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Below the Surfce / Episode 02

"Nobody's Coming To Help"

Ky Benford/Aug 13, 2026/44 min

Ky Benford, KBG Welding and Austin Steel Company: Ky Benford on turning welding skills into KBG Welding and Austin Steel Company, hiring mistakes, and getting out of survival mode. Episode 02 of Below the Surfce, the Surfce podcast.

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About this episode

Survival mode can build a business, but it can also trap you in it. Ky Benford reveals the hard transition from being a skilled welder who owned a job to becoming a real business owner running KBG Welding and Austin Steel Company.

If you’re an entrepreneur, tradesperson, or anyone trying to turn hands-on work into a scalable company, this conversation is packed with hard-earned lessons from the field. Ky explains how an early welding skill turned into a full-circle career, how hiring the wrong people can quietly derail growth, and why learning the difference between a welder and a fabricator changed everything.

About Ky Benford

Ky Benford runs KBG Welding and Austin Steel Company.

What we talked about

  1. 00:00Welcome to the Below the Surfce Podcast
  2. 00:24Meet Ky Benford and his two businesses
  3. 01:24How Ky got introduced to welding
  4. 03:19The interview question that changed everything
  5. 04:38The “welderpreneur” mindset and early business struggles
  6. 06:29Survival mode, hiring, and finding fabricators
  7. 08:31Soft skills and wearing every hat
  8. 12:20The biggest day-to-day challenge: scheduling
  9. 14:57Why balance is hard in entrepreneurship
  10. 18:43Hiring the right people to grow
  11. 22:26Why new technology matters for every business
  12. 28:13Adapting as a leader and business owner
  13. 34:35The message Ky would leave the next generation
  14. 36:46The handrail project that tested everything
  15. 42:41Where to find Ky and his businesses

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