Shows
Hooks & Runs249 - He Went Two for Five the Next Game w/ Beverly Winter-DonahoIn April 1950, Jim Martin, a catcher for the West Texas New Mexico League’s Pampa Oilers, was violently struck by lightning during a game in Abilene, Texas. He not only survived the strike but he played the next game, going two for five. This week, Martin's daughter, Beverly Winter-Donaho, joins us to discuss Martin and his time in the minors during the 40s and 50s. In part two, Craig visits PNC Park and what's left of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.Errata: Joe Nuxhall made his Major League debut, pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, on June 10, 1944. He was 15 ye...2025-06-1449 min
Happy Hour with John GaskinsFULL THURSDAY SHOW - Vince Benedetto (SDSD TE coach) and Final Wolves Wrap after KO in OKCWho says you can't go to your second home again? Vince Benedetto is a Chicagoland native, but he feels back at home in Brookings, where his South Dakota football journey has come full circle. As a South Dakota State tight end from 2010-13 and graduate assistant in 2014-15, Benedetto helped the Jackrabbits grow into a consistent Top 20 FCS program before starting a decade-long high school coaching run that included working under prep legends Craig Clayberg and Kim Nelson, then building a brand new program at Sioux Falls Jefferson into a state champion in the school's s...2025-05-301h 39
WarNotes: A Conflict PodcastEp 017 "Military Science Fiction and the Profession of Arms""The noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and the war's desolation."Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers***Effective 20 June 2025, I completed a major sound improvement project on all my WarNotes episodes.***I think the military science fiction milieu provides a great tool for forecasting and predicting possible conflict futures.It may be yet another tool to take this magnificent US 20th century fighting machine and make it a peer combat competitor in the 21st century.Speculative fiction provides a...2025-04-2858 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Beat The Afternoon Slump With This Quick Productivity FixStruggling to stay awake in the afternoon? Boost your energy in just 10 minutes with this simple yet powerful habit!
Many of us hit a mid-afternoon slump, feeling sluggish and unmotivated after lunch. But did you know that a quick 10-minute walk can completely refresh your mind and body?
In this podcast, I’ll tell you why this trick works, how it improves focus, and why it’s one of the easiest ways to stay productive throughout the day. No need for coffee or energy drinks—just get moving and feel the difference!
This is the...2025-01-2906 minHooks & Runs233 - The Miracle Braves of 1914, Part 1This week Craig and Rex begin a two-part series on the Miracle Braves of 1914.The early 20th Century was not kind to the Boston Braves (previously, the Beaneaters, the Doves and the Rustlers). Mired in the second division for years with frequent ownership changes, an outdated ballpark and few prospects, Boston entered the 1914 season with second year manager George Stallings, some promising new ballplayers and faint hopes to crack the National League's first division. However, after being swept in July 4th double header, the Braves were back in familiar territory - deep in last place, 15 games behind...2025-01-2039 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Why Nurturing Contacts is Your Key to Success!Episode Description:
In this episode of Smashing Self-Employment, we dive deep into a true story that highlights the importance of keeping in touch with your customers and prospects.
Discover how a simple habit of consistent communication can turn cold leads into loyal clients—even years down the line!
We’ll share real-life examples, including how a first aid training company became a customer simply because we kept in touch, and how a small change in email frequency helped a tax consultant grow her client base.
Whether you’re self-employed or running a smal...2024-12-1815 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Mastering Marketing: The ABC Framework for Small Business SuccessIn this episode, we dive into the world of marketing through the lens of a game-changing YouTube video. Discover the simple yet powerful ABCs of Marketing: Audience, Broadcast, and Channels, and learn how these foundational steps can transform your marketing efforts.
We discuss why knowing your target audience is critical, how to craft a message that truly resonates, and the importance of choosing the right platforms to reach your customers.
Plus, we explore advanced strategies like using CRMs, upselling effectively, and the power of incremental improvements through the aggregation of marginal gains.
To...2024-12-0410 min
The Crafty Pint PodcastMoon Dog's Marvellous MedicineThe craft beer era has given rise to thousands of stories, but none like that of Moon Dog.Founders Karl van Buuren and brothers Josh and Jake Uljans announced themselves to an unsuspecting beer world in the manner of a custard pie to the face – well before custard pie beers were a thing – and have never stopped evolving and innovating. Neither have they lost focus on keeping two words – "delicious" and "fun" – at the heart of everything they do. After a few years of ever more outrageous releases, they opened their first venue in Abbotsford on the si...2024-10-2359 min
All Points WestLeakBot - Protecting Homes and Preventing Claims, with Ondo InsurTech CEO Craig FosterWhen Craig Foster was asked to set up an innovations lab at HomeServe to answer the question: "is this an opportunity or is this a threat?" He never expected they would develop something that would lead to him turning down a promotion, and starting his own business. LeakBot is the flagship product of Ondo InsurTech plc, and Craig is on a mission to get it installed in every building with indoor plumbing across North America and Western Europe.In this episode of All Points West, Karl explores the origins (and future) of LeakBot, the uncertainty felt when...2024-08-2157 minHooks & Runs210 - Craig Goes to Cleveland.Craig reports on his short getaway to Cleveland, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Progressive Field. The hosts speculate on stadium drama in Oakland, Tampa and Anaheim. The Mariners blew a 10-game lead in the American League West over a 24-game period, but will anyone remember in October if Seattle hangs on to win the division anyway? Craig and Rex glance at famous late-season collapses in baseball history. We want All-Stars in their team uniforms and the national anthem performance at Monday's home run derby is a microcosm on what's wrong with the modern music business in 2024.2024-07-2544 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Content Sharing Is Just As Important As Content CreationYou may have heard that content is King.And, if you want your website to do well in the search engines, you need to be creating regular content (usually blog posts).But that's not the whole picture.When you’ve created a new content item you need to be sharing it out on your own social media.If the sharing brings traffic back to your website, then it will give Google a good indicator that this content item is popular.And as a result, because of the additional traffic, you get additional points in th...2024-07-1809 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How Often Should You Send Out Marketing Emails?We're often asked "how frequently should you send out marketing emails" and there's no really simple answer.
The main factors in marketing email frequency are:
~ Your business type
~ Your customer type
If you sell to consumers then you'll probably get away with sending out emails quite often, maybe even daily.
If you sell to businesses then you need to be more careful since stuffing your contacts'' inboxes will likely mean unsubscribes or spam labels.
The key thing is to be informative and engaging with your emails. If you're providing value then most folks won't mind getting your marketing emails...2024-06-1909 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Stop Giving Yourself a Hard Time if Life Gets in The WayI heard a saying that "Life happens when you're planning on doing something else!"
And when you're self-employed it can have a huge impact on your ability to get stuff done.
The challenge for many people is to avoid giving yourself a hard time when your business activity is derailed by life.
So, a few things to bear in mind are:
Accept that "stuff happens" and that it happens to everyone
Look for the opportunity to get something done, even if it's small
Do your best to make the best of your...2024-06-1207 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How to Improve Your Sales - Interview With Gary FosterGary Foster (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thegaryfoster/) is a Sales Hypnotist, sales trainer and salesman.
In this interview he shares his thoughts on:
Copying successful salespeople
Making your sales pitch more comfortable and formal
How to be a helpful salesperson
Serving to sell
Using language to increase sales
Making selling fun
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com
YouTube: @smashingselfemployment
LinkedIn: @karlcraigwest
Get the Smashing Self-Employment book : https://amzn.to/2GiBBEL2024-06-0542 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Play to Your Strengths: The Ultimate Guide to Loving What You DoIn this interview with Daria Williamson (www.dariawilliamson.com) you'll learn how to work on your strengths and delegate out the things you don't enjoy and don't leave you energised.
As self-employment people we end up doing a lot of stuff we don't enjoy (such as book-keeping) and these tasks often get left until the last minute, which causes stress.
Or we won't even start things because they simply don't excite us and don't give us energy.
Another thing is that we reluctantly do the boring stuff that goes with being self-employed. For...2024-05-2932 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.The importance of taking a weekly day offOur mind and body regularly need time to recover and refresh from the working week. And a weekly day off is the ideal way to do it.
However, when you're self-employed (especially working from home), it can be very difficult to disconnect yourself from your work.
The constant input from mobile devices doesn't help.
So, here are some pointers on making sure you take at least one day off each week.
It'll help.
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com
Insta: @smashingselfemployment
LinkedIn: @karlcraigwest
Get the Smashing Self-Employment...2024-05-2306 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Starting a New Marketing Campaign - How to get it rightYou can save yourself a tonne of time and money if you follow these steps to make sure you start a marketing campaign the right way.
Make sure you understand your target audience and how you're aiming to help them
Test and measure performance on a very regular basis
Run split tests, if you can
Start small and scale up if (or when) it proves to be profitable
The aim is to make sure that every campaign provides a profitable return on investment as quickly as possible.
LET'S CONNECT:
Web...2024-04-1709 minHooks & Runs194 - West Texas Baseball: The Alpine Cowboys and the Pecos League w/ Kristin CavnessKristin Cavness is the general manager of the Alpine Cowboys, the only truly independent team in the independent Pecos League (the other 15 teams are owned and operated by league). The Cowboys are owned and operated by a locally-controlled non-profit that keeps Alpine's strong baseball history alive. The team plays their home games at historic Kokernot Field, dubbed by Sports Illustrated's Nicholas Dawidoff in 2016 as the "Yankee Stadium of Texas." Cavness gives us a fun behind the scenes look at independent baseball in West Texas.In Part 2, Rex and Craig discuss the Astros' dreadful start, the team's knack...2024-04-0543 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How to Write Blog Posts Quickly and Easily!These days websites are all about content.
Decent content gives you a better chance of outranking your competitors in the search engines.
And the best way to do this is to write regular blog posts.
The challenge is that blogging takes time.
So, in this episode we share a few ideas on how to create blog posts in less time.
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com
Insta: @smashingselfemployment
LinkedIn: @karlcraigwest
Get the Smashing Self-Employment book : https://amzn...2024-04-0311 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Your Marketing Process And How to Set it Up!Your marketing should be a process, just like the rest of your business.⠀
In fact, the more you make a system/process out of your marketing the easier it will be to do and more effectively it will help you to (win and keep) customers.
You see, successful businesses run on processes.
The more efficient and effective these processes, the easier it is to manage and grow a business.
So, your mission should be to work out a successful process for your marketing.
Look at what you do, how of...2024-03-2210 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How To Look After Your Wellbeing when you're Self-employed?!Rich Ellis, of Fit 4 Life, share his tips on how to prioritise your wellbeing when you're self-employed.
Rich's key points include:
~ Have a great start to the day
~ Your eating habits make a difference to your ability to stay well
~ Have something to look forward to (such as a weekend away or a holiday)
~ Take regular breaks (including micro-breaks in each day)
~ Look after your mindset
~ Your self-talk is important
The thing to remember is this:
"If you're not able to work, you're not able to earn".
The buck stops with you and how well you perform.
So looking...2024-03-1331 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Multi-tasking doesn't work. Here's how you get stuff done!Multi-tasking doesn't work. In fact, it's bad for your productivity.
You see, trying to get a load of stuff done, all at once, means that nearly nothing gets finished.
You'll simple flick between tasks and get nowhere fast.
Even worse is that you run the risk of stressing yourself out because you won't be finishing anything but you'll feel rushed off your feet.
So, how do you fix this?
Well, it's simple:
You work on just one thing at a time.
But to give yourself...2024-03-0610 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Shiny New Thing Syndrome and how to Deal With it!"Shiny New Thing Syndrome" is so easily to fall into where you get distracted by something new and exciting.
The issue is that it's far too easy to get sucked up by the hype and fail to question whether this new thing is going to be helpful to you and your business.
And just because everyone seems to be raving about something, it doesn't mean that it's any good.
A key question to ask is this:
"Is this new thing going to help me reach my customers or build my business?"2024-02-2909 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Get more Referrals With This Simple Idea!Referrals are usually the cheapest and most effective way of getting more customers.
It's the best way of knowing that you're doing good work and that many of your customers tell others about the good stuff you do.
In this episode I share the story of a mortgage broker called Gareth.
His strategy was to reward his top referring clients with dinner at their favourite local restaurant.
Yes it was an expensive reward but each new customer was worth quite a bit of money.
So it made sense to...2024-02-1411 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Why Measuring Your Marketing is Important!Measuring your marketing is important because you need to know which elements of your marketing are actually working.
Sadly, far too many smaller businesses and self-employed people just put marketing out there but simply don't know if any of it is effective.
These days, with much marketing happening online, you have no excuse for keeping track of your stats.
It's a good idea to find out where your customers heard about you or how they found you.
It makes sense to work on this because you want to amplify what's working...2024-02-0908 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Top Self-Employment Tips from Angela Couch, Career CoachIn this episode we interview Angela Couch who is a Career Coach in Auckland (www.careerinspiration.nz).
Angela shares her key lessons after 2 years in self-employment.
These include:
Don't be afraid to ask for help
Be persistent
Remember that it will take twice as long as you think to get going
Make sure your 'WHY' is very clear
Angela works with professionals and managers and can be found here :
https://careerinspiration.nz/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-couch-career-coach/
LET'S CONNECT:
...2024-02-0118 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How To Really Get Stuff Done!We all get the same number of hours in a day.
But how is that some people manage to get more done than others?
Well, it's not about managing time.
It's all about managing you and what you do.
The key is to aim towards good working habits and your own personal productivity.
The main points are:
Cut distractions and interruptions
Give yourself 'Focus' time
Switch things off
Give yourself time off
Let people know when you're unavailable
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com2024-01-2410 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Maybe You Shouldn't Be Self-Employed? Here's Why:Being self-employed isn't always easy. And the main reason it's not easy is because you have to be multi-skilled.
You have to get good at marketing, sales, book-keeping, personal organisation, cash-flow management and work-life balance.
As well as being able to deliver the products or services you're offering.
I've even heard it said that you need to be nearly as good at marketing as you do the thing you're selling.
But here's the key thing:
If you can't get the hang of all this then self-employment is going to...2024-01-1611 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.The Key To Marketing Success: Be ConsistentConsistent marketing leads to consistent results. So here's how to make your marketing more consistent and successful.
As it sits, fewer than 10% of self-employed people are consistent with their marketing and it's no small wonder that only a minority get meaningful results.
The key to fixing this is to develop a consistent marketing plan and implement it.
First you need to make time each day for marketing.
Without making time you'll struggle to get around to it.
Then you should plan your marketing so you know what you'll be...2024-01-1007 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How To Outsource and Delegate When You're Self-EmployedOutsourcing some aspects of your work is the only way you're going to be able to focus on the core aspects of your business.
As soon as you can, you should be handing your book-keeping over to a book-keeper (unless you're a book-keeper, of course).
You should also look to outsource admin work to a Virtual Assistant (VA) too.
After all, you didn't start your business to get bogged down by admin tasks.
Not only that, it's nearly impossible to grow a business on your own.
This means that...2024-01-0310 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Constant Learning is not enough. Here's why:You may have heard one (or more) of the following phrases:
Knowledge is power
Leaders are readers
Earners are learners
However, none of these phrases have any impact until you start putting your learning into ACTION!
That's right, you need to do something with the knowledge you gain.
So, this episode gives you some ideas on how to make sure you're making the most of your knowledge and learnings.
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com
Insta: @smashingselfemployment
LinkedIn :@karlcraigwest
Get the...2023-12-2706 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Does email marketing still work?I'm often asked the question "Does email marketing still work?".
And my resounding answer is usually "YES!"
But...
There's always a 'but'.
You have to make it relevant to your target audience and not just keep bombarding them with 'buy my stuff' messages.
Even that last sentence comes with a 'but...'
You see, if you're in e-commerce then email marketing is an absolutely essential marketing tool. And you'd be a fool to ignore this.
However, if you sell services then email marketing is still...2023-12-2009 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Why looking after spending is good for business!When you're self-employed (or running a small business) the mission is to make a profit.
If there's no profit then you have a hobby, not a business.
And the way to profit is to make sure you're not spending money on stuff you don't need and that, eventually, you bring in far more than you spend.
Key points:
Keep an eye on cash-flow
Ask yourself: 'do I really need this?' with all new expenditure
Find out if you can get better deals if you shop around
Ask around in your network...2023-12-1317 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Why you should have a website, even if your is business is tiny!Even if you're working from your kitchen table, with a tiny business, it's still important to have a website, and here's why:
The key thing to remember is that your own website will be the only bit of online real-estate that you actually own and control.
The social platforms belong to someone else and they can change their algorithm and shut you down almost instantly, as Facebook has done plenty of times.
So, having your own place on the web is essential.
But also, you'd want to make sure that you're easily found if someone searches for your business...2023-12-0608 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Just Follow-Up - Your Reputation Depends On ItHave you ever contacted a company and they didn't respond?
Here in New Zealand this is very common, even if you're trying to spend some money.
I can only guess that those companies are making too much money or they simply don't give a damn.
But here's the thing:
Even if they're the best at what they do, I will never try to do business with them again.
As far as I'm concerned, their reputation is garbage.
Not only that but I've told quite a few people...2023-11-2909 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Don't Make This Rookie Marketing Mistake!This episode is the story of Tom and Dan who tried a crazy marketing idea with expensive and disastrous results.
They spent a bunch of money in the 'hope' that it would work first-time.
Sadly, marketing rarely works first-time. There is a usually a period of refinement to get desired results.
Key lessons in this episode:
Get to know your audience as well as you can before starting a marketing campaign. This way you can communicate with them more effectively.
Don't throw loads of money/resources at an untested marketing idea. Start...2023-11-2309 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How great customer service can help you win customers!In this example of great customer service you'll learn an important lesson in making sure the buying experience with your company lets customers know that you're there to serve.
You see, it's far too easy to take your customers for granted.
And when you do, it's only a matter of time before this starts to eat away at customer loyalty.
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com
Insta: @smashingselfemployment
LinkedIn : @karlcraigwest
Get the Smashing Self-Employment book : https://amzn.to/2GiBBEL2023-11-1706 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Key things to help you 'make it' in self-employment!In this interview with self-employed trainer and facilitator Steve O'Neill (https://sondevelopment.com/) you'll learn some of the key things that you need to get to grips with when you become self-employed.
Key learnings:
Don't be afraid to 'go for it' if you get the chance
Using your network is a great way to pick up work
You have to become multi-skilled quickly
You don't have to be a perfectionist. Get it done and get it out there
Focus on being productive, not just busy
You need to be disciplined
And more...
You can connect...2023-11-0949 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How to get more done in your most productive time of day!We all want to get more done. But it's often a challenge because, when you work for yourself, you're spinning so many different plates.
And it's important to get the vital stuff done when you're at your most alert and awake.
In this episode you'll discover a simple technique that will enable you to identify your best time of day to get the most important work done.
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com
Insta: @smashingselfemployment
LinkedIn : @karlcraigwest
Get the Smashing Self-Employment book : https://amzn.to/2GiBBEL2023-11-0108 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Business tips from events specialist and serial entrepreneur Sheila SmithSheila Smith (now retired) shares her business tips in this interview recorded in November 2020 during the Covid lockdowns.
The key lessons are:
Be adaptable
Try new things (even if they're uncomfortable)
Partner up with complementary skills
Keep your word - your reputation depends on it
You're never too old to learn new stuff
Don't sit and suffer in silence, speak with someone
Look for the value in what you've already achieved
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com
Insta: @smashingselfemployment
LinkedIn : @karlcraigwest
Get the Smashing Self-Employment book : ht...2023-10-2523 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.Why it's a good idea to start with a small number of marketing channelsWhen starting out in business it's very tempting to just dive into loads of different marketing channels to try and be everywhere.
However, this is usually a mistake.
Largely because you can't be good at them all if you're spreading yourself too thinly.
The best way is get really good at just a few and then add more from there.
This episode explains the how and why of this approach.
LET'S CONNECT:
Web: smashingselfemployment.com
Insta: @smashingselfemployment
LinkedIn : @karlcraigwest
Get the Sm...2023-10-1909 min
Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.How to beat perfectionism with a "good enough" approach!Want to beat perfectionism? It's simple: just learn to accept that most things only need to be 'good enough'.
You see, very few things in life and work need to be perfect. But most perfectionists get too hung up on making things just right.
So, if you're a perfectionist you should listen to this.
This episode talks you through a couple of examples of where 'good enough' would have been good enough.
You'll also learn some ideas on how you can make this approach work for you.
2023-10-1010 min