Content Creation Archives

Traveled

Trevor Carlson visited 50+ countries in 5 years!

He’s also a friend, founder, content creator, and below-average salsa dancer. Pack your bag and ride along as we wind through an extended episode with wild stories from around the globe, a narrated break, writing fiction, thoughts on the future of You Don’t Need This Podcast, experiential wisdom brewed to keep us building together, and bonus footage where Ben shares what he wants from life.

LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS
LISTEN on SPOTIFY

BONUS MATERIALS

https://lostandlore.com

https://FreshFuelMarketing.com

The Climb by Trevor Carlson (early access)

Roasted Reflections Break: Serendipitist

http://Traveled.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

EP44 – Do What You Love 🎙️ Scotty Russell

EP56 – Caffeinated Manifesto 2 🎙️ Ben McDougal

EP84 – Base Camp 🎙️ John Kallen

EP94 – Paving Paths 🎙️ Eric Engelmann

Man’s Search For Meaning -Viktor E. Frankl

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

YDNTP on YouTube

http://BENBOT.ai

By Ben McDougal, 4 months ago July 16, 2025

You Don't Need This Podcast

Gig Economy

Derreck Stratton is a military veteran and startup founder who connects doers to odd jobs. Instead of asking “who do you know” for a task around the house, the HUDU team built an easier way to find handy folks looking for side hustles nearby.

Like ride sharing, this episode highlights more examples of how the gig economy is evolving. We chat about trust within a two-sided marketplaces, building as a non-technical founder, content creation, and paving a path to go far with activities that look like work to others, but feels like play to you.

LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS
LISTEN on SPOTIFY

BONUS MATERIALS

https://heyhudu.com

https://info.heyhudu.com/gig-economy-2-0

http://Gig-Economy.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

Roasted Reflections Break: Uncertainty

EP34 – Measured Twice 🎙️ Ryan Glick

EP44 – Do What You Love 🎙️ Scotty Russell

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

https://tesla.com/we-robot

http://BENBOT.ai

By Ben McDougal, 6 months ago May 7, 2025

You Don't Need This Podcast

Rock & Radio

Max Schaeffer is an Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Inductee jamming on a new kind of mic. EP79 features a professional conversationalist sharing insight from 40+ years in radio!

This influencer is also an award-winning theatrical director, actor, and producer. Ben and Maxwell discuss timely vs. evergreen content, regulations of radio, metrics that matter vs. opinions of estimates, and curating dollowers beyond passive followers. After the break, we explore how to lead by doing, radical ways for radio to remain relevant, and then Max… as he’s done so many times, in so many ways, closes things down in style.

LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS
LISTEN on SPOTIFY

BONUS MATERIALS

Maxwell’s Iowa CoffeeCast

https://BenMcDougal.com/content-creation

http://Rock-Radio.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

EP48 – Consistency Counts 🎙️ Michael Libbie

EP59 – Agents of Change 🎙️ Amner Martinez

EP69 – Generative Humans 🎙️ Chris Snider

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

http://CollectorHardbackEdition.com

http://BENBOT.ai

By Ben McDougal, 8 months ago February 26, 2025

You Don't Need This Podcast

Hobbies That Pay

Sarah Oyibo is a friendly founder and creative content creator. This influencer explores the realities of an entrepreneurial lifestyle by teaching others how to efficiently create lead magnets built on pillars of content.

In EP78, we hear how Sarah introduced herself to digital design as a student, then escaped a cubicle by leveraging paying clients to start her business. Ben and Sarah keep building with timeless insight on content creation, balancing a personal brand, and how creative initiative helps us all find work that feels like play.

LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS
LISTEN on SPOTIFY

BONUS MATERIALS

https://StudioDeltaDesigns.com

https://instagram.com/soyibotime

http://Hobbies-That-Pay.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

You Don’t Need This Book: Entrepreneurship in the Connected Era

https://BenMcDougal.com/content-creation

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

http://BENBOT.ai

By Ben McDougal, 9 months ago February 19, 2025

You Don't Need This Podcast

Speak Up

Erik Dominguez equips leaders to confidently communicate. He transforms fears into fuel and speaks nationwide. Whether you’re interested in paid public speaking or working to unite a team, EP74 will inspire you to pause, listen, then come off mute.

After your friendly host narrates Anticipation within another classic break without commercials, Ben and Erik share a handful of specific terms to avoid, assets to extend your reach, and how to cut things to create space for storytelling to land. If your message matters, this is yet another timeless relic to savor.

LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS
LISTEN on SPOTIFY

BONUS MATERIALS

https://ErikDominguez.com

https://ErikDominguez.com/youtube-2

http://Speak-Up.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

Roasted Reflections Break: Anticipation

Waukee APEX

http://BENBOT.ai

By Ben McDougal, 10 months ago January 22, 2025

Ben McDougal is an energized friend, author, founder, technologist, and community builder in the connected era.

Ben has been called a polymath. He evolves ideas into reality and accelerates others through the art of connection. Check out the innovations this leader has activated over time!

You’ve likely met Ben over a brew, read his writings, listened to his podcast, watched his films, or heard him speak. Along with being an intrapreneur, founder, and community leader, You Don’t Need This Book was published in 2021. The literary journey continued as 3 years of weekly writings evolved into the Roasted Reflections library and paved a path toward an all-new format coming soon. You Don’t Need This Podcast has also emerged as a remarkable collection of 100 timeless episodes, all recorded in-studio with remarkable featured guests!

The quest that is FliteBrite also remains a compelling part of Ben’s work as a founder. Since 2012, their electronic serving system and beer festival app have ignited new opportunities for craft breweries and event organizers. This tasty story continues with fun, friendships, successes, learnings, and more fun, every step of the build.

Alongside his ventures, Ben caffeinates a nationwide movement called 1 Million Cups. After leading 1MC Des Moines for 5 years, Ben has collaborated inside the Kauffman Foundation, as @1MCMidwest Regional Rep since 2017. What glorious collisions, with generous leaders, in countless communities. Ben loves this role brewed to connect and support 1MC organizers from 100+ communities throughout the United States!

When it comes to nationwide efforts, Ben also had the privilege of teaming up with Techstars as an Entrepreneur in Residence and Ecosystem Builder. Investing 2021-2023 to build through the Iowa Techstars Accelerator was fantastic. That marketing-flavored, community building, culture, and founder-support role allowed Ben to continue accelerating inspired entrepreneurs… while connecting mentors and investors worldwide.

Such experiential wisdom is translated into BENergy to energize different audiences. For example, You Don’t Need This Keynote activates students, while other workshops and keynotes accelerate fellow founders, side hustlers, and intrapreneurs.

While this is a delightful amuse-bouche, the full story is linked below and his creative museum visualizes work that feels like play. As you’ll see, Ben also enjoys travel, golf, EDM expeditions, reading, Seth Godin, philosophy, wine, craft beer, pinball, and spending treasured time with his wife and daughter. May the best of your todays, be the worst of your tomorrows. Cheers!

FULL STORY