Black Creek Business Coaching

No matter what business you get into, you have to work with people. Whether you’re hiring, contracting, or collaborating, navigating these relationships is essential. These interactions form the foundation of every organization and directly tie into the challenges of recruiting and retaining great talent, making it one of the most critical—and difficult—aspects of running a successful business. You hire them, contract them, provide goods and services to them, love them, hate them, and everything in between. And while there are many challenges in running a business, hiring and keeping people is, without a doubt, one of the hardest parts.

This is the first in a series of blogs that will explore the complexities of recruiting, retaining, and nurturing talent. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll dive into topics like creating a hiring process that works, building a company culture people want to be part of, managing performance, and developing systems that allow both employees and the business to thrive. But before we get into the practical strategies, I want to share why this topic is so important to me—and why it might resonate with you too.

My Journey to Understanding “The People Part”

When I first started out, the constant cycle of hiring and training new people was frustrating. It felt repetitive, unrewarding, and unproductive. Back then, it was common for employees in a creative agency to stay for around three years. Yet, we had clients who relied on us for much longer, and maintaining continuity for them required stability within our team. This disconnect became a growing pain point. For example, we once had a key client who expressed frustration that new designers wasn’t like the last designer who knew them. Their concerns highlighted how turnover within our team directly impacted the quality of service we provided and the relationships we were building with our clients. This made it clear that building a stable, long-term team was not just a nice-to-have but a necessity for sustaining strong client relationships.

That frustration is what initially led me to study business more deeply. My first foray into business education was reading The EMyth Revisited by Michael Gerber after college. To say it was eye-opening would be an understatement. It felt like Gerber had written that book just for me. It explained why my frustration existed and how systems, rather than personality or charisma, could transform my business.

Inspired, I eventually hired EMyth as our business coach. Later, I became so passionate about their philosophy that I joined them as a coach and spent eight years helping other businesses solve similar challenges before I ventured out on my own. The lessons I learned during that time not only transformed my approach to hiring and retaining talent but also deepened my understanding of why this work matters.

Why This Work Matters

The persistent challenge of recruiting and keeping people is what keeps me engaged in my business. There’s nothing more satisfying than finding amazing talent and nurturing them into the best creatives they can be. Watching someone grow within your organization, thrive in their role, and contribute to something bigger than themselves is incredibly rewarding. Over the years, I’ve successfully built teams where multiple members have stayed for over a decade. By shifting our company structure to support entire career paths rather than being a stepping stone to the next opportunity, we’ve created an environment where people feel they can grow, contribute, and belong for the long term. This approach reflects our core belief in investing in people for the long haul, fostering mutual growth and shared success, which has become a cornerstone of our business philosophy. That’s what gets me excited to tackle each day.

What to Expect from This Series

In this weekly blog series, we’ll explore the following:

1. Start with Your Values – Defining your core values not only helps you understand what kind of people you want to work with but also attracts those who align with your vision. Values serve as a compass, guiding decisions about hiring, culture, and even the way you handle challenges. Aligning values with your organization’s goals fosters a sense of purpose and belonging, which directly impacts long-term retention and strengthens company culture. Values serve as a compass, guiding decisions about hiring, culture, and even the way you handle challenges. By beginning with this clarity, you lay the groundwork for everything else in the hiring and retention process.
2. Inventory the Team You Have – Gino Wickman has developed a great tool called the People Analyzer that is quick and easy to evaluate where you currently stand with your team in his book Traction. Before you start bringing on new people, you need to take inventory of what you have.
3. Crafting a Hiring System – How to find and attract the right people, even when the talent market feels tough. In this segment, we will explore best practices for building a hiring workflow that makes you feel confident that you can hire the people you need.
4. Why You Need an Application Tracking System (ATS) –  You set the tone for your future team members during the recruiting process so you need to show up consistently from their first interaction with you. An ATS helps you do this while preserving your sanity.
5. Who should be involved in the hiring process? Everyone! – Your ability to lead directly impacts employee retention, but leading involves more than just you. Bringing on new team members is a heavy load. We will talk about how to leverage the many hands in your organization to make light work and how this improves your culture.
6. Resumes! Assessments! Interviews! Oh my! – Each stage of the hiring process serves a unique purpose in building a strong team. Resumes give you a glimpse of a candidate’s past, assessments help you measure their skills and fit for the role, and interviews offer the chance to understand their personality and potential. When combined thoughtfully, these elements create a robust strategy to “hire slow and fire fast,” ensuring you make the right decisions for your team and business success.
7. Onboarding vs. Training vs. Continuing Education – Understanding the distinct roles of onboarding, training, and continuing education is critical to employee success. Onboarding sets the tone with a strong start, training builds necessary skills, and continuing education keeps team members engaged and growing over time. In this segment, we’ll break down how to balance these elements to create a cohesive and effective development journey for your employees.
8. Mentoring and Why I Don’t Do Annual Reviews – Instead of traditional annual reviews, mentoring focuses on continuous, real-time feedback and growth. For example, one of our designers who joined as a junior accounts team member flourished into an art director and soon to be creative director under this approach. Through regular check-ins and tailored guidance, they gained confidence and honed their skills while contributing more effectively to the team. This mentoring framework has proven to foster stronger relationships, build trust, and align employees’ growth with organizational goals. We’ll discuss why this method is more effective and how you can implement it to improve your team’s performance and retention. This approach fosters stronger relationships, builds trust, and helps employees develop in ways that align with both personal and organizational goals. We’ll discuss why this method is more effective and how you can implement it to improve your team’s performance and retention.
9. It’s WHEN they leave, not IF they leave – Accepting that some turnover is inevitable and how to handle it gracefully with systems that serve you and the business.

This series is for business owners, managers, or anyone who’s struggled with building and maintaining a strong team. Together, we’ll explore actionable strategies and share insights to help make one of the hardest parts of business a little easier—and even enjoyable.

Let’s Dive In

Stay tuned for next week’s blog, where we’ll start with your values why all of the above is based on this. Until then, I’d love to hear from you: What’s been your biggest challenge with hiring or keeping people? Drop your thoughts in the comments or send me a message. Let’s start this journey together.