Small business owners struggling to hire and retain talent in a competitive labor market may find a new playbook in Episode 82 of the Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast, featuring Shannon Black, Chair of SCORE Austin. Published July 14, 2026, the episode offers actionable advice drawn from Black's experience as a former math teacher and founder of Sunrise Montessori, which she successfully sold.
Black's systematic approach, honed through experimentation, addresses post-COVID hiring shifts, AI-inflated resumes, and the challenge of maintaining company culture during growth. One key tip: timing matters. "The best time of the week to put an ad, to place it, is actually Sunday morning," Black told host Bryan Eisenberg. "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 recommends using 30 or more hashtags at the bottom of listings to capture SEO without rewriting copy, and avoiding "masculine" language that can repel female applicants.
Screening candidates efficiently is another focus. Black suggests a 10-minute Zoom pre-interview with unexpected questions like "What is your favorite color?" to assess personality and fit. The episode opens with a personal note: Black recently recovered from a baby rattlesnake bite while gardening in Georgetown, crediting St. David's in Round Rock for treatment that allowed her to record.
The conversation extends to SCORE's free mentorship model, a national nonprofit offering over 1,000 workshops monthly 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 shares success stories, including 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 idea-stage founders SCORE serves. Eisenberg also shares his own hiring wins after applying Black's tweaks, plus a lease near-miss rescued by Round Rock realtor Bacha Porter.
Hosted by bestselling author and keynote speaker Bryan Eisenberg, the Rock Solid podcast spotlights entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and organizations powering Round Rock, Texas. This episode underscores the importance of adapting hiring strategies to current realities, as small businesses nationwide grapple with tight labor markets and cultural shifts. For owners seeking to build and retain teams, Black's insights offer a data-driven, practical roadmap.
