When you wake up each morning, your to-do list is already too long. But what if, instead of doing “a little bit of everything,” you tackled your most threatening problem first? I call that eating the frog. It’s hard, unpleasant, but transformative.

In conversations with dozens of business owners, I ask: “What’s holding you back?” The answers are many—rising costs, poor hires, weak customer flow. But rarely is the most serious risk obvious. The frog is the one issue that, if ignored, could sink your business in six months.

What’s your business’s frog?

You might name inflation, talent shortage, or declining leads. Those are real challenges. But the frog is the one that carries existential weight. For many small businesses today, hiring and retention is that frog. Markets are tight. Talented individuals have multiple options. Legacy staff often leave faster than you can train new ones.

According to The Economist, labor challenges are among the biggest drags on employer profitability. That tracks with what I’ve seen firsthand helping companies build content strategy and branding systems that only succeed once staffing stabilizes.

When the obvious isn’t the frog

Sometimes, the riskiest challenge isn’t the one you see. Maybe marketing looks weak, or costs are rising—but if you fail to hire or retain your team, everything else collapses. When resources are constrained, you must prioritize wisely. Not doing so dilutes your impact and wastes time.

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How to eat the hiring frog: 5 moves

• Prioritize skills over credentials: Hire for attitude and train for skill.
• Offer competitive pay and benefits: Quality candidates have choices. Pay like you mean it.
• Invest heavily in your top performers: Retention is your defense. Flexibility and career paths matter more than perks.
• Hire slow; fire fast: Don’t drag out under-performance.
• Hire through referrals: Strong employees bring strong networks.

Spend 90 days eating that frog. Once staffing is stable, identify the next frog. 

Your homework

This week:

1. Pinpoint your frog. Which issue could kill your business if unresolved?
2. Act on it. If hiring is the frog, choose one of the five moves.
3. Review related lessons. See branding mistakes small businesses must avoid and content strategy frameworks for reinforcing your narrative once the team is strong.

Because growth doesn’t come from doing everything. It comes after you learn to eat the frog.