Building the Brand of a "Business of Choice"

August 24, 2026

Why the Best Recruiting Efforts Happen Before You Need To Recruit

Hiring has become one of the most difficult challenges in the business world. If you own or manage a business, you've probably been there. Someone gives notice, business picks up unexpectedly, or you simply realize that your current team can't keep carrying the load. Suddenly, you need someone. Not three months from now. You need them now.

You post the opening, tell your employees to spread the word, and start looking for the right person. You're already short-handed and feeling the pressure to make a hire. So you’re behind the 8-ball from the start.

There's certainly nothing wrong with advertising an open position. But we've come to believe that some of the best and most important recruiting happens long before there's a position to advertise.

At Bullseye Activewear and Promotions, we work with local businesses and organizations throughout our community and across the country. We're often helping a company welcome new employees.

• We're outfitting a crew so they look and feel like a team.
• We're helping an employer recognize people who have been there for five, ten, or twenty years.
• We're creating something for an employee appreciation event or helping a business find a meaningful way to say thank you.

In other words, we get a pretty interesting window into how local businesses build relationships with their people.

And since we're a local employer ourselves, we know firsthand how difficult it can be to find and to keep good people.

That's why we think recruiting deserves to be viewed as something bigger than filling the next open position. Here are a few things we’re thinking about when it comes to employment, hiring, and team culture.

What Does Your Community Know About You as an Employer?

Think about the companies that never seem to have trouble attracting applicants. Disney, Google, Apple, Southwest Airlines. People want to work there before a job is even available.

That's branding. They’ve become known as a business that people want to work for. A “Business of Choice”.

Which begs the question: What do people know about you?

Do they see a company that's growing and doing interesting work? Do they see employees who seem to enjoy being there? Do they see you supporting local organizations, showing up in the community and treating people well? When your employees talk about work at the ballfield, at church, at a restaurant or around the dinner table, what story are they telling?

None of those things is a recruiting campaign. All of them affect recruiting.

You are creating an employment brand whether you're intentionally managing it or not. The businesses that understand that aren't starting from zero when they need to hire. People in the community already have some idea of who they are and what it might be like to work there.

The goal is to become one of those businesses people mention when someone says, “I'd really like to find a good place to work.”

Your Current Employees May Be Your Best Recruiting Strategy

Before investing more money and energy into finding the next employee, it's worth asking what you're doing to keep the good people you already have.

Replacing an employee is expensive, not including the cost of the ad. There's time spent interviewing, hiring, and training. There's the lost productivity while a new person learns the job. And there's the less measurable impact on the rest of your team when good people continually come and go.

Retention begins with bigger things than promotional products. People want to be respected. They want good leadership. They want to know what's expected of them, have the tools to do their jobs well, and feel that their contribution matters.

No shirt, coffee mug or employee gift fixes a bad culture. But the little things matter when they're expressions of a good one.

We've seen the difference thoughtful onboarding can make. Imagine arriving for your first day and having your company apparel ready for you instead of feeling like the new person who hasn't quite joined the team yet. A welcome kit with a few useful branded items isn't going to determine whether someone stays for ten years, but it sends an immediate message: We knew you were coming. We're glad you're here. You're one of us now.

The same principle continues after that first day.

Recognizing an anniversary matters. Celebrating a team accomplishment matters. Occasionally surprising people with something they'll actually enjoy using matters. Making sure the apparel bearing your company name is something employees are proud to wear matters.

Build the Reputation Before You Need It

Some businesses ask, “How do we find good employees?”

Perhaps we should be asking “How do we become the kind of company good employees want to find?” instead.

That may be a better long-term proposition. It means telling your company's story even when you aren't hiring. It means letting people see the work you do and the people who do it. It means being visible in your community. It means treating the employees you already have in a way that makes them comfortable recommending your company to someone they care about.

Then, when you do have an opening, you're not introducing yourself for the first time. You're inviting someone to become part of something they've already seen.

We're Working On It, Too

We don't write any of this because Bullseye has hiring completely figured out. We're a local business dealing with many of the same challenges as the businesses we serve.

But we do know the kind of company we want Bullseye to be, and how we want others to think of us when they do.

We want to be known as a hardworking local business that cares about its customers, its community, and the people who come to work here every day. We want people who share those values to know who we are. And we want them to want to work here because of those expectations.

That's something we see our best customers working at, too.

Maybe that's the real lesson we've learned from having a front-row seat to so many great local businesses: The best companies don't start recruiting when they need someone. They're building a place people want to be all along.

How can we help? For more information about building a brand that people want to be involved with, reach out and let’s talk. We’ll show you some things that can help tell the right story, to the right people, for the right reasons.