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Pinterest allows easy option for driving traffic to books, blogs, videos and creative projects.
One of the problems with trying to publish affordable books is the fact that only black and white interior images are allowed. One way to compensate is to publish color images in another format, and Pinterest can accomplish this objective. I just posted 93 images and captions in four catagories or “Boards” as Pinterest calls them. These are: “Guns & Game,” “Wild Game Cooking,” Crossbow & Game” and “Bowfishing.” If this link does not work you can also try http://pinterest.com/hoveysmith.
One aspect that I like is that these “boards” allow you to arrange according to four subject headings and change/modify the photos or captions at any time as well as to make additions and deletions to the boards. There may be a limit on the number of boards or the number of photos per board, but I have not discovered that yet. Pinterest may also be linked to your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
A caution is that once these photos are published they should be considered “free use” with the originator using these as ads to attract traffic back to his website, books, products or activities. One way around this is to degrade any images that could be commercially important.
In our increasingly visual culture, Pinterest has exploded in traffic and user numbers. Using Pinterest is easy, cost nothing and can result in significant exposure for you and your products. It also provides you with a significant incentive to upgrade your photographic skills.
One of the problems with trying to publish affordable books is the fact that only black and white interior images are allowed. One way to compensate is to publish color images in another format, and Pinterest can accomplish this objective. I just posted 93 images and captions in four catagories or “Boards” as Pinterest calls them. These are: “Guns & Game,” “Wild Game Cooking,” Crossbow & Game” and “Bowfishing.” If this link does not work you can also try http://pinterest.com/hoveysmith.
One aspect that I like is that these “boards” allow you to arrange according to four subject headings and change/modify the photos or captions at any time as well as to make additions and deletions to the boards. There may be a limit on the number of boards or the number of photos per board, but I have not discovered that yet. Pinterest may also be linked to your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
A caution is that once these photos are published they should be considered “free use” with the originator using these as ads to attract traffic back to his website, books, products or activities. One way around this is to degrade any images that could be commercially important.
In our increasingly visual culture, Pinterest has exploded in traffic and user numbers. Using Pinterest is easy, cost nothing and can result in significant exposure for you and your products. It also provides you with a significant incentive to upgrade your photographic skills.
- Bondo Boat in Washington State when the author was on one of his cross-country bowfishing trips.
Mark Land shooting fish from a photo used on the cover of my book.
Land commonly participates in tournament bowfishing, which the author seldom does, and between the two of them they review the sport from the author’s taking fish strictly for his table to high-volume, high-excitement bowfishing at night in a Louisiana swamp. Included are discussions on the equipment, boats, fish, participants, locations, techniques with a strong emphasis on utilizing the take.
A carp salad is made the same as a tuna-fish salad, but does not have the oily or metallic aftertastes frequently derived from canned tuna.
The Backyard Sportsman Rado Show Now Removed from VoiceAmericaSports
The 13 Episodes of “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures” have now been removed from the VoiceAmericaSports channel. This show was a content-driven show and never attracted sufficient sponsors to continue production. Some of the same topics, materials and guests that appeared on these episodes have been, or will be, used on my present radio show, “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures” on WebTalkRadio.Net. This new show is more entertainment-driven, although it still has a high informational content and new slants on outdoor activities. Recent shows include, “Viva Las Vegas, Shot Show, 2011” which was taped live at the event and contains more than 20 interviews with makers of new, exciting outdoor products; “All about Dogs,” and “The Hunting Buddy.”
A blog about these shows “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Blog” is available from my website, www.hoveysmith.com, and a full-page view can be obtained by clicking on the live link at the very bottom of the welcome page.
A live link to the new radio show appears below. To check past topics, activate the archive tab at the top of the page and that will bring up a list of shows.
To go directly to the show page and hear the new show click on the following URL : http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/.
Starting Your Home Business: How to Do It.
Could your backyard business start like this? Tony Knight's did.
Starting Your Backyard Business: 21 Steps to Success
This is the outline of 21 Business modules presented as part of my radio shows, “The Backyard Sportsman” and “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures.” An expanded version of this outline will be written up as a White Paper in 2011 and made available from my website, www.hoveysmith.com. I will also produce 21 short videos expanding on these themes.
I. Why start your outdoor business?
Control own destiny
Enjoy nature
Income
Financial security
Productive use of time
Social interaction
Improve family life
Meet interesting people
Social mission
Learning experience
Yourself
Family
Psychological comfort
Maintain mental acuity
Hone skills
Satisfy life goals
Leave a legacy
II. What is your passion?
Can your hobby be your business?
Creative work
Writing
Acting
Fine Arts
Crafts
Agriculture
Crops
Livestock
Pets
Mechanical skill
Mechanic
Alterations
Business facilitation
Revitalization
Trading and speculation
On-line facilitation
Marketing
Re-packaging
Knowledge
Physical objects
Own works and skills
III. What are your skills?
Long-term project tolerance
Mental
Professional training
Communications
Language
Written
Verbal
Mechanical
People
Family
IV. Weighing your objectives
Income game or loss
Tax consequences
Material accumulation
Stop-gap employment
Resume enhancement
Income producing
Supplemental income
Learning enhancement
Advancing towards life goals
V. Market Reach
Local
Regional
National
International
VI. Prototyping your business model
Time required
Financial return
Risks
Loss tolerance
Physical facilities
Communication
Storage
Accessibility
Transportation
Supporting activities
Inventory costs
Advertising and promotion
Equipment needs
Break-even point
Return on Investment
VII. Judging the competition
Local
Who
What
Where
Regional
Who
What
Where
National
Who
What
Where
International
Who
What
Where
VIII. Fire in the belly
Time commitment
Enthusiasm quotient
Stamina
Overcoming nay-sayers
Association with a culture of winners
IX. Partnering
Gathering people with complementary skill sets
Recognition of excellence in a field of knowledge
Barter skills
X. Gathering Resources
Physical plant
Equipment
Electronics
Personal comfort
XI. Training
Independent study
Community colleges
On-line
Spouse and family
Colleges and Universities
Special courses
Continuing education
Seminars, teleconferences
XII. Naming your business
Personal
Product
Generic
Poor names
Alphabet soup
Cute, but meaningless
XIII. Legal issues
Registering your brand
Registering your business
Deciding legal framework
XII. Financing
Self financed
Bank loan
Credit cards
Small business loans
XIV. Launch
Local
Paid advertising
Public Relations
Local newspapers radio and TV
WWW
National
Press Releases
E-blasts
Radio talk shows
TV
Own Radio Show
Private video-TV productions
YouTube
XV. Evaluation
Bottom line
Sales vs. expectations
Analysis
In house
Outside
Tweaking
XVI. Launch II, Expanding your reach
Expanding market to next level
Regional
National
XVII. Going global
International opportunities
XVIII. Liquidation
Selling your successful business
Liquidation of assets
XX. Restarts
Starting a second business
Related
Noncompetitive
XXI. Legacy
Passing on your business
Partners
Spouses
Family
Non-profit groups
Tony Knight started a successful business from a tin workshop and store after he lost his railroad job. This business became a world-famous maker of muzzleloading sporting rifles.
Holiday Show, 30-min Christmas Story, Two Adventures, Song
Auntie Thresa Claus, Santa's Not so Nice Sister
An uninterupted reading of the Premier Broadcast of an original Christmas story, “A Visit from Auntie Thresa Claus,” by Wm. Hovey Smith will be featured in this Holiday Show. Thresa Claus visits six families on Christmas day, and should hospitality be refused to Santa’s sister, she has the power to take everything related to Christmas away. She has been inadvertently summoned to the Jay’s family home by Jennifer, the youngest daughter, who must find a way to prevent a disastrous outcome. Through Jennifer’s action, a bad outcome is narrowly averted, and the family has an enjoyable Christmas.
This story is available as a 30-min one-act stage play as well as a screenplay. Copies of the play and script may be obtained from www.hoveysmith.com and more information is available at the Auntie Thresa Claus Blog at the bottom of the WebSite’s welcome page.
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Christmas at Copper River
This is an adventure story of me as a young Second Lt. of Engineers blowing holes in an ice-clogged river to prevent damage to a vital bridge across the Copper River at Copper Center, Alaska. Engineer officers get to do some interesting things, and this included me crashing down on top of 1,000 pounds of lit explosives when our helicopter decided to quit, a civilian aircraft being nearly being knocked out of the sky by ice chunks and me having a very cold Christmas dinner thawing World War II C-rations out in a tin shed at 26 degrees below zero – all good training for a young Army officer.
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Armadillo Safari
Tanegashima, or Tagie for short, is a Japanese matchlock that the author felt obligated to take hunting and try to kill something with.
Matchlock shooter readying his gun.
Because matchlock guns have been in use longer than any other type of firearm, I felt that it was vital that I get one and learn to hunt with it. After all, these were considered perfected in Europe by the 1500s and were used on all classes of game, including waterfowling. I did not have access to any European replicas, but I could get a Tanegashima-style matchlock that was, at that time, made in Japan.
Getting the gun to shoot at all was the first challenge, but I ultimately did manage to hunt with it and kill game. My conclusion was, “A matchlock gun is ideal for someone who wants a maximum hunting experience, but does not want to be bothered to clean much game.
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A sincerely rendered, but badly sung, song from an unexpected source concludes the program.
North America’s Diverse Hunting Opportunities on Oct. 29
Some hunters only consider the hunts that they were tought to do by their fathers and don’t think about taking on some of North America’s more unusual species like swan, alligators and the Western grouse. All of these are regionally available and anyone may hunt them, although usually with prior application and after drawing a permit. Even closer to home, look and see what offered that you do not usually hunt. These hunts will introduce you to some of the most beautiful places on the Continent and broaden your knowledge of the country, people and game.
HUNTING- The common Tundra swan is available in large numbers in the eastern parts of North Carolina and nearby Virginia as well as some locations in the Western U.S. Taken when they have had a chance to feed out on corn, these are the best eating of all waterfowl. The limit on swan is one a year, and by permit only. Alligators may be hunted under various restrictions in all of the Gulf Coast states and in Arkansas and South Carolina. These large reptiles are common to abundant in parts of their habitats and provide exciting hunts and good food. If you like upland birds, nothing in the Americas beats hunting the various grouse in central Montana where five native species exist along with pheasants, Hungarian partridge and waterfowl.
HUNTING TOOLSThis discussion will center around some of the specialized equipment needed for taking swan, alligators hunting and shotgun and pistol options for Western grouse.
HOME BUSINESS
Gene Jameson started his own company Jameson Woodworks in Belton, SC, after being laid off from his job designing and building prototypes for medical devices. A skilled woodworker with an industrial background, he founded a business to produce precision wooden knife kits which he markets to major retailers as well as through knife companies, such as Case Cutlery. He now sells his JJ Knife kits in Hunter, Trapper and Tactical styles. These are boxed in metal tins and require wood finishing and assembly. These are excellent tools for kids to learn about folding knives and wood-finishing techniques.
HOME COOKING
Safely salvaging and consuming road-killed deer and other animals will be the focus of this cooking section. Road kills are available with all degrees of carcass damage from almost none to being a red smear on the pavement. With proper selection these can provide wholesome meat for around 10 cents per pound.
Ads, Sponsors and Book Sales Need to Keep Shows Going
Like any business venture, radio shows cost money to produce and this must be forthcoming from sponsorship, ads, sales of books, guifts and grants. My previous show on VoiceAmerica Sports, ”The Backyard Sportsman,” is a solid, high-information-content show; but failed in 10 weeks to produce sufficient sponsorships or product sales to continue broadcasting.
I think that this is disappointing because I believe that I was, and am through iTune on-demand re-broadcast, reaching a younger market that needs solid information on hunting and outdoor topics. This market will continue to expand and after only a month, I was reaching over 10,000 listeners. If after hearing a few shows you think likewise, consider sponsoring a revitalization of this show or purchase some of my books and other products.
My new show “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures,” faces exactly the same challenges and will have the same fate if sponsorships, ads or book sales are not forthcoming. The message is simple, “If you want my show, then buy my stuff and/or help me find sponsors for it.” Although the new show will be adventure and storytelling based which would appeal to a larger audience, it has exactly the same requirements to be a money-producing business.
For those who were following my Outdoor Business Modules on The “Backyard Sportsman,” these will be continued through the new show until all 21 are covered. For a review, go to http://www.thebackyardsportsman.wordpress.com to see a list of the Modules that were covered in past shows. If there is interest, I will publish a whitepaper with an outline of the Modules. Watch for that on my website, www.hoveysmith.com.
A YouTube video was recorded to make these points. To view it, click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pn-YrmGHfw&layer_token=4baa7fbe81943e3a.
The Backyard Sportsman Takes Big, Big Game with Handguns, Oct. 22
Bill Booth with a very large American buffalo taken with a Smith & Wesson revolver.
Hunters in North America have increasing opportunities to hunt very large species of big game such as the buffalo (or bison) with a variety of hunting tools, including some very powerful handguns. Hunting and dealing with very large game animals such as buffalo, moose and elk will be the focus of today’s show.
HUNTING Our guest on this program is Bill Booth, a retired police Lt. who is now the Account Manager for the Smith & Wesson at Blue Heron, a marketing firm specializing in the outdoor industry. Booth is an avid handgun hunter, and he and Hovey will discuss hunting a variety of game with cartridge and muzzleloading handguns.
HUNTING TOOLSHandguns, handgun training and the suitability of handguns for use for taking big and small game will be the focus of this discussion. Points that will be made are that training is necessary to overcome the physical challenges of shooting any handgun, much less one that is capable of killing the largest of game animals. Both Booth and Hovey are experienced handgun hunters and provide comments on using both cartridge and muzzleloading handguns.
HOME BUSINESS
The home business section will consider building and selling simple outdoor cooking equipment that provides a “green” solution while minimizing the amount of cooking gear needed to feed a hunting camp. Backyard Business Module 11 discusses the additional training that a business owner might need to acquire to successfully operate a modern business and where that might be obtained.
HOME COOKING
This week’s cooking section will feature cooking on sheet-iron, a flat cooking surface that allows everything to be cooked that can be made on a Waffle House grill. A variety of recipes and techniques will be explored.
