{"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":"Would You Rather Risk Losing a Client or an Employee?","slug":"would-you-rather-risk-losing-a-client-or-an-employee","published_at":"2026-06-09T09:00:23+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/21-hats-podcast-502638/would-you-rather-risk-losing-a-client-or-an-employee","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/21-hats-podcast-502638","url":"https://21hats.com/would-you-rather-risk-losing-a-client-or-an-employee/","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72425578/21_hats_episode_297_stereo.mp3","summary":"This week, Sarah Segal, Jaci Russo, and Lena McGuire tackle a question many service business owners face: Which is the bigger risk—an employee who feels overburdened or a client who feels neglected? The discussion begins with Sarah explaining why she's had to reestablish boundaries with some clients who were texting and calling her employees after hours and bypassing the systems her agency has put in place. Sarah wants her team to be able to disconnect at the end of the day, and she wants clients communicating with the entire team assigned to their account—not developing overly close relationships with individual employees. In her view, protecting employees from burnout ultimately leads to better service for clients. Jaci approaches the challenge very differently. Her creative staff rarely communicate directly with clients. Instead, account managers serve as the sole point of contact, much like restaurant servers relaying orders between diners and the kitchen. The goal is to protect specialists from interruptions, keep them focused on their work, and ensure that client communication remains clear and consistent. The result is a lively conversation about competing priorities, client expectations, employee well-being, and the hidden risks that can emerge when clients become too dependent on individual employees. Plus: Have you ever had an employee leave and take clients with them?","meta_description":"This week, Sarah Segal, Jaci Russo, and Lena McGuire tackle a question many service business owners face: Which is the bigger risk—an employee who feels o…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3060,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/21-hats-podcast-502638/episodes/would-you-rather-risk-losing-a-client-or-an-employee/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/would-you-rather-risk-losing-a-client-or-an-employee.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}