AUGUST 2026
Hiring is tough for small and midsize businesses. 
Good candidates have options, employees are 
more selective and SMBs often compete with 
larger companies offering bigger salaries, better 
benefits and clearer career paths.
So, how can your business stand out if you don’t 
have the deepest pockets?
Build a workplace people want to be part of.
That’s what Arnie Malham, founder of cj 
Advertising and Legal Intake Professionals, 
learned while growing companies in a highly 
specific niche: advertising and intake services for 
personal injury law firms. Speaking to attendees 
of TMT’s Q1 Producers Club meeting, Malham 
shared how difficult it was to recruit talent 
into an industry that wasn’t always an obvious 
first choice.
“I had a business where recruiting was really 
hard,” Malham said. “So, creating a culture that 
gave people a reason to be at work was part of 
how we grew our business.”
For SMB leaders, that lesson matters. You may 
not be able to outspend larger competitors, but 
you can create a culture where people feel seen, 
valued and motivated to stay.
And when good people stay, the whole business 
feels it. Customers get better service, teams work 
with less friction, and leaders spend less time 
replacing employees and more time growing 
the company.
Your culture is a mirror
For years, Malham believed his culture problems 
were caused by everyone else.
“I spent years believing that the problem was my 
people. If only they understood. If they just came 
with a better attitude. If they just showed up when 
they were supposed to. It was all their fault.”
But culture doesn’t fix itself. It reflects what 
leadership allows, rewards, ignores and models 
every day.
“The bad news for everybody in this room is 
you are leadership,” Malham said. “The culture 
you have right now, the one that exists in your 
company right now is the one you absolutely 
deserve and there is no way around it.”
That may sting, but it’s also empowering. If 
culture reflects leadership, leaders can change it.
Turn culture from a buzzword 
into a system
According to Malham, one of the first steps in 
building a strong culture is giving it a name. 
A name makes culture more than a vague idea. 
It gives your team something to talk about, 
contribute to and protect.
At Malham’s company, they called it 
“Camel Culture.”
Camel Culture wasn’t one single perk. It was 
a collection of rituals, rewards and habits that 
made the company feel distinct, including profit 
sharing, a dog-friendly office, a Better Book Club 
and tenure-based rewards.
That’s an important point for SMBs: culture isn’t 
built through one big gesture. It’s built through 
repeated moments that tell employees, “You 
matter here.”
Employee morale is customer 
experience in disguise
Malham also used morale surveys to understand 
how employees were really feeling. When he 
addressed the issues employees raised, morale 
improved. When morale improved, customer 
ratings improved too.
A frustrated, burned-out team will eventually 
affect service quality, response times, sales 
conversations and customer retention.
Culture is not a soft issue
For SMBs, the takeaway is clear: you don’t need 
flashy perks or a massive HR budget. You need 
a culture that is clear, consistent and true to the 
kind of business you want to run.
Because when your people want to stay, your 
customers can feel it. And when your customers 
can feel it, your business is stronger.
HOW SMB LEADERS CAN BUILD 
A WORKPLACE PEOPLE DON’T 
WANT TO LEAVE 
ARNIE MALHAM ON GROWING COMPANIES
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