I've been solo for 3 years now and hitting about $180k annually here in Indianapolis working mostly IPL and Duke Energy accounts. Getting to the point where I'm turning away work because I can't handle it all. What revenue level did you guys reach before bringing on your first hire? Also wondering about the legal/insurance implications of having employees vs staying solo.
When to hire your first employee? Revenue threshold?
I made the jump at $220k here in Phoenix. Had steady APS work and some SRP contracts that gave me confidence in recurring revenue. My advice is make sure you have at least 6 months of their salary in reserve because training takes time and they won't be billing immediately. Also get your E&O insurance updated before you hire - mine went up about 40% with the first employee.
Different perspective here - I waited too long and hit $280k before hiring. Don't make my mistake. I was burning out trying to handle Xcel Energy audits plus all the Mountain West utilities. Should have hired at $200k easily. Look for someone with utility billing experience even if they don't know auditing yet - much easier to teach the audit skills.
Greg, are you planning to hire another auditor or start with admin support? I went the admin route first at around $190k revenue. Having someone handle scheduling, client communications, and basic data entry freed me up to focus on the technical work and actually grow faster. Duke Energy here in Charlotte has been great to work with on larger commercial accounts.
Derek that's interesting about admin first. I was thinking technical hire but you make a good point. How did you structure the pay for admin support? Hourly or salary? And did you have them work on-site or remote?
I'm at $165k here in Dayton working mostly AEP Ohio accounts and thinking about this same question. The seasonal nature of our work makes me nervous about fixed employee costs. Anyone tried using contractors or part-time people first? DP&L has some complex rate structures that would benefit from extra hands but not sure about the commitment.
Irene, I actually started with a part-time contractor here in Minneapolis. Worked great for Xcel Energy residential audits. Paid per audit completed rather than hourly. Let me test the waters without the full employment commitment. After 8 months I offered them full-time and they accepted. Sometimes you need to try before you buy.
Hank that's a smart approach. Did you have them sign a non-compete? Worried about training someone just to have them leave and start competing. AEP territory here is small enough that losing clients to a former contractor would hurt.