27 August Viewing a Hire as an Asset, Not an Expense August 27, 2024 By Melisa Rana Business Tips, Marketing business growth, hiring, inspection industry, training 0 VIEWING A HIRE AS AN ASSET, NOT AN EXPENSE August 27, 2024 | Business Tips, Marketing | hiring, training, inspection industry, business growth By Kimberly Stevens, NPI, Inc.'s Marketing & Business Coach The potential revenue for a small business with a team of employees compared to a one-man show is jaw-dropping wherever you look. Investors and small business analysts at Fora Financial say that the average revenue for companies with only one employee/owner is $44,000 per year. When those small businesses add 1-4 employees, average revenue jumps to $387,000 per year. When it comes to growth, the stats don’t lie. Hiring is the key to exponential growth. Many business owners get nervous when thinking about growing their team. As a solo operator, it takes a lot of time to develop a positive reputation and capture a sustainable market share. Expanding your business may bring up fears of losing control or damaging your great reputation–those are normal concerns. After all, new employees are a considerable investment! It costs time and money to find the right candidate. They may require specialized training, and they’ll need to acclimate to the way that your business operates. Plus, another set of tools and a mode of transportation certainly doesn’t come cheap. But that investment will lead to increased income and more time with the family down the road. Hiring and expanding the team should still be every business owner’s ultimate goal. So, how do you make that shift from looking at the cost of a new hire, to seeing the opportunity for growth that they bring? Know When to Hire The first common problem that owners face when they think about hiring is they don’t recognize when their small business needs to expand. Next to all the effort that goes into training and finding a strong candidate for a full-time inspector role, it’s important to have confidence that you can keep that new employee busy enough to justify the hire. Here are a few signs that should reassure you that the timing is right: 1. You’re Stretched Thin If you’re sometimes inspecting three homes a day while still trying to do your in-person marketing,keeping your social media active, and answering your phones, it’s easy to see that you’re keeping a schedule that’s unsustainable. It’s great that your business is busy, but it’s important to keep everyone’s workload at a level that’s doable long-term. 2. You’re Turning Down Good Jobs At first, it can be a grind to get consistent work. But eventually, consistent work can pile up to the point where inspectors have the luxury to be selective about the jobs they take. Really, if you’re turning down inspections that you would have otherwise taken, you’ve waited too long to hire. Bringing a new inspector up to speed takes time, and if you’re too tied up to train them, you may not be setting them up for success. 3. You’re Putting Projects On Hold If your inspection business is succeeding, but you’re dedicating all of your time to inspecting and marketing, you likely aren’t allowing yourself the room you need to try new campaigns, implement new services, and expand your market share. Every owner’s ultimate goal should be to move away from inspecting and into a manager role so that they can devote their attention to more ambitious expansion options. Hires can be a revenue-generating asset, but they also have the potential to be an expense that detracts from the business’ potential. Hiring isn’t a gamble, though! Much of a new hire’s successes or failures go back to the owner and their ability to identify the right candidate and train them. To help you get started, here are some thoughts on common early hires for your inspection business and how to set up a plan of advancement for each position. Prioritize the Right Roles 1. Marketing Specialists Easily the most common first hire that inspectors tend to make, marketers are a great choice for expanding the team because they are the most easily quantifiable revenue-generating position. When making this hire, it’s important to balance out your skills with theirs. If you are weak with social media, find someone with digital marketing experience. If you are more introverted, seek out a “people person” who loves building relationships. If money is tight, consider starting your marketing employee off in a part-time role, with the intent to transition into full-time as more business comes in. To stay organized, set clear daily and weekly tasks that are easily trackable, highlighting both short-term and long-term goals. Reach out to the marketing team for task-tracking logs and recommendations on how your marketing employees can help you grow! 2. Inspector Helpers An “inspector helper” is a common position within the property inspection industry that can boost productivity while on site. Adding inspectors to your team will allow you to tackle more jobs per day, and it will give you room to slowly transition into more of a management role. Note: Be sure to read up on your state’s regulations when it comes to inspector helpers! Some states will greatly limit how much a helper is allowed to do, while others will allow them to contribute to various aspects of the inspection process, including report writing. For training your inspector employees, contact the NPI home office to reserve a spot for class in Omaha! 3. Office Managers & Accountants Larger inspection teams may look into hiring an office manager to do things like help coordinate inspections, answer phone calls, and perform other administrative tasks. Rather than hiring for this position early, again, consider what your goal is within the industry. The typical tasks an office manager would have are the same that an owner once had–answering phones, managing the appointment calendar, and various other administrative tasks. If you’re interested in moving further away from day-to-day operations, it might be a good idea to fold some accounting responsibilities into this role by finding someone familiar with tools like Quickbooks. Every home inspection business owner should have hiring on their mind as they plan for the future. To meet your goals, growth is never optional. To learn more about how National Property Inspections enables its franchisees to achieve more, request your free info packet today! About the Author Kimberly Stevens, Marketing & Business Coach The baby of eight children, Kimberly learned quickly to master the art of communication in order to be heard. She has been with NPI for more than 15 years and is passionate about getting to know our franchisees. Kimberly is a certified marketing and business coach, trainer and speaker, leading training seminars, one-to-one coaching and more. She's a high-energy, fiery red head and an eternal optimist. Her greatest joy is celebrating our franchisees’ victories! Comments are closed.