Employees

[PianoSvFla@AOL.COM]

Andrew,

Here are some ideas for you to consider.
The main reason for hiring help is because you cannot return work to the 
customer in a timely manner. Most techs fall into the slot where they have 
enough work for 1 1/2 technicians, and so you consider subcontractors or 
employees. If you had enough work for two then the decision would be easy - 
Always employees.
Subcontractors are great for jobs you don't want to do or can't. They carry 
very little paper work and since they are responsible for their own overhead 
and supplies it's great to call them when you need them. However, the 
downside is that they work for themselves and if they are good they may not 
be available for your work when you really need them. A higher paying job 
gets their priority - sometimes with the competition. You are then left 
explaining to the customer the delay in completing the work which is the very 
reason you wanted to hire a subcontractor!  
You have a lot more control over employees, also more paper work, and 
eventually more loyalty from them, especially if you pay them well.
Consider this, the goal here is to duplicate yourself so that while you are 
with one customer you can be servicing another customer and still receive 
payment, even though it is just a percentage of the job. Place yourself where 
you have the most control. If you rebuild, then do the tuning and sell the 
rebuilding jobs, this allows total control over your customer list. It' not 
hard to train someone to do keytops,bushings etc... saving the hammer hanging 
for yourself on action work. We have two part-time elderly men we hired 
through the Senior Friendship Center. They are on Social Security and have a 
background in woodworking. Because of this they were not so concerned about 
high pay. They just wanted part-time work to keep busy. Since they are 
part-time we don't pay benefits. We also don't have to worry about them 
quitting to start their own business. They do all the tear down and assembly 
except for hammers. They have been with us for seven years. We have one 
full-time Belly man we pay well with no benefits. He is shop only and doesn't 
deal with our customers. He also puts in 60 hrs/wk. We have one subcontractor 
for refinishing, he can mess up his shop all he wants. Since 50% of our 
rebuilds come in from out of state, we have to work with a combination of 
workers. Always hire more than one part-timer if you can. That way if one 
quits your entire operation does not have long delays in completing the work 
you already took in thus stopping you from selling more jobs, until you find 
a replacement The important thing to remember is don't be afraid to expand 
your business. Not doing so out of fear of added paper work and expense for 
employees is ridiculous. AND NEVER GIVE PART OF YOUR BUSINESS AWAY! If you 
want a partner then make sure he buys into the business with enough money to 
vastly improve your situation (like buying a new building)! Beside how long 
did it take you to get into the position of more work than you can handle? Do 
you really want to give half of it to someone, as great as he may be, who 
will gleen half the profits and never have been there to suffer and worry 
over it when their was little work to be had? You should be compensated for 
your past time. If you don't agree, I'll be your partner!
     
Hope that helps,

Ed Mashburn,RPT
Piano Services of Florida, Inc.
Contact@pianoservices.com