In the latest episode of the Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast, host Bryan Eisenberg engages Shannon Black, Chair of SCORE Austin, in a candid discussion about the hiring challenges small business owners face in today's competitive Central Texas labor market. Published on July 14, 2026, the episode titled "Shannon Black | The Hiring Secrets Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know" offers actionable strategies for recruiting, retaining, and building a team post-COVID.
Black, a former math teacher and founder of Sunrise Montessori, shares her systematic approach to hiring. She emphasizes the importance of timing: "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." This insight helps businesses maximize visibility for their job postings.
To improve searchability, Black recommends using 30 or more hashtags at the bottom of listings. This tactic captures search engine optimization without rewriting the ad copy. She also advises avoiding "masculine" language that may deter female applicants. During the screening process, Black suggests a 10-minute Zoom pre-interview and unexpected questions like "What is your favorite color?" to gauge personality and fit.
Black's background as a math teacher influences her methodical experimentation. She also shares a personal story: she recorded the episode after recovering from a baby rattlesnake bite sustained while gardening in Georgetown, praising St. David's in Round Rock for the antivenom treatment.
The conversation delves into SCORE's free mentorship model, a national nonprofit offering over 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 highlights success stories, including a client named Justin who launched a successful Austin clay studio, and entrepreneur Desiree Fox of V Wear Love as an example of the idea-stage founders SCORE assists.
Eisenberg shares his own hiring wins after applying Black's strategies, along with a lease near-miss resolved by Round Rock realtor Bacha Porter. The episode underscores the importance of community resources like SCORE in helping small businesses navigate growth and hiring in a tight labor market.
Episode 82 of Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast is now available wherever podcasts are heard.
