In less than 20 minutes a week, we'll introduce you to an expert or business owner with deep experience in what they do. Grow you, grow your team, grow a small business. Welcome to the "Grow a Small Business" podcast with your host, Rob Cameron. In this episode, Rob interviews Brandi Marek from Ferguson Alliance based in Texas, United States. In this podcast episode, Brandi Marek, a seasoned expert from Ferguson Alliance, shares her insights on navigating challenges in family-owned businesses and transforming company culture for success. She highlights the importance of an intentional culture, the value of third-party perspectives, and practical strategies for small business owners.  Some Key Takeaways for Small Business Owners: Seeking a Third-Party Perspective: Brandi emphasizes the importance of gaining a fresh, unbiased perspective on your business. Whether it's through advisors or new hires, inviting external viewpoints can help you overcome internal biases and move your business forward. Intentional Culture Shaping: The discussion revolves around the significance of shaping and nurturing your company's culture intentionally. Understanding and addressing cultural issues within your team can lead to positive shifts and a more engaged workforce. Effective Communication: Effective communication is at the core of any successful business. Brandi highlights that communication is a universal challenge and shares how they help businesses address this issue. She explains the value of behavioral assessments, team development, and opening channels for dialogue to create an environment where employees are fulfilled and motivated. Our hero’s write kick-ass reviews after listening to our special guests. Are you our hero? Proactive Problem Solving: A client scenario is shared where a company recognized the need to transform its culture. They tackled this by conducting surveys and facilitating open discussions with employees to identify areas of improvement. The outcome was a company culture that aligned with their vision and values. Flexibility and Learning from New Hires: Brandi suggests considering new hires as a source of fresh insights. Instead of immediately assimilating them into your existing practices, allow them to observe and provide their assessment of your business. This approach can uncover untapped potential for growth and improvement. One action small business owners can take: Brandi Marek suggests one action small business owners can take is bringing in new team members and allowing them to assess the business objectively. Encourage them to share their fresh perspectives, which can provide valuable insights and potential for positive change. Do you have 2 minutes every Friday? Sign up to the Weekly Leadership Email. It's free and we can tell you to maximise your time. Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey. ?   Quotable quotes from our special Grow A Small Business podcast guest:   Being open to change and finding better ways of doing things is key to growth and success - Brandi Marek A third-party perspective can unveil critical insights for business growth - Brandi Marek You can afford it and swing it to really get some type of third party perspective on your business because it is always going to tell you the things that you need to know -  Brandi Marek Embrace change for a thriving business journey - Brandi Marek