I've been doing this solo for 18 months now and landing bigger clients like AEP Ohio. Started thinking about bringing on an assistant to handle the data entry and basic calculations. When did you all take that leap? What was the breaking point that made you realize you needed help?
When did you hire your first assistant?
For me it was when I had three Georgia Power industrial accounts running simultaneously and I was working 70+ hour weeks. The breaking point was missing a deadline because I was drowning in tariff calculations. Hired a part-time bookkeeper first, then trained her on basic rate analysis. Best decision I ever made.
I waited too long honestly. Was doing about $8K/month in revenue before I brought anyone on. Wish I'd done it at $5K. The key is finding someone detail-oriented who can learn the utility billing basics. My assistant now handles all the Duke Energy residential stuff while I focus on the complex commercial audits.
Jim, if you're consistently hitting $6K+ monthly with Alabama Power and other utilities, that's the sweet spot. I hired my first person when I realized I was turning down good work because I couldn't handle the volume. Started with 15 hours/week and grew from there.
The math is pretty simple - if an assistant costs you $15/hour and frees you up to bill $75/hour work, it pays for itself quickly. I was spending too much time on Austin Energy rate schedule lookups that my assistant now handles. Freed me up for the complex demand analysis that clients really pay for.
One warning - make sure you have solid processes documented before you hire. I made the mistake of bringing someone on when everything was still in my head. Spent more time training than I saved initially. Now I have detailed checklists for every utility we work with in California.
Great points everyone. I think I'm at that $6K mark consistently now with several FirstEnergy accounts. Going to start looking for someone part-time to handle the routine stuff. Dan's point about documentation is well taken - better get my processes written down first!
Jim, if you need templates for process documentation, I've got some good ones I developed for Texas utilities. Happy to share what worked for us in scaling up. The investment in documentation pays dividends when training new people.