When Should a Solo Contractor Hire Their First Crew Member?
Most contractors wait too long to hire. They turn down work, burn out, and leave money on the table for months before finally bringing someone on. Here is how to read the signals correctly.
The Revenue Signal
The rule of thumb: hire when you are consistently turning down $5,000 or more per month in work because you are fully booked. At that point, the hire pays for itself in recaptured revenue alone.
A full-time helper or apprentice typically costs $15-20/hr. At 160 hours per month, that is $2,400-$3,200. If hiring them lets you take $8,000 in jobs you are currently declining, the math works clearly.
The Time Signal
Track how much time you spend on non-billable work: driving to supply houses, cleanup, loading/unloading, administrative tasks. If it is more than 20% of your day, a helper immediately increases your billable hours without new customers.
The Quality Signal
If you are rushing jobs because you are overbooked, you are degrading your reputation. One callback costs more than a helper's daily wage. Hire before quality slips.
What Kind of First Hire?
Apprentice/helper — Someone who can do prep work, cleanup, material handling, and simple tasks under your supervision. Lower cost, lower risk.
Skilled trade worker — A licensed journeyman who can run their own jobs independently. Higher cost, immediate revenue contribution.
Most small contractors start with an apprentice and move to a skilled hire as revenue grows.
Setting Them Up in JobsPaid
Once you make the hire:
- Go to Dashboard → Team → + Invite Member
- Add them with the Member role
- They can create invoices and manage their own assigned jobs
- You can assign jobs to them from the Schedule
- Use Approvals to review their invoices before they go to customers
The whole setup takes 5 minutes. After that, you have full visibility into what they are doing and what they are invoicing — from your phone.