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Sales is the engine that drives every small business, but in uncertain economic times, the pressure to “just sell more” can leave owners spinning their wheels. On this episode of The KeyHire Small Business Podcast, host Corey Harlock sits down with Melinda Emerson, widely known as “The Small Biz Lady” and recognized as America’s #1 Small Business Expert, to uncover what truly makes a sales process work. 

With more than 25 years of experience advising entrepreneurs and global brands, Melinda has seen firsthand why many small business owners struggle to close deals and sustain growth. She pulls no punches in this conversation, walking us through the five critical elements of a successful sales process: 

1. Niche – Knowing exactly who you serve and narrowing your focus to become more attractive to the right clients. 
2. Offer – Creating a clear and compelling value proposition that eliminates confusion and makes buying a no-brainer. 
3. Authority Positioning – Establishing credibility and demonstrating why prospects can trust you to deliver results. 
4. Lead Generation – Building consistent, reliable traffic and qualified leads through smart strategies and strong content. 
5. Enrollment Process – Designing an intentional closing process that converts interest into commitment. 

Throughout the episode, Melinda shares candid stories from her own entrepreneurial journey, including the early mistakes she made in business and how writing her bestselling book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, opened doors she never imagined. She also explains why transparency, professionalism, and consistency are the keys to building long-term client relationships. 

Corey and Melinda dig into some of the biggest mistakes small businesses make when it comes to sales. From skipping the hard work of defining a process, to relying on expensive CRMs they never learn to use, to assuming that hiring a salesperson will magically fix everything—Melinda outlines why these shortcuts almost always fail. Instead, she emphasizes that owners themselves must first learn to sell, master their own systems, and only then consider bringing others into the process. 

Listeners will also hear practical advice on structuring offers, right-sizing proposals to fit client budgets, and creating lead magnets that provide real value. Melinda highlights the importance of asking better discovery questions, understanding client payment cycles, and protecting margins to ensure profitability. 

If you are a small business owner who has ever felt frustrated by inconsistent sales, struggled to close deals, or wondered if bringing in a salesperson was the right move, this conversation will give you the clarity and strategies you need. 

Melinda’s energy, honesty, and proven track record make this episode one you do not want to miss. Whether you are looking to strengthen your sales foundation, refine your process, or simply avoid costly mistakes, you will walk away with actionable insights you can implement immediately. 

Tune in, take notes, and get ready to rethink how your sales process should work. 

Connect with the Experts   

Learn More about Melinda: https://smallbizladyuniversity.com/academy/ 

Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: https://a.co/d/4WrRnxB 

Follow us on YouTube @keyhiresolutions, Facebook @keyhiresolutions, and Instagram

KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows.

Welcome to the fourth and final installment of our Key Owner Stages series on The KeyHire Podcast. So far, we’ve walked through the stages of the Overwhelmed, Unsure, and Curious business owner. In this episode, we turn our attention to the Growing Business Owner—an exciting but challenging stage where your business starts gaining momentum, but cracks begin to show. 

As your sales increase and market presence expands, you may notice the pressure building across every part of your operation. Your team is stretched thin, quality begins to slip, and on-time delivery becomes harder to guarantee. Leaders who once thrived in calmer times may start to falter, while others rise to the challenge with new ideas and solutions. This stage is exhilarating—it’s proof that your hard work is paying off—but without the right strategies, it can just as quickly become a turning point where growth stalls or reputations suffer. 

In this episode, I dig into what it really means to be a Growing Business Owner. I’ll share the telltale signs that you’ve reached this stage, including cash flow tension, strained resources, and the tendency to overwork instead of innovate. More importantly, I’ll walk you through the critical mistakes to avoid, such as pushing too hard on sales without shoring up operations, relying on “potential hires” instead of experienced leaders, or falling back into the do-it-yourself trap when it comes to hiring. 

Instead of pressing the gas blindly, this is the time to be strategic. I’ll show you how to: 

• Upgrade your leadership team by identifying who can handle the pressure and who’s become a constraint. 
• Invest in professional talent—hiring for experience, capacity, and culture rather than gambling on potential. 
• Design for the future by creating an organizational roadmap that prepares you for scaling responsibly, from $10M to $30M and beyond. 

We’ll also talk about culture—why it’s critical to reinforce the values you want to grow with, how to avoid bringing in “high-performing disruptors,” and how to communicate honestly with new hires about the culture you have versus the one you’re working toward. 

This stage of growth is one of the most rewarding for a business owner. You’ve got traction, reputation, and opportunity. But growth done wrong can cost you time, money, and people. Growth done right can set you up for long-term success with a team that has the skills, vision, and capacity to take you further than you imagined. 

If you’re feeling the strain of growth, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn how to put the “high-performance tires” on your business so you can take the corners at speed—without losing control. 

Listen now and share this episode with another business owner who’s ready to stop grinding and start growing. 

Connect with the Experts  

Follow us on YouTube @keyhiresolutions, Facebook @keyhiresolutions, and Instagram @keyhiresolutions.   

Follow Corey on LinkedIn @Corey Harlock  

Be KeyHire's Next Success Story: https://bit.ly/KHSuccess  

KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows.

What does culture really mean for small businesses? And why does it matter so much for growth and sustainability? 

In this episode of The KeyHire Small Business Podcast, I sit down with Janneh Wright, the founder and CEO of PRIMUS Business Management. For more than two decades, Janneh and his team have helped small businesses and non-profits “turn their brilliance into sustainable infrastructure.” His framework for success—the Three C’s of Compliance, Culture, and Consistency—offers leaders a way to build strong organizations that last. 

When asked to define culture, Janneh explained: “When we talk about culture, we’re talking about the experience people have with interacting with your organization—whether it’s an employee or a customer or a shareholder. It’s like the soul of your organization.” 

Culture doesn’t just happen. If business owners don’t design it, employees will—and that can create a culture the owner may not want. Culture is built on behavior, and it flows from leadership. “However the leader communicates, how they deal with pressure, what they say is always much more important than what’s written down.” 

Janneh also emphasized that culture starts before the first day of work. It begins with the job description and continues into the hiring process. For example, when hiring, instead of focusing only on degrees or years of experience, you can ask questions like: “How do you respond to a rude customer?” Answers to those questions reveal whether a candidate will reinforce the culture or disrupt it. 

We also discussed how culture connects to compliance and consistency: 

- Compliance provides the structure of the business—the policies, legal requirements, and systems. 

- Culture is the heart—the experience of employees, customers, and stakeholders. 

- Consistency is the engine—doing things the same way week after week to build trust. 

If those elements don’t line up, leaders risk losing credibility with both employees and customers. 

I shared a story about a restaurant where inconsistent customer service changed my impression of the business. Janneh explained how that example showed all three C’s in action: compliance in clear rules, culture in how customers are treated, and consistency in applying standards the same way every time. 

Accountability is another theme we covered. If leaders allow certain employees or clients to get around the rules, culture breaks down. As I said in our conversation, “Wait and see equals watching good people go.” High performers will leave if they see others escape accountability. 

Janneh also highlighted the importance of supporting employees: 

In small businesses, staff often do “job description times two.” 
When they feel respected and valued, they keep giving more. 
“A valued employee becomes an entrepreneur inside your organization.” 
To close, Janneh offered three pieces of advice for business owners: 

Take your time – don’t try to build culture overnight. 
See culture as an investment – it saves time and money in the long run. 
Focus on tomorrow – let your team handle today while you look ahead. 
This episode makes clear that every business has a culture—whether it’s intentional or not. The Three C’s give leaders a framework to make sure their culture strengthens their business instead of holding it back. 

Connect with the Experts  
Learn More about Janneh: www.PrimusCO.com 
 
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Welcome back to The KeyHire Small Business Podcast! This week we continue our Key Owner Stages series with Stage Three: The Curious Business Owner. 

If you’ve been following this series, you know that we’ve already covered the Overwhelmed Owner (the car with no wheels) and the Unsure Owner (the car with wobbly wheels). In this episode, we move to the next stage: the Curious Owner—someone who’s running a good business, has capable people in place, but is starting to hear the “squeaky wheel” and asking the right question: Do I have the leadership team to get us where we need to go? 

What It Means to Be a Curious Owner 

Curious owners aren’t in crisis. The business is moving forward. Revenue is coming in. Customers are being served. But you’ve noticed a few cracks in leadership performance. Maybe a once-reliable manager has started missing details. Maybe a loyal employee is resisting new initiatives from a stronger leader you recently hired. Or maybe you’re simply wondering whether your team has the capacity and experience to scale as bigger contracts and opportunities come your way. 

This stage is often marked by ambition and optimism—but also a sense of anxiety. You know things are “fine” now, but you’re also asking: What happens when the next big client signs on? Will my current team keep up—or will they hold us back? 

The Mistakes Curious Owners Make 

In this episode, we dive into the three biggest mistakes curious owners make: 

1. Waiting too long to act. Good leaders leave when they’re held back by underperformers. 
2. Trying to solve the problem internally. Adding support staff or shifting responsibilities rarely fixes capacity issues. 
3. Overvaluing loyalty. Longtime employees may be great people, but that doesn’t always mean they’re the right leaders for your next stage of growth. 

Corey explains why these mistakes can stall momentum and frustrate your best people—and how to avoid them by facing tough decisions head-on. 

How to Move Forward 

Being a curious owner isn’t about “throwing people away.” It’s about redefining what good leadership looks like and making sure you’re putting the right people in the right roles. Corey shares practical strategies, including: 

• Conducting an honest audit of your leadership team. 
• Defining roles for the business you’re building, not just the one you’re running today. 
• Hiring leaders with the capacity to scale your company to its next revenue level. 
• Structuring difficult but necessary conversations with loyal employees. 

Why This Stage Matters 

The Curious stage is one of the most pivotal in the Key Owner Stages framework. Done well, it sets your business up for explosive growth. Done poorly—or delayed too long—it risks losing great talent and missing opportunities. 

If you’ve ever thought, “We’re good now, but can we handle what’s next?”—this episode is for you. 

Connect with the Experts 
 
Follow us on YouTube @keyhiresolutions, Facebook @keyhiresolutions, and Instagram @keyhiresolutions.  
 
Follow Corey on LinkedIn @Corey Harlock 
 
Be KeyHire's Next Success Story: https://bit.ly/KHSuccess 

KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows.

On this episode of The KeyHire Small Business Podcast, we sit down with Justin Abrams, CEO of ARYO Consulting Group, to unpack a growth strategy that many business owners hear about—but few truly understand: growth through acquisition.

With over 350 clients under his belt and a refreshingly straightforward approach to strategy, Justin helps demystify the world of M&A for small business owners. He breaks down what “acquisition” really means (hint: it’s not just for the big guys), when it makes sense to consider buying another business, and what red flags can turn an exciting opportunity into a financial trap.

We cover everything from the intimidating lingo (EBITDA, multiples, platform vs. bolt-on companies) to the real questions owners should be asking: Can I afford it? Will the clients stay? Can I retain the team? You’ll hear why acquisition is often faster, safer, and more efficient than chasing new customers through marketing—and how it could be the key to scaling your business without exhausting your resources.

Justin outlines the kinds of businesses that are great candidates for acquisition (think recurring revenue, complementary services, or capacity expansion) and highlights major pitfalls to avoid—like key man risk, inflated valuations, or seasonality traps that make revenue appear stronger than it is.

We also dig into the emotional and operational realities of selling a business—and how that often leads to great buying opportunities for owners willing to be strategic and prepared. Whether you’re looking to grow your footprint, diversify services, or increase revenue, this episode gives you the foundational knowledge you need to move forward with confidence.

Connect with the Experts

Learn more about Justin: https://aryocg.com

Follow us on YouTube @keyhiresolutions, Facebook @keyhiresolutions, and Instagram @keyhiresolutions. 

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Be KeyHire's Next Success Story: https://bit.ly/KHSuccess

KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions

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AI doesn’t have to be overwhelming—and it definitely doesn’t have to be expensive. 

In this episode of The KeyHire Small Business Podcast, I’m joined by Paul Malott, CEO and Founder of Automations24, to talk about one of the most practical—and accessible—ways small businesses can start using AI: no-code automations. 

We know that AI is everywhere right now, but most small business owners feel unsure about where to start. Paul helps cut through the noise by breaking down how no-code platforms like Make.com, Zapier, and Pipedream allow businesses to build smart, scalable systems—without writing a single line of code. 

What does that mean in real life? Well, let’s say you have a shared inbox for invoices. Paul walks us through how you can automate the entire three-way match process—invoice, PO, goods received—using AI and no-code tools. The result? Faster payments, fewer errors, and time back in your day to focus on growth. 

We also dive into: 

• What “no-code” and “AI automation” actually mean (in plain English) 
• How platforms use API keys to connect different apps into seamless workflows 
• Why compliance and accuracy increase when humans are taken out of repetitive matching tasks 
• How business owners can start with low-risk, high-value automations—even with messy data 
• The real cost (and risk) of not getting started 

Paul doesn’t just know the tech—he understands the messy, real-world processes inside small businesses. He explains how these tools help eliminate waste, reduce risk, and give small business owners the freedom to focus on what drives revenue. 

Whether you’re a tech-savvy entrepreneur or someone who gets overwhelmed by AI chatter, this episode will meet you where you are. We talk practical use cases, cost-effective tools, and how to avoid the common mistakes that keep automations from delivering ROI. 

You’ll also learn why the future isn’t about replacing jobs—it’s about repurposing your people to do higher-value work. Automations can turn your AR clerk into a data analyst, your assistant into a strategist, and your business into a scalable machine. 

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What’s something I hate doing that AI could handle for me?”—this episode is your answer. 

You don’t need a developer. You don’t need a huge budget. You just need to get started. 

And the best part? Most of these solutions can be implemented and tested in under three weeks. 

Tune in now and find out how to scale smarter—not harder—with no-code AI automations. 

Connect with the Experts 

Connect with Paul: www.automations24.com 

Be KeyHire’s Next Success Story: https://bit.ly/KHSuccess 

Follow us: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram @keyhiresolutions 

KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows.

In this episode of The KeyHire Small Business Podcast, host Corey Harlock sits down with Charles Fry, Founder and CEO of Codexitos, to tackle one of the most challenging transitions for small business owners: moving from founder-driven sales to building a professional sales organization. 

Charles has been in technology since before the internet took shape, founding and growing multiple companies over the decades. With deep experience in scaling businesses, he shares the real-world lessons he’s learned about letting go of being the “only salesperson” and building a sustainable sales team that drives growth. 

Together, Corey and Charles dive into: 

• Why so many businesses rely on the owner as the primary salesperson—and why that creates a ceiling for growth. 
• Why your first sales hire is the most critical and must set the pattern for future hires. 
• The danger of bringing on a “sales manager” too early when what you really need is a producer. 
• The importance of defining a sales style and methodology that reflects the founder’s vision before expanding the team. 

Charles introduces his framework of three phases for founders transitioning out of being the sole salesperson: 

1. Zero to One – Hiring your first professional salesperson who mirrors the sales style you want replicated. 
2. One to Few – Expanding the team in a way that avoids chaos from conflicting approaches and ensures consistency. 
3. Scaling Up – When a larger sales team requires true sales management (though that’s a topic for another day). 

Throughout the conversation, Charles emphasizes the nuances of leadership in sales: balancing the founder’s natural ability to “close deals” with the need to empower a team, maintaining patience with new hires as they learn, and putting systems in place to measure performance. He stresses the value of having a clear sales methodology—whether Challenger, SPIN, or another approach—so everyone is speaking the same language and working from the same playbook. 

As a mentor once told him, the role of the CEO is ultimately to be the “Cash Extraction Officer.” Charles explains how founders can best serve as closers—brought in for the final inning when their authority and vision matter most—while the sales team does the heavy lifting of qualification and relationship building. 

For business owners feeling trapped as the sole driver of revenue, Charles provides actionable steps: 

1. Define the sales model and methodology that represents your business. 
2. Engage outside help to objectively profile and vet your first hire. 
3. Have candid, direct conversations with candidates and hires. 
4. Establish clear timelines and budgets for success based on your industry’s sales cycle. 

If you’ve been struggling to step out of the salesperson role—or if you’ve felt the frustration of bad hires, inconsistent results, or being the “rate limiter” on growth—this episode is packed with strategies to help you break free from founder-led sales and build a scalable, repeatable sales engine. 

Connect with the Experts 

Learn more about Charles: https://codexitos.com/

Be KeyHire's Next Success Story: https://bit.ly/KHSuccess  

Follow us on YouTube @keyhiresolutions, Facebook @keyhiresolutions, and Instagram @keyhiresolutions.  

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KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows.

If you’ve ever looked at your business and thought, “I know something’s wrong here, but I can’t figure out what it is… or how to fix it,” this episode is for you.

I call this stage The Unsure Business Owner—the second stop in our Key Owner Stages Series. Last time, we covered the Overwhelmed Owner, where the wheels fall off. The Unsure stage is different—you’re still moving, but the wheels are wobbly. You feel the problems, but you’re not sure what’s causing them, how to fix them, or what will happen when you do.

What Being “Unsure” Feels Like

Maybe sales aren’t closing like they used to. Maybe operations is slipping—quality is down, deadlines missed, and you’re stuck firefighting. Or maybe it’s people—loyal employees who once carried you but now can’t keep up. You’re torn between loyalty and performance.

So you wait, hoping things turn around. But when weeks turn into months, indecision costs you your best people. High performers hate working beside tolerated underperformance. They leave, while underperformers become entrenched.

Why This Stage Is Dangerous

Hesitation weakens culture, results decline, and the very people you can’t afford to lose start heading for the exits.

The Big Mistakes Unsure Owners Make

Three common traps:

• Wait and See – Hoping problems fix themselves while top talent walks.
• The Hair Trigger – Firing too fast and losing critical knowledge.
• Rushed Hiring – Filling a gap without defining the role or future needs.

Why Diagnosis Matters

The problem isn’t always where you see it. Sales might be down, but operations could be the real constraint. A client once thought they needed a GM; we found sales was fine—operations was the issue. They didn’t need a GM; they needed a Director of Operations. Within weeks, the business turned around.

Hiring for the Business You Want

Most owners hire for where they are. That’s a mistake. If you’re a $10M company aiming for $50M, hire someone who’s already run $50M. At KeyHire, every hire is measured against:

• Experience – Have they done it at scale?
• Capacity – Can they grow with the business?
• Culture Fit – Will they thrive here?

Unless they score at least 80% across all three, we don’t move forward.

Avoiding the “Two Hammers” Problem

If someone only has a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Replace one hammer with another, and nothing changes. Every new hire should bring tools and skills that expand your business.

How to Move from Unsure to Confident

Here’s the path forward:

1. Assess your business honestly.
2. Find the real constraint.
3. Plan moves that balance urgency with sustainability.
4. Hire leaders for the future.

Tighten those wobbly wheels, and you’ll be ready for the next phase: the Curious Business Owner, where you start asking, “What else is possible?”

Three Key Takeaways:

• Waiting too long will cost you your best people.
• Diagnosis before decision—the real problem might not be where you think.
• Hire for tomorrow, not today. The right leader changes everything.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start growing, listen to the full episode now.

Connect with the Experts

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KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows.

As a small business owner, there’s a moment when you realize that being in control of everything is no longer helping your business—it’s holding it back. You’re wearing too many hats, every process runs through you, and your team can’t make a move without your approval. Sound familiar? In this episode of The KeyHire Small Business Podcast, host Corey Harlock sits down with Kristina Tyler, Coach & Business Partner at Flow Fiero, to talk about how to break free from the daily grind and step into true leadership.

Kristina has helped countless entrepreneurs make the leap from “doing” to “leading.” She knows the emotional and operational challenges that come with letting go—whether it’s the fear that no one can do things as well as you, the discomfort of not being the smartest person in the room, or the burnout that creeps in when you’re always putting out fires. Drawing from her background in high-performance sports coaching and her work with leaders worldwide, Kristina introduces her proven TEAM model—Trust, Engagement, Alignment, and Mobilization—and explains why starting with mobilization can leave your culture feeling “empty.”

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• The three game-changing questions every business owner should ask before stepping back from daily operations: What game am I playing? Who am I playing against? What do I need to do to win?

• Why burnout, bottlenecks, and the inability to take a real vacation are red flags that you need to transition into leadership.

• How to identify whether performance issues are systemic (process and culture related) or individual (the wrong person in the wrong role).

• The emotional side of leadership change, including overcoming what Corey calls being “addicted to chaos.”

• How to build trust and alignment so your team can make decisions, take ownership, and drive results without you micromanaging.

Kristina and Corey also tackle one of the hardest realities in business growth: sometimes the people who helped you build your company aren’t the ones who can take it to the next level. You’ll hear practical advice on how to navigate these moments with transparency, respect, and a focus on shared success.

Whether you’re at $1 million in revenue or approaching $10 million, the lessons in this episode will help you:

• Step confidently into your role as the visionary leader of your business.

• Build a team you can trust to execute at a high level.

• Create the capacity for growth without burning out or sacrificing quality of life.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your business could survive without you for two weeks—or if you’re starting to feel like the biggest constraint in your own company—this episode is for you. Kristina’s approach blends practical tools with the mindset shifts needed to help you scale your business while actually enjoying the process.

Connect with the Experts

Learn more about Kristina: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flow-fiero-llp/

Be KeyHire's Next Success Story: https://bit.ly/KHSuccess 

Follow us on YouTube @keyhiresolutions, Facebook @keyhiresolutions, and Instagram @keyhiresolutions. 

Follow Corey on LinkedIn @Corey Harlock 

Visit our website at https://www.keyhire.solutions/the-keyhir

KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows.

Feeling like your business has stalled out—and no matter how hard you push, you just can’t get ahead?

In the first episode of our special Key Owner Stages series, Corey Harlock breaks down the Overwhelmed Stage—the point where growth slows to a crawl, fires never stop, and the people who helped you build your company may no longer have the skills or capacity to help you scale it.

Corey opens with the hard truth: overwhelmed owners aren’t just “busy”—they’re stuck.  You’ll recognize the signs instantly: you’re deep in day-to-day work, plugging gaps your leaders should be handling, and constantly jumping from one urgent problem to another. 

You’ll also learn why loyalty can be a double-edged sword. Many overwhelmed owners started with loyal, all-in employees—family, friends, neighbors—who gave everything in the early days. But as the business grows, the skill set and experience required to put scalable systems in place outgrow those early team members’ abilities. Corey calls this the Peter Principle: “Everyone rises to the level of their own incompetence.” This isn’t about bad people—it’s about good people in the wrong role for the company’s current needs.

If you’ve inherited a second- or third-generation business, the challenge can be even sharper. Long-term leaders may be comfortable maintaining a $10M operation, but resistant—or even fearful—of the changes needed to grow to $50M. 

Corey also shares the most common mistakes owners make when they’re in the Overwhelmed Stage:

• Hiring for potential but expecting experience, leading to frustration when ROI doesn’t appear quickly.
• Desperation hiring just to get relief—only to be rehiring for the same position weeks later.
• Believing in the “one big fix” instead of a sequence of smart, consistent moves.
• Doing it all yourself and relying solely on longer hours to push growth forward—a recipe for burnout, not scale.

Then he lays out a clear, step-by-step approach to getting unstuck:

1. Assess your leadership team for culture fit, experience, and capacity—three factors that must all be in place for a leader to drive growth.
2. Redesign your org structure into three clear divisions—sales, operations, and administration—with capable heads in each.
3. Hire for the future, not just the present—bring in leaders who can run your future $50M company while you’re still at $10M.
4. Create a consistent hiring process with clear role definitions, a scorecard, and an 80% match threshold so you only hire people positioned to succeed.

Corey emphasizes that moving out of overwhelm isn’t about instant transformation. Each smart, strategic move lets a little “air out of the tire,” relieving pressure and giving you the breathing room to address the next constraint. Over 9–18 months, these incremental wins can shift you from being a reactive firefighter to a forward-looking strategic leader.

By the end of this episode, you’ll not only know why you’re overwhelmed—you’ll have a realistic, proven blueprint to start fixing it. You’ll see how the right first hire can reset expectations for what great leadership looks like, setting the stage for your move into the next Key Owner Stage: Unsure.

Connect with the Experts

Be KeyHire's Next Success Story: https://bit.ly/KHSuccess 

Follow us on YouTube @keyhiresolutions, Facebook @keyhiresolutions, and Instagram @keyhiresolutions. 

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KeyHire Solutions helps small business owners scale smarter, not harder. From hiring the right talent to building systems that work, we give you the strategies and support to grow your business without burning out.

Learn More at www.KeyHire.Solutions