Ben Owen

I wanted to be self-employed. This is the only way in my mind I could stay sober the way Ben had to stay sober, which is I need to just work for myself and create my own culture at my job. And so I ended up – I ended up making a lot of eBay listings of some computer and server gear that I'd had laying around. But it's dawning on me. Like, I just went from making a lot of money to zero income.

My wife is a stay-at-home mom. I have two kids. You know, I'm T-ball coach. I'm Cub Scout leader. Like, I got a lot of responsibilities and no money coming in. So I'm going through my garage trying to figure out what can I do, what can I do, what can I do? And there's a broken flat screen TV in my garage. I was like, I'm going to find a screen and fix that thing and sell it.

My wife is a stay-at-home mom. I have two kids. You know, I'm T-ball coach. I'm Cub Scout leader. Like, I got a lot of responsibilities and no money coming in. So I'm going through my garage trying to figure out what can I do, what can I do, what can I do? And there's a broken flat screen TV in my garage. I was like, I'm going to find a screen and fix that thing and sell it.

My wife is a stay-at-home mom. I have two kids. You know, I'm T-ball coach. I'm Cub Scout leader. Like, I got a lot of responsibilities and no money coming in. So I'm going through my garage trying to figure out what can I do, what can I do, what can I do? And there's a broken flat screen TV in my garage. I was like, I'm going to find a screen and fix that thing and sell it.

Because this is back when a 37-inch TV was $2,000 or whatever they were. And I get on eBay and there's literally no screens for these TVs anywhere. And I'm like, well, that's weird. There's no aftermarket parts available. Me being me, always thinking of a hustle, I took the TV apart and listed all the parts on eBay for sale. It was working because I knew they worked.

Because this is back when a 37-inch TV was $2,000 or whatever they were. And I get on eBay and there's literally no screens for these TVs anywhere. And I'm like, well, that's weird. There's no aftermarket parts available. Me being me, always thinking of a hustle, I took the TV apart and listed all the parts on eBay for sale. It was working because I knew they worked.

Because this is back when a 37-inch TV was $2,000 or whatever they were. And I get on eBay and there's literally no screens for these TVs anywhere. And I'm like, well, that's weird. There's no aftermarket parts available. Me being me, always thinking of a hustle, I took the TV apart and listed all the parts on eBay for sale. It was working because I knew they worked.

The only thing that was wrong with that TV was the screen was broken. Wake up the next day and there's 400 bucks in my PayPal account. I had sold every part out of that TV that was basically from a dumpster overnight. And so I went to a TV parts place in Memphis, a TV repair shop in Memphis, and asked them if I could buy broken screen TVs from them. And they're like, why would you want to do that?

The only thing that was wrong with that TV was the screen was broken. Wake up the next day and there's 400 bucks in my PayPal account. I had sold every part out of that TV that was basically from a dumpster overnight. And so I went to a TV parts place in Memphis, a TV repair shop in Memphis, and asked them if I could buy broken screen TVs from them. And they're like, why would you want to do that?

The only thing that was wrong with that TV was the screen was broken. Wake up the next day and there's 400 bucks in my PayPal account. I had sold every part out of that TV that was basically from a dumpster overnight. And so I went to a TV parts place in Memphis, a TV repair shop in Memphis, and asked them if I could buy broken screen TVs from them. And they're like, why would you want to do that?

And I told them, they're like, we need a new source for parts. That's a great idea. And so then next thing I know, I'm buying broken TVs from every repair shop in Memphis. I'm running ads on Craigslist and buying broken TVs. I started this business in my garage in 2009. That's when everything fell apart with the medical device companies, 2009.

And I told them, they're like, we need a new source for parts. That's a great idea. And so then next thing I know, I'm buying broken TVs from every repair shop in Memphis. I'm running ads on Craigslist and buying broken TVs. I started this business in my garage in 2009. That's when everything fell apart with the medical device companies, 2009.

And I told them, they're like, we need a new source for parts. That's a great idea. And so then next thing I know, I'm buying broken TVs from every repair shop in Memphis. I'm running ads on Craigslist and buying broken TVs. I started this business in my garage in 2009. That's when everything fell apart with the medical device companies, 2009.

And by 2011, I had a 7,500 square foot warehouse and a dozen employees. Wow. It grew quick, man. I had my first website built. I got on Shopify in 2010 or maybe 2009. They had like 34 employees and were renting space from somebody else. They didn't have their own office back then. You know, Shopify is massive now. And so... I stayed sober that whole time.

And by 2011, I had a 7,500 square foot warehouse and a dozen employees. Wow. It grew quick, man. I had my first website built. I got on Shopify in 2010 or maybe 2009. They had like 34 employees and were renting space from somebody else. They didn't have their own office back then. You know, Shopify is massive now. And so... I stayed sober that whole time.

And by 2011, I had a 7,500 square foot warehouse and a dozen employees. Wow. It grew quick, man. I had my first website built. I got on Shopify in 2010 or maybe 2009. They had like 34 employees and were renting space from somebody else. They didn't have their own office back then. You know, Shopify is massive now. And so... I stayed sober that whole time.

I didn't even start smoking cigarettes again. I'm off all the mental health meds and I've realized there's nothing wrong with my brain. I'm just a high stress person that does have ADHD and high anxiety sometimes. But everything was going really good. My dad, well, let me back up. We had Lily. Aaron wanted to try again for a girl. And so we got her, Lily.

I didn't even start smoking cigarettes again. I'm off all the mental health meds and I've realized there's nothing wrong with my brain. I'm just a high stress person that does have ADHD and high anxiety sometimes. But everything was going really good. My dad, well, let me back up. We had Lily. Aaron wanted to try again for a girl. And so we got her, Lily.

I didn't even start smoking cigarettes again. I'm off all the mental health meds and I've realized there's nothing wrong with my brain. I'm just a high stress person that does have ADHD and high anxiety sometimes. But everything was going really good. My dad, well, let me back up. We had Lily. Aaron wanted to try again for a girl. And so we got her, Lily.

And Aaron is not great at taking medication on schedule. So birth control being one of those. A year after Lily was born, we had twin boys. So three kids in a year. But I don't care. I mean, I'm making good money. Everything's going good. I'm excited. My dad ended up getting cut from Pfizer a couple years before that. And he'd gone into business with one of his old buddies.