We recently connected with Ben Hoyer and have shared our conversation below.

Ben , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I moved back to Orlando a dozen years ago. The previous ten years had seen me move nine times, marry my college girlfriend and have my first of three kids. It was a lot of change. Moving back to my hometown, buying a house and committing to be somewhere long-term felt like a big moment. I started Downtown CREDO with some friends in 2010 because I was hoping to build a life I would like. I had become convinced that my life satisfaction was more tied to who I was becoming that what I had, or even really what I accomplished. I set out to become a person of Meaning, Impact and Community. Downtown CREDO was and is building networks of people around those three pillars: Meaning, Impact and Community. CREDO coffee is connected to small, grower driven co-ops through direct channels so that each cup of coffee is making a positive impact. We let customers name their price. This way, they’re not just buying something but joining us in impacting the world through grower-focused supply chains. CREDO has also helped launch Conduit and Rally into existence. These are both building networks of Meaning, Impact and Community in their own ways.

Ben , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got connected to coffee philosophically. In 2010 I built a CREDO to anchor my life. Part of is says, “The world is not yet as it ought to be, neither is my city, neither am I. But I reject apathy and despair. I engage the world believing I can make an impact for good.” One day as I pondered which coffee to buy in the grocery store, I remembered the plight of so many pickers working at the very bottom of the supply chain. The problem seemed huge and far away. I could feel apathy growing and remembered those words “reject apathy.” I made some calls and found I knew a guy who knew a guy who had built relationships with growers in the Guatemala mountains. I went with him, met the families, partnered with them to bring the coffee here and got started learning the business. More that 10 years later, CREDO is operating two name-your-price coffee shops in the downtown area. We roast our coffee at CREDO Conduit and have expanded our network to include direct-trade relationships with growers in Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Kenya and are actively building new relationships all the time.

Customers who come to our shops get to name their price for their drinks. We do this because we think coffee is a big deal. Every cup, your morning batch brew or macchiato, your afternoon latte or cold brew, affects dozens of peoples life. We don’t want to merely sell you something so impactful. We’d rather let you own your place in the supply chain. You get to choose how much to pay. Together we pay growers more, and move toward lives of meaning, impact and community.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Downtown CREDO launched as a 501c(3). This is because our launch team was committed to our mission and understood that work which was mission first, needed to be non-profit. As we grew, mission driven businesses became more common and new classifications emerged. In 2017 we moved CREDO toward a Benefit Corporation structure to better fit the coffee operation. Benefit Corporation is a legal designation at the state level that allows for-profit companies to legally bind themselves to social missions. Under this classification the mission is of equal importance as profit, though taxes are paid just the same as every non-profit.

The transition was harder than I expected for a couple reasons. First, I totally underestimated impact of added expenses and finances were very tight for a while. Second, we still had non-profit, donor-lead programming that we wanted to continue. To do that we launched two new non-profits with some key partners. So we were managing three organizations at once.

It was a very busy and sometimes stressful time that we were just turning the corner on as the COVID pandemic hit! Small business is always an adventure!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Reputation within the market is interesting. Of course you can never really know what people think/say about you when you’re not around.
I realized sometime ago that if I worked too hard to manage reputation, it was a recipe for craziness.
Instead, I work hard to always do what I say I’m going to do and be careful not to over promise.

Then I work hard to always have a close circle whose opinions matter to me.
If these folks tell me I’m making choices inconsistent with my mission, or acting in ways that are not helpful, I have to listen.
Even if it’s unpleasant.

Orlando is a small community, which means it can be a really great place to start things, people are ready to lend a hand of support. It also means that it’s important to act with integrity.

Contact Info:

• Website: Downtowncredo.com
• Instagram: @downtowncredo
• Linkedin: Downtowncredo

Image Credits
Roberto Gonzalez