Jay Goltz: The Hard Truths About Growth, Hiring, and Profitability

Hiring Better. Pricing for Profit. Growing with Intention.

In this episode of Growing with Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with Jay Goltz, Founder and CEO of The Goltz Group and the entrepreneur who coined the term “Small Giants,” about the hard-earned lessons behind building a great company.

Looking back on nearly five decades in business, Jay shares how his picture-framing company grew from one employee to more than 100, despite having no mentor or roadmap to follow. He reflects on the costly mistakes that shaped him as a leader, from underpricing his services and hiring the wrong people, to learning that being people-centered does not mean avoiding difficult decisions.

Jean and Jay explore what truly defines a Small Giant: caring for customers, treating employees well, protecting the profitability of the business, and never allowing growth to undermine those priorities. They also discuss navigating changing markets, preparing for succession, and why founders should stop worshipping the “growth gods” and instead build businesses that remain aligned with the lives they want to lead.

Key themes include:

Hiring the right people through strong, intentional processes

Pricing for profit instead of competing to be the cheapest

Why rapid growth does not always mean a healthy business

Staying focused on customers when things go wrong

Why people-centered leadership still requires difficult decisions

Being kind without becoming a pushover

Choosing aligned growth over worshipping the “growth gods”