He has an MBA from a prestigious university, was a CPA, and his resume includes a string of executive positions. But Josh Nowack couldn’t find employment after being released from prison, where he had served three months for an embezzlement felony conviction.
Nowack was homeless, had open heart surgery, and his wife had filed for a divorce. After the heart surgery he was at a low point in his life but didn’t give up. Instead he told himself, “From a spiritual perspective, God could have just taken me at that moment. But my life started again, and I had a second chance at life. I tried to find a job, and 13 job offers were revoked (when they did background checks). So I decided to do my own thing.”
And that thing is Breaking Free Industries, a specialty T-shirt printing company in Santa Ana, Calif. The company he created gives those leaving prison, including Nowack himself, a second chance.
Inspired by Father Greg Boyle
Josh Nowack turned to Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries when he was trying to decide what to do. “I was inspired by Father Greg, looked down the organization’s social enterprise list and decided that it might not be too difficult to start an apparel business,” he says.
He thought it would be a good idea, because it didn’t take much capital. And people don’t need a lot of experience to do the job. “Once you have that first job post incarceration, you can go to the next employer and say, ‘I’ve held a job, I’ve kept my nose clean. I’ve fulfilled all of my legal requirements,’” he adds.
But why T-shirts specifically?
“Four billion T-shirts get sold globally every year. Everybody wears t-shirts,” he says. “The barriers to business are really low. The capital requirements are small. You can start really small and scale up as you go.”
And T-shirts have become his vehicle to create jobs. “I don’t judge whatever happened beforehand. I just want to focus on giving people jobs. You might need a counselor or a therapist, but I’m going to get you a job.”
Started company with a gift
Josh Nowack started Breaking Free Industries in 2020, after purchasing his first press with $400 given to him by a member of his synagogue.
Like many others, Nowack became more observant of his faith – Judaism – while in prison. He says that God is the cofounder of his company. “I don’t do anything by myself. I’ve had a guardian angel watching over me ever since (leaving prison).”
His company now employees three people and has employed a total of about 18 over the course of its history. Most employees are in their late 20s, their 30s or even older. They begin by printing T-shirts, so they understand the process but may later go into sales. The sales side of the business involves cold calling and attending networking events.
Inmates to Entrepreneurs offers online course
Before he started his business, Nowack went to a seminar for alumni of Duke University, where he got his MBA. A fellow alumnus suggested he talk to Inmates to Entrepreneurs, a three-decade old nonprofit that has been giving those in prison and formerly incarcerated individuals the information they need to start their own businesses.
The president of the organization called him and asked him to teach but said he’d like Nowack to take the eight-week course first. That course is a basic introduction to starting a small business.
“What we teach are the basics about accounting, but you need to find an accountant. Here’s the info about marketing, but you have to go to the SBDC (small business development corporation),” he says.
Incarceration is an economic burden to society
Incarceration and the challenges people face in the aftermath are expensive, says Nowack.
“It was $40,000 to incarcerate me. My heart surgery that was paid for by the taxpayers of California was $600,000. That cost about $700,000 to have justice with me. You can create quite a nice business with $700,000. The taxpayers paid $700,000 to lock me up. But for $400 and a lot of sweat equity, I could create a business. Because I couldn’t get a job post incarceration, the taxpayers of California paid the bill.”
And, he says, “There’s nothing correctional about our correctional system. Don’t believe me? Look at the recidivism rate.”
Starting a business has given Josh Nowack a new purpose
“I’m relevant to my children. I’m self-sufficient. I live in a nice place. I’m an employer. I’m giving back to the community. I’m living a life that, when I look in the mirror, I can be proud of myself. I made some really, really bad mistakes, but I got up afterwards.”
And what has the experience of starting a T-shirt printing company meant to him? “It’s got purpose. Within the Jewish faith the highest form of opportunity is to create an economic opportunity for someone who is on the public purse,” he says. ‘I’m not looking to solve worldly problems or solve the issue of recidivism or over-incarceration. If I can change one person’s life and change the direction of one person’s life I’m good.”
