Elko Rockstars Transistor (https://transistor.fm) https://feeds.transistor.fm/elko-rockstars I was 12 years old when my parents' business went under. I watched what that did to our family, and it never left me. I didn't go to college. I learned business the hard way: through mistakes, through books, and by surrounding myself with people smarter than me. I've had real wins. I've also had stretches where I seriously questioned whether I was cut out for this. Here's what I know: only about 1 in 3 businesses make it to the 10-year mark. Most don't fail because the owner wasn't smart or didn't work hard enough. They fail because nobody told them what they needed to know, about money, about people, about marketing, about how to keep the fire burning when things get hard. Elko Rockstars exists to fix that. Every episode, I sit down with a local business owner or community leader who has been through it. We talk about what went wrong, what they learned, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes. © 2026 Phoenix IT Advisors e0665927-f23c-5eed-8006-e9a3d519997c yes en Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:55:12 -0700 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:56:05 -0700 https://elkorockstars.com https://img.transistorcdn.com/BSricXAHflXUC31IrY0U7iGt0WdCW4W98jHY5vUlCak/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS81NzJh/ZmUyMzhhYmExNGE1/NjI4MDQwY2JlZTIz/ZmUxMC5wbmc.jpg Elko Rockstars https://elkorockstars.com episodic Phoenix IT Advisors I was 12 years old when my parents' business went under. I watched what that did to our family, and it never left me. I didn't go to college. I learned business the hard way: through mistakes, through books, and by surrounding myself with people smarter than me. I've had real wins. I've also had stretches where I seriously questioned whether I was cut out for this. Here's what I know: only about 1 in 3 businesses make it to the 10-year mark. Most don't fail because the owner wasn't smart or didn't work hard enough. They fail because nobody told them what they needed to know, about money, about people, about marketing, about how to keep the fire burning when things get hard. Elko Rockstars exists to fix that. Every episode, I sit down with a local business owner or community leader who has been through it. We talk about what went wrong, what they learned, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes. I was 12 years old when my parents' business went under. Entrepreneur, business, growth, marketing Justin Shelley No Yes 1. Why Elko Small Businesses Keep Losing Good Employees (And What Actually Fixes It) - with Billy Crapo 1 1 1. Why Elko Small Businesses Keep Losing Good Employees (And What Actually Fixes It) - with Billy Crapo full 56425f06-9c39-409b-ae9e-5b35e85f278a https://share.transistor.fm/s/b79d88b5 Justin Shelley -- https://elkorockstars.com/
Billy Crapo (Guest), CEO, Elko Area Chamber of Commerce -- https://www.elkonevada.com/

Episode Summary:

Billy Crapo has spent 20 years at the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce, the last 10 as CEO. She has watched Elko businesses grow, struggle, and shut their doors. In this inaugural episode of Elko Rockstars, Billy sits down with Justin Shelley to talk about the two challenges that have consistently defined small business survival in Elko for two decades: keeping people shopping local, and keeping good employees on the payroll.

This is not a theoretical conversation. Billy has seen businesses fail specifically because of bad hires, absent owners, and the quiet drain of employees who show up wrong, leave fast, or never really commit. She has also seen businesses beat those odds with practical, creative approaches that have nothing to do with matching mine salaries.

In this episode:

  • Why retention is a bigger problem than hiring, and what is actually driving it in a mining town
  • How small businesses in Elko are getting creative with schedules, split roles, and flexibility to compete where they cannot compete on pay or benefits
  • Why absentee ownership is killing otherwise great businesses in Elko, and what the Google reviews are already telling you
  • What Billy credits for keeping her own team stable and engaged for years
  • The hard truth about shopping local: if you ask this community for donations but spend your dollars in Salt Lake or Reno, people notice
  • Why young employees deserve more credit than they get, and what they actually want from the places they work

Billy is direct, funny, and refreshingly honest. She is not here to promote the Chamber. She is here to tell Elko business owners what she has actually seen work.

If you own a business in Elko and you have ever lost a great employee, hired the wrong person, or wondered why your competitor across town keeps their staff while yours keeps turning over, this episode is not optional listening.

Phoenix IT Advisors serves Elko businesses with IT support, cybersecurity, and technology strategy. Visit https://elkorockstars.com/ and mention Elko Rockstars.

]]> Justin Shelley -- https://elkorockstars.com/
Billy Crapo (Guest), CEO, Elko Area Chamber of Commerce -- https://www.elkonevada.com/

Episode Summary:

Billy Crapo has spent 20 years at the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce, the last 10 as CEO. She has watched Elko businesses grow, struggle, and shut their doors. In this inaugural episode of Elko Rockstars, Billy sits down with Justin Shelley to talk about the two challenges that have consistently defined small business survival in Elko for two decades: keeping people shopping local, and keeping good employees on the payroll.

This is not a theoretical conversation. Billy has seen businesses fail specifically because of bad hires, absent owners, and the quiet drain of employees who show up wrong, leave fast, or never really commit. She has also seen businesses beat those odds with practical, creative approaches that have nothing to do with matching mine salaries.

In this episode:

  • Why retention is a bigger problem than hiring, and what is actually driving it in a mining town
  • How small businesses in Elko are getting creative with schedules, split roles, and flexibility to compete where they cannot compete on pay or benefits
  • Why absentee ownership is killing otherwise great businesses in Elko, and what the Google reviews are already telling you
  • What Billy credits for keeping her own team stable and engaged for years
  • The hard truth about shopping local: if you ask this community for donations but spend your dollars in Salt Lake or Reno, people notice
  • Why young employees deserve more credit than they get, and what they actually want from the places they work

Billy is direct, funny, and refreshingly honest. She is not here to promote the Chamber. She is here to tell Elko business owners what she has actually seen work.

If you own a business in Elko and you have ever lost a great employee, hired the wrong person, or wondered why your competitor across town keeps their staff while yours keeps turning over, this episode is not optional listening.

Phoenix IT Advisors serves Elko businesses with IT support, cybersecurity, and technology strategy. Visit https://elkorockstars.com/ and mention Elko Rockstars.

]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0700 Phoenix IT Advisors Phoenix IT Advisors 1362 Justin Shelley -- https://elkorockstars.com/
Billy Crapo (Guest), CEO, Elko Area Chamber of Commerce -- https://www.elkonevada.com/

Episode Summary:

Billy Crapo has spent 20 years at the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce, the last 10 as CEO. She has watched Elko businesses grow, struggle, and shut their doors. In this inaugural episode of Elko Rockstars, Billy sits down with Justin Shelley to talk about the two challenges that have consistently defined small business survival in Elko for two decades: keeping people shopping local, and keeping good employees on the payroll.

This is not a theoretical conversation. Billy has seen businesses fail specifically because of bad hires, absent owners, and the quiet drain of employees who show up wrong, leave fast, or never really commit. She has also seen businesses beat those odds with practical, creative approaches that have nothing to do with matching mine salaries.

In this episode:

  • Why retention is a bigger problem than hiring, and what is actually driving it in a mining town
  • How small businesses in Elko are getting creative with schedules, split roles, and flexibility to compete where they cannot compete on pay or benefits
  • Why absentee ownership is killing otherwise great businesses in Elko, and what the Google reviews are already telling you
  • What Billy credits for keeping her own team stable and engaged for years
  • The hard truth about shopping local: if you ask this community for donations but spend your dollars in Salt Lake or Reno, people notice
  • Why young employees deserve more credit than they get, and what they actually want from the places they work

Billy is direct, funny, and refreshingly honest. She is not here to promote the Chamber. She is here to tell Elko business owners what she has actually seen work.

If you own a business in Elko and you have ever lost a great employee, hired the wrong person, or wondered why your competitor across town keeps their staff while yours keeps turning over, this episode is not optional listening.

Phoenix IT Advisors serves Elko businesses with IT support, cybersecurity, and technology strategy. Visit https://elkorockstars.com/ and mention Elko Rockstars.

]]> Entrepreneur, business, growth, marketing No