After nearly two decades on the tools, Ben Haynes is still doing what he’s always done best — turning up, getting stuck in and quietly building a solid reputation as a carpenter in NSW.
Ben left school straight after Year 10 and went straight into an apprenticeship.
“Nearly 20 years now. I left school straight out of Year 10 and went straight into an apprenticeship,” he said.
“After that, I was pretty much running my own show.”
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Being a chippy felt like a natural fit from the start.
Growing up, he spent plenty of time in the shed making things with whatever was lying around.
“I was always interested in making things… The only tool he had was a jigsaw, so everything was made with a jigsaw,” Ben said.
Ups and downs
Like a lot of long-term tradies, Ben admits he’s thought about other paths over the years, but carpentry keeps pulling him back.
“Yeah, pretty much,” he admitted.
“I’ve thought about other things, but I always come back to it. It’s something I’m reasonably good at. I don’t know everything, but I know a fair bit.”
Ben started his own business in 2014 after realising weekend work was piling up while working for builders.
“I thought, ‘I can’t keep doing this,’ so I took the leap,” he said,
“I’ve pretty much been busy ever since.”
While running a business brings its own pressures, he reckons it’s worth it.
“There’s always stress with running your own business, but it’s usually worth it in the end,”
he said.
Originally from Crookwell — a country town between Sydney and Canberra — Ben cut his teeth on everything from shearing sheds to residential work. These days, he’s Sydney-based and has been for nearly a decade.
“So I’ve done everything from shearing sheds to working on inner-city terraces now,” Ben said.
Keeping things manageable
Despite the long career, Ben’s business has stayed intentionally small.
“It hasn’t really grown that much, to be honest,” he said.
“I’ve almost always been a one-man band.”
COVID proved to be a turning point, helping him lock in steady Sydney work.
“COVID was almost the best thing that happened for me,” Ben added.
“I got stuck in Sydney, picked up some really good jobs, and from there everything’s just been word of mouth. I don’t advertise at all.”
Today, Ben focuses mainly on renovations, kitchens and bathrooms, using subcontractors where needed.
“Just me. One-man show.”
And while the workload rarely slows, he’s learned to embrace it. “You sort of wish for quiet times, but when they come, you don’t know what to do with yourself,” Ben said.
“So I don’t mind being busy.”
For Ben, it’s simple — steady work, good clients and a trade he knows inside out.
