To take the leap or not??

[irishroey]

I suppose this is more towards any of us on here that are trying to make a living with these tools,
Work seems to be picking up and I have picked up a flooring contract that should produce a regular flow of solid flooring and also i received a call earlier this evening from a contact I have done a lot of work for in the past and he says there is steady flow in line and is looking for me asap,
The problem is I have been self employed for 8 years now and always just brought a friend along when i needed a hand and never actually employed anyone direct, with what could be in the pipe line I am thinking I might need to look into maybe looking for a apprentice who has served a 2/3 years already
I am afraid doh with the way things can go if I am jumping too far ahead and taking too much of a risk
Anyone any help

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

I know how u feel. How about using a subby for when you need help? That way your covered all round and don't have anyone full time or part time?

 

[Alan m]

to be honest i woulnt go down that route (unless there is some tax reason to do so)
things are a wee bit better but im finding it very hit and miss. one week great then nothing .
i think that you will be too tied with an aprentice.
maybe find one adn use them as your helper and see how it goes. if it does turn out the way you think then you can go offical with the aprentice system. ]

 

[JoggleStick]

Mate, there is no right or wrong answer. The simple fact is you will earn more money off the tools than on the tools, by working hard on your business as the sales & marketing manager- not by playing golf though!
Yes, it is a leap of faith, but if you don't back yourself who else will?
Remember, hire slow- fire fast!
Just tell your new guy the truth- you can give them 2-3 months, but how it goes from there depends on them as well.
remember, it's your business and don't be afraid to say *exactly* what you expect them to do and how they are to perform on site, etc if you're new to this you may have to go through 3-4 guys to find the right one. That's ok you can and perhaps should do that.
If you take a guy on- you MUST start to pencil out blocks of time- 2-3 hrs to start where you go and market and sell your business to new clients- that's how you 'keep' the ball rolling.
Last tip-  watch the numbers- closely- as a guide you employee should work half his time to pay his costs and half his time as gross profit to you. If from day 1 this doesn't happen- you MUST make it so, that's part of becoming the boss. Don't EVER take your eyes off the numbers!
Hire slow- FIRE fast.

 

[irishroey]

I know its good at the min but what's around the corner is what I am worried about,the tax situation would be one of the main reasons also cash workers seem to be in a win win situation in this country

 

[irishroey]

Cheers jiggle stick sounds like experience speaking
I will have a serious look over the weekend and go through all the pros and cons and as you said most important the numbers

 

[Stephen B]

Another way to look at "higher slow fire fast" is to

Hire hard - manage easy.

In other words be rigourous; take the time to find the person who shows (or with support will in time) the required skills, initiative and self management and who in time will become loyal to your business. Ask for and cross check references, talk to their previous employer. Even check some work when you have narrowed down the field of candidates.

Remember gaining loyalty is as much about you as the boss - be fair and show clear direction, include them in some  decisions AND don't be a disorganised and grumpy . . . .!

 

[JoggleStick]

Thanks
Experience- yes some of it very painful and VERY expensive... But this is about you...

Just be careful- if you treat guys as 'consumables'- (temporary subbies) there is a high probability they will treat you and your client the same way- which may not be 'best' for you or your client.

Here is a $million tip...

Your clients may well forget who did the work BUT they will NEVER forget how getting that job done made them FEEL

You are giving your clients an experience! Not a job.

Understand and master that single point alone and you are well on the way to becoming a millionaire tradesman.

Back to your guy- you need to train your guy how to give your client an experience that client will never forget and how to make your clients a raving fan....

Are you starting to get it?
You simply can't do the above with itenerant workers.

Mate, you are about to embark on the most exciting journey of a lifetime. Sit down, belt up and enjoy the ride.....

 

[JoggleStick]

I shouldn't post on these threads cause I get way too excited. ... And carried away...
The problem you have is that in all your apprentice years you probably haven't had 10 minutes of 'good' education on...
How to get a client?
How to properly treat a client?
How to properly price a job?
How to build value so you never have to drop your price again and can charge a 20% premium over your competitors price and have your client happy to pay it?
How to have your clients become raving fans of your business?

You see, you need to learn and master that, because you need to TEACH your employees how to treat your business and your clients 'exactly' the same way!

All the above is not hard. What the majority of people don't know and never get is that business success is a formula. You follow the formula you get reliable and predictable results.

What you *need* to do is find a Mentor. There will be local people who can teach you... You need to find your Mentor, first.  You may and probably will have many mentors over your career. You just need to find one to start with.

I have never stopped with personal development. I have literally invested many hundreds of thousands of dollars in my own personal education. I have also earnt many millions of dollars because of it.

You just need to start!

 

[Tinker]

Joggle Stick has a good handle on your problem.  A lot of good input.
when i first started my biz (as mason contractor), I worked alone.  Very quickly, i had to have help and help from the best bookkeeper I knew, my mom, I set up the books to accommodate a full time worker, including setting up for taxes and insurance.  Once I was set up, i started hiring and firing until i had the right guy with the right 'tude, and i was off and running. i also had several builder friends who i would call when work was slow and i would put in time helping them.  i was willing to do labor work if that was what it took to keep busy.

there was a four or five year period when i was doing nearly all of one builder's masonry.  he had two carpenters who had previously been mason contractor competitors to me.  we often had bid on same jobs and would help each other out whoever got the job.  In this case, my two friends had thrown in the towel and were on the builder's permanent payroll.  I had finished a particular job and waiting for the next to start. I told the builder i would keep busy working on a stone job i had not planed on starting for a couple of months.  He suggested instead that i go to Bob and Fred's job and see if they could use an extra hand on the chimney the were working on.

i checked, but was told theydid not need another mason, but sure could use a laborer.  For the next week, or so, I mixed morter, lugged same, hauled bricks and build scaffolding.  When we got to the top, or nearly the top, Bob and Fred had to go start on a framing job and i was left to finish the top of the chimney.  that was to be the most complicated part of the job as I had to do a couple of arches in the face of the chimney.  Wow! that got the caretakers attention.  He got all kinds of excited when he saw the "laborer" doing the most difficult part of the job >>> alone.  He called the builder and vented his concerns.  i did finish the job and then removed all of the scaffolding, which i had supplied in the first place.
The point is that once you hire, at first you might not have enough to keep that extra body busy, but there can be unexpected ways to keep you all busy almost all of the time.  Don't be afraid to jump in and help with the "dirty work."  

Also, even if you don't go the apprentice route for you helper, try to teach them all you can.  Be patient and the help will be more than helpful to you.  Many of the youngsters i hired thru the years have come back to me and thanked for having taught them so much.  You need to treat help as if they will always be with you.  they are as important to your end product as you will allow them to be.  It will always pay dividends, sometimes in surprising ways.
Tinker

 

[JoggleStick]

Just the last little but very important point...

Just in case what I've said seems a bit daunting or overwhelming, I would like to make the following two points....

Have an end game in mind... An out... A conclusion... Decide on a date in the future to achieve the sale of your business.... Really, I'm serious.
Then from that date work back to the present time, year by year, month by month, week by week and if appropriate day by day.  Then monitor your progress in the time frames you set. Of course this is how you set goals and achieve them- that's my point.

Along the way you will discover that you can earn 10 times as much from selling a good business as you can from owning a good business.... Aka Warren Buffett

Finally, with 8 years experience self- employed you have learned much, so the good news is you don't have to learn how to build the wheel again...
Let me ask you a question....just  Imagine the biggest, heaviest door you have ever seen.... Got it? Now what does that massive door swing on? Answer... Small hinges.
Small hinges swing big doors. You just need to learn the key critical steps or points that you need to.... These key critical points will be the small hinges in your business that will enable enormous steps forward.  I hope that makes sense....

Lastly, and on the same train of thought. I have found that a small amount of very expensive advice (from a very good mentor) is far more beneficial than a whole lot of free advice from a cast of well wishers who don't have the knowledge (small hinges) you need...

(Just Sayin, Just to be clear... This is a business principle and NOT a reflection or comment about this forum or anyone on it....)

All the best, I wish you every success and please keep us posted of your progress...
With a bit of Green Koolaid thrown in for good measure....