Unlocking Business is a podcast for business owners who want to hear how running a business really works, from the people doing it.
I'm Kane Tyler Smith. I started Smartfix in my Perth garage in 2018 with one ute and a set of tools, grew it to a $30 million business with more than 130 staff, then nearly lost it and rebuilt it with a smaller team and a lot more structure. I also run Hypotential, Perth's private network for tradies.
Every week I sit down with business owners, founders and experts for real conversations about business, leadership, mindset and personal growth. We talk about hiring and leading a team, sales and marketing, money, systems, AI, health and the pressure that comes with owning a business. Guests share what worked, what didn't, and what they'd do differently.
New episodes every Thursday on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
What does time in the AFL teach you that has nothing to do with football?
In Episode 26 of Unlocking Business, I sit down with Jacob Blight, founder of BLYT Development. Jacob grew up in country Western Australia with no one around who had made it to the AFL. He was drafted by Richmond in the 2024 mid-season draft at 22, found out on a Wednesday night and flew out the next day. After being cut, he started a business built around a gap he saw in youth sport. Kids are taught skills and drills constantly, but very little about the mindset, character and habits that decide whether they make it or fall away.
We talk about how someone actually gets from a country town into the AFL, the odds of getting drafted, why the average career is only a few years, and why so few players have a plan B. Jacob explains why he sees a second pursuit as good for both wellbeing and performance, and what happened when he was all in on one thing in year 12.
We also get into how BLYT Development works, why the parents are the buyers even though the kids are the audience, why he now requires a parent on the call for anyone under 18, and how he changed his offer several times in his first year. Along the way we cover coaching and credibility, personal branding, discipline versus motivation, setting short, medium and long term goals, and why self-belief is your superpower.
A good one for anyone building a business around their own story, and anyone who has had to start again.
14 Oct 2026
If You Market to Everyone, You're an Expert to No One | Tracy Fryer
If you market to everyone, are you an expert to no one?
In Episode 25 of Unlocking Business, I sit down with Tracy Fryer, owner of Design Studio Perth, a branding strategist and the host of the Real Biz Life Chronicles podcast, where she has now recorded more than 150 conversations with business owners. Tracy usually sits on the other side of the microphone, so it was great to have her in the guest seat.
We start with what most business owners get wrong about branding, why brand is the foundation and marketing is the house that sits on top of it, and why everything at Design Studio Perth is built around one ideal client she calls Steve. We get into how narrow that client really needs to be, what happened when Smartfix spread across fifteen other trades, and why so many trade business websites, vans and taglines end up looking exactly the same.
From there we talk about how long a rebrand really takes, why changing your logo colour is rarely the answer, and how lead magnets, a proper CRM and a simple newsletter turn a website into a lead generation machine. We also get into personal branding, why I wish I had started mine earlier, posting content that is not perfect, staying human in a world of AI, and whether you really need a business coach.
Tracy finishes with the biggest lessons she has taken from 150 conversations, including knowing your numbers and celebrating the wins. A practical one for any trade or service business owner who wants to stand out instead of blend in.
7 Oct 2026
Buy a House or Open a Shop? He Put Everything Into the Shop | Edward Maradona
Buy a House or Open a Shop? He Put Everything Into the Shop | Edward Maradona
Edward Maradona is the founder of Cabinet Noir, one of the top fashion boutiques in Australia, built from a single store in Shafto Lane he opened at 28 with every dollar he had instead of a house deposit.
In this episode, Eddie and I talk about how a sneaker store that couldn't get a Nike account accidentally became a luxury fashion destination, after a cold email to Comme des Garçons turned into a ticket to Paris Fashion Week with no idea what he was doing once he got there.
We get into the realities of buying for a fashion boutique: deposits, shipping risk, and the brands that forced him to buy stock nobody wanted to access the stock everyone wanted, a call that nearly cost him half a million dollars. We also talk about turning down a corporate buyout offer, why he deliberately keeps production runs small, and the story behind Jon Jones, Machine Gun Kelly and French Montana all wearing Cabinet Noir.
A genuinely fun, genuinely sharp conversation about building a brand on exclusivity instead of volume.
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