Ben Clark – Building Businesses, Changing Lives, and Saying Yes to God's Calling

Success isn't measured by what you build—it's measured by what you do with what God has entrusted to you.

In this inspiring conversation, John Martin sits down with entrepreneur and ministry leader Ben Clark to share a story of perseverance, faith, and using business as a platform to impact lives around the world.

Ben is the owner of B-Unlimited, a successful licensed collegiate apparel company, but his journey to entrepreneurship was anything but easy.

Growing up, Ben struggled with dyslexia, ADHD, learning disabilities, and a poor self-image. School was incredibly difficult, and he often felt like the underdog. He experienced failure after failure and never imagined the path God had planned for him.

Instead of allowing those struggles to define him, God used them to build resilience, character, and dependence on Him.

Starting with almost nothing, Ben slowly built his business from the ground up. Every dollar he earned went back into growing the company. There were no shortcuts, no wealthy investors, and no overnight success—just years of perseverance, hard work, and trusting God through every setback.

But after experiencing business success, God began stirring Ben's heart for something greater.

Following a mission trip to Uganda through his church, Ben recognized that many aspiring entrepreneurs had incredible ideas but lacked mentorship and guidance. Rather than simply giving financial assistance, God inspired him to help equip business leaders with wisdom, encouragement, and practical tools for success.

That vision became Bold Creators.

Today, Bold Creators connects experienced business leaders with entrepreneurs in Uganda, helping them build sustainable businesses, create jobs, strengthen families, and transform communities—all while sharing the hope of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the conversation, Ben reminds listeners that success isn't about titles, wealth, or recognition.

True success is using your gifts to serve others and saying "yes" when God opens a door.

Ben encourages listeners to:

• Trust God through every season.
• Don't let failure define your future.
• Invest in people, not just projects.
• Stay grounded in God's Word.
• Get involved in a Christ-centered community.
• And never underestimate what God can do through one simple act of obedience.

You don't have to be perfect for God to use you.

You simply have to be willing.

What is one opportunity God may be asking you to say "yes" to today?

Connect with Ben Clark:

📧 ben.clark@b-unlimited.com

📧 ben.clark@boldcreators.org

🌐 https://boldcreators.org
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For more information contact us at
rtrdestiny@gmail.com

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Well hey friends. It's John Martin and excited to be back with you on Road to Redemption. Excited to have my friend Ben Clark. Ben, how you doing, man? Good to see you. Thank you for having me. Good to see you. Appreciate it. Yeah, I'm so I was so fun to get to know you a few months ago. And we we had you and Mark in here. You know, we were talking about what we were doing, and we're like, man, I got to come to one of your bold creator events, and that was really cool. I was really loved that, and we'll talk about that in a minute. But just thanks for coming in and yeah, just glad to be here. Thank you for having me. So yeah, and pretty impressive.

Building A Licensed Apparel Business

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Just Ben, anybody that know you maybe just could you give us just a quick kind of background on you, maybe how how you got here to Florida? Just a little background.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Um, my name is Ben Clark. Um, I'm an owner of a company in Arkansas. That's where I've been most of my days of working days, is uh called Be Unlimited. It's uh it's a licensed apparel company that works with university uh apparel throughout the United States. And so um have uh kind of started, bootstrapped that and started and kind of uh I guess that's my claim to fame. I'm still uh the owner. We what got me down here was actually I merged with another company uh and he resides down here. Uh he's uh he had a company similar to mine and we were competitors and we met each other and uh uh grew to to really like each other and and decided to merge our companies together and uh really have a lot of the same ethos. And uh and so that's uh that's what got me down here. I was kind of in a stage of life too, as well, after kind of experiencing some success, and then uh kind of anybody that's been grinding as long as I have and kind of experienced it late in life because I've had a lot of failures along the way too. Um I just needed some time to rest, just kind of renew my mind and soul and spirit. And it all happened around COVID, which was kind of great timing because it the world shut down and I needed to shut down too, honestly. So it was getting myself permission to kind of shut down for a couple of years and just kind of let the ocean massage my brain, kind of just get to know other people. And um, this is a great spot to do that down here in Santa Rosa Beach and uh Florida. And so me and my I have a wife and three boys uh that I've raised, and two of them are married, and now one of them has two kids, so I have two grandkids. So uh that's awesome, that's kind of the short nugget of

Faith Foundations And Finding A Church

SPEAKER_00 2:48

me being here.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

So and uh I know also you're a believer in Jesus and you're involved in ministry now as well as you know a successful entrepreneur. W were you always uh you know, in terms of a believer in Jesus?

SPEAKER_00 3:04

I grew up in a I grew up in a Christian home. Um my dad was uh strong believer and or give he gave his life to Christ when I was a kid and just raised our family and a church there in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Uh grew up with three brothers and one younger sister, uh and just really kept us in kind of a word, I guess. It's so it's uh really uh our foundation was uh built up on the biblical uh foundation, I guess. And so uh that's what I I knew as a kid. Uh did I wander from that? Yes, lots of times, and just uh um but always found myself coming back to just that foundation, even in our marriage. Uh, I mean Christine, I mean it's like we really started off our marriage with the foundation of uh Christian principles and just the and Jesus being the center of our relationship. And so whenever we'd hit rocky roads, we could always kind of go back to that moment, you know, and then that would always kind of ground us again and we'd you know start back there again. So it was that really has been the center of our relationship with my wife and kids. And um anyway, that's that's where I'm at right now. So I'd actually after coming down here, we actually were kind of looking at some different churches to get involved in or try to see my business partner. Swide was singing at Good News, and uh, and so we thought, oh, let's go to Good News and hear her sing. We went there and we both went to each other like we're not supposed to go anywhere else. This is where we're supposed to go. And so it was really cool the way God had kind of directed us there, and then and then we just love we just fell in love with everything about the the people there, yeah, getting there. So it's uh that was really hard. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

So awesome.

Hidden Struggles Behind Entrepreneurship

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Wow. Well, I know you talked then a little bit about you know, some of your challenges and struggles and trials, because because people look at people like you really a successful entrepreneur, and you know, perception is this this guy's just got it all made, and just you know, everything's great.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Yeah, that's what yeah, but that's that's our perception just like uh is uh you know, you only show what's good on Instagram, right? Yeah, it's just like the perceptions, everything. But it's uh but not the truth is is that you know no one gets to success by themselves, really. And so it's really it's a and it's usually takes a long hard road of of failure and retrying and failure and retrying and failure and retrying, or is that really failure? It's just kind of you know, kind of you kind of learn which ways not to go, and you kind of it's uh uh so it's uh there's definitely a a learning curve there for me because I didn't I didn't go to college for business. I didn't well I didn't graduate college at all. Actually, I came from a background of a lot of learning disabilities, uh dyslexia, I can't even say it right now. Dyslies, yeah. And then uh then ADD. I mean, it's just like you put that mixture there and it's it's really hard to complete school, especially before all the the drugs that handout today with um uh like um what's the what's the most common drug they use for uh ADD? Adderall, yeah. Yeah, I mean Adderall and stuff like that. I tell people like, man, if I had Adderall back in the day, I probably would be a doctor today, but um, and would have passed all my kid and all my tests and stuff, but that's not the direction God had me. And so really I learned so much from that and just really kind of had a lot of dependency upon God through the struggles early on and just kind of the hidden struggles that I had that I didn't want to share uh uh as far as like flunking tests all the time because I just didn't have the ability to conceptually just to be able to do that correctly like most students would. And so um there was a lot of dependency that grew during that time. A lot of I was I had a also a low self-image back back in the day, and so that really kind of helped kind of shape me too, as well. Uh it gives it helps gives you a better understanding of people that are struggling out there too, as well, and and just kind of the underdog, I guess, and what they have to kind of go through, uh, the resilience they have to kind of endure uh during those times. And it now I look back at it and I wouldn't change a thing, you know, I wouldn't change any of it because I really re I see now that God was really working on me and kind of building in me uh character uh that um that I wouldn't have today if it wasn't for those things. So now I'm I'm very appreciative and I'm thankful for the the Lord and I just want to get back really now. I'm in that stage of life where I just really want to get back and try to do

Uganda Trip That Sparked Bold Creators

SPEAKER_00 7:50

as much as I can. And I guess that's where that's where four years ago um me and my wife had been supporting three girls over in Uganda. And it uh I got the opportunity to ask kind of last minute. Uh our pastor at Good News had asked me, said, Hey, you asked me what you could do because I'm out here a lot. I'm back and forth from here in Arkansas and I'm not that dependable. And so I had asked him if there's anything I can do, let me know. And he said, Look, I'm I saw that you were uh, you know, helping these three girls through our ministry of good news, uh, Africa Renewal Ministry that we support as a church. And uh and so he said, There's a group going over there. Would you like to join them? Somebody dropped out at the last minute, and so I looked at my calendar and it was wide open. And um, in fact, my wife was going to be out of town during that week, and I'd already planned on it just inviting some guys down to the to the beach just to kind of enjoy time together. And uh she had uh, but I'd never invited anybody yet, and so I just I still had that week just wide open. So God had just kind of prepared that week for me. So I said yes, not even knowing where Uganda was, and had to look it up on a map, even though we were supporting three girls over there. I just kind of, you know, we were just kind of doing my wife was kind of taking care of all that stuff and that correspondence and whatnot. So um, but looked at it, was excited about going, didn't know anybody from our church that was going on this trip at the time. I was up in Arkansas at the time, and so I had to fly over to Amsterdam to meet them on their on their uh last flight. And so I kind of met a lot of them. I've met them briefly once before, but I really kind of got to meet them there and and start kind of at the journey of uh with the good news people that go to Uganda quite often. And so uh going over there, I really wasn't sure what I was gonna do because I wasn't I'm not the person that just is gonna roll around and and play with the kids in the orphanage or or even like the projects they had, you know, I'm older and my back, I have a terrible back. I've always had a terrible back. And so just working in a project, I thought I'm gonna I'm gonna do terrible at this. And so I asked them what I could do. They asked me, well, what what do you do? What do you do? I said, Well, all I've done really is just kind of grow a business. I've just kind of had my head in a hole and just grow a business most of my life. And so they said, Well, what did you would you like to talk to some businessmen over there? And so that's when things already started kind of moving in place. They asked Mark if he would set up a men's business breakfast for me to speak at. And so he set that up. Uh, me and Mark instantly became friends. Uh, a lot of guys showed up to that, more than what I was anticipating. I was thinking it was gonna be like 10 guys around a table and it's around 70 uh plus guys there that showed up. And and it wasn't just a breakfast that morning, it was really more of I really poured out my heart and just shared the struggles of my growing beyond limited, really from the beginning stages. And uh I forget exactly what I shared. I I shared kind of four of the my my biggest hardships, I think, during that time, and and kind of what was blocking my growth, I guess. And uh, and so through sharing those, it really resonated to them because they have to build a business through grassroots, grassroots also, and not really uh um I didn't come from a wealthy family, I didn't come from somebody that could give me money, I had terrible credit rating. I mean, it's like no bank would in their right mind would give me a loan, you know. So I really had to do things really small. I had to start really with small beginnings and let that grow. And so everything I made, I would like one, I would sell t-shirts, and I would that one t-shirt would go in back into the bank to buy two more t-shirts, and that would go back in the bank to buy portioner. I mean, like literally that small. And it just kind of escalated from there. And so it's um um, I can remember, you know, so many great lessons through the 20 years of growing a business really kind of set me on the stage where I could was able to speak into the guys in these lives of these men that are young men, eager to start businesses, eager to learn, need to do something out of scarcity mode. They're so creative, it's unbelievable. And they're the happiest people on this planet, honestly. And so they just you you get a lot of joy from them. You get a lot of uh, and you and you and you actually kind of go back in time of when you had to kind of learn the creative energy, you get to see kind of the newness of that, and it and it's it's it catches on. I mean, like all of a sudden you start creating more again too, as well. And I do anyway. And so it's um, so it was really, really such a great trip. And I thought, how can I bring they need mentorship over there, they don't have the fathers and the forefathers to look up to or to kind of get that knowledge from because of so much that's happened in Uganda in the past with the genocide and AIDS? It just it just powers it up. And so you've got some good men over there, but you don't have enough good men over there that are just really pouring into the younger generation. And so, what can we do as Americans instead of just throwing money at them saying, you know, good luck, you know, uh what can we really do that makes a difference and this and a and an impact over there? And so really we came up to a program, we just decided, hey, let's let's make a program that kind of kind of helps connect Americans to Ugandance to walk alongside them. And from, you know, a lot of times you're you're thinking you're never you're you're awake till you're ready to start something, but you're never really ready. Things are always changing. So you have to kind of get in a car, start it, and move. And you really, you really need someone there next to you to kind of the first time you're driving, you have to kind of, if you remember, when you drove, someone sat next to you that told you how to move the steering wheel, how to turn on the engine, how the where the brake was, where the gas was, where you know, and they haven't they don't have any of that, you know, to guide them a business wise. And so you kind of help them get started and just teach them how to start the car without you know, and so it's just and how to get moving. And so you've got all these guys ready and they're in, they actually get in the car, but they just don't move, you know, a lot of times. And so you're just kind of helping them move. And so it's real exciting because now we've got, I don't know, over a hundred guys that we've we've been working with and just helping them move their vehicles forward, you know. So I thought, huh? It's been a it's been such a blessing, it's been such a blessing.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

So and what a great marketplace ministry that is, and and you get to have Jesus involved as your partner. Oh, absolutely. You know, yeah. You've got these entrepreneurs from mostly the US, they're going over there and partnering with the Ugandans and mentoring them, but you have Jesus, and it's a ministry too. So that that that is really a line for great success. Yes. Absolutely. You know, um, wow.

What Uganda Teaches About Hope

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Absolutely. Is is is there anything, Ben, that I guess I'd say anybody that's listening out there, maybe an entrepreneur that is seeking some uh encouragement. Maybe they just, you know, the there are a lot of people that are struggling just to make ends meet. They they just, you know, they're like, I can't even, you know, pay my bills.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

And you know, is there anything you would say to them today that's you know Well, one I can say is you can come with me to your contact because you would see that your struggles really is not the struggle you think it is, because over in America, our struggles are yeah, some of the guys that have come over with me, I I bring over about 14, and this would be about the third years, so this would be I don't know, somewhere around 50 guys that I've taken over. But it's just they really all come back and they see, wow, I thought my marriage is falling apart. I thought that was just the bottom of the bottom, you know, but it's not. I've seen I've come I've gone over there and I see hope. There's hope past this, you know, or there's hope past, you know, I just went bankrupt or whatever, you know, and I see that wow, bankrupt, wow, then that's not even close to being to where they're at, you know. Like you can be bankrupt over here and you just start fresh, you know. You can be bank, I mean, you just look over there and and you see, and then you see the joy that they had because of Christ. Yeah. And you go, wow, how do I get that? You know, how do I capture that? And uh it's it's really pretty remarkable because you really do feel the Holy Spirit just kind of uh there and it's uh and you feel uh it's it's um it's amazing how many guys go over there and they just, you know, they go over there, proud business owners, and they go over there and they just break down and they start crying, you know, they just and God is really starting to work in their lives as Americans as well as the Gardens, you know, they're just like excited that we're over there and pouring into them, and they just they take everything we say and they just they use it and they actually apply it in their businesses. And and it's fun to watch these businesses grow in the way that they're doing it, and uh a way that we didn't think was possible, even over here in America. And you're going, wow, how are they doing this on so little in such a small space and go, wow, we can actually do that over here. We could we could apply that over here and and and really uh use more of the funds that we have over here for good instead of just kind of oh, we need a bigger conference room, we need a bigger whatever, you know, it's like it's uh another truck wrap or something, you know, but it's uh uh for just one event, you're thinking, okay, wait, maybe we could do this differently, you know. So it's uh if you want to learn how to save cost on your business, come with me to Uganda. You know, you will actually figure out a a really good way of running running your business better, probably uh more cost efficient. If you see your costs are higher than they should be, come with me. Um if you want to get back in your community, come with me to Uganda uh to pour into the lives of others outside of America, which is uh uh it's a remarkable experience.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

So wow. What an amazing ministry that y'all have. I I really think it's I know it's gonna bless a lot of American businessmen that will go over there and yes, they're gonna provide great mentorship, but they're gonna come back with just I think so much increased faith in Jesus and and just more joy. They're gonna bring back a lot of the joy that God wants us to have. Oh yeah. Uh from

How To Join And Get Involved

SPEAKER_01 18:48

this. Um well Ben, how how is anybody can find out? I know there are a lot of men that probably are interested in Go in.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

How do they get if you would like to get more involved or just reach out to me, you can you can get on our website, boldcreators.org. Uh, and uh you can you can you can reach me there, you'll see my email or my information there. Uh you can you can reach out there, you can learn more about what we're doing there. You can get on our newsletter, you can you can sign up for our newsletter, you can get a monthly newsletter every month that we send out the progress and what's going on. But we have gained so much momentum this year, which is unbeknownst to me. And I just and I'm not worthy to even try to lead this thing, but God, I just said yes to what God was asking me to do. And I kind of, and that's really what everybody has to do. You know, none of us are worthy. We're all broken vessels, yeah. And I know that about myself better than anyone, you know. But I just uh it's amazing to me what when you're broken, how God can just kind of continue to use you and uh and take you to places that you never thought before. Now it makes me want to go back and study in the Bible about all the guys that God used, you know, like all the disciples. They weren't they weren't anybody special, you know? And God just took them and said, look what he did with them, you know. Moses. I mean, they weren't ready, but he took them and they just said yes. They just said yes.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

They said yes, anyway, and that's the most important thing. And I believe uh many men are gonna hear about see the show and hear about this, and they're gonna say yes, they're gonna get in touch with with you and Mark and and and go on these these trips.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

I really on this journey.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

So we'll

Three Pillars And Closing Prayer

SPEAKER_01 20:40

love it. Before we go, I always like to share our three key pillars, ref for redemption, uh is first to get into the word of God, spend time every day, every morning, get up and open your Bible and just spend time in the scriptures. That's the primary way that God speaks to us is through the scriptures, and he wants our time. Yeah, he really wants our time more than anything. Yeah, you know, he doesn't need our money really, it's it's our time. Uh so to spend time with him, read his scriptures, second, to get into a Christ-centered Bible-believing church and just go. Just go and get involved, serve. Um, and then get into a in a group, get into a small group. Um, you know, do your church, or maybe it's bold creators, get get into a group, men or women, yeah, people you can do life with and be accountable to. Um so we'll I just want to pray before we go.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

No, my thing.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

Um, Ben. Heavenly Father, Lord, we just thank you so much for this this time together with Ben and for the bold creators for Ben and for Mark saying yes, saying yes to this um this door that you've opened for this ministry. We just we pray and believe that many men will come over to Uganda and be mentor and get involved and and and just be blessed by the Ugandans over there, Lord, by you know, by your presence. And and Lord, we just pray uh for this ministry that many, many businesses in Uganda will be started and they will be successful. And and and this will create many jobs, and and we just we just believe much prosperity will come to the nation of Uganda. Just prosperity and breakthrough for this this young nation. Um, that there will just be many businesses that will be sustained and grow in the nation of Uganda, and Lord, your your hand will be upon it on this nation. And we just we're excited and expected for what's to come in the nation of Uganda. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen. It's been awesome, man. Yeah, thank you for coming on. We'll have to do it again. Absolutely. Yeah.