What if the reason your business isn't performing at its best has less to do with your strategy and more to do with what you put in your body every single day? Whole foods and holistic wellness aren't just personal health topics — they're foundational to your energy, your focus, and your capacity to lead. In this episode, Kerri Roberts sits down with Kalle, owner of Nourish Cafe and Market in Columbia, Missouri, for a conversation about food as medicine, the compounding effect of small healthy changes, and why the basics most of us skip are still the most powerful thing you can do.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. How Kalle went from 18 years of amenorrhea and post-menopausal hormone levels to restoring her fertility and founding a whole-food cafe — and why her healing journey started with organic whole foods before anything else
2. The one framework Kalle teaches her 10-year-old that most adults don't know: how to look at any plate and identify protein, carbohydrate, and fat — and why starting there changes everything before you ever think about macros or supplements
3. Kalle's personal superfood and supplement stack — including minerals in your water, Ion Biome for gut health, LMNT, Shilajit, maca for hormones, broccoli sprouts for estrogen metabolism, and liver-supporting herbs — and why it all starts with getting the basics right first
4. The difference between lifespan and health span — and why the goal isn't just to live longer, but to feel vibrant and physically capable for as long as possible
5. What Kalle recommends as the single most impactful place to start: investing in a water filter, adding a pinch of sea salt, and drinking 16 ounces of clean water with minerals first thing in the morning before any caffeine

 About the Guest:
Kalle LeMone is the owner and co-founder of Nourish Cafe and Market, a whole-food cafe and market located in downtown Columbia, Missouri, that sources from approximately 30 local farmers and vendors and serves food that is organic, gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free, refined sugar-free, and free of inflammatory seed oils. After healing her own hormonal health through food, reduced toxins, and holistic living following 18 years of amenorrhea, Kalle built Nourish around the belief that food is medicine.

Kalle LeMone is the owner and co-founder of Nourish Cafe and Market, a Columbia, Missouri-based whole-food cafe and market rooted in the belief that food can be medicine and that nourishing, toxin-free eating should be accessible and delicious. With nearly nine years of running Nourish and a deeply personal health transformation story behind her, Kalle is a trusted voice in holistic wellness and whole-food living in Mid-Missouri.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Kalle's Story — 18 Years Without a Period and Finding Food as Medicine
 02:27 From Pharmaceutical Rep to Founding Nourish Cafe and Market
 06:00 Nine Years In — What It Actually Takes to Build Something You Believe In
 11:05 Why Healthy Food Has to Be Delicious Too
 14:10 The Simplest Framework for Eating Well (That a 10-Year-Old Already Knows)
 16:50 Start Here Before Supplements: Sleep, Real Food, Clean Water, Movement
 19:35 Kalle's Superfood and Supplement Stack — Minerals, LMNT, Ion Biome, Maca & More
 22:00 MTHFR, Methylated B Vitamins & Understanding Your Detox Pathways
 26:50 Wellness Practices: Meditation, Sauna, Dry Brushing & Supporting the Lymphatic System
 33:20 Detoxification, Parasite Cleansing & How Connected Health Helps You Know Your Body
 38:55 Lifespan vs. Health Span — Why Vitality Matters More Than Longevity
 44:10 Kalle's #1 Recommendation: Clean Water with Minerals
 51:00 Reducing Toxins at Home — Cleaners, Candles, Personal Care & Air Quality
 54:40 What's Next for Nourish + Where to Find Kalle

Just like your body performs better when you fuel it right, your business performs better when your people systems are built right — take the free Salt & Light HR Audit to see where your foundation stands: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

— Resources to keep building —

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are.
👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations.
👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses.
👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday.
👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge?
 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own?
 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Nourish Cafe and Market — nourishcafemarket.com | Instagram: @nourishcafemarket (downtown Columbia, MO, next to the Broadway Hotel)
• Ion Biome — ionbiome.com (gut lining and mineral support)
• LMNT — drinklmnt.com (electrolyte minerals)
• Quinton Minerals — quintonclinic.com
• Shilajit — available via various retailers; mentioned for mineral content
• Crucial 4 Sea Salt — crucial4.com
• Magic Mind — magicmind.com (show sponsor)
• The Cancer Revolution — book referenced for high-dose Vitamin C protocols
• Taylor Duke's Wellness — bath detox products (search for current availability)
• Berkey Water Filter — available via berkeyfilters.com or Facebook Marketplace
• Eight Sleep — eightsleep.com (temperature-regulating mattress)
• Bluebird Composting — Columbia, MO (referenced as Nourish's composting partner)
• Symbiotica — symbiotica.com (colostrum and supplement products)

📝 Full show notes + transcript: https://kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode65wholefoodsholisticwellnesssmallchanges

Support the show

Writing a book to grow your business sounds like something other people do — people with more time, more certainty, or a bigger platform. But what if the book you've been putting off is one of the most powerful things you could do for your credibility, your business, and your legacy? In this episode, Kerri Roberts pulls back the curtain on her own book writing journey — the real timeline, the real costs, the real doubt — and makes the case for why now is the time to start.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. The four honest lessons Kerri learned while writing her first book — including why you don't need permission to start, why consistency beats inspiration every time, and how to handle the self-doubt that almost stops everyone
2. The real stats on book writing and publication: out of every 1,000 people who start writing a book, only 30 finish — and only 6 reach publication — and what that means for anyone who actually completes the process
3. What writing a book actually costs — Kerri spent between $15,000 and $16,000 on writing, editing, and publishing — plus the business case: 86% of entrepreneurial authors experienced business growth after publishing, 72% secured speaking engagements, and 63% received media opportunities
4. What Kerri's upcoming HR book is actually about — a three-part series covering the 13 foundational areas of HR every business needs, starting with hiring, employee engagement and retention, and HR compliance made simple
5. How Kerri went from 900 pages of writing to a three-book series, why her publishing coach told her to break it up, and the exact process she used to organize 20+ years of HR knowledge into something practical and publishable

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Why Kerri Wrote This Book — and Why This Episode Is Different
 00:55 28 Years in HR and the Moment She Knew She Had to Write It Down
 02:08 Lesson 1: You Don't Need Permission to Start
 02:50 Lesson 2: Consistency Beats Inspiration
 03:23 Lesson 3: Your Voice Matters
 03:46 Lesson 4: You're Going to Doubt Yourself (And That's Normal)
 04:16 Why You Should Write Your Book — and How to Start
 05:08 Book Stats: Time, Completion Rates, and What They Really Mean
 08:15 Financial Reality: What Writing a Book Costs and What It Can Return
 09:47 Business Benefits of Being a Published Author
 10:23 A Preview of Kerri's Upcoming HR Book — The 13 Foundational Areas
 13:58 Who the Book Is For — DIY, Fractional, or In-House HR
 15:38 How to Get on the Pre-Order Waitlist
 16:07 Kerri's Challenge to You — Take One Small Step Today

If the HR book sounds like exactly what you need, the free HR Audit is the fastest way to figure out which of those 13 foundational areas you should tackle first: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

— Resources to keep building —

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are.
👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations.
👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses.
👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday.
👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge?
 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own?
 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Kerri's book pre-order waitlist — saltandlightadvisors.com/bookone
• BLS.gov — median annual income data for professional writers referenced in episode
• grammarfactory.com — source for entrepreneurial author business growth statistics

📝 Full show notes + transcript: https://kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode64howwritingabookcangrowyourbusiness

Support the show

What does it actually cost your business when employees don't understand their benefits — or when your broker has quietly been renewing your plan year over year without ever fighting for a better deal? Employee benefits are typically the second largest line item on your P&L, and most small to mid-sized business owners are navigating them almost completely blind. In this episode, Kerri Roberts sits down with Jesse Sitze of Caravus, a strategic benefits advisor she has worked with directly for her own clients, for an honest conversation about what's broken in the current system and what to do about it.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. What the current state of the healthcare market means for small and mid-sized businesses — why costs are rising, why plan complexity is increasing, and how the ACA created a high-risk pool problem that most business owners don't know they're in
2. The difference between an independent benefits broker and a captive broker — and why independence matters when it comes to finding the right plan for your specific employee population
3. What "taking your plan to market" means, why most brokers don't do it unless you force them to, and how level-funded and hybrid self-insured plans can give small businesses cost savings and control they didn't know were available
4. Why offering one health plan is no longer enough — and how giving employees a choice of plans, paired with the right decision-support tools, leads to better outcomes for employees and lower costs for employers
5. The most important compliance areas business owners need to be watching right now: COBRA administration, mental health parity enforcement, ACA reporting changes under the new Employer Reporting Improvement Act, and price transparency requirements

About the Guest:
Jesse Sitze is a strategic benefits advisor at Caravus, an independent benefits brokerage based in St. Louis, Missouri, with nearly 13 years of experience helping small and mid-sized businesses find cost-effective, strategic healthcare solutions. Jesse specializes in mixing traditional coverage with innovative non-insurance options — including level-funded plans, ICHRAs, and telehealth integration — to build benefit programs that actually work for both employers and their teams.

Jesse Sitze is a strategic benefits advisor at Caravus, an independent benefits brokerage firm based in St. Louis, Missouri that serves businesses across Missouri and Illinois. With nearly 13 years of experience in the health insurance industry, Jesse specializes in crafting cost-effective, strategic benefit solutions that combine traditional coverage with innovative funding mechanisms and non-insurance options to deliver real value for small and mid-sized businesses and their employees.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Why Employee Benefits Are the Second Biggest Line Item on Your P&L
 01:29 The State of the Healthcare Market in One Word: Challenging
 06:00 The Independent Broker Advantage — Why It Matters for Your Business
 11:05 Trends: What Employees Actually Want From Their Benefits in 2025
 16:50 Balancing Cost and Coverage — Level Funded Plans, Hybrid Plans & Real Savings
 26:40 How AI Is Already Changing Benefits Administration (And What's Coming)
 34:00 Compliance: COBRA, Mental Health Parity, ACA Reporting & Price Transparency
 44:00 Emerging Innovations — ICHRAs, Telehealth, Copay Plans & Benefits Tech

If your benefits are the second biggest line item on your P&L and you're not sure if they're structured right, that's exactly the kind of gap the free HR Audit is designed to surface: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

— Resources to keep building —

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are.
👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations.
👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses.
👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday.
👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge?
 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own?
 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Caravus (Jesse Sitze's brokerage) — contact info linked in show notes
• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell — link in show notes
• Oura Ring — mentioned for health tracking; $40 off code linked in show notes
• Stride Health — individual marketplace plans (stridehealth.com)
• Beanstalk Benefits — lifestyle spending accounts for small businesses (linked in show notes)
• ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement) — mentioned as emerging innovation
• ACA Employer Reporting Improvement Act (2025) — referenced in compliance section

📝 Full show notes + transcript: https://kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode63essentialemployeebenefits

Support the show

Can small businesses offer employee benefits that actually matter — without a Fortune 500 budget or a full HR department to manage them? The answer is yes, and in this episode Kerri Roberts breaks down exactly how she approaches benefits for her own team at Salt & Light Advisors, including the specific tools, frameworks, and alternative benefit structures that most small business owners have never heard of. This one is practical, honest, and a little bit of a rant about health insurance brokers who aren't doing enough for you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. What holistic employee wellness actually means — the three-legged stool of mental, physical, and financial wellbeing — and why most company wellness programs are just a check-in-the-box exercise
2. How to find out if your current health insurance plan already includes an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) — and why most business owners aren't taking advantage of what they're already paying for
3. The honest truth about health insurance brokers — what "taking you to market" means, the questions you should be asking at every renewal, and how brokers can quietly block you from getting competitive quotes
4. How Kerri uses Beanstalk Benefits and lifestyle spending accounts to offer flexible, affordable benefits to her small team — including individual marketplace plans through Stride Health that can cost as little as $70 a month
5. A ready-to-use financial wellness training you can run at your next team meeting: the 50-30-20 budgeting rule, the $1,000 emergency question, and how to help employees take one small step toward financial stability this month

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Why Employee Wellness Can't Be an Afterthought Anymore
 01:12 The Three-Legged Stool: Mental, Physical, and Financial Wellbeing
 02:30 Mental Wellbeing: EAPs, Therapy Access, and Making It Safe to Talk
 05:57 Physical Wellbeing: Movement, Nutrition, Sleep, and Preventative Care
 09:15 The $350 Lifestyle Spending Account and What Kerri Does for Her Team
 14:43 Financial Wellbeing: Why 60% of Americans Can't Focus at Work Because of Money
 16:20 The Honest Truth About Health Insurance Brokers
 22:55 Beanstalk Benefits: How Small Businesses Can Offer Flexible Benefits
 26:41 The 50-30-20 Rule: A Financial Wellness Training for Your Next Team Meeting
 30:06 Wrapping Up: What to Do First

If your benefits package feels like it was put together with duct tape — or you're not sure what you're even offering or why — the free HR Audit is the fastest way to find the gaps: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

— Resources to keep building —

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are.
👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations.
👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses.
�� https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday.
👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge?
 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own?
 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Beanstalk Benefits (lifestyle spending accounts for small businesses) — link in show notes
• Stride Health (individual marketplace health plans) — stridhealth.com
• Oura Ring ($40 off with Kerri's code) — link in show notes
• The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel — link in show notes
• Peak Ergonomics with Paul Krusen — episode linked in show notes
• Episode with Karen Brooks on stress vs. anxiety — linked in show notes
• Magic Mind (mentioned as a wellness product Kerri uses) — magicmind.com
• Dave Ramsey / Ramsey Financial resources — ramseysolutions.com

📝 Full show notes + transcript: https://kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode62betteremployeebenefitsonabudget

Support the show

The leadership lessons that come from running a university of thousands are surprisingly transferable to anyone building a team, navigating chaos, and trying to figure out how to grow people — not just manage them. Dr. Sue Thomas, the 17th president of Truman State University, is one of the most self-aware and direct leaders I've had on this podcast, and this conversation went places I did not expect. From her framework for staying tough without going cynical, to what she says about women and imposter syndrome, to how she thinks about the future of education and what it means for the workforce you're trying to build — this one is worth every minute.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. The alligator framework for leadership — why leaders need a tough outer skin to absorb criticism and conflict without taking it personally, but why letting that alligator fully inside makes you cynical and useless to your organization, and why the goal is alligator on the outside with a squishy positive center — because cynical leaders can't do what needs to be done, and that's true whether you're running a university or a three-person consulting firm
2. Why Sue never aspired to be president — and what that actually teaches us about leadership — how she focused on making an impact and loving her work at every stage rather than climbing toward a title, why she doesn't buy her own press (she's never as bad as her critics think or as good as her fans do), and the INTJ introvert who learned to behave like an extrovert because she knew she'd miss too many opportunities if she didn't
3. The "progress vs. attention" question every leader needs to ask — why getting attention and making progress are often in direct conflict, how the social media ecosystem is built to reward attention-seeking behavior that is counterproductive to the actual outcomes leaders say they want, and why Sue asks herself and her team this question every time someone wants to make noise: are you trying to get attention or are you trying to make progress?
4. What the research says about women and leadership — why women self-select out of opportunities by requiring themselves to meet nearly all qualifications before applying while men apply at a far lower threshold, why Sue mapped every single qualification against her own experience when she applied for provost and then for president just to overcome her own internal resistance, and the powerful distinction between walking into the room as a "woman president" versus walking in as a president who happens to be a woman
5. Why higher education should matter to every business owner — how this generation of students is going to change careers six to eight or more times, why Truman focuses on teaching students to think critically and problem-solve rather than training them for a first job, why businesses that build internship pipelines with universities get research skills, fresh perspectives, and a talent pipeline without the long-term commitment — and how Truman's director of internships can walk any small business owner through the entire setup process at no cost

About the guest: Dr. Sue Thomas is the 17th president of Truman State University (truman.edu), Missouri's premier public liberal arts and sciences institution, and a published author on leadership and the evolving landscape of academia. With a background in social psychology and business administration, she has also served as Missouri Commissioner for the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, chaired the Great Lakes Valley Conference Council of Presidents, and led the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges.

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 — Introducing Dr. Sue Thomas, 17th President of Truman State University
• 02:05 — Sue's Journey to President: From First-Gen Student to University Leader
• 05:46 — Why She Never Aspired to the Title and What That Means for Leadership
• 06:18 — The Alligator Framework: Tough Skin, Squishy Center
• 07:32 — Leadership Qualities That Matter: Integrity, Self-Definition & Team Thinking
• 09:03 — Why Sue Asks Everyone to Call Her Sue (And What That Does for the Room)
• 10:22 — INTJ in a People-Facing Role: Self-Awareness and Learning to Behave Like an Extrovert
• 11:04 — Self-Reflection as a Leadership Practice: Stickies, Walks & the Priority Check
• 15:13 — How Higher Education Has Evolved: From Sharing Knowledge to Building Whole Humans
• 18:53 — Critical Thinking, Technology & Why Confirmation Bias Is the Real Problem
• 21:06 — Progress vs. Attention: The Question Every Leader Needs to Ask
• 23:39 — Advice for Women Seeking Top Leadership Roles: Be a Cat, Not a Perfectionist
• 27:39 — Why Women Walk Into Rooms as "Women Leaders" (And Why Sue Refuses To)
• 30:36 — Walking In as a President, Not a Woman President: Desiree Reed-Francois
• 31:44 — How Business Owners Should Be Building Relationships With Universities
• 35:13 — Truman's Internship Director and How She Can Help You Set One Up
• 38:37 — AI in Education and in Business: Jump-Off Point, Not End Point
• 40:51 — Continuous Learning for Entrepreneurs: The Iterative Approach That Works
• 43:19 — Where to Find Sue and How to Connect With Truman

If this episode got you thinking about the kind of leader you want to be and the kind of team culture you're building, the free HR Audit is the fastest way to see whether your people systems are set up to actually support that vision: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

Resources to keep building:

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are. 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations. 👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses. 👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday. 👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

Connect with Kerri: 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/kerrimroberts 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts 🐎 Hippo Creek Farm on Instagram: instagram.com/hippocreekfarm

Episode-specific resources mentioned:

• Truman State University — truman.edu
• Dr. Sue Thomas — [email protected]
• Truman Director of Internships — Kim Sprout (contact via truman.edu or reach out to Sue directly)
• Z Chocolate — referenced as Sue's favorite (zchocolate.com)
• Myers-Briggs INTJ — referenced for self-awareness discussion
• Jonathan Haidt / The Social Dilemma / Wait Until 8th — referenced in technology and critical thinking discussion

Full show notes + transcript: https://kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode60isapeotherightchoiceforyourbusiness-hp5lk 

Support the show

A PEO — professional employer organization — sounds like the answer to every small business owner's HR headache, and sometimes it actually is. But sometimes it's an expensive co-employment arrangement you'll spend years trying to untangle. Nearly 15% of small businesses in the U.S. use a PEO, and companies using one see an average of 27% savings on HR-related costs — but those stats don't tell the whole story. In this episode, Kerri walks through the full PEO vs. in-house HR decision, including a real financial model she built for an M&A client, so you can make the right call for your business rather than the trendy one.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. What is a PEO and how does it differ from in-house HR — a PEO acts as a co-employer handling payroll, benefits, compliance, and workers' comp for a fee of 2 to 6% of gross payroll (on a $6 million payroll with 100 employees at an average $60K salary, that's roughly $240,000 per year), while in-house HR means managing those functions internally with your own people, software, and broker partners — and the three key factors that should drive the decision: cost, compliance and liability, and control
2. The real PEO data business owners need to know — PEO clients grow 7 to 9% faster than non-PEO businesses, experience 10 to 14% lower employee turnover, and have a 50% higher survival rate after year one — but Kerri breaks down why most of those stats are actually a case for HR foundations, not specifically for PEOs, and why a small to mid-sized business that builds its own HR foundation will see similar results without paying the PEO premium
3. Which businesses are the best and worst fit for a PEO — the sweet spot is 10 to 200 employees, and PEOs are especially well-suited for technology startups scaling fast, healthcare groups that need benefits compliance, construction firms managing workers' comp risk, retail and hospitality with high turnover, and nonprofits needing affordable benefits — while businesses under 10 employees, large enterprises over 500, highly regulated industries like finance or government contracting, and unionized companies are generally poor fits
4. The independent HR vs. umbrella approach decision for multi-entity businesses — the real-world analysis Kerri ran for an M&A firm buying and tucking in multiple agencies: whether each entity should manage its own HR independently or whether a centralized umbrella approach makes more sense, why the client's prior experience letting it go independent created a compliance mess that was painful to rein in, and why the co-employer nature of a PEO made it the wrong choice for a business planning to eventually bring HR in-house anyway
5. The financial model that makes the decision clear — on 100 employees at $60K average salary and $6M total payroll, the PEO model cost approximately $1,135,000 per year versus $1,170,000 for in-house HR — a difference of roughly $35,000 — which means for most mid-sized businesses, cost is not the deciding factor, and the real question is how much flexibility, control, employer branding, and long-term HR ownership you want

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 — PEO vs. In-House HR: What's the Decision and Why It Matters
• 00:54 — What Is a PEO and How Does It Compare to In-House HR?
• 01:47 — Cost: How Much Does a PEO Actually Cost vs. Managing HR Internally?
• 02:53 — Compliance and Liability: Who Takes On the Risk?
• 03:26 — Control: How Much Flexibility Do You Actually Give Up With a PEO?
• 04:02 — How to Choose the Right Model Based on Your Business Priorities
• 05:21 — PEO Industry Stats: Growth, Clients, Cost Savings, Turnover & Survival Rate
• 06:10 — Why the Turnover and Survival Stats Are Really a Case for HR Foundations
• 07:32 — The Typical Business Profile for PEO Use: Size, Industry & Situation
• 10:08 — Who Should NOT Use a PEO
• 12:23 — Kerri's Real Client Case Study: The M&A Firm Analysis
• 13:48 — Independent HR vs. Umbrella Approach for Multi-Entity Businesses
• 15:44 — Why the Co-Employer Model Is a Problem for Scaling M&A Operations
• 17:38 — Is the PEO Compliance Benefit Oversold? Kerri's 20-Year Take
• 19:35 — The Financial Model: PEO vs. In-House HR on $6M Payroll
• 22:47 — The $35,000 Difference and What It Actually Means for Your Decision
• 24:14 — What to Do Next: Running Your Own Cost-Benefit Analysis

Not sure whether your current HR setup is actually working for you — PEO or not? The free HR Audit will show you exactly what's in place, what's missing, and whether your HR foundation is built to support your next stage of growth: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

Resources to keep building:

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are. 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations. 👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses. 👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday. 👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

Connect with Kerri: 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/kerrimroberts 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts 🐎 Hippo Creek Farm on Instagram: instagram.com/hippocreekfarm

Episode-specific resources mentioned:

• Salt and Light Advisors — saltandlightadvisors.com/contact (PEO analysis and HR strategy consulting)
• Stride — individual health care marketplace referenced for non-traditional benefits under 50 employees

Full show notes + transcript: kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode60isapeotherightchoiceforyourbusiness

Support the show

Knowing when it's the right time to expand your team is one of the most consequential decisions a business owner makes — and most people wait too long, move too fast, or hire in the wrong order. Stevie Aylsworth has spent 22 years in executive search, built a global referral network of 150+ search partners at TriSearch, and has a front-row seat to what separates businesses that hire well from the ones that are perpetually playing catch-up. This conversation is practical, specific, and one of the best I've had on the strategy side of hiring.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. Why intention beats speed in hiring — Stevie's "recruit with intention" framework: the biggest mistake in recruitment is resume matching, because experience alignment matters far less than aligning the candidate's career intentions with the company's direction, why the best candidates — especially younger workforce entrants — are deeply focused on the why behind the company they're joining, and why getting intention right first is the reason TriSearch's 60-day hiring cycle consistently produces long-term placements rather than short-term fixes
2. When is the right time to add a new team member — why the answer is almost always before you think you need it, why starting the recruitment process in November for a Q1 start is good planning but waiting until you desperately need someone on Monday is how you end up six weeks behind, how macro economic factors (interest rates, market conditions) directly correlate with hiring cycle speed, and why Stevie is bullish on the hiring market in 2025
3. How to prioritize which role to fill first when scaling — revenue first (which positions will most directly increase your top line through sales, marketing, or go-to-market hires), but also why getting HR right early is the strategic move that PE-backed companies figured out years ago (there are now 250+ talent professionals sitting inside private equity firms — that didn't exist before COVID), and why the benchmark of 1.04 HR FTE per 100 employees means there's a wobbly window between 50 and 100 employees where most businesses feel the pain and don't know why
4. The 30-to-60-day hiring process broken down step by step — the job profile build and stakeholder kickoff on day one (three to five must-haves, three to five selling points, target companies and industries), a two-week sourcing period, a two-week submittal and interview phase, and why TriSearch's goal is always to bring five strong candidates so the client is seriously considering three and hiring one — not burning 30 interviews to get there
5. How to balance short-term hiring needs against long-term strategic hires — Stevie's 70/30 framework (70% focus on immediate revenue impact, 30% reserved for strategic hires with a 12 to 24 month lead time), why the businesses that only ever hire for today never get ahead of their growth, and what to look for in a recruitment firm partnership including long-term guarantees (not a transaction, a partner), proactive real-time sourcing, and a clear answer to the question of whether they're going to stand behind the placement

About the guest: Stevie Aylsworth is a key leader at TriSearch (trisearch.com), a global executive search and recruitment firm built by three brothers and focused on middle management and executive placements across financial services, private equity, and a broad range of industries. With 22 years in the search industry — including building a global network of 150+ executive search boutiques at Jobplex within the DHR ecosystem — Stevie is one of the most well-connected recruitment strategists in the mid-market space.

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 — Introducing Stevie Aylsworth and What This Episode Covers
• 01:43 — Recruit With Intention: Why Alignment Beats Speed in Hiring
• 03:22 — The 60-Day Hiring Cycle: What That Stat Actually Means Right Now
• 04:07 — Measuring Recruitment Success and Planning Hires Around Long-Term Goals
• 05:50 — When Is the Right Time to Add a New Team Member?
• 07:00 — Why the 30-to-60-Day Process Exists: A Step-by-Step Breakdown
• 11:07 — Fractional vs. Full-Time Hires: What Stevie Is Seeing in the Market
• 13:45 — Which Role Should You Fill First When Scaling?
• 16:27 — Why Businesses That Prioritize HR Early Grow Faster
• 17:51 — PE Firms Now Have 250+ Talent People Inside — Here's What That Tells Us
• 18:38 — How to Balance Immediate Hiring Needs vs. Long-Term Strategic Hires
• 20:11 — Why Most Mid-Market Businesses Aren't Measuring Recruitment Metrics
• 21:07 — 22 Years in Recruitment: How the Landscape Has Changed
• 24:20 — When Should a Small Business Go External for Recruiting Help?
• 26:37 — What to Look for in a Recruitment Firm: Guarantees, Proactive Sourcing & Partnership

Before you make your next hire, make sure your HR foundation is solid enough to support it — the free HR Audit will show you exactly what's in place and what needs to be built first: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

Resources to keep building:

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are. 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations. 👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses. 👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday. 👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

Connect with Kerri: 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/kerrimroberts 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts 🐎 Hippo Creek Farm on Instagram: instagram.com/hippocreekfarm

Episode-specific resources mentioned:

• TriSearch — trisearch.com
• Stevie Aylsworth — [email protected]
• The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein — referenced (features Stevie's D1 basketball career at Lehigh University)
• Don't Waste the Chaos Resources Page — dontwastethechaos.com/resources

Full show notes + transcript: kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode-59-how-to-know-when-its-the-right-time-to-expand-your-team

Support the show

Unclear expectations and undefined goals are responsible for more employee disengagement, missed deadlines, and team conflict than almost any other leadership failure — and the frustrating part is that most of it is completely preventable. If you've ever heard "I didn't know that was my responsibility" or watched a good employee slowly check out and had no idea why, this episode is going to give you the framework to fix it. Kerri walks through seven specific actions leaders can take right now to create clarity, set goals that actually mean something, and build a team that knows exactly where they're headed and why it matters.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. The five real costs of unclear expectations — employee frustration and burnout (in the absence of information, people fill in the gaps with the worst-case scenario), lack of accountability (you cannot hold someone accountable for something they genuinely didn't know they were supposed to do), decreased productivity (vague goals mean employees can't prioritize effectively), team tension and conflict (undefined roles mean people either step on each other or avoid tasks entirely), and missed opportunities for growth (when there's no direction, innovation stalls and performance plateaus)
2. How to set SMART goals that actually work — why "increase productivity" is a useless goal but "increase our Net Promoter Score by 10 points over the next six months" is one that people can actually meet or miss, how Kerri built her 2025 strategic plan across consulting fees, Predictive Index partnerships, Salt and Light for Women retreats, and podcast monetization and then rolled each objective all the way down to specific weekly tasks for every person on her team (Tara, Paige, and Brittany each have individual goals that directly tie to the company's 30% growth target), and why tying goals to both compensation and experiential rewards like team retreats drives a different level of buy-in than either one does alone
3. Why job descriptions are living performance management documents — how Kerri's three-page job descriptions outline specific tasks, success metrics, technology requirements, collaboration expectations, and culture fit from day one, why she uses the interview process as a job description audit (if a candidate doesn't come back with questions, she doesn't hire them), and why revisiting the job description together at the annual review turns a dreaded HR process into a collaborative conversation where you're both on the same side of the table
4. The at-agenda system and meeting cadence for communicating expectations continuously — how the at-agenda (issues, observations, suggestions, questions — a live shared document between Kerri and each direct report) replaces the constant inbox interruptions that kill focused work, why Kerri spends three to four hours per week with each new hire in the first month and then cuts them loose once onboarding is complete, and the 30-60-90 day check-in structure plus weekly one-on-ones plus monthly metric reviews plus quarterly in-person team days that keep her remote team aligned and connected
5. How to equip middle managers to lead with clarity before it becomes a problem — why the biggest leadership skill gap in most organizations shows up at the middle manager level (technically great at their job, never given leadership training), and the real-world example of an RN moving into a clinic lead role where Kerri built a six-month leadership path before she ever stepped into the seat — plus the seventh action: document and measure progress in a visible system so employees know whether the company is on track, because if you don't tell them, they will assume it's fine and be blindsided when it isn't

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 — Unclear Expectations and Lack of Goals: The Problems They Create in Your Business
• 01:07 — The 5 Costs of Unclear Expectations: Burnout, Accountability, Productivity, Conflict & Missed Growth
• 03:30 — Action 1: Setting SMART Goals — What That Actually Means in Practice
• 05:06 — Kerri's 2025 Strategic Plan: A Real Example of Goals Rolled Down to Every Team Member
• 10:54 — Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Time-Bound: Breaking Down the Rest of SMART
• 16:57 — Action 2: Define Roles and Responsibilities — Why Job Descriptions Matter Even When You're Small
• 22:18 — How Kerri Uses a 3-Page Job Description to Onboard and Evaluate
• 25:00 — Action 3: Communicate Expectations Early and Often — 30-60-90, Weekly & Monthly Cadences
• 26:22 — The At-Agenda System: How to Give Your Team a Mechanism to Communicate With You
• 31:18 — Action 4: Provide Context for Goals — Why the Monthly Metrics Meeting Ties Work to Purpose
• 32:50 — Action 5: Use Feedback Loops — The Right Things to Interrupt On vs. Save for the Meeting
• 29:20 — Action 6: Equip Your Managers to Lead With Clarity — The Middle Manager Skill Gap
• 31:20 — Real Example: Building a 6-Month Leadership Path for a New Clinic Lead
• 31:38 — Action 7: Document and Measure Progress — Why Visibility Drives Accountability
• 33:17 — Your Challenge for the Week: One Conversation That Creates Clarity Right Now

If you're not sure whether your people operations are set up to support this kind of clarity — the goals, the job descriptions, the performance review process — the free HR Audit will show you exactly what's in place and what's missing: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

Resources to keep building:

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are. 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations. 👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses. 👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday. 👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

Connect with Kerri: 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/kerrimroberts 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts 🐎 Hippo Creek Farm on Instagram: instagram.com/hippocreekfarm

Episode-specific resources mentioned:

• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell — linked in show notes (the at-agenda system is adapted from this book)
• Predictive Index — behavioral and cognitive assessment tool (Kerri is a certified PI consultant)
• Salt and Light for Women — online community and retreat program (saltandlightadvisors.com)
• Episode 53: The HR Myths Holding Your Business Back with Tara Parris — referenced for performance reviews and HR stereotypes

Full show notes + transcript: kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode-58-how-to-create-goals-that-actually-motivate-your-team

Support the show

The biggest hiring mistakes businesses make aren't usually about the resume or the interview — they're about the process (or lack of one) that surrounds the whole thing. George Zimny is back on the pod, and this conversation is one of the most practically useful ones I've had on the recruitment side of building a business. George has recruited his way through four businesses of his own, co-owns a top 20 Forbes-ranked executive search firm, and now runs ProducifyX serving 130 clients across the U.S. — and he is not here to talk theory.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. How recruitment has changed and what business owners need to do differently — three forces reshaping the talent market right now: candidates having more options than ever (remote work, entrepreneurship, gig economy), AI advancing the entire hiring landscape while simultaneously making genuine human connection a more powerful attractor of talent, and political shifts around DEI causing businesses to reassess their talent strategy from the inside out rather than following whatever the market is pushing
2. The most effective sourcing strategy for businesses with ongoing hiring needs — George's "pursue all sources, all the time" philosophy: why you should be running social media content that authentically attracts culture-fit candidates (three organic posts per week, then one hiring post), why online cold sources like Indeed and ZipRecruiter are underutilized by most small businesses not because they don't work but because businesses don't know how to work them, and why warm referral channels and word-of-mouth networks should never be turned off even when they temporarily dry up — because the businesses that stay consistent across all channels are the ones that win
3. The two biggest hiring mistakes businesses make — over-assessing and under-connecting (running candidates through every assessment tool without ever sitting down and having a real conversation about their vision, their goals, and whether your business is actually a vehicle for what they want in their life), and lacking the creativity and flexibility to recognize when someone in front of you doesn't fit the role you posted but could be a diamond in the rough for a role you haven't created yet
4. How small businesses can compete with large corporate packages — why a profound, authentic vision of where the company is going is often worth more to the right candidate than a bigger salary, how George's team at ProducifyX brought on key full-time players who took a 30% pay cut in exchange for long-term incentives and growth opportunity, and why paying out the largest unexpected quarterly bonus his company had ever distributed bought more team buy-in than any compensation structure he'd ever put in place
5. The ProducifyX model and what makes it different — how their sourcing-plus-pre-qualification service works (screen 100 applicants, deliver the 5 to 7 that are actually worth the client's time), why traditional staffing firms charging 20 to 30% of first-year salary don't make sense for businesses with ongoing recurring hiring needs, and the case study of a Jackson, Mississippi wealth management firm that contracted three new advisors in their first 90 days together — nearly doubling their contract volume for the entire prior year

About the guest: George Zimny is co-founder of ProducifyX (producifyx.com), a recruitment sourcing and pre-qualification firm serving small and mid-sized businesses across financial services, real estate, law, and hospitality. He also co-owns a top 20 Forbes-ranked executive search firm focused on C-suite and board placements, and has built and exited four businesses of his own including a 10-office insurance agency he scaled to 100 to 130 licensed representatives annually.

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 — George Zimny Is Back: Background, ProducifyX & What This Episode Covers
• 01:44 — How Recruitment Has Evolved: Candidates Have More Options, AI & DEI Shifts
• 07:17 — The "Pursue All Sources, All the Time" Strategy for Ongoing Hiring Needs
• 13:11 — Why Recruitment and Sales Prospecting Are More Similar Than You Think
• 13:19 — The Two Biggest Hiring Mistakes: Over-Assessing and Under-Connecting
• 18:06 — Why Flexibility and Creativity in Your Hiring Process Finds Diamonds in the Rough
• 19:47 — How Small Businesses Compete with Large Corporate Comp Packages
• 24:43 — Why a Profound Vision Statement Is Worth More Than a Salary Bump
• 27:49 — How to Build a Recruitment Strategy for Long-Term Scalable Growth
• 33:24 — ProducifyX Case Study: Jackson, Mississippi Wealth Management Firm
• 36:34 — Why George Started ProducifyX and the Origin Story of a 15th Hire Named Ryan
• 43:42 — How to Connect With George and the Heartbeat of Recruitment Newsletter

Before your next hire, make sure your HR foundation is actually set up to support it — the free HR Audit will show you where your hiring and onboarding systems stand right now: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

Resources to keep building:

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are. 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations. 👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses. 👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday. 👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

Connect with Kerri: 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/kerrimroberts 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts 🐎 Hippo Creek Farm on Instagram: instagram.com/hippocreekfarm

Episode-specific resources mentioned:

• ProducifyX — producifyx.com (Salt and Light Advisors partner)
• George Zimny on LinkedIn — search George Zimny | LinkedIn newsletter: The Heartbeat of Recruitment
• Don't Waste the Chaos resources page — dontwastethechaos.com/resources

Full show notes + transcript: kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode-58-the-biggest-hiring-mistakes

Support the show

Most of us use the words stress and anxiety interchangeably, but they are fundamentally different things — and treating them the same way is exactly why so many people stay stuck in a cycle they can't seem to get out of. Karen Brooks is back on the pod, and this conversation is one of the most practically useful ones I've had on the mental health side of this show. Whether you're a leader trying to understand what your team is carrying, a parent trying to model resilience for your kids, or just someone who wants to understand what's actually happening in your body when things get hard — this episode is for you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. The critical difference between stress and anxiety — stress is external (it has a trigger, and when the trigger goes away, the stress usually goes with it), anxiety is internal (it doesn't need a trigger — it's the underlying uncertainty that creates it), why your physiological responses to both are almost identical (increased heart rate, muscle tension, digestive issues, difficulty sleeping and concentrating), and why the goal is not to eliminate stress or anxiety but to build your capacity to respond to them — because they are both actually necessary for survival and success
2. Why anxiety behaves like a cult leader — Karen's framework for understanding the anxiety cycle: your body senses danger, you identify the feeling, and then the "cult leader" tells you to avoid it — which provides short-term relief but guarantees long-term anxiety because avoidance never resolves it, and the longer you listen, the worse it gets
3. The DARE method for managing anxiety — Diffuse (identify the thoughts early before they escalate and distract yourself without avoiding), Allow (let the anxiety happen, identify where you feel it in your body, and condition yourself to know it will pass), Run Towards (go straight at whatever has you stuck — the counterintuitive move that actually rewires your brain), and Engage (take action, because doing the thing your brain is looping on releases dopamine and breaks the cycle)
4. How technology and social media have created a dopamine addiction that's fueling the anxiety epidemic — why the instant gratification loop of getting likes, refreshing social feeds, and expecting immediate results is functionally similar to drug addiction, why the next generation has more knowledge than any before them but less capacity for real-world application because they've never had to fail in front of others, and why the answer is education, conversation, and normalizing the topic the same way the "this is your brain on drugs" campaign did for substance use
5. How leaders and parents can model resilience and manage anxiety collectively — why emotions are contagious (the anxiety you carry into your team or your home is being absorbed by the people around you), why resilience is not taught but learned through doing, and a practical team or family activity Karen recommends — the book club approach using Who Moved My Cheese — to create open dialogue, build connection, and normalize the conversation around stress and change

About the guest: Karen Brooks is a certified life coach and mental health professional with over 20 years of clinical experience, specializing in adolescent development and resilience-building through Guided Growth Teen Coaching (guidedgrowthteencoaching.com). Her work spans one-on-one counseling, group therapy, and workshops with teens transitioning from state care, women's shelters, drug and alcohol recovery centers, and human trafficking advocacy.

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 — What's the Difference Between Stress and Anxiety? (It's Not What You Think)
• 01:44 — How Stress and Anxiety Actually Manifest in Your Body
• 06:21 — Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn: What Happens When Your Body Takes Over
• 11:05 — Has Technology Created New Stressors — Or Just New Responses to Old Ones?
• 16:01 — How Stress and Anxiety Are Contagious: What This Means for Leaders and Parents
• 17:10 — Genetics Is the Gun, Environment Is the Trigger
• 19:46 — How to Learn to Recognize What You're Actually Feeling in Your Body
• 20:07 — Why Resilience Is the Real Goal — Not Stress Management
• 26:30 — Why Anxiety Works Like a Cult Leader (And What to Do About It)
• 30:12 — The Better Question Isn't "How Do I Manage Stress?" It's This
• 31:21 — The DARE Method: Diffuse, Allow, Run Towards, Engage
• 38:28 — The Dopamine Addiction Nobody's Talking About (And How Technology Is Feeding It)
• 42:48 — How Families and Work Teams Can Manage Anxiety Together
• 44:15 — Karen's Favorite Team Activity: The Book Club Approach Using Who Moved My Cheese

If you're a leader who wants to know whether your HR systems are set up to support your team's wellbeing — not just their performance — the free HR Audit will show you what's in place and what's missing: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

Resources to keep building:

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are. 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations. 👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses. 👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday. 👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

—

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

Connect with Kerri: 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/kerrimroberts 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts 🐎 Hippo Creek Farm on Instagram: instagram.com/hippocreekfarm

Episode-specific resources mentioned:

• Karen Brooks — guidedgrowthteencoaching.com | LinkedIn | Complimentary discovery sessions available
• Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson — recommended for team and family book clubs (linked in show notes)
• Jonathan Haidt — researcher on technology and youth mental health (referenced)
• The Wait Until 8th campaign — referenced for tech and youth advocacy
• Episode 37: Guilt, Shame & How to Heal with Karen Brooks — kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/37

Full show notes + transcript: kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/episode-56-stress-anxiety-building-resilence

Support the show