Ben Hoyer

What’s your CREDO?

Ben Hoyer is a storyteller.  In this program, Ben tells the story of how he came to create his own personal CREDO and how it has changed his life and those around him. His journey led him to open four “name your price” coffee shops, Downtown CREDO, which were inspired by Ben’s values and commitment to inspire others towards the pursuit of meaning, impact, and community.

After hearing Ben’s story, participants will then be challenged to consider their own values and beliefs to create their own CREDO.

This keynote is perfect for an organization looking for a new way to reflect on its values and renew its commitment to their mission.

ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT:

• the importance of identifying their personal core values,
• how to take action on personal values, and
• how their small daily actions can make an impact on a global level.

Leading with Conviction

Great leaders are not magicians skillfully wielding tricks and techniques to manipulate people into following them. Great leaders are people of passion who’ve uncovered personal convictions, connected it to tangible action and are willing to go first. This is true of leadership in any sphere: fraternal, professional and among friends.

Almost ten years ago, in a moment of clarity, Ben committed to uncovering the sort of conviction that would move him to action. Eventually, that took shape in his credo.

In this presentation you’ll hear the story of that credo and how it instigated a journey from Orlando to the rugged mountains of Guatemala and back again. You’ll hear about how it propelled Ben to start regular trash clean ups in his neighborhood, to start, own and operate four name-your-price coffee shops along with a coffee roaster, even to launch a social enterprise accelerator and a co-working space. But most of all you’ll be challenged to consider what your core-conviction is and how you are connecting that conviction to action.

ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT:

• Understand a simple process to pinpoint their own key values.
• Learn the importance of acting on those values.
• Learn strategies for connecting their values to organizational goals, and
• Learn where great coffee comes from (of course)

Consumerism to Solve Problems

Having started a social enterprise almost by accident, Ben shares the story of downtown CREDO and how it gave birth to Rally: the social enterprise accelerator. It’s in the course of that adventure that he discovered the power of consumerism to address real social, economic and environmental problems. Ben launched a coffee shop without a business plan or any barista experience because he believed coffee could demonstrate how small choices can move us toward becoming people of impact. He learned that when you’re able to marry your passion to address problems with a value proposition and a market you can create companies that make money and accomplish good in the world. As you’re planning your major or planning your career, Ben’s stories will remind you that it’s worth considering your own credo. It will be your best compass for life.

ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT:

• what a social enterprise is,
• the basic principles in starting a social enterprise, and
• be challenged to consider their future in light of their potential impact.