https://www.spreaker.com/show/off-the-grid-biz-podcast
If you question whether the status quo is good enough for you, your family, and your future;

If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing;

You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, a farmer, a rancher, an environmentalist or an rugged outdoorsman,

We are here to celebrate you.

Whether you’re looking to improve your maverick business, or find out about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel; from selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade-soap, this show is for those of you who chose the road less traveled.

The road to self-reliance… for those that are living a daring adventure. Life… off the grid.]]>enBusinessCopyright Brian J. Pombohttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e569ab17b5beaa906ebceca208fac12e.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/show/off-the-grid-biz-podcastFri, 24 Sep 2021 07:25:32 +0000Brian J. PomboBrian J. Pombobrian@brianjpombo.comIf you’re someone who refuses to go along to get along; If you question whether the status quo is good enough for you, your family, and your future; If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a...
If you question whether the status quo is good enough for you, your family, and your future;

If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing;

You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, a farmer, a rancher, an environmentalist or an rugged outdoorsman,

We are here to celebrate you.

Whether you’re looking to improve your maverick business, or find out about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel; from selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade-soap, this show is for those of you who chose the road less traveled.

The road to self-reliance… for those that are living a daring adventure. Life… off the grid.]]>cleanepisodicBrian J. Pombobrian@brianjpombo.comIf you’re someone who refuses to go along to get along; If you question whether the status quo is good enough for you, your family, and your future; If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing; You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, a farmer, a rancher, an environmentalist or an rugged outdoorsman, We are here to celebrate you. Whether you’re looking to improve your maverick business, or find out about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel; from selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade-soap, this show is for those of you who chose the road less traveled. The road to self-reliance… for those that are living a daring adventure. Life… off the grid.Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/shelley-whitehouse-the-smart-chicken-coo
Shelley Whitehouse of The Smart Chicken Coop



It all started with 3 chickens on a porch, that turned into a side interest in backyard chicken keeping, that grew into a successful online business.

Shelley Whitehouse shares her story about her company, The Smart Chicken Coop as we cover various topics listed below.

Be sure to checkout The Smart Chicken Coops quality products at the link below!

The Smart Chicken Coop - https://thesmartchickencoop.com

Topics Covered

*
It all Started With 3 Chickens On A Porch

*
Craigslist & The Smart Chicken Coop's First Customers

*
Credibility & Trust, Help Convert to Sales

*
Facebook & Google Advertising Success

*
COVID-19 Effect on Business

*
Life, Caring for Animals & The Value of Homegrown Food

*
Increase In Demand: The Start of DIY Chicken Coop Kits

*
Importance of Business Acumen & Self Discipline

*
Challenge of Developing a Marketing Plan for Nationwide Success

*
The Joy of Providing Value to Others

*
Bad Reviews & Quick Responses

*
Meeting Demand, While Maintaining Our Product Level

*
Advice for New Business Owners

*
A Joy for Indian Runner Ducks

*
The Value of Perseverance In Business


Transcription
Shelley: Just started out as a lifestyle business, do you know what I mean?

Brian: Yeah, absolutely.

Shelley: I didn't know that it was going to become so popular. And then of course with COVID, it became ridiculous.

Brian: Yeah.

Shelley: But my husband actually took three months off of work his work, because we couldn't get everything done, we were working full-time, all of us. We're working.

It was crazy. It's crazy, but really fun too, because here are these families who are stuck at home with kids pulling their hair out, and they get to build chicken coops and then get the chickens.

It's a fun business.

Podcast Intro: If you're someone who refuses to go along to get along, if you question whether the status quo was good enough for you and your family.

If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing.

You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, or a farmer or rancher, an environmentalist or a rugged outdoorsman.

We are here to celebrate you whether you're looking to improve your maverick business or to find out more about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel.

From selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade soap.This show is for those who choose the road less traveled the road to self-reliance for those that are living a daring adventure, life off the grid.

Brian: Shelley Whitehouse has quite a varied background. She spent many years performing as a professional orchestra flutist, raced mountain bikes for the heck of it, coached high school sports, raised three kids with her husband, then decided to go back to school to get an MBA.

After several years working as a management consultant, one of Shelley's side interests, backyard chicken keeping,]]>https://offthegridbiz.com/?p=865Wed, 30 Jun 2021 18:30:22 +0000Brian J. Pombo  Shelley Whitehouse of The Smart Chicken Coop It all started with 3 chickens on a porch, that turned into a side interest in backyard chicken keeping, that grew into a successful online business. Shelley Whitehouse shares her story about her...
Shelley Whitehouse of The Smart Chicken Coop



It all started with 3 chickens on a porch, that turned into a side interest in backyard chicken keeping, that grew into a successful online business.

Shelley Whitehouse shares her story about her company, The Smart Chicken Coop as we cover various topics listed below.

Be sure to checkout The Smart Chicken Coops quality products at the link below!

The Smart Chicken Coop - https://thesmartchickencoop.com

Topics Covered

*
It all Started With 3 Chickens On A Porch

*
Craigslist & The Smart Chicken Coop's First Customers

*
Credibility & Trust, Help Convert to Sales

*
Facebook & Google Advertising Success

*
COVID-19 Effect on Business

*
Life, Caring for Animals & The Value of Homegrown Food

*
Increase In Demand: The Start of DIY Chicken Coop Kits

*
Importance of Business Acumen & Self Discipline

*
Challenge of Developing a Marketing Plan for Nationwide Success

*
The Joy of Providing Value to Others

*
Bad Reviews & Quick Responses

*
Meeting Demand, While Maintaining Our Product Level

*
Advice for New Business Owners

*
A Joy for Indian Runner Ducks

*
The Value of Perseverance In Business


Transcription
Shelley: Just started out as a lifestyle business, do you know what I mean?

Brian: Yeah, absolutely.

Shelley: I didn't know that it was going to become so popular. And then of course with COVID, it became ridiculous.

Brian: Yeah.

Shelley: But my husband actually took three months off of work his work, because we couldn't get everything done, we were working full-time, all of us. We're working.

It was crazy. It's crazy, but really fun too, because here are these families who are stuck at home with kids pulling their hair out, and they get to build chicken coops and then get the chickens.

It's a fun business.

Podcast Intro: If you're someone who refuses to go along to get along, if you question whether the status quo was good enough for you and your family.

If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing.

You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, or a farmer or rancher, an environmentalist or a rugged outdoorsman.

We are here to celebrate you whether you're looking to improve your maverick business or to find out more about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel.

From selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade soap.This show is for those who choose the road less traveled the road to self-reliance for those that are living a daring adventure, life off the grid.

Brian: Shelley Whitehouse has quite a varied background. She spent many years performing as a professional orchestra flutist, raced mountain bikes for the heck of it, coached high school sports, raised three kids with her husband, then decided to go back to school to get an MBA.

After several years working as a management consultant, one of Shelley's side interests, backyard chicken keeping,]]>1910cleanfullBrian J. Pombo  Shelley Whitehouse of The Smart Chicken Coop It all started with 3 chickens on a porch, that turned into a side interest in backyard chicken keeping, that grew into a successful online business. Shelley Whitehouse shares her story about her company, The Smart Chicken Coop as we cover various topics listed below. Be sure to checkout The Smart Chicken Coops quality products at the link below! The Smart Chicken Coop - https://thesmartchickencoop.com Topics Covered * It all Started With 3 Chickens On A Porch * Craigslist & The Smart Chicken Coop's First Customers * Credibility & Trust, Help Convert to Sales * Facebook & Google Advertising Success * COVID-19 Effect on Business * Life, Caring for Animals & The Value of Homegrown Food * Increase In Demand: The Start of DIY Chicken Coop Kits * Importance of Business Acumen & Self Discipline * Challenge of Developing a Marketing Plan for Nationwide Success * The Joy of Providing Value to Others * Bad Reviews & Quick Responses * Meeting Demand, While Maintaining Our Product Level * Advice for New Business Owners * A Joy for Indian Runner Ducks * The Value of Perseverance In Business Transcription Shelley: Just started out as a lifestyle business, do you know what I mean? Brian: Yeah, absolutely. Shelley: I didn't know that it was going to become so popular. And then of course with COVID, it became ridiculous. Brian: Yeah. Shelley: But my husband actually took three months off of work his work, because we couldn't get everything done, we were working full-time, all of us. We're working. It was crazy. It's crazy, but really fun too, because here are these families who are stuck at home with kids pulling their hair out, and they get to build chicken coops and then get the chickens. It's a fun business. Podcast Intro: If you're someone who refuses to go along to get along, if you question whether the status quo was good enough for you and your family. If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing. You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, or a farmer or rancher, an environmentalist or a rugged outdoorsman. We are here to celebrate you whether you're looking to improve your maverick business or to find out more about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel. From selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade soap.This show is for those who choose the road less traveled the road to self-reliance for those that are living a daring adventure, life off the grid. Brian: Shelley Whitehouse has quite a varied background. She spent many years performing as a professional orchestra flutist, raced mountain bikes for the heck of it, coached high school sports, raised three kids with her husband, then decided to go back to school to get an MBA. After several years working as a management consultant, one of Shelley's side interests, backyard chicken keeping,Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/dyan-twining-roost-root
RoostandRoot.com

Dyan and her husband Montie co-founded Roost & Root to help you, “Find your inner farmer.”

Join us for a fun conversation as Dyan talks about the companies journey from building their first 20 chicken coops to the amazing ride they've had serving and building relationships with customers from coast to coast.

Be sure to checkout their quality Cedar Chicken Coops and Gardening products as well!

Call Today - (877) 741-2667

https://roostandroot.com/​
Transcription
Dyan: Hearing from customers because I do talk to a lot of them after the sale. Like there's always like a driver who's like, "I'm gonna get chickens," and then there's other spouse a lot of times he's kind of like, "okay, not super excited about this, but whatever."

And I hear from the other spouse that's not super excited and like, had no idea I would love having chickens.

Podcast Intro: If you're someone who refuses to go along to get along, if you question whether the status quo was good enough for you and your family.

If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing.

You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, or a farmer or rancher, an environmentalist or a rugged outdoorsman.

We are here to celebrate you whether you're looking to improve your maverick business or to find out more about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel.

From selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade soap.This show is for those who choose the road less traveled the road to self-reliance for those that are living a daring adventure, life off the grid.

Brian: Dyan Twining co-founded Roost and Root in 2013, with her husband Montie, their passion and slogan is, "find your inner farmer."

At Roost and Root, they manufacture high quality backyard farm and garden lifestyle products that help fulfill that slogan.

She enjoys keeping chickens and gardening as well as deep sea fishing and running.

Dyan, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast.

Dyan: Hi, thank you for having me.

Brian: Yeah, it's great having you here.

So why don't you tell us a little bit more about what it is that you do?

Dyan: So together with my husband, we run Roost and Root, like you said, we are manufacturing company based out of Dripping Springs, Texas.

So we're a little bit west of downtown Austin, and we have a manufacturing facility where we we started in 2013 manufacturing and selling chicken coops primarily chicken coops.

In 2020, we actually changed our name to Roost and Root. We used to be Urban Coop Company. But we sold our coops through the years and we kept getting a lot of customers saying, you know, "what else you guys going to build?"

They liked our products. They liked the quality, and what goes hand in hand with backyard coops, and its gardening products.

So we changed our name to Roost and Root,]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=835Mon, 19 Apr 2021 15:38:01 +0000Brian J. PomboDyan Twining - Roost & Root RoostandRoot.com Dyan and her husband Montie co-founded Roost & Root to help you, “Find your inner farmer.” Join us for a fun conversation as Dyan talks about the companies journey from building their first 20 chicken...
RoostandRoot.com

Dyan and her husband Montie co-founded Roost & Root to help you, “Find your inner farmer.”

Join us for a fun conversation as Dyan talks about the companies journey from building their first 20 chicken coops to the amazing ride they've had serving and building relationships with customers from coast to coast.

Be sure to checkout their quality Cedar Chicken Coops and Gardening products as well!

Call Today - (877) 741-2667

https://roostandroot.com/​
Transcription
Dyan: Hearing from customers because I do talk to a lot of them after the sale. Like there's always like a driver who's like, "I'm gonna get chickens," and then there's other spouse a lot of times he's kind of like, "okay, not super excited about this, but whatever."

And I hear from the other spouse that's not super excited and like, had no idea I would love having chickens.

Podcast Intro: If you're someone who refuses to go along to get along, if you question whether the status quo was good enough for you and your family.

If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing.

You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, or a farmer or rancher, an environmentalist or a rugged outdoorsman.

We are here to celebrate you whether you're looking to improve your maverick business or to find out more about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel.

From selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade soap.This show is for those who choose the road less traveled the road to self-reliance for those that are living a daring adventure, life off the grid.

Brian: Dyan Twining co-founded Roost and Root in 2013, with her husband Montie, their passion and slogan is, "find your inner farmer."

At Roost and Root, they manufacture high quality backyard farm and garden lifestyle products that help fulfill that slogan.

She enjoys keeping chickens and gardening as well as deep sea fishing and running.

Dyan, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast.

Dyan: Hi, thank you for having me.

Brian: Yeah, it's great having you here.

So why don't you tell us a little bit more about what it is that you do?

Dyan: So together with my husband, we run Roost and Root, like you said, we are manufacturing company based out of Dripping Springs, Texas.

So we're a little bit west of downtown Austin, and we have a manufacturing facility where we we started in 2013 manufacturing and selling chicken coops primarily chicken coops.

In 2020, we actually changed our name to Roost and Root. We used to be Urban Coop Company. But we sold our coops through the years and we kept getting a lot of customers saying, you know, "what else you guys going to build?"

They liked our products. They liked the quality, and what goes hand in hand with backyard coops, and its gardening products.

So we changed our name to Roost and Root,]]>2392cleanfullBrian J. PomboDyan Twining - Roost & Root RoostandRoot.com Dyan and her husband Montie co-founded Roost & Root to help you, “Find your inner farmer.” Join us for a fun conversation as Dyan talks about the companies journey from building their first 20 chicken coops to the amazing ride they've had serving and building relationships with customers from coast to coast. Be sure to checkout their quality Cedar Chicken Coops and Gardening products as well! Call Today - (877) 741-2667 https://roostandroot.com/​ Transcription Dyan: Hearing from customers because I do talk to a lot of them after the sale. Like there's always like a driver who's like, "I'm gonna get chickens," and then there's other spouse a lot of times he's kind of like, "okay, not super excited about this, but whatever." And I hear from the other spouse that's not super excited and like, had no idea I would love having chickens. Podcast Intro: If you're someone who refuses to go along to get along, if you question whether the status quo was good enough for you and your family. If you want to leave this world better off than you found it and you consider independence a sacred thing. You may be a prepper, a gardener, a homesteader, a survivalist, or a farmer or rancher, an environmentalist or a rugged outdoorsman. We are here to celebrate you whether you're looking to improve your maverick business or to find out more about the latest products and services available to the weekend rebel. From selling chicken eggs online, to building up your food storage or collecting handmade soap.This show is for those who choose the road less traveled the road to self-reliance for those that are living a daring adventure, life off the grid. Brian: Dyan Twining co-founded Roost and Root in 2013, with her husband Montie, their passion and slogan is, "find your inner farmer." At Roost and Root, they manufacture high quality backyard farm and garden lifestyle products that help fulfill that slogan. She enjoys keeping chickens and gardening as well as deep sea fishing and running. Dyan, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast. Dyan: Hi, thank you for having me. Brian: Yeah, it's great having you here. So why don't you tell us a little bit more about what it is that you do? Dyan: So together with my husband, we run Roost and Root, like you said, we are manufacturing company based out of Dripping Springs, Texas. So we're a little bit west of downtown Austin, and we have a manufacturing facility where we we started in 2013 manufacturing and selling chicken coops primarily chicken coops. In 2020, we actually changed our name to Roost and Root. We used to be Urban Coop Company. But we sold our coops through the years and we kept getting a lot of customers saying, you know, "what else you guys going to build?" They liked our products. They liked the quality, and what goes hand in hand with backyard coops, and its gardening products. So we changed our name to Roost and Root,Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/norman-the-beard-guy-farrar-soap-clubSpecial guest, business coach Norman “The Beard Guy” Farrar brings us a wide range of business thoughts on our latest episode.
Join us as we talk about Norman's expertise from helping businesses have success with Amazon, to starting various companies (like Soap.Club), to pivoting to upping his podcasting game in result of the changes COVID-19 has brought to all of us.
Norman was a kick to chat with, and we know you'll love this episode as well!
Norman Farrar's Website – https://normanfarrar.com/
Soap.Club – https://soap.club/
 
Podcasts
Lunch With Norm Podcast – https://lunchwithnorm.com/
(live on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook on Mon, Wed, Fri)
I Know This Guy…Podcast – https://iknowthisguy.com/]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=823Sun, 28 Mar 2021 21:52:24 +0000Brian J. Pombo  Special guest, business coach Norman “The Beard Guy” Farrar brings us a wide range of business thoughts on our latest episode. Join us as we talk about Norman's expertise from helping businesses have success with Amazon, to starting various...Special guest, business coach Norman “The Beard Guy” Farrar brings us a wide range of business thoughts on our latest episode.
Join us as we talk about Norman's expertise from helping businesses have success with Amazon, to starting various companies (like Soap.Club), to pivoting to upping his podcasting game in result of the changes COVID-19 has brought to all of us.
Norman was a kick to chat with, and we know you'll love this episode as well!
Norman Farrar's Website – https://normanfarrar.com/
Soap.Club – https://soap.club/
 
Podcasts
Lunch With Norm Podcast – https://lunchwithnorm.com/
(live on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook on Mon, Wed, Fri)
I Know This Guy…Podcast – https://iknowthisguy.com/]]>2680cleanfullBrian J. Pombo  Special guest, business coach Norman “The Beard Guy” Farrar brings us a wide range of business thoughts on our latest episode. Join us as we talk about Norman's expertise from helping businesses have success with Amazon, to starting various companies (like Soap.Club), to pivoting to upping his podcasting game in result of the changes COVID-19 has brought to all of us. Norman was a kick to chat with, and we know you'll love this episode as well! Norman Farrar's Website – https://normanfarrar.com/ Soap.Club – https://soap.club/   Podcasts Lunch With Norm Podcast – https://lunchwithnorm.com/ (live on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook on Mon, Wed, Fri) I Know This Guy…Podcast – https://iknowthisguy.com/Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/shannie-mccabe-baker-creek-heirloom-seed 
Shannie McCabe joins us to talk about what it's like to be garden educator and catalog writer for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
See what Baker Creek has to offer today and be sure to pickup a catalog! – https://www.rareseeds.com
Also, checkout Shannie's terrific videos on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCToFIe32MeC-P8Z4Uptax_w]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=813Tue, 23 Feb 2021 19:24:51 +0000Brian J. Pombo    Shannie McCabe joins us to talk about what it's like to be garden educator and catalog writer for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. See what Baker Creek has to offer today and be sure to pickup a catalog! – https://www.rareseeds.com Also, checkout... 
Shannie McCabe joins us to talk about what it's like to be garden educator and catalog writer for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
See what Baker Creek has to offer today and be sure to pickup a catalog! – https://www.rareseeds.com
Also, checkout Shannie's terrific videos on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCToFIe32MeC-P8Z4Uptax_w]]>1947cleanfullBrian J. Pombo    Shannie McCabe joins us to talk about what it's like to be garden educator and catalog writer for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. See what Baker Creek has to offer today and be sure to pickup a catalog! – https://www.rareseeds.com Also, checkout Shannie's terrific videos on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCToFIe32MeC-P8Z4Uptax_wNohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/christopher-kirsten-k-shockey-fermentatiWe also talk about an exciting new project they've taken on called, Fermentation School!
Fermentation School has online classes from top experts to help you advance your own fermentation skills.
For more on Fermentation School, The Big Book of Cidermaking and other Books and information the Shockey's have checkout the links below!
Fermentation School – https://www.fermentationschool.com/
Ferment.Works – https://ferment.works/
The Big Book of Cidermaking – https://www.storey.com/books/the-big-book-of-cidermaking/
Transcription
Brian: Christopher Shockey and Kirsten K. Shockey are the authors of The Big Book of Cidermaking. And award winning
Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments, Fiery Ferments and the best selling Fermented Vegetables books that came from their desires to help people eat in new ways, both for the health of themselves and the planet.
They got their start in fermenting foods 20 years ago on a 40 acre hillside smallholding, which grew into their local organic food company, when they realized their passion lay in the wish to both teach people how to ferment and push this culinary art to new flavors.
Kirsten and Christopher lead lead experience experiential workshops worldwide and online at FermentationSchool.com. Helping people to make enjoy and connect with their food through fermentation.
They can now be found at Ferment.Works. or excuse me, they can also be found at Ferment.Works. Kirsten and Christopher, welcome back to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Christopher and Kirsten: Thanks, Brian.
Brian: Why don't we just start out by kind of going over your new book, tell us tell us what led you to write this new one on cidermaking.
Christopher: Well this is the one I wanted to write from the very beginning, we bought a hand press on the farm 20 some years ago when we moved here. And so we've been making a lot of cider since that time and that's my favorite ferment by far.
So we just had to do a few 100,000 other books before we could do this one. Yeah, and it's cider season, we have cider apples on the farm. So all those reasons why.
Brian: Was this one of the original fermentation experiments that you guys went with or how did it come about?
Christopher: This is one of the ferments that we did for ourselves, we had a lot of apple trees and so we we made cider for ourselves. The Founding Fathers would let you make 200 gallons for yourself and we came darn close nearly every year.
Friends and family, I trained as a cider maker. And we were going to do cider instead of fermented vegetables and all that other stuff.
When I learned that to run a little cidery, the most important thing is you can repair equipment, used equipment, I can look at a pipe and it'll start to leak. So I'm good with grey tape and after that it falls down. So I said to Kirsten, I love drinking it, I love making it, but I'm not so sure we're going to be a good small cidery. And that's how all the other fermentation stuff started.
But in the response back from the book so far, it's been really positive.
Kirsten: Yeah, I think this one's much easier lift than the last one. Most people know what cider is. Most people are interested in fermented beverages and are willing to maybe take that on as a first ferment, where as miso or, you know, fermenting a bean or grain eating stringy natto, or growing fungus around a bean, like tempeh is just asking a little more of the American general, American population.
So yeah,]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=802Mon, 18 Jan 2021 19:02:23 +0000Brian J. PomboChristopher Shockey and Kirsten K. Shockey join us again to talk about their new book, The Big Book of Cidermaking. We also talk about an exciting new project they've taken on called, Fermentation School! Fermentation School has online classes from...We also talk about an exciting new project they've taken on called, Fermentation School!
Fermentation School has online classes from top experts to help you advance your own fermentation skills.
For more on Fermentation School, The Big Book of Cidermaking and other Books and information the Shockey's have checkout the links below!
Fermentation School – https://www.fermentationschool.com/
Ferment.Works – https://ferment.works/
The Big Book of Cidermaking – https://www.storey.com/books/the-big-book-of-cidermaking/
Transcription
Brian: Christopher Shockey and Kirsten K. Shockey are the authors of The Big Book of Cidermaking. And award winning
Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments, Fiery Ferments and the best selling Fermented Vegetables books that came from their desires to help people eat in new ways, both for the health of themselves and the planet.
They got their start in fermenting foods 20 years ago on a 40 acre hillside smallholding, which grew into their local organic food company, when they realized their passion lay in the wish to both teach people how to ferment and push this culinary art to new flavors.
Kirsten and Christopher lead lead experience experiential workshops worldwide and online at FermentationSchool.com. Helping people to make enjoy and connect with their food through fermentation.
They can now be found at Ferment.Works. or excuse me, they can also be found at Ferment.Works. Kirsten and Christopher, welcome back to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Christopher and Kirsten: Thanks, Brian.
Brian: Why don't we just start out by kind of going over your new book, tell us tell us what led you to write this new one on cidermaking.
Christopher: Well this is the one I wanted to write from the very beginning, we bought a hand press on the farm 20 some years ago when we moved here. And so we've been making a lot of cider since that time and that's my favorite ferment by far.
So we just had to do a few 100,000 other books before we could do this one. Yeah, and it's cider season, we have cider apples on the farm. So all those reasons why.
Brian: Was this one of the original fermentation experiments that you guys went with or how did it come about?
Christopher: This is one of the ferments that we did for ourselves, we had a lot of apple trees and so we we made cider for ourselves. The Founding Fathers would let you make 200 gallons for yourself and we came darn close nearly every year.
Friends and family, I trained as a cider maker. And we were going to do cider instead of fermented vegetables and all that other stuff.
When I learned that to run a little cidery, the most important thing is you can repair equipment, used equipment, I can look at a pipe and it'll start to leak. So I'm good with grey tape and after that it falls down. So I said to Kirsten, I love drinking it, I love making it, but I'm not so sure we're going to be a good small cidery. And that's how all the other fermentation stuff started.
But in the response back from the book so far, it's been really positive.
Kirsten: Yeah, I think this one's much easier lift than the last one. Most people know what cider is. Most people are interested in fermented beverages and are willing to maybe take that on as a first ferment, where as miso or, you know, fermenting a bean or grain eating stringy natto, or growing fungus around a bean, like tempeh is just asking a little more of the American general, American population.
So yeah,]]>2358cleanfullBrian J. PomboChristopher Shockey and Kirsten K. Shockey join us again to talk about their new book, The Big Book of Cidermaking. We also talk about an exciting new project they've taken on called, Fermentation School! Fermentation School has online classes from top experts to help you advance your own fermentation skills. For more on Fermentation School, The Big Book of Cidermaking and other Books and information the Shockey's have checkout the links below! Fermentation School – https://www.fermentationschool.com/ Ferment.Works – https://ferment.works/ The Big Book of Cidermaking – https://www.storey.com/books/the-big-book-of-cidermaking/ Transcription Brian: Christopher Shockey and Kirsten K. Shockey are the authors of The Big Book of Cidermaking. And award winning Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments, Fiery Ferments and the best selling Fermented Vegetables books that came from their desires to help people eat in new ways, both for the health of themselves and the planet. They got their start in fermenting foods 20 years ago on a 40 acre hillside smallholding, which grew into their local organic food company, when they realized their passion lay in the wish to both teach people how to ferment and push this culinary art to new flavors. Kirsten and Christopher lead lead experience experiential workshops worldwide and online at FermentationSchool.com. Helping people to make enjoy and connect with their food through fermentation. They can now be found at Ferment.Works. or excuse me, they can also be found at Ferment.Works. Kirsten and Christopher, welcome back to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast. Christopher and Kirsten: Thanks, Brian. Brian: Why don't we just start out by kind of going over your new book, tell us tell us what led you to write this new one on cidermaking. Christopher: Well this is the one I wanted to write from the very beginning, we bought a hand press on the farm 20 some years ago when we moved here. And so we've been making a lot of cider since that time and that's my favorite ferment by far. So we just had to do a few 100,000 other books before we could do this one. Yeah, and it's cider season, we have cider apples on the farm. So all those reasons why. Brian: Was this one of the original fermentation experiments that you guys went with or how did it come about? Christopher: This is one of the ferments that we did for ourselves, we had a lot of apple trees and so we we made cider for ourselves. The Founding Fathers would let you make 200 gallons for yourself and we came darn close nearly every year. Friends and family, I trained as a cider maker. And we were going to do cider instead of fermented vegetables and all that other stuff. When I learned that to run a little cidery, the most important thing is you can repair equipment, used equipment, I can look at a pipe and it'll start to leak. So I'm good with grey tape and after that it falls down. So I said to Kirsten, I love drinking it, I love making it, but I'm not so sure we're going to be a good small cidery. And that's how all the other fermentation stuff started. But in the response back from the book so far, it's been really positive. Kirsten: Yeah, I think this one's much easier lift than the last one. Most people know what cider is. Most people are interested in fermented beverages and are willing to maybe take that on as a first ferment, where as miso or, you know, fermenting a bean or grain eating stringy natto, or growing fungus around a bean, like tempeh is just asking a little more of the American general, American population. So yeah,Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/corwin-bell-karen-sadenwater-backyardhiv 
Established in 2005, BackYardHive is committed to bee-centric practices that increase the survivability of colonies through their Bee Guardian Methods.
Corwin Bell and Karen Sadenwater join us to talk about their transition from starting out as computer animation to developing a deep passion for beekeeping from observing bee behavior, to help save the bee and teach others how to safely help our friendly flyers today, and in the future!
Checkout their leading innovation products like the Cozy Cover and the Cathedral Hive, while soaking up quality information at their site below!
Checkout BackYardHive Today – https://backyardhive.com/
Transcription
Brian: In 1995, Corwin Bell started keeping bees due to a longtime fascination with this delicate pollinator. Along with Karen Sadenwater, Corwin founded BackyardHive.com in the spring of 2005.
They are committed to be centered practices that increase the survivability of colonies.
If the bees are cared for by applying the Bee Guardian methods that they teach, then the survival genetics and healthy behavioral traits will be preserved within the gene pool.
Backyard Hive was the first to offer backyard beekeepers, online resources, training DVDs, and information about getting started in a lifetime of top bar beekeeping. They realize the need early on and became the very first organization to make available fully assembled top bar hives on the web.
BackyardHive.com is committed to sharing knowledge and top bar hive technologies that encourage and enable backyard beekeepers to be successful and completely chemical free.
Corwin and Karen, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Corwin & Karen: Hey, Brian.
Brian: It's great having you here. Why don't you let us know a little bit about what it is that you do?
Corwin: Well, we have a business called BackYardHive. And it's about teaching natural beekeeping for people that are gonna keep bees in their backyards.
So we do classes, we do intensives, we innovate in the bee space. Have two of our own design hives we've worked on over the years, and pretty much in unnatural beekeeping is our thing without using you know, chemical treatments at all or smoke or sugar. So we really promote that. That's pretty much what BackYardHive is doing.
Karen: Yeah, we really want to teach people that method, you know, backyard beekeeping and natural beekeeping and treatment free.
Brian: Well, that's fabulous. So you started the website in 2005, right?
Corwin: Yeah.
Brian: And tell me about what led up to that, what was your life up till that point?
Corwin: Well, yeah, it's funny, because when someone says, oh, you're a beekeeper, I'm like, no, no, I'm a bee researcher more than anything. And even then it's odd that I'm doing bees.
I started off in the film industry doing TV commercials. Then I moved into doing game design for computer games. I was the first one to put out a computer game on CD ROM for Hanna Barbera called Page Master. It came out on the same weekend that Lion King did so I just crushed our game on the endcaps. But it was great game.
Then, I kept working in the game genre that we work in is called serious games.
Karen: And games for health.
Corwin: And games for health.
So they're games that aren't like driving cars and playing with little characters. So from that we did, The Journey To The Wild Divine, which was a big hit. The Dalai Lama played it and it was had finger sensors that read your bio feedback for real and that's how you played the game. But people call it "mist for mystics" is what Wired magazine actually called it.]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=791Tue, 15 Dec 2020 02:57:51 +0000Brian J. Pombo    Established in 2005, BackYardHive is committed to bee-centric practices that increase the survivability of colonies through their Bee Guardian Methods. Corwin Bell and Karen Sadenwater join us to talk about their transition from starting out as... 
Established in 2005, BackYardHive is committed to bee-centric practices that increase the survivability of colonies through their Bee Guardian Methods.
Corwin Bell and Karen Sadenwater join us to talk about their transition from starting out as computer animation to developing a deep passion for beekeeping from observing bee behavior, to help save the bee and teach others how to safely help our friendly flyers today, and in the future!
Checkout their leading innovation products like the Cozy Cover and the Cathedral Hive, while soaking up quality information at their site below!
Checkout BackYardHive Today – https://backyardhive.com/
Transcription
Brian: In 1995, Corwin Bell started keeping bees due to a longtime fascination with this delicate pollinator. Along with Karen Sadenwater, Corwin founded BackyardHive.com in the spring of 2005.
They are committed to be centered practices that increase the survivability of colonies.
If the bees are cared for by applying the Bee Guardian methods that they teach, then the survival genetics and healthy behavioral traits will be preserved within the gene pool.
Backyard Hive was the first to offer backyard beekeepers, online resources, training DVDs, and information about getting started in a lifetime of top bar beekeeping. They realize the need early on and became the very first organization to make available fully assembled top bar hives on the web.
BackyardHive.com is committed to sharing knowledge and top bar hive technologies that encourage and enable backyard beekeepers to be successful and completely chemical free.
Corwin and Karen, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Corwin & Karen: Hey, Brian.
Brian: It's great having you here. Why don't you let us know a little bit about what it is that you do?
Corwin: Well, we have a business called BackYardHive. And it's about teaching natural beekeeping for people that are gonna keep bees in their backyards.
So we do classes, we do intensives, we innovate in the bee space. Have two of our own design hives we've worked on over the years, and pretty much in unnatural beekeeping is our thing without using you know, chemical treatments at all or smoke or sugar. So we really promote that. That's pretty much what BackYardHive is doing.
Karen: Yeah, we really want to teach people that method, you know, backyard beekeeping and natural beekeeping and treatment free.
Brian: Well, that's fabulous. So you started the website in 2005, right?
Corwin: Yeah.
Brian: And tell me about what led up to that, what was your life up till that point?
Corwin: Well, yeah, it's funny, because when someone says, oh, you're a beekeeper, I'm like, no, no, I'm a bee researcher more than anything. And even then it's odd that I'm doing bees.
I started off in the film industry doing TV commercials. Then I moved into doing game design for computer games. I was the first one to put out a computer game on CD ROM for Hanna Barbera called Page Master. It came out on the same weekend that Lion King did so I just crushed our game on the endcaps. But it was great game.
Then, I kept working in the game genre that we work in is called serious games.
Karen: And games for health.
Corwin: And games for health.
So they're games that aren't like driving cars and playing with little characters. So from that we did, The Journey To The Wild Divine, which was a big hit. The Dalai Lama played it and it was had finger sensors that read your bio feedback for real and that's how you played the game. But people call it "mist for mystics" is what Wired magazine actually called it.]]>2504cleanfullBrian J. Pombo    Established in 2005, BackYardHive is committed to bee-centric practices that increase the survivability of colonies through their Bee Guardian Methods. Corwin Bell and Karen Sadenwater join us to talk about their transition from starting out as computer animation to developing a deep passion for beekeeping from observing bee behavior, to help save the bee and teach others how to safely help our friendly flyers today, and in the future! Checkout their leading innovation products like the Cozy Cover and the Cathedral Hive, while soaking up quality information at their site below! Checkout BackYardHive Today – https://backyardhive.com/ Transcription Brian: In 1995, Corwin Bell started keeping bees due to a longtime fascination with this delicate pollinator. Along with Karen Sadenwater, Corwin founded BackyardHive.com in the spring of 2005. They are committed to be centered practices that increase the survivability of colonies. If the bees are cared for by applying the Bee Guardian methods that they teach, then the survival genetics and healthy behavioral traits will be preserved within the gene pool. Backyard Hive was the first to offer backyard beekeepers, online resources, training DVDs, and information about getting started in a lifetime of top bar beekeeping. They realize the need early on and became the very first organization to make available fully assembled top bar hives on the web. BackyardHive.com is committed to sharing knowledge and top bar hive technologies that encourage and enable backyard beekeepers to be successful and completely chemical free. Corwin and Karen, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast. Corwin & Karen: Hey, Brian. Brian: It's great having you here. Why don't you let us know a little bit about what it is that you do? Corwin: Well, we have a business called BackYardHive. And it's about teaching natural beekeeping for people that are gonna keep bees in their backyards. So we do classes, we do intensives, we innovate in the bee space. Have two of our own design hives we've worked on over the years, and pretty much in unnatural beekeeping is our thing without using you know, chemical treatments at all or smoke or sugar. So we really promote that. That's pretty much what BackYardHive is doing. Karen: Yeah, we really want to teach people that method, you know, backyard beekeeping and natural beekeeping and treatment free. Brian: Well, that's fabulous. So you started the website in 2005, right? Corwin: Yeah. Brian: And tell me about what led up to that, what was your life up till that point? Corwin: Well, yeah, it's funny, because when someone says, oh, you're a beekeeper, I'm like, no, no, I'm a bee researcher more than anything. And even then it's odd that I'm doing bees. I started off in the film industry doing TV commercials. Then I moved into doing game design for computer games. I was the first one to put out a computer game on CD ROM for Hanna Barbera called Page Master. It came out on the same weekend that Lion King did so I just crushed our game on the endcaps. But it was great game. Then, I kept working in the game genre that we work in is called serious games. Karen: And games for health. Corwin: And games for health. So they're games that aren't like driving cars and playing with little characters. So from that we did, The Journey To The Wild Divine, which was a big hit. The Dalai Lama played it and it was had finger sensors that read your bio feedback for real and that's how you played the game. But people call it "mist for mystics" is what Wired magazine actually called it.Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/charles-wiley-corn-man-chapter-2-corn-inCharles Wiley is back with us to talk about the Chapter 2 of the Corn Man story – Corn Inc. Cometh, as well as what sparked his idea for International Corn Man Day! 
Checkout Chapter 2 and all things Corn Man at the link below. 
➡️ https://cornmanofficial.com/shop/
Transcription
Brian: Charles Wiley has been writing music and playing drums for 25 years. He currently lives in Los Angeles and plays with various bands and artists including rock band Dark Horse, Rising Riot, award winning singer songwriter Chris Angeles, and Americana band Circa 62.
In addition to playing drums, he also writes music for television. His music has been played on Oprah, Dateline, NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Dr. Oz Show, The Young and the Restless and more.
Charles created the Corn Man project to bring awareness to how much corn is in everything we eat. Corn Man is an ongoing action adventure children's book series, and progressive rock concept album, Charles was inspired to call attention to the issue using music and humor.
Corn Man hopes to be the conversation starter and tackling the complex issues surrounding the food industry, the environmental impacts of it, and the unsustainable nature of how we eat and grow food.
Charles Wiley, welcome back.
Charles: Thank you so much Brian, and pleasure to be back. I'm really excited.
Brian: For those of you who are listening, you may remember Charles from an earlier episode and we'll link to that in the description, where we first met him met the Corn Man project, and what's that's all about.
And now we're kind of getting back together and being updated on what's happening in his world, his upcoming book, which is Corn Man Chapter Two.
So that should be out in paperback next week. At the time of when we're recording this by the time you hear it, it may already be out.
Charles: That's the hope.
Brian: Yeah. So let's go right into it.
We were talking a little bit before and you had mentioned, International Corn Man Day, just celebrated. So why don't you tell us a little bit about what that is?
Charles: Well, that was yesterday. And I had this idea, How can I bring more awareness to what the Corn Man project is about, and what it's doing at one time?
I thought, well, let's have a day, a Corn Man Day. And I liked the way Corn Man day sounds. But for some reason, International Corn Man Day, just had a more grand name.
I was like, I like that, plus two, I do have people that support the project overseas. And you and I both know, tackling our food system, the environment, it's a worldwide solution that we're looking for. It's not singular to the United States or to any other place.
So I said, let's do International Corn Man date. And my goal was two fold.
One, I wanted to help people find one small thing that they could maybe implement into their lives that would help reduce the amount of processed corn and their food. In September, I posted a suggestion a day.
And they're very simple, very basic things. But the goal was, I believe, a lot of people don't realize, since there is so much corn in the processed food for one, but it's also in the field that gets the food to the grocery store, and pesticides that get sprayed with all this stuff.]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=779Mon, 30 Nov 2020 19:55:02 +0000Brian J. Pombo  Charles Wiley is back with us to talk about the Chapter 2 of the Corn Man story – Corn Inc. Cometh, as well as what sparked his idea for International Corn Man Day!  Checkout Chapter 2 and all things Corn Man at the link below.  ➡️...Charles Wiley is back with us to talk about the Chapter 2 of the Corn Man story – Corn Inc. Cometh, as well as what sparked his idea for International Corn Man Day! 
Checkout Chapter 2 and all things Corn Man at the link below. 
➡️ https://cornmanofficial.com/shop/
Transcription
Brian: Charles Wiley has been writing music and playing drums for 25 years. He currently lives in Los Angeles and plays with various bands and artists including rock band Dark Horse, Rising Riot, award winning singer songwriter Chris Angeles, and Americana band Circa 62.
In addition to playing drums, he also writes music for television. His music has been played on Oprah, Dateline, NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Dr. Oz Show, The Young and the Restless and more.
Charles created the Corn Man project to bring awareness to how much corn is in everything we eat. Corn Man is an ongoing action adventure children's book series, and progressive rock concept album, Charles was inspired to call attention to the issue using music and humor.
Corn Man hopes to be the conversation starter and tackling the complex issues surrounding the food industry, the environmental impacts of it, and the unsustainable nature of how we eat and grow food.
Charles Wiley, welcome back.
Charles: Thank you so much Brian, and pleasure to be back. I'm really excited.
Brian: For those of you who are listening, you may remember Charles from an earlier episode and we'll link to that in the description, where we first met him met the Corn Man project, and what's that's all about.
And now we're kind of getting back together and being updated on what's happening in his world, his upcoming book, which is Corn Man Chapter Two.
So that should be out in paperback next week. At the time of when we're recording this by the time you hear it, it may already be out.
Charles: That's the hope.
Brian: Yeah. So let's go right into it.
We were talking a little bit before and you had mentioned, International Corn Man Day, just celebrated. So why don't you tell us a little bit about what that is?
Charles: Well, that was yesterday. And I had this idea, How can I bring more awareness to what the Corn Man project is about, and what it's doing at one time?
I thought, well, let's have a day, a Corn Man Day. And I liked the way Corn Man day sounds. But for some reason, International Corn Man Day, just had a more grand name.
I was like, I like that, plus two, I do have people that support the project overseas. And you and I both know, tackling our food system, the environment, it's a worldwide solution that we're looking for. It's not singular to the United States or to any other place.
So I said, let's do International Corn Man date. And my goal was two fold.
One, I wanted to help people find one small thing that they could maybe implement into their lives that would help reduce the amount of processed corn and their food. In September, I posted a suggestion a day.
And they're very simple, very basic things. But the goal was, I believe, a lot of people don't realize, since there is so much corn in the processed food for one, but it's also in the field that gets the food to the grocery store, and pesticides that get sprayed with all this stuff.]]>2034cleanfullBrian J. Pombo  Charles Wiley is back with us to talk about the Chapter 2 of the Corn Man story – Corn Inc. Cometh, as well as what sparked his idea for International Corn Man Day!  Checkout Chapter 2 and all things Corn Man at the link below.  ➡️ https://cornmanofficial.com/shop/ Transcription Brian: Charles Wiley has been writing music and playing drums for 25 years. He currently lives in Los Angeles and plays with various bands and artists including rock band Dark Horse, Rising Riot, award winning singer songwriter Chris Angeles, and Americana band Circa 62. In addition to playing drums, he also writes music for television. His music has been played on Oprah, Dateline, NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Dr. Oz Show, The Young and the Restless and more. Charles created the Corn Man project to bring awareness to how much corn is in everything we eat. Corn Man is an ongoing action adventure children's book series, and progressive rock concept album, Charles was inspired to call attention to the issue using music and humor. Corn Man hopes to be the conversation starter and tackling the complex issues surrounding the food industry, the environmental impacts of it, and the unsustainable nature of how we eat and grow food. Charles Wiley, welcome back. Charles: Thank you so much Brian, and pleasure to be back. I'm really excited. Brian: For those of you who are listening, you may remember Charles from an earlier episode and we'll link to that in the description, where we first met him met the Corn Man project, and what's that's all about. And now we're kind of getting back together and being updated on what's happening in his world, his upcoming book, which is Corn Man Chapter Two. So that should be out in paperback next week. At the time of when we're recording this by the time you hear it, it may already be out. Charles: That's the hope. Brian: Yeah. So let's go right into it. We were talking a little bit before and you had mentioned, International Corn Man Day, just celebrated. So why don't you tell us a little bit about what that is? Charles: Well, that was yesterday. And I had this idea, How can I bring more awareness to what the Corn Man project is about, and what it's doing at one time? I thought, well, let's have a day, a Corn Man Day. And I liked the way Corn Man day sounds. But for some reason, International Corn Man Day, just had a more grand name. I was like, I like that, plus two, I do have people that support the project overseas. And you and I both know, tackling our food system, the environment, it's a worldwide solution that we're looking for. It's not singular to the United States or to any other place. So I said, let's do International Corn Man date. And my goal was two fold. One, I wanted to help people find one small thing that they could maybe implement into their lives that would help reduce the amount of processed corn and their food. In September, I posted a suggestion a day. And they're very simple, very basic things. But the goal was, I believe, a lot of people don't realize, since there is so much corn in the processed food for one, but it's also in the field that gets the food to the grocery store, and pesticides that get sprayed with all this stuff.Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/tom-watkins-murray-mcmurray-hatcherySpecializing in heritage and rare breed chickens for small backyard flocks and homesteading family's.
Join us as we talk with Tom Watkins from Murray McMurray Hatchery about life and times working in a long-time owned family company and just how does it work to have live animals shipped to customers doors!
For more about Murray McMurray Hatchery and what they have to offer, please checkout their website below!
Murray McMurray Hatchery – https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html
Transcription
Brian: Thomas Watkins is vice president and McMurry Hatchery.
He's been working at the hatch for eight years. No previous chicken experience but now he's something of a chicken expert. McMurray Hatchery is a family owned small business, but they just happen to hatch a lot of chicks.
They specialize in heritage and rare breed chickens for the small backyard flocks and homesteading families. Thomas Watkins, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Tom: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Brian: So why don't you tell us a little bit more about what it is that you do?
Tom: Like you said, I'm the vice president here. It sounds impressive. It really isn't.
That's part of being a small family company.
You might get a big title, but I'm still the plumber. I do a lot of building maintenance.
Number one is we have chickens.
And with that, we raise our own breeder flocks and take care of all the chickens. We hatch the eggs.
So here we have large commercial incubators and we hatch out about 150 to 200,000 chicks a week and ship them all across the United States. So primarily to small backyard flocks.
We don't really do anything commercially for that. So it's just people want chickens, you know, a couple of laying hens in the backyard or to produce their own meat or eggs.
Yeah, you kind of wear a lot of hats.
Brian: So you said you didn't have previous chicken experience.
How did you end up here? What's your life story up to this point?
Tom: I married into it, you would say. My father in law is the president of McMurray Hatchery. So McMurray Hatchery has been around for a little over 100 years now.
All right here in Webster City, Iowa. So we're in the heart of Iowa. And while the McMurray's are all gone, went through Murray McMurray and his sons John and Charles and then his grandson Murray MacMurray took over and he had two business partners.
And those two retired and it was my father in law Bud Wood and said eight years ago, I came on with really no intention of being any management plan just to kind of help around and work my way up, you'd say, oh, pretty quickly.
It's, you know, helps when your father in law is the boss, but you just kind of jump in with everybody. We're really lucky, we have a lot of great help. Because it's all hands on deck when you deal with live animals.
So we work really hard when you need to work. And then, you know, take time off later.
Brian: Yeah.
Tom: Oh, absolutely. Yeah I don't know and now, you just answered enough questions, you can be your own chicken expert.
Brian: Good deal well, and it fits into the crowd that you're playing into, because it's what they're all attempting to do, right. They they're going from quite possibly not knowing anything about chickens to raising them and so forth.
Tom: Exactly. Like I said, I'm living proof of what happens because I never knew people had chickens in their backyards. And then so we got chickens and went from a few, and then you go from having chickens and they are the gateway animal to other, you know, hobby farming. You get a goat, or you get small cow. You move to an acreage, like so.]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=766Wed, 11 Nov 2020 23:35:27 +0000Brian J. Pombo  Specializing in heritage and rare breed chickens for small backyard flocks and homesteading family's. Join us as we talk with Tom Watkins from Murray McMurray Hatchery about life and times working in a long-time owned family company and just how...Specializing in heritage and rare breed chickens for small backyard flocks and homesteading family's.
Join us as we talk with Tom Watkins from Murray McMurray Hatchery about life and times working in a long-time owned family company and just how does it work to have live animals shipped to customers doors!
For more about Murray McMurray Hatchery and what they have to offer, please checkout their website below!
Murray McMurray Hatchery – https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html
Transcription
Brian: Thomas Watkins is vice president and McMurry Hatchery.
He's been working at the hatch for eight years. No previous chicken experience but now he's something of a chicken expert. McMurray Hatchery is a family owned small business, but they just happen to hatch a lot of chicks.
They specialize in heritage and rare breed chickens for the small backyard flocks and homesteading families. Thomas Watkins, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Tom: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Brian: So why don't you tell us a little bit more about what it is that you do?
Tom: Like you said, I'm the vice president here. It sounds impressive. It really isn't.
That's part of being a small family company.
You might get a big title, but I'm still the plumber. I do a lot of building maintenance.
Number one is we have chickens.
And with that, we raise our own breeder flocks and take care of all the chickens. We hatch the eggs.
So here we have large commercial incubators and we hatch out about 150 to 200,000 chicks a week and ship them all across the United States. So primarily to small backyard flocks.
We don't really do anything commercially for that. So it's just people want chickens, you know, a couple of laying hens in the backyard or to produce their own meat or eggs.
Yeah, you kind of wear a lot of hats.
Brian: So you said you didn't have previous chicken experience.
How did you end up here? What's your life story up to this point?
Tom: I married into it, you would say. My father in law is the president of McMurray Hatchery. So McMurray Hatchery has been around for a little over 100 years now.
All right here in Webster City, Iowa. So we're in the heart of Iowa. And while the McMurray's are all gone, went through Murray McMurray and his sons John and Charles and then his grandson Murray MacMurray took over and he had two business partners.
And those two retired and it was my father in law Bud Wood and said eight years ago, I came on with really no intention of being any management plan just to kind of help around and work my way up, you'd say, oh, pretty quickly.
It's, you know, helps when your father in law is the boss, but you just kind of jump in with everybody. We're really lucky, we have a lot of great help. Because it's all hands on deck when you deal with live animals.
So we work really hard when you need to work. And then, you know, take time off later.
Brian: Yeah.
Tom: Oh, absolutely. Yeah I don't know and now, you just answered enough questions, you can be your own chicken expert.
Brian: Good deal well, and it fits into the crowd that you're playing into, because it's what they're all attempting to do, right. They they're going from quite possibly not knowing anything about chickens to raising them and so forth.
Tom: Exactly. Like I said, I'm living proof of what happens because I never knew people had chickens in their backyards. And then so we got chickens and went from a few, and then you go from having chickens and they are the gateway animal to other, you know, hobby farming. You get a goat, or you get small cow. You move to an acreage, like so.]]>1803cleanfullBrian J. Pombo  Specializing in heritage and rare breed chickens for small backyard flocks and homesteading family's. Join us as we talk with Tom Watkins from Murray McMurray Hatchery about life and times working in a long-time owned family company and just how does it work to have live animals shipped to customers doors! For more about Murray McMurray Hatchery and what they have to offer, please checkout their website below! Murray McMurray Hatchery – https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html Transcription Brian: Thomas Watkins is vice president and McMurry Hatchery. He's been working at the hatch for eight years. No previous chicken experience but now he's something of a chicken expert. McMurray Hatchery is a family owned small business, but they just happen to hatch a lot of chicks. They specialize in heritage and rare breed chickens for the small backyard flocks and homesteading families. Thomas Watkins, welcome to the Off The Grid Biz Podcast. Tom: Thank you. Thanks for having me. Brian: So why don't you tell us a little bit more about what it is that you do? Tom: Like you said, I'm the vice president here. It sounds impressive. It really isn't. That's part of being a small family company. You might get a big title, but I'm still the plumber. I do a lot of building maintenance. Number one is we have chickens. And with that, we raise our own breeder flocks and take care of all the chickens. We hatch the eggs. So here we have large commercial incubators and we hatch out about 150 to 200,000 chicks a week and ship them all across the United States. So primarily to small backyard flocks. We don't really do anything commercially for that. So it's just people want chickens, you know, a couple of laying hens in the backyard or to produce their own meat or eggs. Yeah, you kind of wear a lot of hats. Brian: So you said you didn't have previous chicken experience. How did you end up here? What's your life story up to this point? Tom: I married into it, you would say. My father in law is the president of McMurray Hatchery. So McMurray Hatchery has been around for a little over 100 years now. All right here in Webster City, Iowa. So we're in the heart of Iowa. And while the McMurray's are all gone, went through Murray McMurray and his sons John and Charles and then his grandson Murray MacMurray took over and he had two business partners. And those two retired and it was my father in law Bud Wood and said eight years ago, I came on with really no intention of being any management plan just to kind of help around and work my way up, you'd say, oh, pretty quickly. It's, you know, helps when your father in law is the boss, but you just kind of jump in with everybody. We're really lucky, we have a lot of great help. Because it's all hands on deck when you deal with live animals. So we work really hard when you need to work. And then, you know, take time off later. Brian: Yeah. Tom: Oh, absolutely. Yeah I don't know and now, you just answered enough questions, you can be your own chicken expert. Brian: Good deal well, and it fits into the crowd that you're playing into, because it's what they're all attempting to do, right. They they're going from quite possibly not knowing anything about chickens to raising them and so forth. Tom: Exactly. Like I said, I'm living proof of what happens because I never knew people had chickens in their backyards. And then so we got chickens and went from a few, and then you go from having chickens and they are the gateway animal to other, you know, hobby farming. You get a goat, or you get small cow. You move to an acreage, like so.Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/gianaclis-caldwell-pholia-farmOthers are experts with a joy for helping others and learning from those they interact with.
Tune into this podcast and checkout some of the links below, and it won't take long to get an impression that Gianaclis is the latter.
Now, I could spend time talking about her love for Nigerian Dwarf Goats here.
Or perhaps her extensive knowledge in Cheesemaking.
Possibly even her 6 nonfiction books or her ventures into fiction writing.
Maybe you'd even like me to spill the beans on her thoughts on speaking and teaching classes?
Well I'm not going to do that, no, not at all.
But if you want to know more about the subjects we cover in this episode, please checkout the links below, because Gianaclis is someone you'll want to follow and learn from!
Checkout Gianaclis's books, future classes, consults and more at her website and Facebook page –
https://gianacliscaldwell.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gianaclis/
For more about Pholia Farm – https://pholiafarm.com/
Transcription
Brian: Oregon native Gianaclis Caldwell grew up milking cows, but was lowered to the goat side where she remains a committed devotee. She was a commercial cheesemaker at the Caldwell Off Grid Dairy Pholia Farm for over 10 years.
She now milks her Nigerian dwarf goats just for pleasure. In between writing books in which he has six, speaking, and judging cheese, which she considers the most fun.
Gianaclis Caldwell, welcome to The Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Gianaclis: Well, thank you, Brian. Thanks for having me.
Brian: Yeah, so why don't you tell us a little bit about what it is that you do on a regular basis?
Gianaclis: Oh, gosh, it sure varies from day to day. And I was just talking to my mother about people who are drawn to this kind of life really have to be nonlinear, because you just can't really schedule your day or your week sometimes with animals and farm life and that sort of thing.
So still milking the goats, you were very correct and I do it for pleasure, love having them can just working with the animals. We've been breeding the Nigerians now since 2003, and have developed a good name for the breed or as a breeder, I should say, of Nigerian dwarfs. Particularly for strong, long milking animals and with good milk production for that breed.
And that's, that's something that's hard to imagine. And we're getting older now, of course, as we all do. But it's difficult to imagine giving up but that process of working on a breed and all those those genetics and all those improvements, and of course, there's this addiction that every goat person will confess to.
I think about waiting for those babies to come every year. And goat babies are there's a good reason that they're all over YouTube and such.
They're they're so appealing, and they pretty much stay that way as adults.
So we work our local farm is mostly a pleasure farm now, we do Airbnb with a couple of farms days we have, and that keeps us busy also, but it's a great income stream for the farm supplement a lot of the feed bills and that sort of thing.
And then working on books, which you said correctly, six nonfiction books and now I'm switching to what was originally my first passion which is trying to and I say that because I want to be humble about this, I write fiction.
And then we also are caring for elderly parents and current with all of that and that's a wonderful thing to be a part of that certainly is a ongoing team team. Source of activity for us.
Brian: Absolutely.]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=749Mon, 12 Oct 2020 20:55:42 +0000Brian J. PomboSome people are just experts in the subjects they excel in. Others are experts with a joy for helping others and learning from those they interact with. Tune into this podcast and checkout some of the links below, and it won't take long to get an...Others are experts with a joy for helping others and learning from those they interact with.
Tune into this podcast and checkout some of the links below, and it won't take long to get an impression that Gianaclis is the latter.
Now, I could spend time talking about her love for Nigerian Dwarf Goats here.
Or perhaps her extensive knowledge in Cheesemaking.
Possibly even her 6 nonfiction books or her ventures into fiction writing.
Maybe you'd even like me to spill the beans on her thoughts on speaking and teaching classes?
Well I'm not going to do that, no, not at all.
But if you want to know more about the subjects we cover in this episode, please checkout the links below, because Gianaclis is someone you'll want to follow and learn from!
Checkout Gianaclis's books, future classes, consults and more at her website and Facebook page –
https://gianacliscaldwell.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gianaclis/
For more about Pholia Farm – https://pholiafarm.com/
Transcription
Brian: Oregon native Gianaclis Caldwell grew up milking cows, but was lowered to the goat side where she remains a committed devotee. She was a commercial cheesemaker at the Caldwell Off Grid Dairy Pholia Farm for over 10 years.
She now milks her Nigerian dwarf goats just for pleasure. In between writing books in which he has six, speaking, and judging cheese, which she considers the most fun.
Gianaclis Caldwell, welcome to The Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Gianaclis: Well, thank you, Brian. Thanks for having me.
Brian: Yeah, so why don't you tell us a little bit about what it is that you do on a regular basis?
Gianaclis: Oh, gosh, it sure varies from day to day. And I was just talking to my mother about people who are drawn to this kind of life really have to be nonlinear, because you just can't really schedule your day or your week sometimes with animals and farm life and that sort of thing.
So still milking the goats, you were very correct and I do it for pleasure, love having them can just working with the animals. We've been breeding the Nigerians now since 2003, and have developed a good name for the breed or as a breeder, I should say, of Nigerian dwarfs. Particularly for strong, long milking animals and with good milk production for that breed.
And that's, that's something that's hard to imagine. And we're getting older now, of course, as we all do. But it's difficult to imagine giving up but that process of working on a breed and all those those genetics and all those improvements, and of course, there's this addiction that every goat person will confess to.
I think about waiting for those babies to come every year. And goat babies are there's a good reason that they're all over YouTube and such.
They're they're so appealing, and they pretty much stay that way as adults.
So we work our local farm is mostly a pleasure farm now, we do Airbnb with a couple of farms days we have, and that keeps us busy also, but it's a great income stream for the farm supplement a lot of the feed bills and that sort of thing.
And then working on books, which you said correctly, six nonfiction books and now I'm switching to what was originally my first passion which is trying to and I say that because I want to be humble about this, I write fiction.
And then we also are caring for elderly parents and current with all of that and that's a wonderful thing to be a part of that certainly is a ongoing team team. Source of activity for us.
Brian: Absolutely.]]>2122cleanfullBrian J. PomboSome people are just experts in the subjects they excel in. Others are experts with a joy for helping others and learning from those they interact with. Tune into this podcast and checkout some of the links below, and it won't take long to get an impression that Gianaclis is the latter. Now, I could spend time talking about her love for Nigerian Dwarf Goats here. Or perhaps her extensive knowledge in Cheesemaking. Possibly even her 6 nonfiction books or her ventures into fiction writing. Maybe you'd even like me to spill the beans on her thoughts on speaking and teaching classes? Well I'm not going to do that, no, not at all. But if you want to know more about the subjects we cover in this episode, please checkout the links below, because Gianaclis is someone you'll want to follow and learn from! Checkout Gianaclis's books, future classes, consults and more at her website and Facebook page – https://gianacliscaldwell.com/ https://www.facebook.com/gianaclis/ For more about Pholia Farm – https://pholiafarm.com/ Transcription Brian: Oregon native Gianaclis Caldwell grew up milking cows, but was lowered to the goat side where she remains a committed devotee. She was a commercial cheesemaker at the Caldwell Off Grid Dairy Pholia Farm for over 10 years. She now milks her Nigerian dwarf goats just for pleasure. In between writing books in which he has six, speaking, and judging cheese, which she considers the most fun. Gianaclis Caldwell, welcome to The Off The Grid Biz Podcast. Gianaclis: Well, thank you, Brian. Thanks for having me. Brian: Yeah, so why don't you tell us a little bit about what it is that you do on a regular basis? Gianaclis: Oh, gosh, it sure varies from day to day. And I was just talking to my mother about people who are drawn to this kind of life really have to be nonlinear, because you just can't really schedule your day or your week sometimes with animals and farm life and that sort of thing. So still milking the goats, you were very correct and I do it for pleasure, love having them can just working with the animals. We've been breeding the Nigerians now since 2003, and have developed a good name for the breed or as a breeder, I should say, of Nigerian dwarfs. Particularly for strong, long milking animals and with good milk production for that breed. And that's, that's something that's hard to imagine. And we're getting older now, of course, as we all do. But it's difficult to imagine giving up but that process of working on a breed and all those those genetics and all those improvements, and of course, there's this addiction that every goat person will confess to. I think about waiting for those babies to come every year. And goat babies are there's a good reason that they're all over YouTube and such. They're they're so appealing, and they pretty much stay that way as adults. So we work our local farm is mostly a pleasure farm now, we do Airbnb with a couple of farms days we have, and that keeps us busy also, but it's a great income stream for the farm supplement a lot of the feed bills and that sort of thing. And then working on books, which you said correctly, six nonfiction books and now I'm switching to what was originally my first passion which is trying to and I say that because I want to be humble about this, I write fiction. And then we also are caring for elderly parents and current with all of that and that's a wonderful thing to be a part of that certainly is a ongoing team team. Source of activity for us. Brian: Absolutely.Nohttps://www.spreaker.com/user/brianjpombo1/jason-smith-adventures-in-homebrewingCheckout Jason's fine websites to help you in your homebrewing adventures today!
Adventures In Homebrewing – https://www.homebrewing.org/
Austin Homebrew Supply – https://www.austinhomebrew.com/
Transcription
Intro: Jason Smith is the owner of Adventures In Homebrewing.
It all started when he was brewing beer in 1992. While serving in the army in 97, he left the army and moved back to Detroit to pursue pharmacy school. While preparing for school, he realized the lack of competition in the homebrew market in Detroit and opened up his own shop in 1999.
Over the last 20 years, his business has evolved into both retail and online sales as well as producing their own warehouse management system. So the gap year that he took off from pharmacy school has actually been over 20 years now, but it's been quite a rollercoaster ride.
Jason Smith, welcome to The Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Jason: Thanks for having me.
Brian: So why don't you let everyone know a little bit about what it is that you do?
Jason: My name is Jason Smith. I own Adventures In Homebrewing and Austin Homebrew Supply. We do homemade beer making, wine making, cheese making, distilling of products.
We have guests that do soap making, soda making to kind of anything that you would make at home. As far as beverage supply goes for sure.
Brian: How did you end up of all things in the home brewing industry?
Jason: It's kind of crazy. I started out in the Army. And when I started, I wanted to make wine with the guys in the Army. And they're like wine, How about beer?
Well, I suppose we could do that.
So we got involved with some beer making.
I worked in a pharmacy. We had lab equipment available to us, of course. So we started culturing a lot of our own yeast doing different things in the beer making side of it. We really didn't have what's available today.
Internet access, we couldn't just order something.
It was a lot of finding where can we get grains, where can we get hops? And then of course with the yeast we started culturing a lot of it within the labs at the hospital at the time, I did that for some time, started a small homebrew club at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, did some fun stuff with that.
And then as I left the military, I got home, I was gonna go back to school for pharmacy.
When I got home, there was a couple small shops, but nothing really, that had bar equipment and you know, the kegging equipment and just the bigger items that were available.
I just had a larger vision of what home brewing could be versus what the local shops had had. Says talking to a friend one night over beer, of course, and kind of determined that we could do a better job than what was currently available in Michigan.
So the first thing we did was kind of that ESPN mentality.
Well, we can open this in Michigan, but there's a whole world out there. Let's jump on the internet and make sure that we are getting out to everybody. We started collecting email addresses, phone numbers, names, building an email list and slowly developed a small website.
That was 20 years ago, the website is done well, from day one, we've kind of evolved.
And now I'm sure we're the largest store in Michigan, one of the larger ones in the Midwest, and there's two or three stores in the country that I thin...]]>http://offthegridbiz.com/?p=734Mon, 28 Sep 2020 23:23:04 +0000Brian J. PomboFrom experiments in brewing while serving in the Army to now over 20 years in the Homebrew industry, Jason Smith joins us to talk about the joy of Homebrewing and fermentation. Checkout Jason's fine websites to help you in your homebrewing adventures...Checkout Jason's fine websites to help you in your homebrewing adventures today!
Adventures In Homebrewing – https://www.homebrewing.org/
Austin Homebrew Supply – https://www.austinhomebrew.com/
Transcription
Intro: Jason Smith is the owner of Adventures In Homebrewing.
It all started when he was brewing beer in 1992. While serving in the army in 97, he left the army and moved back to Detroit to pursue pharmacy school. While preparing for school, he realized the lack of competition in the homebrew market in Detroit and opened up his own shop in 1999.
Over the last 20 years, his business has evolved into both retail and online sales as well as producing their own warehouse management system. So the gap year that he took off from pharmacy school has actually been over 20 years now, but it's been quite a rollercoaster ride.
Jason Smith, welcome to The Off The Grid Biz Podcast.
Jason: Thanks for having me.
Brian: So why don't you let everyone know a little bit about what it is that you do?
Jason: My name is Jason Smith. I own Adventures In Homebrewing and Austin Homebrew Supply. We do homemade beer making, wine making, cheese making, distilling of products.
We have guests that do soap making, soda making to kind of anything that you would make at home. As far as beverage supply goes for sure.
Brian: How did you end up of all things in the home brewing industry?
Jason: It's kind of crazy. I started out in the Army. And when I started, I wanted to make wine with the guys in the Army. And they're like wine, How about beer?
Well, I suppose we could do that.
So we got involved with some beer making.
I worked in a pharmacy. We had lab equipment available to us, of course. So we started culturing a lot of our own yeast doing different things in the beer making side of it. We really didn't have what's available today.
Internet access, we couldn't just order something.
It was a lot of finding where can we get grains, where can we get hops? And then of course with the yeast we started culturing a lot of it within the labs at the hospital at the time, I did that for some time, started a small homebrew club at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, did some fun stuff with that.
And then as I left the military, I got home, I was gonna go back to school for pharmacy.
When I got home, there was a couple small shops, but nothing really, that had bar equipment and you know, the kegging equipment and just the bigger items that were available.
I just had a larger vision of what home brewing could be versus what the local shops had had. Says talking to a friend one night over beer, of course, and kind of determined that we could do a better job than what was currently available in Michigan.
So the first thing we did was kind of that ESPN mentality.
Well, we can open this in Michigan, but there's a whole world out there. Let's jump on the internet and make sure that we are getting out to everybody. We started collecting email addresses, phone numbers, names, building an email list and slowly developed a small website.
That was 20 years ago, the website is done well, from day one, we've kind of evolved.
And now I'm sure we're the largest store in Michigan, one of the larger ones in the Midwest, and there's two or three stores in the country that I thin...]]>2025cleanfullBrian J. PomboFrom experiments in brewing while serving in the Army to now over 20 years in the Homebrew industry, Jason Smith joins us to talk about the joy of Homebrewing and fermentation. Checkout Jason's fine websites to help you in your homebrewing adventures today! Adventures In Homebrewing – https://www.homebrewing.org/ Austin Homebrew Supply – https://www.austinhomebrew.com/ Transcription Intro: Jason Smith is the owner of Adventures In Homebrewing. It all started when he was brewing beer in 1992. While serving in the army in 97, he left the army and moved back to Detroit to pursue pharmacy school. While preparing for school, he realized the lack of competition in the homebrew market in Detroit and opened up his own shop in 1999. Over the last 20 years, his business has evolved into both retail and online sales as well as producing their own warehouse management system. So the gap year that he took off from pharmacy school has actually been over 20 years now, but it's been quite a rollercoaster ride. Jason Smith, welcome to The Off The Grid Biz Podcast. Jason: Thanks for having me. Brian: So why don't you let everyone know a little bit about what it is that you do? Jason: My name is Jason Smith. I own Adventures In Homebrewing and Austin Homebrew Supply. We do homemade beer making, wine making, cheese making, distilling of products. We have guests that do soap making, soda making to kind of anything that you would make at home. As far as beverage supply goes for sure. Brian: How did you end up of all things in the home brewing industry? Jason: It's kind of crazy. I started out in the Army. And when I started, I wanted to make wine with the guys in the Army. And they're like wine, How about beer? Well, I suppose we could do that. So we got involved with some beer making. I worked in a pharmacy. We had lab equipment available to us, of course. So we started culturing a lot of our own yeast doing different things in the beer making side of it. We really didn't have what's available today. Internet access, we couldn't just order something. It was a lot of finding where can we get grains, where can we get hops? And then of course with the yeast we started culturing a lot of it within the labs at the hospital at the time, I did that for some time, started a small homebrew club at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, did some fun stuff with that. And then as I left the military, I got home, I was gonna go back to school for pharmacy. When I got home, there was a couple small shops, but nothing really, that had bar equipment and you know, the kegging equipment and just the bigger items that were available. I just had a larger vision of what home brewing could be versus what the local shops had had. Says talking to a friend one night over beer, of course, and kind of determined that we could do a better job than what was currently available in Michigan. So the first thing we did was kind of that ESPN mentality. Well, we can open this in Michigan, but there's a whole world out there. Let's jump on the internet and make sure that we are getting out to everybody. We started collecting email addresses, phone numbers, names, building an email list and slowly developed a small website. That was 20 years ago, the website is done well, from day one, we've kind of evolved. And now I'm sure we're the largest store in Michigan, one of the larger ones in the Midwest, and there's two or three stores in the country that I thin...No