Paying Techs / Assistants

I really appreciate all the input.  I deffinately agree with you Doug that pay with no incentive = no work out of your employees.

As it stands, cleaning the carpets myself is not an optinon because I already employ 30 staff in my existing Maid Service business (this is a full time job for me and 3 managers).  The master plan is to leverage my existing residential clients into trusting our brand name for their carpet cleaning needs while using the same overheads to run the business. 

Because we have a great brand already we will have some business from the get go and with propper marketing can probably limp through the slow season and try to grow a strong business like everybody else Like Steamer said, you make your money 9 months of the year... Maid Service is not very different that way.

The trick for us is that I recognize this can be a very techical industry for a newbie with challenges about retaining and paying staff... especially good staff that need to be compensated to retain them properly.  This is especially true when I will need to rely on some of this person's experience and expertise that I do not have myself in terms of providing the product.  Sure I can learn to talk up the customer, make the sale, etc. but the quality is provided by the person who does the work.

Of course, I do educate myself and have taken the first IICRC certification to get started and am trynig to get involved in your forum and do some reading along with other networking efforts to learn the ropes as effectively as possible.

It's just that to do a budget and not go bankrupt you need to get a handle on labour costs... probably the hardest piece to nail down.  How else can you figure out what to charge? 

So, that being said I want to sincerely thank everybody that has taken the time to provide input on this post.  You have all been really helpful and forthcomming.  I look forward to chatting with you more and am open to any other advice you have for a beginner.

Jodi: Being a 1 man operatioin is fine if you never have to give estimartes, do paperwork answer the phone just clean.  Now the real world. I was a 1 man operation for many years. when I was busy I was busy. But when I was real busy cleaning carpets I didn't always get to some estimates etc. than you get slow because youd didn't keepup with the estimates.  You don't have the problem if you are a sub.  Maybe you only need a part time employee, who knows. If you want to keep people busy in the winter you have to deversify into other things like restoration, janitorial anything to keep people busy.  No one likes to lose a good employee.  Only you can determine you specific needs. As far as wages keep  one thing in mind.  If the person can make the same amoung sitting on their a** at the gas bar, they are not going to work for you.  Different areas pay different wages, just like different areas charge different amounts for cleaning anything.  You know your area better than me.  You will get what you pay for.

They go on Unemployment insurance... and you dish them some owrk under the table...

Kel ...yes the winter gets slow of everyone owners and players  ...money is tight for everyone..... thats why you push it and buget for slow season during the summer...

your lease payment should be 9 months of the year jan feb march no payments...

working out of your home instead of having an office & shop...  farm the area rugs out....

there are a lot of things you can do to stay a live with employees..

I have it set up that if I don't do one jobe for those 3 months I will survive

Zero is right,it's tough keeping someone working in the winter.........I always got laid off for a couple months.

although this year I could of kept a tech working and sat at home

 

 

hmmmmm.........that doesn't sound all that bad

You make a good point... there is a big difference in those percentages...

Please clarify for me if this is solo or in a team of 2 how pay should work.

Do you pay your tech a % then pay a helper a % too?  Is this why it is 13% (because it is times 2 people?)

Or do you pay a tech a higher % (20-29%) and have them pay thier own helper?

Also, what do you think is better solo or team of 2?




Edited by Jodi

when I started out I was being paid percentage

 

started at 20% and went up to 29% within a year.

 

@ 13% they'd better be charging  .50 sq.ft. otherwise you're making less than minimum wage IMO.

 

second CC job I had I started at $12 pr.hr. and made about the same $$$ with less hours

I'm looking at hiring someone and I'm thinking I'll just pay them $14 pr.hr. to start or 25% which ever they prefer

tough to find a good RELIABLE tech

I mean,why would any right minded decent person wanna be a carpet cleaner

 

another down fall regarding hourly is no incentive??