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This week, The KeyHire Small Business Podcast breaks new ground with our first-ever Expert Roundtable—and it’s one you don’t want to miss. Host Corey Harlock brings together three powerhouse guests, each known for driving real results inside growing companies: Kurt Uhlir, CMO of Easy Home Search and champion of servant leadership; Young Han, fractional CFO and founder of Thesis; and Simone Janssen, founder of Bulletproof Business Growth.

Together, they pull back the curtain on what’s really working for small business owners today. From smarter hiring and performance tracking to practical ways to integrate AI, this conversation delivers the kind of candid, experience-driven advice you can actually use on Monday morning.

If you’ve ever struggled with hiring, felt overwhelmed by KPIs, or wondered how AI actually fits into your business, this episode is your playbook.

The roundtable kicks off with a simple but powerful question: What’s one business decision you wish you had made sooner? Kurt leads with an answer that hits home for every business owner—stop hiring for pedigree and start hiring for potential. Simone follows with a reality check on leadership and accountability, reminding us that great hiring doesn’t end at onboarding. And Young brings financial clarity to the table, explaining how chasing “big names” can cost more than it delivers when your company is still in the early growth stages.

From there, the conversation moves into metrics and performance. Simone calls out one of the biggest blind spots in small business: mistaking revenue for success. Young goes deep on understanding contribution margins and how knowing the true profitability of each product or service can completely change your growth strategy. Kurt ties it all together with his approach to building referral-driven businesses—because nothing scales faster than happy customers who keep sending new ones your way.

Just when you think the discussion has hit its peak, the group turns to AI and how it’s reshaping small business operations. Young shares stories from clients developing AI-powered avatars that can train, coach, and sell. Simone talks about the real win—getting entire teams to use AI to solve problems and generate solutions before bringing them to leadership. Kurt pulls the curtain back on how Easy Home Search trained AI models to replicate their top-performing reps, multiplying productivity and consistency across the board.

The result is an honest, energizing conversation that connects strategy, leadership, and innovation in a way that feels both accessible and actionable. You’ll come away with ideas you can implement immediately and insights that will change how you think about hiring, tracking, and scaling.

Highlights you’ll hear:

• Why hiring for adaptability beats hiring for experience
• The three overlooked KPIs every business owner should track
• How to implement AI without losing the human touch that drives connection and trust

The first KeyHire Expert Roundtable sets the tone for what’s next in small business growth.

Connect with the Experts
Learn More about Kurt: https://kurtuhlir.com/

Learn More about Simone: https://bul

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