How Human Bean is putting a touch of human in coffee
Meet Nicholas Phelps, professional motocross racer turned coffee-entrepreneur.
Meet Nicholas Phelps, professional motocross racer turned coffee-entrepreneur.
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that most entrepreneurs are interesting people, with even more interesting stories.
Take Nicholas Phelps, founder of Human Bean Coffee Co as an example. As a motocross racer, Nicholas has travelled the world, which, in his own words, has taught him to think differently – something that can be hugely beneficial for entrepreneurs, whose businesses often solve problems or deliver solutions in new and innovative ways.
Human Bean is no exception. The company currently has two coffee shops and a mobile unit. All three are completely off the grid and self-sufficient, which means whether South Africa is on stage one or stage eight of loadshedding, customers can still get their fresh coffee fix from Human Bean.
In fact, it was the mobile unit that Nicholas launched his business with, not knowing which events they would cater for or where to find clients, he took the leap and figured it out as he went along.
It’s one of the cardinal rules of start-ups – just launch. It doesn’t need to be perfect; you just need to be in the market so you can start testing who your customers are, what they need and what does and does not work.
Two stores later and it’s clear that Nicholas is learning some key lessons. His top advice? Put in the work. “Starting a business is never easy, but it can be extremely rewarding, as long as you learn from the people you engage with and the communities you operate within” he says. It’s what Nicholas calls adding humanity to his business (and coffee), and it’s something we could add to our businesses – after all, when it comes down to it, any business is a relationship between people.
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