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Add mentionThis week, Jay Goltz, Lena McGuire, and Jaci Russo tackle three challenges that business owners face, starting with a question that can be especially painful: How do you know when it’s time to give up? The question is prompted by an article written by the founder of an online pillowcase business who has concluded that Big Tech, soaring advertising costs, and changes to privacy rules have made it all but impossible to build a profitable brand online. Jay, Lena, and Jaci agree that the obstacles are real, but they’re not convinced that they fully explain the entrepreneur’s failure to get traction. Nor are they sure she should throw in the towel. In fact, they think she may have a promising product and offer some suggestions, but, says Jay, “It doesn't sound like she's got the big tenacity gene that is necessary to be in business.”
Next we turn to a Boston-area ice cream shop that got fed up with customers abusing its mostly teenage employees and posted a blistering Facebook message telling customers, in all caps, “STOP YELLING AT MY [FREAKIN’] EMPLOYEES”—except it didn’t say freakin’. The post went viral, winning more than 230,000 likes and widespread praise. But was it smart business? Jay, Lena, and Jaci are all in favor of standing up for employees, but they have serious doubts about this particular approach. Plus: Are family and medical leave programs a burden on small businesses—or a benefit that helps them compete for employees? And if our three owners could permanently take off one of the 21 hats business owners have to wear, which hat would it be? The episode is brought to you by Grasshopper Bank.
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About 21 Hats Podcast
The 21 Hats Podcast presents an authentic weekly conversation with small business owners who are remarkably willing to share what’s working for them and what isn’t. Unlike many business podcasts, which tend to talk to highly successful entrepreneurs whose struggles are in the past, the 21 Hats Podcast features a rotating cast of business owners who are still very much in the trenches fighting the good fight. Every week, our regulars gather to talk about the kinds of important issues many owners won’t even discuss behind closed doors: whether their businesses are as profitable as they should be, whether they are willing to give up some control to an investor in order to grow faster, why they had to lay off employees, how they wound up with way too much inventory, why they don’t have a succession plan, and even why they are concerned about their own mental health. Visit 21hats.com to hear all of our podcast episodes, read episode transcripts, and learn more. The show is produced by Jess Thoubboron, founder of Blank Word.
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