Marketing 4 Business

He left school at 15 because he didn't fit in, and has since bought, fixed and sold more than 460 houses.
In this Marketing 4 Business episode, Scott chats with Kane Lawson of My New Start about focus, intent, and why most marketing does not fail at the marketing. Kane was the second ever guest on this podcast four years ago, and he is back with 460-plus property transactions, a greenfield subdivision in South Canterbury, and a very direct view on what business owners get wrong.
Insights you can put to work straight away, including:
Kane on why he tells people not to ring a marketing agency unless they are ready to answer the phone
The Mag and Turbo franchise owner who swore a campaign didn't work, until the data showed he'd missed 11 of 12 calls
Scott's rule that marketing always fails at the weakest link, and the client he parted ways with over it
Kane on the wiper blade stand that gathered dust for 18 months, and why he now runs a case study instead of an emotional study
Why Kane never turns marketing down: "who am I to judge when someone is going to sell their house?"
The one question Kane has drilled into the last four years, and how it shortens every meeting: what is the intent?
Write it down and you earn the right to forget it, Kane's system behind the notebooks his team carries
Scott on why the old game was getting found and the new game is getting recommended, and what that means for video
Kane on self-belief, knowing your capacity, and operating just below your cap instead of burning out above it
Why the best staff Kane ever hired at Mag and Turbo were people others had written off

If you are a business owner spending money on marketing, trying to stay focused while everyone pitches you their next idea, or working out how to hand the baton to someone younger, this episode is well worth your time.
Download the Local Business AEO Playbook HERE. A free, step-by-step guide showing you how to position your business to be recommended by AI.
If you found this episode valuable, please share it with another business owner who could benefit. Don't forget to follow Marketing 4 Business on your favourite podcast platform, and if you enjoyed the episode, we'd really appreciate a five-star review. Your support helps us reach more business owners with practical marketing insights.
Connect with us:
Follow the Marketing 4 Business podcast on Instagram HERE.
Follow Digital Influence on Instagram HERE.
Visit Digital Influence's website HERE.
Book a complimentary marketing strategy session HERE.
Connect with Scott Wilson on LinkedIn HERE.
Connect with My New Start on LinkedIn HERE.
Have Fun & Take Action

Everyone said radio would be dead by now. It is not, and the reason has nothing to do with the music.
In this Marketing 4 Business episode, Scott chats with Kate James, newly appointed General Manager of MediaWorks Canterbury, about what actually makes advertising work for a local business, and what business owners keep getting wrong before they even book a campaign. Kate started out cooking sausages outside appliance stores and car yards on a Saturday, and has spent more than 20 years across promotions, client services, integration and sales. She is refreshingly blunt about what works, what does not, and where media reps should be pushing back harder. Insights you can use straight away, including:
Why radio's real job is building trust, not reach, and why that matters more in a market full of "click here, buy this"
What to turn up with before you brief any media rep, starting with who your customer actually is, because "anyone from 10 to 80" is not a target market
The underspend trap: how a budget that is slightly too small wastes the entire thing, and the honest conversation your rep should be having upfront
Why one station done properly beats four done thinly, every time
The nationwide advertiser that dropped radio for a pure digital strategy, and why they have come fully back to TV and radio
How digital audio and Rover put targeting by age, gender and location within reach of a local budget
Why stopping your marketing hands the opportunity straight to a competitor, and why you will not feel it for six months
The florist in his 70s who refused to let anyone underspend his budget, because he knew he was buying customers, not sales
What the best salespeople actually have in common, and why it is not polish

If you are a business owner deciding where the next marketing dollar goes, wondering whether radio still deserves a slice, or trying to work out what a decent budget really looks like, this episode is well worth your time.
Download the Local Business AEO Playbook HERE. A free, step-by-step guide showing you how to position your business to be recommended by AI.
If you found this episode valuable, please share it with another business owner who could benefit. Don't forget to follow Marketing 4 Business on your favourite podcast platform, and if you enjoyed the episode, we'd really appreciate a five-star review. Your support helps us reach more business owners with practical marketing insights.
Connect with us:
Follow the Marketing 4 Business podcast on Instagram HERE.
Follow Digital Influence on Instagram HERE.
Visit Digital Influence's website HERE.
Book a complimentary marketing strategy session HERE.
Connect with Scott Wilson on LinkedIn HERE.
Connect with Kate James on LinkedIn HERE.
Have Fun & Take Action

He was coached by five men who went on to become Sirs. He says the difference at the top had almost nothing to do with rugby…
In this Marketing 4 Business episode, Scott chats with Aaron Mauger, 46-Test All Black, professional coach, and founder of leadership consultancy Black 12, about what actually makes a team perform. Aaron and his wife Amy also own Dux Dine in Christchurch, so this is elite environments and the reality of a small business in the same conversation.
Aaron shares insights and lessons you can put to work straight away, including:
The eight words Anton Oliver said to a 20-year-old Aaron that took him off cloud nine and straight back to work
Why a team that lacks clarity produces plenty of action and almost no progress, and how to spot it in your own business
The 3 Cs Aaron runs with exec teams (connection, clarity, consistency), and why clarity is the one that stops people in their tracks
Why the best thing a new leader can do in the first few months is change nothing, plus Scott's story of the CEO who did exactly that and walked out with 57 improvements his people already owned
The four cornerstones behind that All Blacks era, and how "express yourself" gave players permission to fail
What "better men make better All Blacks" looked like in practice, and what it should change about how you invest in staff
Why one department celebrating while the rest of the business struggles is a sign of a dysfunctional team, not a high-performing one
The two or three minutes Aaron spends sitting in the car so a hard day at work does not walk through his front door
What, so what, now what, and why most meetings quietly stop at the second question
Why Aaron will tell a player he is not playing before he says anything else, and why softening the message helps nobody
How Amy spotted Dux Dine for sale on her phone while they sat in the garden, and what Aaron learned about leading by getting out of the way

If you are a business owner trying to get your people aligned, handle pressure without passing it down the line, or build an environment where good people stick around and grow, this episode is well worth your time.
Download the Local Business AEO Playbook HERE. A free, step-by-step guide showing you how to position your business to be recommended by AI.
If you found this episode valuable, please share it with another business owner who could benefit. Don't forget to follow Marketing 4 Business on your favourite podcast platform, and if you enjoyed the episode, we'd really appreciate a five-star review. Your support helps us reach more business owners with practical marketing insights.
Connect with us:
Follow the Marketing 4 Business podcast on Instagram HERE.
Follow Digital Influence on Instagram HERE.
Visit Digital Influence's website HERE.
Book a complimentary marketing strategy session HERE.
Connect with Scott Wilson on LinkedIn HERE.
Connect with Aaron Mauger on LinkedIn HERE.
Have Fun & Take Action

Everyone is talking about AI. Almost nobody is telling business owners what to actually do on Monday morning.
In this Marketing 4 Business episode, Scott chats with Blake Harkness, the AI engineer behind Harkness AI, about what AI can actually do inside a normal New Zealand business right now. Blake started a mechatronics degree, watched ChatGPT answer his entire coursework, and pivoted. He now works as a fractional AI partner, runs a 300-strong community called Young Kiwis in AI, and recently went to China on a national delegation to see where this is all heading. No hype, just the practical version:
Blake explains how AI took his proposal process from 4 hours to 5 minutes, with a human review at the end
Why you must pay for your AI tools, and the confidential contract story from the States that shows what happens when you do not
Blake's rule for connecting AI to your systems: read-only first, add permissions gradually, never go full ham from the start
Scott shares why he scrapped his AI chatbot and AI phone answering project and hired a call centre of real people instead
The full breakdown of how a one-man fencing supplier automated Xero invoicing, repeat inquiries and calendar booking using Claude and a set of skills
What Blake saw in China: room-service robots riding elevators, AI triage in hospitals, and scan interpretation cut by 80%
Why job roles shift rather than disappear, and the two risks Blake sees: using no AI at all, or using AI for everything and learning nothing
Blake's 5 steps to get AI ready, including the testing mistake almost everyone makes
Scott's take on the AI bubble from an investor's seat, and why retail investors usually wear it
The intern who posted 5 Instagram Reels and had a job by day 5

If you are a business owner drowning in admin, unsure which AI tools are worth paying for, or being pitched six-figure AI projects you suspect you do not need, this episode is well worth your time.
Download the Local Business AEO Playbook HERE. A free, step-by-step guide showing you how to position your business to be recommended by AI.
If you found this episode valuable, please share it with another business owner who could benefit. Don't forget to follow Marketing 4 Business on your favourite podcast platform, and if you enjoyed the episode, we'd really appreciate a five-star review. Your support helps us reach more business owners with practical marketing insights.
Connect with us:
Follow the Marketing 4 Business podcast on Instagram HERE.
Follow Digital Influence on Instagram HERE.
Visit Digital Influence's website HERE.
Book a complimentary marketing strategy session HERE.
Connect with Scott Wilson on LinkedIn HERE.
Connect with Blake Harkness on LinkedIn HERE.
Have Fun & Take Action

You are busy. Your business is not growing at the rate it should. Those two things are connected, and this episode explains how.
Scott has been saving up business lessons. 21 of them, held back until the right person walked through the door. In this Marketing 4 Business episode, he sits down with Darren Pratley, business coach and speaker, who walks into companies across New Zealand and asks the question most owners avoid: what actually creates your success? No interview structure. Just 21 lessons, one at a time, with two people who do not always agree.
Lessons you can put to work this week, including:
Why Darren tells smaller businesses to focus on profit over cash flow, and the question the bank asks first that explains it.
Scott's counter: cash keeps you alive during the year, profit is what you show at the end of it.
The three week diary test that reveals whether your success is planned or just hoped for.
Why Scott pulled AI off his phone lines and put a real call centre back on, and where Darren openly disagrees with him.
The scoreboard question Darren asks in every business he walks into, and why it is not a financial question.
57 touchpoints, and how one CEO used clarity alone as his competitive advantage.
Why Scott tells clients to let go of marketing results for the first 12 months, and what happens at month 13.
Darren's 10 calls a day rule, worth millions over his career, and the exact opening line he uses.

If you are a business owner who keeps finishing the week exhausted with nothing moved forward, this is the hour that fixes it. Pick three lessons, act on them this week, and see what changes.
Download the Local Business AEO Playbook HERE. A free, step-by-step guide showing you how to position your business to be recommended by AI.
If you found this episode valuable, please share it with another business owner who could benefit. Don't forget to follow Marketing 4 Business on your favourite podcast platform, and if you enjoyed the episode, we'd really appreciate a five-star review. Your support helps us reach more business owners with practical marketing insights.
Connect with us:
Follow the Marketing 4 Business podcast on Instagram HERE.
Follow Digital Influence on Instagram HERE.
Visit Digital Influence's website HERE.
Book a complimentary marketing strategy session HERE.
Connect with Scott Wilson on LinkedIn HERE.
Connect with Darren Pratley on LinkedIn HERE.
Have Fun & Take Action