Small business owners facing post-COVID hiring challenges can learn effective recruiting strategies from Shannon Black, Chair of SCORE Austin, in the latest episode of the Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast. Episode 82, titled "Shannon Black | The Hiring Secrets Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know," hosted by Bryan Eisenberg, was published July 14, 2026, and offers actionable advice for hiring, retaining, and growing a team in Central Texas's competitive labor market.
Black, a former math teacher and founder of Sunrise Montessori, shares her systematic approach to recruiting, developed after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional hiring. She recommends posting job ads on Sunday mornings rather than Thursdays, explaining that it takes search engines about 24 hours to index the ad, aligning with the peak job search time on Mondays during lunch. To improve visibility, she suggests using 30 or more hashtags at the bottom of listings to capture search engine optimization without rewriting the copy.
Black also advises avoiding "masculine" language in job descriptions that may deter female applicants. Her screening process includes a 10-minute Zoom pre-interview and unexpected questions like "What is your favorite color?" to assess candidates' personality and fit.
The episode opens with Black recovering from a baby rattlesnake bite while gardening, crediting St. David's in Round Rock for antivenom treatment. She highlights SCORE's free mentorship model, offering over 1,000 workshops per month and virtual mentor matching at score.org. Upcoming events include a women's conference, a trades conference on June 13, and a four-day workshop series on valuing and selling a business.
Black shares success stories, including helping a client launch a successful Austin clay studio and pointing to entrepreneur Desiree Fox of V Wear Love as an example of an idea-stage founder SCORE serves. Eisenberg notes his own hiring wins after applying Black's tweaks and a lease near-miss rescued by Round Rock realtor Bacha Porter.
The Rock Solid podcast, hosted by bestselling author Bryan Eisenberg, focuses on entrepreneurs and organizations in Round Rock, Texas. Episode 82 is available now wherever podcasts are heard.
