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Your health insurance renewal hits, and suddenly the math doesn’t work: premiums climb faster than inflation, one big claim can blow up a small group plan, and specialty drug costs keep stacking the deck against predictability. We talk through why this trend is not a quick blip and why more business owners are getting cornered into hard choices that can even block raises. If you’ve ever thought, “Our benefits cost is becoming unsustainable,” you’re not the only one.

Alice Rhodes and I walk through what it really means to deconstruct your benefits and rebuild a plan that actually fits the business you’re running today. That includes the three common paths we see when a traditional group health plan stops making sense: eliminating coverage, providing a healthcare stipend (simple, but taxable), or shifting to an Individual Coverage HRA (ICRA), where employees choose their own individual plans and the employer reimburses a defined amount in a tax-advantaged way. We also get real about the employee experience on individual plans, including narrow networks, doctor and hospital differences between group and individual products, and why hands-on guidance can be the difference between a smooth transition and a frustrated team.

We also cover the “gotchas” leaders need to know, like COBRA obligations with ICRAs, how ACA rules treat different approaches, when ICRA admin fees can erase savings for very small employers, and how voluntary benefits like dental, vision, disability, accident, and critical illness can add value when medical coverage changes. If you want more predictable costs without “feeding employees to the wolves,” this conversation gives you a clear framework for deciding what fits.

Subscribe for more practical benefit strategy conversations, share this with a business owner who is staring down a renewal, and leave a review if it helped. What’s the biggest question you have about ICRAs, stipends, or replacing a group plan?

🎙️ Connect with Chrissy Myers and discover how resilience, expertise, and community can transform your world:

🔗 Follow Chrissy on LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes insights, leadership tips, and updates on her journey as the CEO of two thriving businesses.

📘 Grab your copy of 'Reluctantly Resilient' to learn how Chrissy turned challenges into opportunities and how you can do the same in your life and business.

🤝 Explore Clarity HR and discover how Chrissy’s team simplifies HR for small businesses, giving you peace of mind to focus on what matters most.

💼 Visit AUI to see how Chrissy's employee benefits expertise can help you build a healthier, happier workforce.

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The next big break in your career probably won’t come from a perfect strategy deck. It’ll come from a person who trusts you, remembers you, and is willing to make an introduction when the moment is right. That’s why we dig into relationship building as a real leadership skill, not a cringe networking chore.

I’m joined by Stephanie Smith, Director of Engagement and Impact at Leadership Akron and a certified Gallup CliftonStrengths coach. We talk about what effective networking actually looks like when you remove the awkward scripts and focus on mutual trust, respect, and genuine curiosity. Stephanie shares how relationships have shaped her own path, including a story that shows how quickly a strong connection can open a surprising door for your family, not just your business.

From there, we move into strengths-based leadership and why CliftonStrengths is so useful for self-awareness, team performance, and long-term professional development. We break down what strengths measure (the “how,” not the “what”), how teams benefit when people understand what others need to do their best work, and why you can be sharp as an individual while building a well-rounded team. We also talk practical leadership development habits, including micro-learning, community-based learning, and whether your strengths can change over time based on your role and state of mind.

If you want better business relationships, stronger leadership presence, and a strengths-based approach to growing your team, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a leader who hates “networking,” and leave a review with your top strength and the relationship you’ll invest in next.

🎙️ Connect with Chrissy Myers and discover how resilience, expertise, and community can transform your world:

🔗 Follow Chrissy on LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes insights, leadership tips, and updates on her journey as the CEO of two thriving businesses.

📘 Grab your copy of 'Reluctantly Resilient' to learn how Chrissy turned challenges into opportunities and how you can do the same in your life and business.

🤝 Explore Clarity HR and discover how Chrissy’s team simplifies HR for small businesses, giving you peace of mind to focus on what matters most.

💼 Visit AUI to see how Chrissy's employee benefits expertise can help you build a healthier, happier workforce.

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Your business starts growing, and you think the hard part is sales, operations, and delivery. Then the real friction hits: the people side. The mood changes, long-time employees get uneasy, new hires shift the dynamics, and suddenly, “we’ve always done it this way” becomes the loudest voice in the room. We sit down with Julie Wheeler, HR business partner at Clarity HR, to unpack why growth puts pressure on culture and what to do before it turns into turnover, mistrust, or a leadership mess.

Julie and I talk about the early signs of culture drift that owners often miss, and why pushback is frequently a symptom of uncertainty and poor communication rather than a bad attitude. Julie breaks down how to bring your team along with a clear roadmap, better expectations, and real two-way listening so people do not feel like their workplace changed overnight without them. If you are scaling a small business, hiring fast, or expanding into new regions, these HR and leadership fundamentals protect your culture.

We also tackle one of the most sensitive moments in any growing company: promotions. When a new hire moves up quickly because they have proven leadership skills, tenured employees can read it as unfair unless you explain readiness and build transparent development paths. We dig into practical tools like career tiers, training for leadership and soft skills, clearer org charts, and how business owners must keep growing too by delegating and communicating differently as complexity rises.

If this hits close to home, subscribe for more conversations on small business leadership and healthy scaling, share this with a fellow owner, and leave a review so more leaders can find it. What people challenge are you facing right now as you grow?

🎙️ Connect with Chrissy Myers and discover how resilience, expertise, and community can transform your world:

🔗 Follow Chrissy on LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes insights, leadership tips, and updates on her journey as the CEO of two thriving businesses.

📘 Grab your copy of 'Reluctantly Resilient' to learn how Chrissy turned challenges into opportunities and how you can do the same in your life and business.

🤝 Explore Clarity HR and discover how Chrissy’s team simplifies HR for small businesses, giving you peace of mind to focus on what matters most.

💼 Visit AUI to see how Chrissy's employee benefits expertise can help you build a healthier, happier workforce.