Been doing this solo for 3 years now and finally hit a wall. TXU Energy and Oncor cases are backing up and I'm turning away good clients. Problem is I'm terrified of hiring someone - what if they mess up a $50K recovery case? What if business slows down and I can't afford them? Dallas market is hot right now but who knows how long that lasts. Those of you who made the jump from solo to team - how did you know it was time? What was your first hire like?
When to hire your first employee? Drowning in work here in Dallas
Marcus, I felt the exact same way when I was drowning in Duke Energy cases here in Charlotte. My advice - start with a part-time admin person first, not another auditor. Someone to handle phones, organize files, follow up on utility responses. Frees you up to focus on the technical work. I found a retired utility employee who knew the system inside and out. Best decision I ever made.
Derek's right about starting with admin help. Georgia Power keeps me plenty busy down here in Savannah, but I made the mistake of hiring another auditor too early. Ended up micromanaging everything and still doing most of the work myself. Now I have a great office manager who handles all the paperwork and a junior auditor who does the routine residential stuff. I handle the big commercial cases personally.
You guys are making me feel better about my situation. Ameren Missouri has been keeping me swamped here in Springfield. Just hired my first employee last month - a bookkeeper who also handles client intake. Game changer! She screens the calls so I only talk to serious prospects. Plus she caught a billing error on our own office account that saved us $400/month.
The key is having systems in place BEFORE you hire. I learned this the hard way with PSO here in Tulsa. Had a great candidate but no training materials, no standard procedures, nothing. Spent more time training than if I'd just done the work myself. Document everything - your audit process, common tariff issues, client communication templates. Makes hiring so much smoother.
Ed, that's brilliant about documenting processes. I've been flying by the seat of my pants for years. Going to start a procedures manual this week. Derek and Lee - how do you handle the liability issue? What if your employee makes a mistake that costs a client money? Do you have E&O insurance that covers staff?
Absolutely have E&O that covers employees. Also make sure any auditor you hire is bonded. I require my junior auditor to run all findings over $5K by me before presenting to clients. For the really big stuff - anything over $25K - I personally verify every calculation. Better safe than sorry in this business.
Great thread guys. FPL territory down here in Miami is exploding with new construction. I'm at the same crossroads Marcus was. Going to start looking for that admin person Derek mentioned. Anyone have tips on where to find good candidates? Craigslist seems like a crapshoot.