About Bill

You could say I was born into construction. By age twelve, I was spending my summers and weekends as a helper working with my dad, a general contractor, building homes and commercial buildings in Tampa, Florida.

At age nineteen, I contracted and built a home for a friend, and built my home by age twenty. For over 30 years, I’ve owned and operated one-person businesses as a handyman, general contractor, woodworker, and now a writer-publisher.

Construction also led me to spend twelve years working for local government agencies managing federally assisted housing programs. I began with a three-month assignment to inspect and classify all the buildings in an Urban Renewal area and eventually became the Director of Community Improvement with 78 employees.

During those years, I was writing and consulting about my work. I wrote several books about housing and I finally left my government job to write and consult full time.

Writing, Publishing and Consulting

In the next phase of my career, I concentrated on using writing and publishing to make what I’d learned about housing issues accessible and useful to others. Through Rehab Notes, my monthly newsletter, I reached subscribers in all 50 states, Canada, and England. And I continued to consult and do public speaking on housing related topics for agencies and organizations in cities across the country until 1980, when most federal funding for housing activities dried up. Then I took advantage of my construction and business experience to start a handyman and woodworking business.

Over Twenty-Five Years in the Woodworking Business

I spent over twenty-five years building hundreds of small and large cabinet and furniture projects for individuals, companies, churches, and government agencies, first in Tampa and then in Austin, where I moved in 1986. During that time, I began writing books about my experiences in woodworking, self-publishing, and even relationships. You’ll find a list of my other books on my main website at https://publishingsimplified.com .

I live in Austin with my wife, Barbara Frances, and still take pleasure in learning, writing and sharing information through publishing.

You can reach me at billbenitez@gmail.com .