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A 16-acre orchard, a taxing year, and a knock from fate: that’s how Niki Hilbers found her way from selling fruit to building a year-round honey brand with real roots in the Four Corners. What began as a practical move to make the land pay its way turned into a full-hearted partnership with bees, a masterful co-op with beekeeper Kyle Harris, and a mission to keep everything organic, local, and community-first. The journey winds through caregiving and loss, a sudden delivery of 24 hives, and the kind of instinct that feels like luck but looks a lot like paying attention.

We dig into the real work behind the sweetness. Niki shares how “do not spray” signs, county conversations, and no-chemical practices protect pollinators while building trust. She opens up about the systems that keep a small business alive: ditching the cash box for a POS, juggling WIC and SNAP across clunky apps, hiring her first steady team member, and carving out time to make the products people love — habanero hot honey, lemon ginger throat coat, and those thick honey sticks. There’s no gloss here, just practical tactics, messy spreadsheets, and a steady commitment to serve.

Along the way, we talk honey as medicine — why daily local honey may help with seasonal allergies, and how simple, functional blends deliver comfort when sore throats hit. We explore a bigger vision: a storefront with a glass-walled extractor, a live hive observatory, mentorships for new beekeepers, and a sustainable path to 700 hives to serve San Juan County. Niki’s mindset ties it all together: collaborate instead of compete, welcome constructive criticism, and believe so deeply in the mission that setbacks become fuel.

If you care about small business, local food systems, beekeeping, or just need a nudge to follow your instincts, this story will stick. Subscribe for more candid conversations, share this with a friend who loves honey, and leave a review with the one takeaway you’ll act on this week.

Be sure to follow or subscribe!  And, if you're a local business owner who'd like to be featured - or know someone whose story should be told - get in touch at [email protected]

This show is brought to you by Strategic Horizons Consulting (a division of Ken Collins Marketing).

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A curtain for a tablecloth and a pocket of courage—that’s how Courtney Anderson’s mushroom journey began. What followed is a rare blend of patient craft, community warmth, and customer-led innovation that transformed a flea market table into Mushroom Zen, a cozy apothecary in Aztec where the air smells like incense and conversations last as long as they need to.

We walk through the awakening that set it all in motion, the disciplined work of learning to grow mushrooms without cutting corners, and the partnership that makes it sustainable—Courtney’s intuition and customer care balanced by a behind-the-scenes co-founder who handles the grow and the paperwork grind. We talk microdosing for anxiety, PTSD, and building better habits; why locally grown, tested mushrooms matter in a market flooded with questionable imports; and how authentic listening can be a more powerful strategy than any ad spend.

The move from a busier Farmington location to a smaller space in Aztec seems counterintuitive until you hear the results: lower costs, stronger foot traffic, a richer sense of place, and a shop that doubles as a sanctuary. Courtney shares how product lines grew from customer requests, why she sometimes recommends riboflavin instead of selling a tincture, and what it takes to scale without losing soul—ultrasonic extraction, thoughtful wholesale partnerships, and a website that will help her spend more time in the lab while keeping local pickup and personal touch intact.

If you care about medicinal mushrooms, ethical sourcing, mental health, or the kind of business that treats people like neighbors, this conversation will stick. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves community-driven craft, and leave a review with the insight that hit you hardest.

Be sure to follow or subscribe!  And, if you're a local business owner who'd like to be featured - or know someone whose story should be told - get in touch at [email protected]

This show is brought to you by Strategic Horizons Consulting (a division of Ken Collins Marketing).

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The best furniture tells a story you can feel in your hands—and sometimes hides a secret. We sit with master maker Ramon Valdez to unpack how marquetry, tight joinery, and magnetic hidden compartments evolved into a resilient business that reaches customers around the world. Ramon traces his journey from cabinet shops and gallery floors to a modern model fueled by Instagram, community, and products that keep earning—plans, ebooks, and 3D‑printed tools designed for real shops.

You’ll hear how a single jig request turned into a product line, why the Domino Dock jumped from plywood to 3D printing for true shelf appeal, and what it really takes to bring a tool to market—from Fusion drawings and iterations to packaging and shipping. Ramon explains the systems that make craft repeatable: jigs built on a simple promise of faster, safer, more accurate; a bench layout where every tool has a home; and an ecommerce flow with WooCommerce that replaces messy DMs with clean orders and global labels in a tap.

We also dig into the hard choices behind growth without hiring, the role of outsourcing while guarding quality, and the power of digital products as genuine passive income. Ramon’s take on trends, pivots, and process will resonate with makers and entrepreneurs alike: build what sells, keep your pivot ready, and let small, disciplined systems unlock big creative wins. If you’re curious about turning craftsmanship into a sustainable business—without sanding the soul off the work—this conversation is your blueprint.

Enjoyed the episode? Follow the show, share it with a friend who loves woodworking or small business, and leave a quick review to help more makers find us.

Be sure to follow or subscribe!  And, if you're a local business owner who'd like to be featured - or know someone whose story should be told - get in touch at [email protected]

This show is brought to you by Strategic Horizons Consulting (a division of Ken Collins Marketing).

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A confession with teeth. We missed a week, and instead of glossing over it, we break down why new projects fall through the cracks—and how to build systems that keep your work on track when life gets loud. I walk through my path from Farmington kid to Air Force process junkie, from executive support at Langley to the IT bust that knocked me flat, and the hard climb back through city marketing, a messy agency breakup, and the rebuild that became Ken Collins Marketing and Strategic Horizons Consulting.

Across the story, I share the frameworks that actually help small business owners in the Four Corners and beyond: why automation is a lifeline for teams wearing too many hats, how to schedule content without sounding robotic, and where AI fits—useful, but never on autopilot. We get honest about sales being my weakest muscle and how I’ve learned to keep explanations simple, stack detail only as needed, and earn trust by telling the truth, even when it stings. If you’ve ever been overwhelmed by process, partnerships, or priorities, you’ll hear exactly how I structure onboarding, audits, and playbooks so they scale with a tiny team.

What makes this conversation different is the mix of local roots and global context. I’ve worked with mom‑and‑pop shops scraping for a hundred-dollar bill and with international organizations navigating heavy bureaucracy, and that range shapes how I solve problems here at home. I also share a dream I can’t shake: building a real pipeline for youth entrepreneurship so students with hustle get coaching, sprints, and launch support, not just a pat on the back. Until then, the plan is simple—keep serving owners, tighten the systems, and make this podcast a reliable window into how leaders in our community build, stumble, and get back up.

If this resonates, share it with a business owner who needs the lift, hit follow so you never miss the next story, and leave a quick review with your biggest takeaway—what will you automate first?

Be sure to follow or subscribe!  And, if you're a local business owner who'd like to be featured - or know someone whose story should be told - get in touch at [email protected]

This show is brought to you by Strategic Horizons Consulting (a division of Ken Collins Marketing).

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Imagine floating past sunlit bluffs while otters slip through willow shadows and a guide turns river science into basketballs-per-second. That’s the unexpected magic Cody Dudgeon and Desert River Guides bring to Farmington—a city more famous for oil and gas than river tourism. We talk with Cody about building a thriving rafting culture where no one was searching for it, training teachers as guides, and crafting five-star experiences that blend geology, history, and wildlife with calm-water serenity.

The journey starts with the hard parts: weekend-only guide schools while teaching full-time, figuring out billboards and social posts that actually convert in a non-tourist town, and keeping old buses and trailers alive to make shuttles hum. Cody shares how partnerships with Three Rivers Brewing and Wines of the San Juan expanded their reach, why a family-first approach keeps 90-year-old grandparents and five-year-olds smiling on the same raft, and how consistent stewardship—like pulling 70+ tires from the San Juan and Animas—changes community behavior. We unpack the systems that matter most: training guides to read the room and the river, matching crew strengths to trip types, and translating cubic feet per second into visuals anyone can feel.

Looking ahead, Cody lays out an exciting plan for multi-day trips from Shiprock toward Four Corners, plus winery shuttles and a dream “bar boat” cataraft powered by solar-assisted electric. We get honest about last-minute bookings, no-shows, deposits, accounting routines, and the constant dance of vehicles, lunches, and put-ins. Through it all, a clear theme emerges: deliver an experience that deepens connection to place, and word of mouth will carry you farther than any ad. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves rivers or local business stories, and leave a review with your favorite moment—what part of the journey should Cody scale next?

Be sure to follow or subscribe!  And, if you're a local business owner who'd like to be featured - or know someone whose story should be told - get in touch at [email protected]

This show is brought to you by Strategic Horizons Consulting (a division of Ken Collins Marketing).

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It's all about InterWest Concepts

We trace how a radio lifer (David Mills) and a systems-savvy producer (Ren Harris) built a genre-hopping Sunday show on KSJE by mixing curiosity, comfort, and live-to-tape honesty. Partnership, process, and community ties fuel a steady climb past 135K downloads while keeping the joy intact.

• origin story from bakery to broadcast
• KSJE partnership as music licensing workaround
• why a new genre each week keeps curiosity high
• planning in small bursts to beat burnout
• minimal editing for authenticity and pace
• community roots, sponsors, and local pride
• navigating Sunday-morning-friendly playlists
• vulnerability, nerves, and trusting the process
• advice for new creators: iterate and don’t quit
• goals for 10 seasons, guest hosts, and fresh themes

What happens when a radio veteran and an old-soul producer refuse to pick a lane? You get a Sunday morning staple that flips formats on purpose, blends radio’s warmth with podcast freedom, and keeps growing because curiosity is the point — not the problem.

We sit down with David and Ren of InterWest Concepts to unpack a story that zigzags from high school radio to a hometown bakery and back into broadcast — this time as a hybrid radio-podcast airing first on KSJE. They share the savvy workaround that lets them play the music they love without breaking the bank on licensing, and why their “KSJE’s Sunday Morning Wake Up Call” never repeats the same genre twice in a row. One week it’s ’70s country, the next it’s punk, then glam, then Japanese City Pop — and somehow the throughline still feels like home.

Behind the scenes, the engine is a real partnership: equal say, small-but-mighty systems, and a commitment to record like it’s live. They map five new show ideas after each session, spend ten minutes every other day seeding playlists, and only edit for hard errors. The rest stays in — the missed cues, the laughter, the unexpected pivots — because authenticity beats polish when you’re building trust. Community threads through everything: local sponsors, listener emails, and the joy of being a familiar voice on a station that knows your name. They’re honest about burnout and nerves, too, and how they keep momentum when ideas run dry (including a standing offer: pitch a fresh theme they haven’t done and earn $100 if it makes the cut).

If you love radio that feels alive, podcasting that respects your time, and music discovery that stretches your taste without snapping it, this one’s for you. Hear how a format-agnostic show crossed 135K downloads, why Sunday-morning playlists still find an edge, and what it takes to build a legacy you’d be proud to leave your grandkids. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves music rabbit holes, and leave a review with the next genre you want them to explore. Your idea might be the next opening track.

Be sure to follow or subscribe!  And, if you're a local business owner who'd like to be featured - or know someone whose story should be told - get in touch at [email protected]

This show is brought to you by Strategic Horizons Consulting (a division of Ken Collins Marketing).

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Welcome to the inaugural episode of Behind the Counter, a podcast that explores the authentic stories of small businesses in the Four Corners region. Host Ken Collins introduces the show's mission to uncover the real narratives of local entrepreneurs—their grit, growth, setbacks, and creativity that don't make it into their marketing.

• Weekly conversations with business owners about their behind-the-scenes experiences
• Focus on startup stories, motivations, systems, strategies, and ongoing challenges
• Authentic discussions without polish or performance—just real people doing real work
• Content for both business owners and community members who value local enterprises
• Opportunity to learn about the people behind the businesses you frequent

If you know a business that deserves to be featured, or if that business is yours, visit strategichorizonsconsulting.com or betterbizhelp.com and find the podcast link in the main menu to get in touch.

Be sure to follow or subscribe!  And, if you're a local business owner who'd like to be featured - or know someone whose story should be told - get in touch at [email protected]

This show is brought to you by Strategic Horizons Consulting (a division of Ken Collins Marketing).

Support the show