Welcome, everybody. Welcome back to Part 2. Finding joy in every season of work. Well, let's dive back in, team. Dude, you did it. Let's. We're doing it. We're doing it. Yeah. So we were talking last
1:52.6	time about competitive barista life. Yeah. But we're evolving into the next phase. Where's the joy in all those different phases?
	...

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