Hello everyone, I am 32 years old and I started a small appliance business in 2020. I started righ in the middle of covid 19, appliance repair are consider essential so business was booming from the start. I started just by myself, using my own car and the tools I had laying around at home. I was a happy camper!
Now I have grown to 3.5 techs and 1 secretary working 30 hours. In December I will have another office clerks/accountant full time (40 hours) starting; and in January another full time tech. My business is growing way faster than I planned ( good thing). I don’t have any past experience with business management and until now I had hired what I needed and learned as I go. I myself work in the office as manager, supervisor or cleaning the toilet if need be, I oversee everything, I order parts, I schedule, I help techs in the field with technical support, inventory, I help answer calls, I do everything and beyond. from 8 AM to 1 AM every day, trying to keep up and not have to hire more office staff.
But as we continue growing, I see the need for some advice on what should be a good tech to office staff ratio in general terms and what is considered good practice. Also at what point should I look for an assistant manager?
In other words, I don’t want too many chickens in the kitchen.
Thank you guys!
Following - been doing this for 16 years and every time I think I got it figured out I lose or gain someone on either side. Then the dynamics change due to the differences in the people themselves in those positions. Then it can go either way again. ( currently 15 employees and almost exact start up story but hvac ) good luck either way it’s a hell of a journey!
You brought business management. So let’s hit that angle.
You’re putting in too many hours. From a financial perspective, how are you scaling? What’s top-line revenue ballpark figure?
It’s great that you have a bookkeeper coming on staff. You definitely want to maximize that relationship so you know your numbers.
You should know the data coming into your business and use that for decision-making. I’m talking:
-number of calls / visits by tech by week (estimate hours worked) -estimate revenue coming in from current jobs, future jobs -calculating your cost to serve each client and profit
Recommendation: if you do all that and find out you can make $70-$90K after hiring more secretaries and customer service then do that.
Use your time to effectively drive revenue earning paths.
8a-1a daily!?
You already need an assistant imo; even a part time one would be helpful.
I also think you should outsource to a weekly housekeeping company; likely wouldn’t be too high a cost and you could avoid cleaning
though I gotta say, that particular behavior is exactly what I expect from all of my superiors. It’s a lesson in leadership imo; don’t ask someone else to do the work you aren’t willing to do yourself.
I know you’re the owner of course, but in regards to managers or supervisors, it just shows your team that you’ve been in their shoes and are working alongside them: not just doling out orders (not that you are!)
My point is I value seeing that so kudos to you :U
But ya, I’d say it would be worth hiring a part time assistant and booking a cleaning service to come in regularly.
As business owner/operator it can be hard for us to juggle many different tasks; our time is valuable too! Delegate whatever you can to other people and give yourself back your time.
For the assistant, setup a firm task list of what you need them to accomplish each day for you. This role should be one that sorta fills in any gaps within your workforce.
Also, not to shove myself into your business, but as someone who has worked in a few assistant roles across various industries, I might offer myself as a temporary virtual assistant (or at least a consultant); in case you need help to figure out your gaps, and advise ways to fill them.