Subscribed People Get Gifts Early, No Wrapping Required

Take a breath with us. As the holidays arrive, we’re pressing pause to recharge, reflect, and set up a stronger return in January—while giving you a clear path to keep up with new stories from the Four Corners business community. We share exactly how our release flow works so you never miss an episode: new interviews go live every Monday on podcast platforms, and the companion blog posts publish the following Monday on our site, then get shared across Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you’ll hear every conversation a full week before social media sees it.

We look back on a compact but rich season that featured Interwest Concepts, Desert River Guides, Ramon Valdez Fine Furniture, Mushroom Zen, The Happy Pear, Anne Marie’s Dance Academy, Artifacts, and Dottie Wampus Magical Chocolate Factory. Many of these guests came to us through listener tips and prior guest referrals, which tells us the Four Corners business network is alive and generous. The through line is simple: real owners, real challenges, and the practical choices that turn local shops into resilient cornerstones.

This holiday break isn’t idle time—it’s strategy. We talk about giving presence as well as presents, stepping back with your team, and using the quieter days of December to clarify your why, review the year with a cool head, and sketch a realistic plan for January. You’ll hear a preview of small format tweaks we’re making next season to sharpen interviews while keeping the candid feel you love. Expect the same focus on local entrepreneurs, just with tighter questions and even more useful takeaways.

If you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas; if you honor another tradition, happy holidays. However you mark the season, we hope you find rest, connection, and a clear mental map for the year ahead. Subscribe now to get the first episodes of the new season the moment they drop, share the show with a friend who loves small business stories, and leave a quick review to help more neighbors discover these voices.

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 Ken@StrategicHorizonsConsulting.com

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

Transcript

Holiday Break Announcement

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Hey everybody, it's Ken Collins with uh Behind the Counter and Strategic Horizons uh Consulting and Ken Collins Marketing. Same guy, it's me, Ken. Uh this is another another episode, kind of like I did for the uh Thanksgiving break episode. This is uh an announcement of our Christmas break. So Christmas is is um like literally right around the corner. And so we're gonna take a couple of breaks and just pause and and enjoy, and as you should, uh just a busy time of year, festive, um, full of reflection, all that kind of good stuff. So um as a reminder, as I did with the Thanksgiving episode, uh just want to remind you that new podcast episodes drop every Monday. Um and then a blog article for this Monday's episode comes out on the website and is thus shared to social media um the following Monday. So basically, if you follow the podcast on a podcast platform um or continually check our website, um you'll see you'll get episodes one week earlier than everybody else who's waiting for it to show up on social media. So yeah, so every every Monday we drop a new episode, and then the following Monday we we drop a blog article on the on the website for that episode, and then um immediately share that blog article out to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, uh that kind of stuff. So um anyway, so yeah, that's just basically an encouragement to subscribe, to follow, follow the the podcast on on your favorite podcast platform. I think the biggest one uh right now for downloads is is Apple Podcasts. Um so if you like Apple Podcasts, you can find us there. It's behind the counter business stories from the Four Corner, Four Corners. Um it's also on Spotify and it's on several other podcasting platforms. So just look around for it or check the website and and uh and there'll be a few links there for you to just get right to the show. Um again on the website. Uh the podcast is under the menu item of podcast. Make it easy for you. So yeah, follow the show. Uh we we've we've we've covered some some great people this year. This this episode being the Christmas break episode is the last one of the season. So um, but we'll start right up um as soon as as soon as January gets here, we're right back at it. So we're already scheduling um now in uh in December, we're scheduling some some people to to so that we have those those those uh episodes ready to go when January rolls around. So we're scheduling people for interviews now and and getting those done so that we can have a view in the bank and um bring you guys some really really cool guests. So this year so far, um, as a recap, we've we've covered, you know, we got a light late start on the show. Um didn't didn't start until uh let's see September, actually, going into October is when we got started. So this makes the 12th episode of the year, but we did uh Interwest Concepts, um Desert River Guides, uh Ramon Valdez Fine Furniture, Mushroom Zen, The Happy Pear, Anne Marie's Dance Academy, um Artifacts, and Dottie Wampus Magical Chocolate Factory. Some really cool stuff. Um, really cool stuff. And uh some of these some of these I didn't know who they were or realize they existed until I was I was directed to them. Um sometimes by you, the listeners, sometimes by um my podcast guests. Uh so anyway, just really cool people, really care about the local economy and local business owners, and that's exactly what this show is for and about, is about our local people here and what makes them so cool, and how they do what they do, and what they've overcome to be able to do it, and and all that kind of stuff. So um I really enjoy the fact that people are stepping forward and and um mentioning uh potential guests, and our guests are mentioning other guests, and just a really great community of of support within the business community, local business community here. So that's exactly why the show show is called um Behind the Counter Business Stories from the Four Corners, because that's what we're doing: business stories from the four corners. So, anyway, um to again, this episode is all about taking a break um for Christmas, and just like we did for Thanksgiving, but we will in fact be back for season two going into January. So um, yeah, just as I'm doing, uh I encourage you to to do the same. Take a chance to recharge. Um, you know, we've been going at it hard all year long, so so uh we got a new year coming up, and uh so take the chance, take the chance now, just recharge, enjoy family, um, reflect on what you've accomplished over the past year. Um and and remember that that as soon as January starts, these podcast episodes will start dropping every Monday again, um, right on schedule. So so watch for those. But but in the meantime, again, you know, just take take some time. Take some time for yourself and your family. Remind yourself um why you do what you do, you know?

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Um that's that's really important.

Rest, Reflect, And Recharge

Plan Now For January

Family Time And Presence

Encourage Your Team To Pause

SPEAKER_01 7:44

So yeah, take this time now to I don't know, um just reflect and and and reconnect with what really matters, you know, and that's gonna be family, um, purpose, the as I just mentioned, the the why behind behind your work. Um you know, it's if you if you don't take a moment now and then uh to step back and really appreciate why it is that you're going through the grind that you're going through, then uh that grind really starts to wear you down. So this little break right here should be just what the doctor ordered and um and and allow you to hit the new year running. So so just you know, just take some time, really ground yourself. Um maybe do what people normally do in January, do it now. Reflect on the year. Um look at what you might be, you know, in a calm, grounded state. Look at what you might be uh wanting to accomplish in in 2026 coming up. Um, you know, this is a good time to do that. In January, uh people are usually trying to do that while they're hitting the ground running. You know, the holidays have just ended and uh people have got to get back to it, you know? So so might as well just uh, you know, while you're taking time for yourself and your family and and and giving yourself a break a little bit and reflecting on the year, um just expand that just a tiny bit more and reflect on what's what's to come for the for the following year. And that way, when January hits, you're not in a panic mode, you're not in a rush mode, you you already have a mental map of of where you're going and how you're gonna get there. So um, yeah, take that time now and do that. Just refocus goals, and uh that way you can start the new year grounded and not rushed. And um, as as for me, uh probably um uh end up um spending some time with my parents who are in town here, and then um as normal running up to Denver for uh for Christmas, Christmas um uh Christmas itself, being in Denver for Christmas. So so anyway, uh we'll be doing that and visiting family up there, and um always a great time. So just great people, um, great company, great conversations, and um yeah. I mean, when we go up to Denver, it's not a bunch of running around, right? It's just reconnecting with people. That's really it. That's so important. Um, so try to remember that in all your schedules. I mean, this is a great time of year to kind of reflect on things, right? So reflect on that. You know, are you really are you rushing from place to place to place, and maybe you haven't given enough presence? Um presence, not present, uh plural. Offer your presence to people, people that are important to you. Um that's that's a really good great thing because um, you know, it is a time of giving, and giving doesn't mean um doesn't always mean gifts. Um giving it can mean your your your presence, your your time, your your effort, um, you know, whatever it is, just be there for the people who are important to you. This is a great, great time of year to do that. Um uh a lot of people are doing the same thing. So trying to get a bunch of business done um at the end of December is sometimes a really difficult thing. Why? Because people are taking a break, man. So give yourself a break. Uh do the same thing I'm doing. Just give yourself a break. Step back for just a moment and reflect. Um, thank your team if you have one of those in your business. Uh um, you know, give them the opportunity to step back and reflect and take a break and spend time with the people they love, spend time with the people you love. I'm gonna spend time with the people I love. Uh, it's just good. And that way, when we get into January, uh we are ready to go. We are fully recharged, we're fully grounded, and we have a plan moving forward. So this show, um uh, like I mentioned, will will continue um as soon as January begins. We're right back at it. And uh, but we're gonna change the format just a tiny bit. Um, we've been asking the same questions. We're probably that's probably gonna be the biggest change. So no no big, huge dramatic changes, but we're gonna um change up how we conduct our interviews. Um just a just just a slight a slight bit. Maybe a min maybe some of you won't even notice, um, others will. Uh, but anyway, so yeah, watch for the show coming right back in January. Um, and this uh blog article for this episode right here will come out um the following week. If you got to it by the blog article, you already know that this episode dropped a week earlier. So, anyway, uh just want to wish everybody happy holidays. Whatever holiday it is, we are largely a Christmas celebrating um uh society. So, for all of you out there uh who are celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas! That happens to be the one I celebrate. I don't celebrate any other holidays, but I um fully enjoy hearing about people who celebrate other types of holidays during this season, be that Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or or I mean, I really don't know. I didn't spend my time educating myself on these things. Um it's Christmas for me, and if that is the same for you, then a very Merry Christmas. To cover all the rest of them in one statement, happy holidays. I wish you uh nothing but joy and happiness uh as we move into the new year. Just carry it forward with you. Um, no need to hit the hit the grindstone with a bloody nose. Um just just carry it forward with you, and it'll make your your upcoming year even better. So uh thank you for listening. I really, really appreciate everyone who's been on the show, agreed to come on the show. Um, I appreciate everyone who's who's letting me know who I should interview next, and I appreciate everyone who is just simply listening. I really hope we're doing a great job for you here. We're gonna continue, we're gonna make improvements as we go, and um yeah, keep listening. Um we couldn't we couldn't do this without you. So again, Merry Christmas, and uh since the next episode won't drop until you uh won't drop until the new year's over with, happy new year! All right, uh enjoy yourselves.