Franklin quickly put the shop into good working condition. His work attracted the attention of the governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith. Keith offered to set Ben, who was only eighteen at the time, up with his own business. He told Benjamin that all he had to do was go to England and pick up the equipment, and that there would be a letter waiting there for him. However, when he did arrive there was no such letter to be found. Once again Benjamin was alone and broke (Eberle 32-38). .
Ben quickly found work for another printer and for extra money he began to coach noblemen's sons in swimming (Fleming 23-25). Franklin soon found himself in the position where he could make his return to Philadelphia, and he did just that. He briefly went back to work for Keimer, but soon opened up his own business (Donovan 30). .
At the age of twenty two Franklin was finally in business for himself. For the next twenty years he worked six, sometimes seven, days a week. Ben was not only a hard worker but also a shrewd businessman. He used to wheel paper through the streets in a wheel barrow. He did this not because it was cheaper, but because he hoped people would see his hard work and give him some of their business. His plan had worked and his business quickly took off. Ben soon had enough money to pay off everyone he had borrowed money from to start his business (Eberle 52-53). .
Benjamin hated the idea of being in debt, he felt it made him a slave to the lender. He decided to start a newspaper in order to compete with another printing company owned by Andrew Bradford. He was very excited about his plans and wanted very much to share his excitement with others. He confided in one of Keimer's workers who immediately informed Keimer of Benjamin's plans. Keimer then rushed to print his own paper before Benjamin had a chance. Franklin then did the only thing he could do, he began to publish articles for Bradford's paper.
