{"podcast":{"title":"21 Hats Podcast","slug":"21-hats-podcast-502638","podcast_index_feed_id":502638,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/4439758/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/21-hats-podcast","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/27e8ec21209a6c9a99a0f0963132b13e.jpg","author":"21 Hats","episode_count":568,"summary":"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.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-18T20:17:08.095147+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/21-hats-podcast-502638"},"episode":{"title":"Dashboard: The Problem with Retainers (and Other Lessons for Solopreneurs)","slug":"dashboard-the-problem-with-retainers-and-other-lessons-for-solopreneurs","published_at":"2026-08-07T09:01:45+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/21-hats-podcast-502638/dashboard-the-problem-with-retainers-and-other-lessons-for-solopreneurs","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/21-hats-podcast-502638","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/dashboard-the-problem-with-retainers-and-other-lessons-for-solopreneurs--73562674","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73562674/dashboard_the_problem_with_retainers_and_other_lessons_for_solopreneurs.mp3","summary":"If you've built a successful business, you've likely been told the path to more success is obvious: hire employees, land bigger clients, lock in recurring revenue with retainers. But what if those aren't signs of progress? What if they're traps?This week, I talk with Pia Silva, author of Scale Solo , who argues that many of the traditional rules of entrepreneurship simply don't apply to solopreneurs. She explains why hiring too soon can derail a business, why retainers often aren't nearly as profitable as they appear, and why she'd rather do 10 $3,000 projects than one $30,000 engagement. Along the way, Pia also tells us why she and her husband named their branding agency Worstofalldesign, why she isn't afraid to tell clients, \"You don't get a say,\" and how she's learned to sell clients on paying higher prices. This episode is brought to you by Grasshopper Bank .","meta_description":"If you've built a successful business, you've likely been told the path to more success is obvious: hire employees, land bigger clients, lock in recurring…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2031,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/21-hats-podcast-502638/episodes/dashboard-the-problem-with-retainers-and-other-lessons-for-solopreneurs/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/21-hats-podcast-502638/dashboard-the-problem-with-retainers-and-other-lessons-for-solopreneurs.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}