One thing I've always said, I feel administrative, sales, engineering, and field labor production talent are all different types of mind and skill sets, preferences. The thing is to find people who are great at their specialty and delegate that part to them and focus on your strength. In construction, I've worked with guys who were were great at sales and schmoozing the customer or great with the books and they worked as consultants, independent contractors, and allowed us to stay in the field.
We had a specialized trade consultant who would bid the job and line up the equipment suppliers, factory reps and their quotes, for a fixed fee, a percentage. He would chase down changes. The accountant was self employed, an entrepreneur. They were worth their weight in gold for their part, but would try to crossover to running or doing jobs and it would get unprofessional, there would be squawking immediately, cluelessness.
I would never say don't expand, but many get forced out later with debts they can never repay, handle a lot of money but keep none, or flop around and never find their niche that pays. What I will say is, it's a decision you can let the market make for you. If you can expand profitably, do it. If the profits are not there, do not expand thinking the profits will come, it does not work that way. With payroll, the expenses and debt burden can be more than you can imagine, and the receivables you did plan on can be unreliable.
A lot depends on having the right type of customer who is willing to pay what it costs, plus allow you to take home a profit. If the customers are not willing to allow the workman his wages plus profit, which is the norm in many markets the customer is playing with monopoly money, the market is telling you no, you cannot expand. If you can work and stuff money in your pocket at the same time, do it for as long as that condition lasts and know when to rightsize as market conditions dictate.
I would trade labor with other E1's and charge 50/hr. I've been called by guys, friends, and they say, I bid all this stuff and I'm buried and need help. I say "for 50/hr" and it's too much for them. I tell them, well you have all this work because you underbid the market and could owe at the end of the job, be underwater. It is a lot easier to not fall into debt on the job than it is to try to dig yourself out of the hole after you have fallen in. The smart play in that situation would be to do less work but the better quality, better paying jobs and avoid the money losers.
To make payroll and run crews, you really need the gift of making the money come in faster than it goes out.