By Mark Puppe, Communications Specialist, Wordwork
We all need a place to live and have, at some time, changed our path to get there. Some paths are smooth, some are rocky and some will lead us astray but none are easy.
So, we all can appreciate the topsy turvy, yet inspiring path traveled by Boston native, former inmate, current Fargo resident and House of Holden, LLC owner, Ben Holden
Ben moved from Boston to Moorhead in hopes of finding greater social and economic opportunities. However, he was still in-and-out of jail, his income remained inconsistent, and personal struggles perpetuated. Compared to his path in Boston, things in the local metro were pretty similar. He wanted to change but was unsure how to make that happen.
Adam Martin has a similar history and after his fifth felony, thought “There must be more to life than this” and made an about-face on his own path by launching F5 Project, a local effort to support formerly incarcerated individuals.
Since its founding 2016, F5 has become and continues growing as a prominent, highly reputable and trusted across the region. It is missioned to “disrupt the cycle of crime, addiction and isolation through individualized care that fosters resilience and restores hope.”
Ben was among F5’s earliest participants and credits the program with having helped straighten his path and go forward. It enabled him to leave crime behind, secure a vehicle, find employment and activate skills that Adam recognized early, but he would realize later.
“While at F5, it quickly became clear that Ben possessed remarkable business instincts,” Adam said. “Once those skills were refined, it was evident that his potential for success was unstoppable.”
“F5 enlightened me to skills I did not know that I had and pointed me in the direction of people who empathized with me,” Ben said.
Those revelations motivated Ben to break down barriers and discover greater opportunities along the way.
“Taking bold risks and consistently putting in the hard work to move forward, Ben’s resilience, determination and willingness to push beyond comfort zones have been inspiring to witness,” Adam said.
“There’s talking about it, and there’s being about it,” Ben said. “I had been subtracting from society but am a now new man and adding to society.”
Following F5, Ben became a laborer at Gateway Building Systems. This was Ben’s chance to apply the intuitive skills discovered during his F5 experience, learn a new industry and evolve into a team leader and mentor. He began earning and saving money, working as many hours as allowed, and demanding himself to make decisions based upon knowledge rather than impulse or wants.
Ben has always loved working for Gateway and the people he works with. He is also determined to continue contributing to the team. However, he began considering business as a pathway to achieving and contributing more beyond workdays at Gateway
“My responsibilities and opportunities have continuously grown at Gateway and given me intuitions and valuable realizations that I can utilize as a business owner,” Ben said.
As Ben’s business acumen grew, so did his understanding that professionals have the information and expertise needed to make critical business decisions. He just needed to find the right professionals and know where to look.
He did not have to look far before finding his first, Gateway Human Resources Manager Jeremy Leiviska whom the Gateway website appropriately tags as “unofficial counselor” to the business.
“Ben was very curious and unsure how to take a bite out of the world’s offerings,” Jeremy said. “One conversation led to the next and Ben was ready to get his feet wet. He is always full of fire.”
Jeremy had equipped Ben with tactics and information for starting a business and enabled him to understand not just know about licenses, regulations, administration and other duties that intuition alone cannot manage but no business owner can afford to neglect.
Ben was covering his bases but still unsure about which direction to go when entering the business world. He remained a bit beleaguered by his history, living conditions at the time and uncertainty about whether business ownership was the right path for him.
As Ben wondered, he remembered something Adam said during his time at F5, “When someone has lost everything and is given the chance to start over, the one barrier that often holds people back—fear of trying—can disappear.”
Ben sought and eventually found relief from that fear by joining a bowling league where he met Mary Schimke of Archer Real Estate Services and whom Ben now retains as House of Holden’s realtor.
“When I first met Ben, he lived in an apartment, felt unsafe, and seemed defeated,” Mary said. ”I got to know him better and learned more about his priorities. Listening to his own story, I was really affected by the difficulties he’d gone through.”
Mary helped Ben secure his first property purchase and has been inspired by his dedication to considering others’ needs as he determines his own business priorities and goals.
“Owning a home was a huge achievement for Ben,” Mary said. “It really hit me hard, that he was also using this achievement as a way to help others who had difficulty renting a safe and affordable place to live.”
Business transactions are not the only benefit Mary receives from having House of Holden in her portfolio. The relationship has also enhanced how she does business.
“For me, working with Ben helped me see beyond my own business goals to really understand how much one transaction can impact a person’s life,” Mary said. “Ben distinguishes himself through understanding and empathy while also staying firm to his own boundaries and business goals. Sometimes this is a difficult balance, but Ben seems to have a good handle on this.”
For this column, Ben and I met so he could share his story and introduce me to House of Holden. I will echo Mary but go further and say Ben has an ironclad grasp on customer service and being an empathetic partner to tenants, fellow property owners and the community.
“Real estate has a fine line between having enough tenants to make a profit and becoming a slumlord who leases as many units as possible and makes profit their top priority,” Ben said. “I will never become a slumlord because I have lived under the pressure and misplaced priorities to the point that tenants were considered cattle rather than people.”
From Ben’s perspective as real estate owner, customer service is more than providing functional appliances, maintaining landscapes or vacuuming the hallways. It means doing all that is possible to facilitate the greatest quality of life.
He has enhanced safety by adding security cameras to his properties, personified leases by getting to know rather than sort tenants and taking other unique measures to distinguish House of Holden as a business and himself as customer service provider.
When someone becomes a House of Holden tenant, it is established that outdoor social gatherings either end or move into a tenant’s own unit before 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and before 12 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Also, tenants are not allowed to park on the street for prolonged periods. Afterall, there’s something special about seeing snowplows removing snow curb-to-curb and unobstructed.
Ben also knows the neighboring property owners by name and will always converse when he has the chance. Efforts and relationships like these strengthen the community fiber and ensure a better quality of life for all.
He entrusts CMG Senior Loan Officer Steve Rowe to find, evaluate and help optimize financial opportunities for House of Holden. Steve was also key to Ben’s first property purchase
“Ben had the vision of himself being better off down the road because of homeownership; and the income it would generate for him and the stability it would bring to his life and the lives of others,” Steve says.
“From there it just comes down to how can I make the math work to get him across the finish line so we can make that future a reality.”
Ben plans to achieve that reality by purchasing homes incrementally at a viable pace and until reaching a plateau to be determined by the total number of units he can either directly or hire someone to manage.
This keeps Ben’s service authentic, helps relationships thrive and ensures the business stays on its intended track. However, he also expects quality and respect from service providers
“If I can’t get a hold of someone on the phone I won’t do business with them,” he said.
He did not set that standard for his own convenience, ego or preferences. Instead, it assures him that tenants receive a reliable return on the rent they invest in House of Holden. According to Ben, cutting corners and minimum cost increase vulnerability to crime, cause preventable breakdowns and poor customer service; costs and losses to which he will not subject his tenants or business.
Mary believes businesses tend to make clients fit their services rather than trying to evaluate clients’ needs and adjust how services are delivered.
“Listening to clients is key,” she said. “Never underestimate a person or judge their abilities, get to know people instead.”
And that is why Ben’s and House of Holden’s stories are so exciting and refreshing
In 2017, we saw a Ben Holden who was, as he put it, subtracting from society as he stumbled down a spiraling path.
In 2025, and in the same Ben Holden, we see a gainful, dependable and mission-driven business owner who continues working full-time as a truck driver. He does not hesitate to hop out of the cab to help coworkers or go the extra mile to provide customers with the greatest quality of life possible.
“I am incredibly proud of what Ben has accomplished since his time with F5 Project,” Adam said, “and I believe, without a doubt, that we’ve only seen the beginning of what he will achieve.”
Ben loves his job at Gateway, is impassioned about building the House of Holden business and aspiring to continue enhancing the quality of life for tenants and others. And, although it’s years down the road, Ben is really excited about the country cottage he sees on his retirement horizon.
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