Hiring Help?

[N.B. DECKS 14]

I am up in the air about hiring help. Right now I have plenty of work to hire some help, I just don't know if it's the right time. If I do the work the work myself and with one other guy I make more profit, But if I hire 2-4 people to do the work and I spend my time on doing estimate (which is my ultimate goal) I make less but get the work done quicker. I guess I was wondering how long into your businesses did you higher workers, how many you started out with, and how it helped or affected the bottom line?

[PressurePros 249]

The text book answer is hire people as soon as you can so your business can keep going if you get hurt. The reality is you may want to systemize all your cleaning and staining procedures so that you can train someone quickly. Plan on spending about 25-30% of your gross on labor if you want to get out of the field.

[fireandrain 39]

The text book answer is hire people as soon as you can so your business can keep going if you get hurt.

Kens got it there. I agree. This has weighed heavily on my mind the last year. I have usually worked alone. My philosophy is that I would rather wait until I have really dialed in my 'system' before imparting it on a crew. Having said that, I had help last week and found that it was quite easy to delegate tasks. I'm not ready to let a guy near high pressure or stain spraying, but it was sure swell having a guy manage all of the hoses (load out/load up), hang tarps, put tarps away, touch-up work, sink screws, and sand furred out verts.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Being the laborer yourself ties you to the everyday tasks. The sooner you get someone trained the better it is for you to keep growing your company. While you should stay in touch with the methods and techniques used to do the work, you should cross train always to eliminate the reliance upon any one individual (including yourself) in the event that person is not available (sick, injured, quit...)

There is a saying in business that I have adopted that speaks loud to an owner: You should be working on your business and not just in the business.

I had different helpers the first year but the 2nd year I started hiring people. Things were growing too fast to be the main work force and in doing so, I could not keep up with the demand we created.

A lot of development needed to happen especially in the corporate structure and marketing. Nothing came pre-assembled or templated well to our business model so we had to customize nearly everything to specifications we made. Each business can be like a fingerprint and that's the beauty of it, we can make it as unique as we like.

I met a gentleman a few years ago who told me that when he came full circle, he would like to go from being a big company to just him and a helper because he enjoyed the work and didn't want to separate from it. Each person is unique in their aspirations and it is up to you to grow it how you want but in the end, you have to be happy with what you create.

Rod!~

[fireandrain 39]

Great input as always Rod. Very inspired by what you and Ken have shared on this topic. I'm feeling ready more than ever to start the 'letting go' process. I have previously been OK with doing so much of the work myself considering the profitability factor. Bottom line is that it becomes irrelevant how much you make on one big fish of a job one day if an injury or illness renders you out of commission for the next 14! Spread that big haul out over 14 days and you may as well be a cashier at Target. Wise words Ken and Rod! Thanks