On this episode of the Trade Legends Podcast, we’re joined by Kieran from Kobo Crete, a Devon-based business making cast stone and polished concrete products. Kieran explains how he worked his way up from production planning to running a precast concrete factory, helping produce everything from railway bridge components to seating for the Kia Oval. He also shares why he moved his young family to Devon to start a new life.When the company he joined went into liquidation, Kieran found a job in another industry. Then Covid hit. He had to tell colleagues they were losing their jobs before being made redundant himself. With three months of gardening leave, he decided it was time to give Kobo Crete his full attention. What began as a side business delivering garden ornaments to nurseries and garden centres grew into a company making window sills, coping stones, kitchen worktops, sinks and its own polished concrete fireplace surrounds.Kieran is honest about how difficult that growth became. Strong early sales made the business look healthy, but when his wife Fran joined and got a clearer view of the figures, they realised they needed to change course. They reduced hours, tightened spending and began questioning whether every piece of equipment would pay for itself. At one point, Kieran had to ask family for financial help, something he found especially hard after years of working towards running his own business.We also discuss why being busy doesn’t mean you’re making money, the danger of pricing yourself wrong, and how social media videos of concrete pours brought Kobo Crete millions of views. Kieran shares what helped him through the toughest period: asking for help, keeping control of the numbers, setting targets and taking the business one day at a time. It’s a candid conversation about family, setbacks and what it really takes to keep a trade business going.

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.

On this episode of the Trade Legends Podcast, we’re joined by Stick and Jack from Trademark Digital, the no-bullshit marketing agency helping tradespeople and construction brands connect with the people who actually buy from them. We start with the question every marketing agency is being asked: if AI can build websites, write social posts, create adverts and plan a business strategy, why do we still need agencies? Stick and Jack explain why AI is a massive opportunity rather than a threat, how they use it to work faster, and why it will never replace trust, personality or the human support people need when things get difficult.We dig into Trademark Digital’s rapid growth, the mistakes they made early on and why they changed their business model several times before finding what worked. They explain why traditional monthly retainers weren’t always affordable for sole traders, how that led to the creation of the Trademark Toolbox, and why its community has become far more valuable than they ever imagined.

We also discuss tradespeople becoming personal brands, why 10,000 engaged followers can be worth more than 100,000 passive ones, the declining trust in influencer marketing, and why businesses can no longer judge creators by follower numbers alone.Stick also opens up about the reality of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, including being told she wouldn’t win a contract because she was female and sitting in meetings where questions directed at her were answered to her male business partner instead. Jack reflects on rebuilding his life after a stroke took him away from carpentry, while together they reveal the long days, constant travelling, missed family time, and moments when running the business nearly became too much.

From viral posts and online hate to trade shows, networking and building a community people genuinely want to join, this is an honest conversation about showing up consistently, backing yourself and building a business around people rather than algorithms.