Ben Hoyer

The Sustainable Culture

In a world where companies compete for the best leaders and customers, the winners will be those who embrace the challenge in becoming good corporate citizens. Corporate sustainability strategies will need to be more robust that a simple checklist, but an ongoing conversation with all levels of the company to own their entire footprint with vendors, employees and customers.

In an effort to live a life of impact, Ben Hoyer backed into a decade-long project to hack the coffee supply chain. In the process, he landed on a conviction that supply chains might hold the greatest opportunity consumers and corporations have to impact the world for good. Of course this can be debated, but the process Ben followed to arrive at that conviction is hard to argue with. After careful consideration and meaningful reflection, Ben landed on a clear credo for his life. Armed with that statement of conviction he then began to uncover and create ways to live it out. This is staggeringly similar to how companies can drive toward actionable sustainability practices.

As a result of this program will be ,

•  challenged to name the affect their work has on employees, vendors, customers and the earth.
• encouraged to outline the potential within their sphere of influence for action
• determine one small step of ownership they can take over the companies’ corporate footprint

What’s your CREDO?

Life is worth living. I refuse to merely exist. I pursue a life of meaning and purpose, fulfillment and joy. The world is not yet as it ought to be. Neither is my city. Neither am I. Yet, I reject apathy and despair. I engage the world, my city, and myself to make an impact for good. I am not alone. I press through narcissism, isolation, and self-sufficiency, striving to live in authentic community. 

– Ben Hoyer’s 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 Fraternity/Sorority Life community looking for a new way to reflect on foundational values that when acted upon can be life-changing or a student group looking to renew their commitment to their mission.

As a result of this program, students will learn,

• 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.

As a result of this program students will:

• 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.

As a result of this program, students will learn,

• 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.