Raising Funds To Hire Help

[IntegrityElectricalPV20:7]

Hey folks,
I was a member of a company in upstate NY whose owner died. Supervisors scrambled to get rid of their competition within the company. I was fired for a fender bender after 12 years of making the company money. Fired on Thursday, DBA on Monday, Van full of tools and material by Saturday. No experience running a business.
Its been hard but I've been in business now for 7 years and have been pretty stable in work flow but stagnate on financial growth. Still going at it paycheck to irregular paycheck. I get about 50/50 residential/commercial work. Mostly small projects like fit ups and service calls. Sometimes the oddball call comes in for industrial machine repair,... Never afraid to try working on something I'm not familiar with.
1. I need to hire someone exactly like me. (HA!) Someone who cares about the customer, the business, and work quality. I'm not afraid to hire, but I am a bit weary of my ability to read others and their qualifications. Any suggestions?
2. Saving money as a one man shop isn't easy, but I can't see how to grow without employees. Catch 22? How do I go about obtaining a reserve to make payroll before the benefits of an employee come in?
3.How far ahead do I put in reserve for payroll?
4. Does profit sharing work?
I have read a lot of the advice on this site and am thankful to Mike for creating it. I appreciate the wisdom found here and am ready like a kid at Christmas to gain from the experiences others have had. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
JoeP

 

[ptonsparky]

Hey folks,
I was a member of a company in upstate NY whose owner died. Supervisors scrambled to get rid of their competition within the company. I was fired for a fender bender after 12 years of making the company money. Fired on Thursday, DBA on Monday, Van full of tools and material by Saturday. No experience running a business.
Its been hard but I've been in business now for 7 years and have been pretty stable in work flow but stagnate on financial growth. Still going at it paycheck to irregular paycheck. I get about 50/50 residential/commercial work. Mostly small projects like fit ups and service calls. Sometimes the oddball call comes in for industrial machine repair,... Never afraid to try working on something I'm not familiar with.
1. I need to hire someone exactly like me. (HA!) Someone who cares about the customer, the business, and work quality. I'm not afraid to hire, but I am a bit weary of my ability to read others and their qualifications. Any suggestions?
2. Saving money as a one man shop isn't easy, but I can't see how to grow without employees. Catch 22? How do I go about obtaining a reserve to make payroll before the benefits of an employee come in?
3.How far ahead do I put in reserve for payroll?
4. Does profit sharing work?
I have read a lot of the advice on this site and am thankful to Mike for creating it. I appreciate the wisdom found here and am ready like a kid at Christmas to gain from the experiences others have had. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
JoeP

Sounds like my business plan when I started. You don't have one.

First, raise your rates. You are to low. Gotta have cash to do the next step.
I hired and trained my own. Out of the 15 or so, only the 2 that are still with me were worth the effort.
Unfortunately, I trained them with some of my own bad habits so hiring someone better than you can be a plus if your ego can handle it.
One thing, your employees get paid on time, every time and payroll withholdings are not yours to work with.
I don't know if profit sharing is a motive or not. My end of year "sharing" depends on how accurately they account for inventory throughout the year. It is nice to sign bigger checks than smaller.

 

[GLSA]

I don't think you will find someone that cares as much as you do so I don't think you should set yourself up for failure.

 

[Fulthrotl]

I have read a lot of the advice on this site and am thankful to Mike for creating it. I appreciate the wisdom found here and am ready like a kid at Christmas to gain from the experiences others have had. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
JoeP

i should make a macro for this, i end up saying it a bunch...
a business plan. give yourself one for christmas.

http://ellenrohr.com/the-bare-bones-biz-plan/
it costs $10.

i did it around august, 2011. i wasn't making hardly
any money.

some of the first goals i had were pretty modest.
and silly. i wanted my A/R below $1,000. geez.
this dummy didn't realize that if you have no A/R,
you aren't gonna make any money.

now, if my A/R is less than $40,000, i get nervous,
'cause it means i'm not working enough. a complete
reversal of perception.

i had a first goal of $4,000 per week billing by the end
of 2011. the secondary goal was $2,000 a week net taxable
income from that, as material and operating expenses eat
the rest.

my big plan was to be able to make $100,000 a year taxable
income, without employees. now, i have a little plan to expand
into programming lighting controls. you don't even need
licensed electricians. a millennial with a laptop works just fine.

electricians don't want to bother with learning how to program
lighting controls. it's not rocket science. i support that decision.
i'd rather send a minion to help out. i can sell minions for $1,000
a day, and split it 60/40 with them. if i can keep five of them
trained, motivated, and on the job, that's half a million a year
on the side, not counting my regular business.

and they would be making $3,000 a week. you pay a minion
$3k a week, and they are a happy minion. i want happy minions.

you really need to, imho, do a business plan. time's a wasting.

 

[chris1971]

i should make a macro for this, i end up saying it a bunch...
a business plan. give yourself one for christmas.

http://ellenrohr.com/the-bare-bones-biz-plan/
it costs $10.

i did it around august, 2011. i wasn't making hardly
any money.

some of the first goals i had were pretty modest.
and silly. i wanted my A/R below $1,000. geez.
this dummy didn't realize that if you have no A/R,
you aren't gonna make any money.

now, if my A/R is less than $40,000, i get nervous,
'cause it means i'm not working enough. a complete
reversal of perception.

i had a first goal of $4,000 per week billing by the end
of 2011. the secondary goal was $2,000 a week net taxable
income from that, as material and operating expenses eat
the rest.

my big plan was to be able to make $100,000 a year taxable
income, without employees. now, i have a little plan to expand
into programming lighting controls. you don't even need
licensed electricians. a millennial with a laptop works just fine.

electricians don't want to bother with learning how to program
lighting controls. it's not rocket science. i support that decision.
i'd rather send a minion to help out. i can sell minions for $1,000
a day, and split it 60/40 with them. if i can keep five of them
trained, motivated, and on the job, that's half a million a year
on the side, not counting my regular business.

and they would be making $3,000 a week. you pay a minion
$3k a week, and they are a happy minion. i want happy minions.

you really need to, imho, do a business plan. time's a wasting.

You sound like a great person to work for calling your help minions. :roll::roll::happyno::happyno:

 

[Cow]

You sound like a great person to work for calling your help minions. :roll::roll::happyno::happyno:

He's just making a point Chris, don't let your Christmas time sensitivities make it any more than it is.

At 3k a week I'd be happy to be called minion.:lol: