On this episode of the Trade Legends Podcast, we’re joined by Ben Rudman, a driveway and landscaping contractor whose honest, no-filter videos have made him one of social media's most relatable tradesmen. Ben explains how he started his business at just 20 years old with little more than a Vauxhall Vectra, a spirit level and his son’s car seat on the back seat. He opens up about struggling at school with undiagnosed dyslexia, why people wrongly assumed he wasn’t intelligent, and how discovering martial arts gave his constantly active mind somewhere to focus.Ben shares the brutal lessons he learned as his business grew, including stepping away from the day-to-day work and trusting the wrong people. One employee began taking customer deposits without Ben’s knowledge, while other workers used his tools and business name to complete private jobs behind his back. When customers began calling about work they believed they had already paid for, Ben used his own money to complete the jobs and protect the reputation he had spent years building. We also discuss late-paying customers, why workers should never have to beg for a pay rise, and why business owners must always make sure their staff are paid before themselves.We also discuss the financial mistakes tradespeople make, from wasting money trying to look successful to reaching retirement without an exit plan. Ben explains how seeing a successful local tradesman arrive in a brand-new Mercedes changed his outlook as a teenager, why he began investing in property, and how breaking his leg showed him the importance of emergency savings. From building a martial arts academy and raising children involved in MMA and football to learning Spanish and planning a future in Spain, this is an honest conversation about loyalty, family, money and the harsh realities of building a trade business.