SCORE Austin Chair Shannon Black Reveals Post-COVID Hiring Tactics for Small Businesses on Rock Solid Podcast

Small business owners struggling to navigate the post-COVID labor market can gain actionable insights from Shannon Black, Chair of SCORE Austin, who recently appeared on the Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast. Hosted by Bryan Eisenberg, Episode 82 titled "Shannon Black | The Hiring Secrets Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know" was published July 14, 2026, and delivers a candid conversation on hiring, retaining, and growing a team in today's tight Central Texas labor market.

Black, a former Round Rock ISD math teacher who founded and successfully sold Sunrise Montessori, brings a systematic approach to recruiting shaped by her math background and habit of experimentation. She advises business owners to post job ads on Sunday morning rather than Thursday, explaining that it takes search engines about 24 hours to pick up the SEO in an ad. "The number one time of the week that people look for jobs are Mondays during lunchtime," Black noted, making Sunday postings ideal for visibility. She also recommends using 30 or more hashtags at the bottom of listings to enhance SEO without rewriting copy, and avoiding "masculine" language that may deter female applicants. Her screening process includes a 10-minute Zoom pre-interview with unexpected questions like "What is your favorite color?" to gauge candidate personality.

The episode opens with Black recovering from a baby rattlesnake bite sustained while gardening in Georgetown, crediting St. David's in Round Rock for the antivenom treatment that allowed her to record. Beyond hiring tactics, the conversation highlights free mentorship resources available through score.org, a national nonprofit offering over 1,000 workshops per month and virtual mentor matching. Black previewed an upcoming women's conference, a trades conference on June 13, and a four-day workshop series on valuing and selling a business. She recounted helping a client named Justin launch a successful Austin clay studio and pointed to entrepreneur Desiree Fox of V Wear Love as an example of idea-stage founders SCORE serves.

Eisenberg shared his own home care agency hiring wins after applying Black's tweaks, plus a lease near-miss rescued by Round Rock realtor Bacha Porter. The episode underscores the importance of adapting hiring strategies to the current environment, where AI-inflated resumes and rapid growth challenge company culture. For small business owners in Texas, these insights offer practical steps to improve recruitment outcomes and leverage free mentoring to build stronger teams.