Why did I kick this site into gear?

In May 2025 I was listening to the 'Between Two Beers’ podcast. More specifically, their Accidental Business Owners offshoot poddy, in which it seemed Di Foster was ripping one of the hosts - Seamus Marten - to shreds. Something she said in that podcast piqued my interest. Which generated a spark. Which moved me to craft this site.

This year - 2025 - I’ve started listening to podcasts. Late to that party, I know, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

To be more specific, since January I’ve been tuning into a podcast called Between Two Beers. (It is a really good podcast. Recommended.)

It’s hosted by a couple of Kiwi blokes - Steve Holloway and Seamus Marten - who, in addition to their main BTB podcast operate a handful of other things that have sprouted as offshoots from their main poddy.

One is a series of podcasts they’ve titled Accidental Business Owners. If the AI generated overview can be believed they’re podcasts that “focus on the experiences of individuals who found themselves unexpectedly running a business.”

In May this year I found myself listening to episode #22, which they titled “I’m F***ing Done!” (subtitled as ‘Our most confronting 1:1 Coaching Session’). That episode was a review of a 1-on-1 personal coaching session Seamus had with their coach-business-mentor-type-person, Di Foster.

The episode, as Seamus later referred to it, was ‘a little crunchy’. Di offered up some hard home truths about how she perceived some of Seamus’ behavioural traits.

But during the episode she also discussed this thing she termed personal brand.

I’m paraphrasing, but what I felt she was leaning towards was nudging people who had the opportunity and willingness to do so, to craft/build/construct their own brand somewhere in the online space.

(And not that this was dwelled on, but I reckon she meant building something with a little more meat on the bones than ‘simply’ a Facebook or X or LinkedIn presence. Or perhaps she meant all of those things, and more?)

But, why? Why attend to any of that? It sounds like a shitload of work to do, for what possible benefit?

Within the context of this website, it’s to help the 2030 Tony McAuliffe. And further than that: the 2035 Tony McAuliffe. (And I guess to extend that logic: the 2040 and 45 Tonys, when I’ll be through my 60s and into my 70s.)

But, again, why? Who really cares about me in five or 10 years time?

Well, I do, for one. And so does my family, for another.

So if nothing else, this site offers me a somewhere to store thought bubbles and whatnot as I walk towards the me in five, and 10, and 15 (and, longer) years time.

As Seamus suggested in the episode, it’ll be good to “keep different lines in the water”.

So, I consider this site to be one of those lines in the water.

And who knows if I’ll ever need to pull it up to see what it’s caught - if anything, ever.

But, it’ll be here helping me keep track of how I go from the here and now to whenever ‘then’ will be.

And as I said in my first post, I’ll be keeping this thing simple: no bells or whistles. No clear plan for how it will unfold, with categories that might unfold. Or, not.

Time will tell.

If nothing else it’ll be a space for… stuff.

Enjoy!