Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows.Welcome back to The KeyHire Small Business Podcast! This week we continue our Key Owner Stages series with Stage Three: The Curious Business Owner. If you’ve been following this series, you know that we’ve already covered the Overwhelmed Owner (the car with no wheels) and the Unsure Owner (the car with wobbly wheels). In this episode, we move to the next stage: the Curious Owner—someone who’s running a good business, has capable people in place, but is starting to hear the “squeaky wheel” and asking the right question: Do I have the leadership team to get us where we need to go? What It Means to Be a Curious Owner Curious owners aren’t in crisis. The business is moving forward. Revenue is coming in. Customers are being served. But you’ve noticed a few cracks in leadership performance. Maybe a once-reliable manager has started missing details. Maybe a loyal employee is resisting new initiatives from a stronger leader you recently hired. Or maybe you’re simply wondering whether your team has the capacity and experience to scale as bigger contracts and opportunities come your way. This stage is often marked by ambition and optimism—but also a sense of anxiety. You know things are “fine” now, but you’re also asking: What happens when the next big client signs on? Will my current team keep up—or will they hold us back? The Mistakes Curious Owners Make In this episode, we dive into the three biggest mistakes curious owners make: Waiting too long to act. Good leaders leave when they’re held back by underperformers. Trying to solve the problem internally. Adding support staff or shifting responsibilities rarely fixes capacity issues. Overvaluing loyalty. Longtime employees may be great people, but that doesn’t always mean they’re the right leaders for your next stage of growth. Corey explains why these mistakes can stall momentum and frustrate your best people—and how to avoid them by facing tough decisions head-on. How to Move Forward Being a curious owner isn’t about “throwing people away.” It’s about redefining what good leadership looks like and making sure you’re putting the right people in the right roles. Corey shares practical strategies, including: Conducting an honest audit of your leadership team. Defining roles for the business you’re building, not just the one you’re running today. Hiring leaders with the capacity to scale your company to its next revenue level. Structuring difficult but necessary conversations with loyal employees. Why This Stage Matters The Curious stage is one of the most pivotal in the Key Owner Stages framework. Done well, it sets your business up for explosive growth. Done poorly—or delayed too long—it risks losing great talent and missing opportunities. If you’ve ever thought, “We’re good now, but can we handle what’s next?”—this episode is for you. Connect with the Experts  Follow us on YouTube @keyhiresolutions, Facebook @keyhiresolutions, and Instagram @keyhiresolutions.   Follow Corey on LinkedIn @Corey Harlock  Be KeyHire's Next Success Story: https://bit.ly/KHSuccess 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

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