Keeping the people you'd hate to lose
Your top two performers are leaving in 18 months unless you do something specific about it.
Know who they are, on paper
List your team in order of who you'd most regret losing. The top two get a different retention strategy than the rest, not a secret one, just an intentional one.
Have the 'what would it take' conversation
Once a year, ask your top performers directly: 'If you were going to leave in the next 12 months, what would the reason be?' Most owners are afraid of the answer. The answer is the retention plan.
Pay them out of cycle
Waiting until annual review to address a top performer's pay invites a recruiter to do it first. A mid-year bump, tied to a specific accomplishment, signals what an annual review can't.
Growth paths in a small shop
You don't have 'VP' titles to hand out. You do have new responsibilities, new accounts, new skills, and equity-style upside on specific projects. Use them.
Take your version of this question further
This is one operator-tested angle on the question. Your shop, your size, your trade, and your team change the answer. Ask your specific version inside Ask a Shop Owner to get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.