Hiring Secrets Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know

Episode 82 of Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast, titled "Shannon Black | The Hiring Secrets Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know", hosted by Bryan Eisenberg, delivers a candid conversation with the Chair of SCORE Austin on what it actually takes to hire, retain, and grow a team in today's tight Central Texas labor market. Published July 14, 2026, the episode arrives as small business owners nationwide continue to grapple with post-COVID hiring shifts, AI-inflated resumes, and the challenge of protecting company culture during rapid growth. Black, a former Round Rock ISD math teacher who founded and successfully sold Sunrise Montessori, guides listeners through her practical recruiting playbook developed in response to COVID's disruption. Topic threads include why job ads should be posted Sunday morning, not Thursday, to align with Monday-lunchtime job searches; using 30+ hashtags at the bottom of listings to capture SEO without rewriting copy; avoiding "masculine" language that repels female applicants; and screening candidates with a 10-minute Zoom pre-interview and unexpected questions like "What is your favorite color?"

Black's approach is systematic, shaped by her math background and a habit of experimentation. On timing, she tells Eisenberg: "The best time of the week to put an ad, to place it, is actually Sunday morning... it takes Google and other search engines about 24 hours to go through and pick up the SEO in your ad. The number one time of the week that people look for jobs are Mondays during lunchtime." She also opens the episode recovering from a baby rattlesnake bite sustained while gardening in Georgetown, crediting St. David's in Round Rock for the antivenom treatment that allowed her to record. The conversation goes deeper into SCORE's free mentorship model, a national nonprofit offering more than 1,000 workshops per month and virtual mentor matching at score.org. Black previews an upcoming women's conference, a trades conference on June 13, and a four-day workshop series on valuing and selling a business. She recounts helping a client named Justin launch a successful Austin clay studio, and points to entrepreneur Desiree Fox of V Wear Love as an example of the idea-stage founders SCORE serves. Eisenberg shares his own home care agency hiring wins after applying Black's tweaks, plus a lease near-miss rescued by Round Rock realtor Bacha Porter.

About Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast: Hosted by bestselling author and keynote speaker Bryan Eisenberg, Rock Solid spotlights the entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and organizations powering Round Rock, Texas. Each episode explores real founder journeys, operating lessons, and the community relationships fueling one of Central Texas's fastest-growing business hubs. Episode 82 is available now wherever podcasts are heard.