If You Don’t Intentionally Build Culture, You’ll Accidentally Lose It – Top Entrepreneurs Podcast

Erin Stahla, Co-owner of Stahla Services, a nationwide provider of restroom, shower, and ADA trailer rentals again joins Enterprise Radio. Erin will discuss the importance of being intentional when building company culture.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Erin Stahla discuss the following:

(Host Eric Dye): What does “building culture intentionally” actually look like day-to-day — especially for a small but growing team?

(Guest Erin Stahla): Man, yeah, I think it’s different in a lot of cases, but there’s a few different things that really show through in multiple businesses. Sometimes it looks like a team meeting, a phone call, or an in person conversation, but just making sure that you’re building culture intentionally is something that you have to make sure the team understands that culture is important to you. It’s important to the team. It’s important to maybe that department that you’re leading and as soon as they understand that culture is important, you have to start setting out what does culture mean to your company and to your team. It’s making sure that they understand what the goals are for the company and the core values specifically in which to reach those goals. So setting up guidelines and goals, those are two really big ones in the culture and you’re really just the person. Each person is a culture setter and that can either be negative or positive. There’s typically no neutral culture setters that you’re either like you’re on one spectrum or the other, so quickly identifying if somebody’s a positive culture center or a negative one and leaning in to those people that or are just organically positive and wanting to help you build that culture is such a big move.

(Host Eric Dye): Would you recommend establishing company core values and if so, why?

(Guest Erin Stahla): Oh, absolutely. Huge proponent for core values. It’s something that we use very strategically and often to build the culture. It’s kind of the language and the wording that we have surrounded our culture with. So for us we have three main core values and it’s something that we we hire off of. We fire off of. We have conversations, training or disciplinary based off of those. When we’re onboarding, we onboard people with those core values. When we do 30-60-90 day reviews, we do core values review and it’s just something that hey, are we actually acting out these core values? They have to be true. They have to be who we are, if there’s not a set of goals that we hope to really achieve someday, it has to be who we are, what we live and breathe every day, and the people that are on board with those core values are gonna go far and fast with you. And you’ll be able to identify that much more quickly by establishing core values and linking those to your culture directly.

(Host Eric Dye): In your experience, what are early warning signs that a company’s culture is starting to slip?

(Guest Erin Stahla): Yeah, this can be kind of a scary moment. So I think, well, one of the more frustrating answers I think is you just start to get a feeling. I think many leaders, owners have just started to get a feeling before and it’s hard to describe where you just think that you just at some point you know there’s been a shift and it’s not towards something better. You wake up just knowing that hey, we’ve got to take action on this, so hopefully you don’t get to that point, but I know. I mean we have before and it’s just something that is it’s very frustrating when you realize that we’ve taken a lot of precautions and put in a lot of proactive measures because of that. So it was a great learning opportunity for us, but I think another way that you’ll start to feel your company’s culture slipping is if you start to hear just even overhearing conversations or reading emails or you know, seeing how your team interacts with customers or interact with each other. You’re going to start to hear how they talk to each other. You’re going to start to hear the words that they use and if those are aligning with your core values, you’re going to understand that very quickly. So and then of course the the sad part about that is then it overflows into your customers, right? So it doesn’t just stay within your team, but it overflows. So that’s the bad news of when you have kind of a negative culture and it starts to break down. But the positive side of that is when you have a great culture that’s thriving, that also spills over into your customer base and they feel the positive impact of a great culture.

(Host Eric Dye): What does it cost a leader emotionally when culture breaks down?

(Guest Erin Stahla): Man, this can be really tough. I think oftentimes people think that they’re setting a culture very specifically when in fact the team feels ambiguous on what they’re going after. Though it can lead to when you start feeling that breakdown, it can sometimes lead to years of rebuilding what was lost. That’s a very frustrating feeling, but that’s just an honest answer of you may have to turn some of your team over or really have some very specific conversations saying, hey, our culture is here and that was never the intent and some of that is on leadership for sure. But each person in this organization is going to have to take ownership for where we are. So, so let’s talk about it. We’re here and we need to get to here. How are we as a team going to shift that forward and how are you as an individual going to work on the team to accomplish that? So that’s one thing you can kind of strategically do. It cost a leader emotionally just because you come to that point where, yeah, total frustration. You’re not OK with it! What you’ve been building, you feel like you’re going in circles. And none of that is really what anyone wants to experience. Obviously so, but the good news is that you can still bring it back to where you intended it to be in the 1st place, so that really comes through. A lot of repeated conversations. It’s gonna feel like you’re having that same conversation over and over and over again, but each employee, each team member, each leadership team member, each peer, we all need to be talking about this with each other and making a dedicated effort to turn that ship around and make sure that we’re going towards a place that we can all be proud of at the end of the day.

(Host Eric Dye): Why is building a strong, positive culture worth it?

(Guest Erin Stahla): I think it’s because you want to be proud of what you’re creating. You want a team who’s proud of where they work. You want to make sure that your days are spent on something worthwhile, and if you’re showing up to a culture that doesn’t reflect what you want or who you are, who you want to become, that’s a problem. People lose motivation, they lose interest in working for a company like that. You just become very neutral and nobody wants to be in that space. Nobody wants to play in that space, so making sure that you’re setting goals for the team. You’re clearly outlining what that’s going to take to get there, because once you get to that place of a positive culture, your whole team has become going to become guardians of that because they realize what they have and what you have all created together and nobody wants to lose it then. So yeah, building a strong culture is so, so worth it. And you’re going to also start hearing that through team conversations and emails and how people are treating each other and just in the positive way. So don’t give up on it.

Tune into our ALL ABOUT Stahla Services Podcast Series – right here.

About Grant & Erin Stahla

Grant and Erin Stahla are entrepreneurs passionate about redefining portable sanitation and creating a business that reflects their values—care for people, excellence in service, and faith-driven leadership.

Their journey began with a shared passion for business, which became the foundation of their relationship. While most couples start with small talk, Grant and Erin’s first date was spent discussing sales, marketing, and operations. Grant launched Stahla Services right out of college, and Erin joined him in the business after they got married. Together, they’ve built a company that not only delivers exceptional service but also prioritizes strong relationships—with customers, employees, and the community.

Beyond their work, Grant and Erin are committed to personal growth, mentoring young entrepreneurs, and giving back through their support of Love Justice International, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing human trafficking. Their business is an extension of their mission to serve others while fostering a life centered on faith, family, and integrity.

About Stahla Services

At Stahla Services, we believe restrooms should be more than just a necessity. That’s why we provide restroom and shower trailer rentals that offer a clean, comfortable, and premium experience for event guests, construction crews, and businesses alike.

Unlike standard porta-potties, our facilities feel more like high-end hotel restrooms, featuring:

✅ Climate control for comfort in any season
✅ Fresh running water and modern fixtures
✅ Spacious, spotless interiors with fully stocked supplies

Whether you are hosting a wedding, managing a construction site, or organizing a corporate event, we deliver reliable service with a commitment to excellence. Our team ensures that your restroom experience is seamless, from setup to pickup, so you can focus on what matters most.

Beyond business, we’re driven by a purpose—to do things the right way, give back to those in need, and create opportunities for growth. With every rental, a portion of our profits supports Love Justice International in their fight against human trafficking.

At Stahla Services, we’re more than just a restroom rental company—we’re a team dedicated to providing comfort, reliability, and care in every interaction.