Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ryadan Jeavons, Founder of Coffee Beans Delivered, located in Arana Hills, QLD, AU.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Coffee Beans Delivered are the underrated heroes fighting for farmer equality, striving for sustainability, and saving the future of coffee, all while delivering the tastiest coffees and the best coffee education and support to the home barista.

Tell us about yourself

I started CBD because I saw a hole in the online space because, at the time, no one was really focusing on selling coffee beans online. What started as an experiment to see if we could dominate SEO and the online coffee world, my wife's brand agency pooled its resources to create a beautiful website that exploded in popularity right out of the gate.

I love coffee, drinking it, talking about it, researching it, and educating people about it, and it's easy to get up in the morning when your work is literally giving you the energy to go about your day. My personal mission is to positively impact the coffee world over the next ten years by bringing education about how lucky we are to be even able to enjoy such amazing coffees.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment has actually been overcoming my own fears of success online. I started putting myself out there on Youtube and building an audience. I was so afraid of being judged and ridiculed, and I had massive Imposter syndrome, but when I saw that no one else was making videos of the stories behind the coffees, the history of coffee, and the education pieces around understanding coffee (not just machine reviews and making coffee at home) I felt obligated to fill that position. I didn't want it at first.

I wanted to run and hide, but it wasn't about me. It was about the farmers, the farms, and ultimately, something much larger than myself. So I continued to work on self-development, and with a lot of work, I pushed through the fear barrier, and now I'm super comfortable with what I'm achieving.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

The hardest thing about being a business owner is having the grit to push through even when things seem so dire that you want to run away from it all. Everyone always sees the rewards of owning their own business, but they don't often see what goes on behind the scenes.

There have been many times I've wanted to quit, give up or move on to something which seems easier. Having the grit to go on despite all the problems you might be facing is what separates most people. Running straight toward your fear barrier and realizing the best stuff is on the other side.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The top 3 tips are:

  1. Start as you intend to finish. What does this mean? A lot of people start a business because they have an idea and some skills and just get into it without a bigger vision for what it will become. If you do that, all you're creating a job for yourself. So before you get started, or even if you've already begun and you can see that you just did a job for yourself, the thing about a vision for the business, where do you see it going? What do you hope to achieve when it's all said and done, write all your goals down and then build a road map to achieve those. This is how you create a business that provides you with income whether you work in it or not.
  2. Don't give up when hardship happens. You can only run on dreams for so long before the reality that your product/service is not as successful as you first envisioned. But this doesn't mean it WON'T be. It just doesn't always happen overnight. Also, giving up isn't the same as letting go. If you're flogging a dead horse and you stop, that's not giving up. You need to be able to see if your business needs tweaking or if it's time to move on from it if you've tried everything and you're going backward detrimentally.
  3. Know your numbers. If you think your business can succeed on optimism and charm, you're wrong. Before you even start, you'll need to work out your costs of goods and your running expenses (rent, wages, utilities, etc.). Even if they are just estimates of sales and costs, you should start with a proper Profit and Loss. When you are operating, put aside your tax money, GST/VAT, and Super, and make sure you track your sales and expenses weekly to make sure you have a complete awareness of the potential leaks, profit margins, and savings. Even if you don't like the numbers that you find, you can't fix a problem if you don't know it exists. The power is in the numbers!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://coffeebeansdelivered.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coffeebeansdelivered
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coffeebeansdelivered/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryd/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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