You ever wake up, look at your calendar, and feel that sinking feeling in your gut? That dread knowing you’ve got a call with someone you just… don’t vibe with? Yeah. I’ve been there. And it took me longer than I’d like to admit realizing that feeling meant I hired wrong.
Here’s the thing nobody tells you when you’re building a business. You can have the best funnel, the cleanest offer, the most dialed-in content, and still feel completely miserable if you’re surrounded by the wrong people. That’s what this episode is all about.
In this solo episode, I’m breaking down what I call the Beer Test. It’s the single most important filter I run every potential hire, client, and mastermind member through. It’s simple, it’s maybe a little silly, but I promise you it works. And if you’ve ever made a bad hire, or you’re terrified of making one, this is the episode you need to hear.
The core idea is this. If I couldn’t sit around a campfire, crack open a beer, and genuinely enjoy an hour of uninterrupted conversation with this person, I’m not bringing them into my world. No resume, no portfolio, no fancy credentials are going to override that gut check. Skills can be trained. Character can’t.
I get real in this episode about the mistakes I made early on in the Happy Hustle. I was working with people who were perfectly qualified on paper but had nothing in common with me or the culture I was building. Corporate grinders who wanted a business, clients I had zero connection with. The conversations were flat. The energy was off. And it dragged everything down. The moment I started filtering for personality first and skills second, everything shifted.
There are also some cold hard numbers in here that’ll wake you up fast. According to the US Department of Labor, one bad hire can cost you 30% of that person’s first year salary. At the executive level, we’re talking up to $240,000 in lost productivity, churn, and opportunity cost. That’s real money walking out the door because you skipped the right filter. Most entrepreneurs spend more time picking out a truck than they do choosing a teammate. That stops now.
The other thing I want you to think about is contagion. One person with bad energy, bad habits, or a bad attitude doesn’t just underperform. They drag the whole team down with them. Late on tasks, missing meetings, not following through. It spreads. And by the time you realize what’s happening, the damage is done.
The Beer Test is my answer to all of that. It’s not about whether someone’s a perfect culture fit on paper. It’s about whether I genuinely enjoy their company. Whether they’ve got their own perspective, bring real energy, and are the kind of person I’d actually want to spend time with. Because I do spend time with them. A lot of it. And life’s too short to spend it working with people who drain you.
So if you want to build a business you actually look forward to running, one where you open your calendar and get excited about who you’re talking to that day, this one’s for you.
Head over to caryjack.com/podcastin to listen to the full episode and hear me break down the Beer Test in full detail.
Connect with Cary!
Get a copy of his new book, The Happy Hustle, 10 Alignments to Avoid Burnout & Achieve Blissful Balance
Sign up for The Journey: 10 Days To Become a Happy Hustler Online Course
Apply to the Montana Mastermind Epic Camping Adventure
“It’s time to Happy Hustle, a blissfully balanced life you love, full of passion, purpose, and positive impact!”
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