KickStart: Whenever possible, hire two part-time employees instead of one F/T employees. Another option? On-call workers give you “flexible overhead”.

a stressed out small animal company manager interviews a firefighter for a part-time position — Find Quality Part-Time Employees in Niche Professions

The one thing I’ve heard on repeat lately from my coaching clients? “Steve, finding good, OK, actually ANY employees out there is a total nightmare!”

You too? 😦 If so, I’ve felt the exact same knots in my stomach that you’re feeling! I really do feel for you. 🥹

And even more so if you’re facing that terrifying jump 🫣 from working alone to taking on your first full-time employee.

OR are you tempted to stay small as a solo “Lone Wolf” owner-operator? I went down this road. But I found the alternative of growing old alone, chained to my truck wasn’t very appealing either! 😦

NOTE: IF you decide to try staying small (or even downsize) puhleeeeease 🙏read my “Five Start-up Moves for a Lone Wolf” NOW! And then reflect carefully on this KickStart…

But I get it. With your first full-timer you are virtually doubling your overhead and financial liability overnight!

And yes, I really feel for you larger home service business owners. No matter what your size, adding even one more full-time position is a huge, long-term commitment.

It’s incredibly tough to justify the crushing overhead—and the heavy moral responsibility—of taking on yet another employee. 🥹

“Moral responsibility, Steve?” Sure. Unless you’re a heartless jerk you’re making an ethical and moral long-term commitment to provide for your new F/T employee’s family too! 😯

YIKES! Talk about being “between a rock and a hard place”! As a residential services entrepreneur are you doomed? Wait for the answer as I slowly let the suspense build… 😯

Allow me to share a perfect “in-between” hiring solution! Strongly consider my lower-stress, yet highly profitable alternative to full-time hires:

🗝️ Hire part-time and/or on-call techs instead of ONLY hunting for full-time employees.

Doubt me? Let me count the massive advantages to breaking out of the F/T employee hiring rut! With part-time workers:

You Tap into a Better Talent Pool: Many fantastic, reliable people already have a solid F/T day job. But they want extra income to pay off debt, save for a house or heck, a fun happy hour on Fridays!
Seriously? Most of the time the guys walking in off the street begging for 40 hours a week are “unemployed for a very good reason”! 🤷
Zero “Moral Pressure”: Because part-time workers usually have F/T job, you don’t feel the soul-crushing pressure of being their sole provider. Think about it…
Steve’s, “Let’s be brutally honest” time: For those of you with full-time crews, how often have you desperately invented “busy work”—like sweeping an already spotless shop floor—just to justify handing them a 40-hour paycheck on Friday? With part time…
You Only Pay for Profitable Hours: When the shoulder season hits and the phone stops ringing, you don’t have to invent that busy work. You simply tell your part-timers not to come in tomorrow… or even next week!
BONUS! 🎉🎊🪅😁🎈 Because your part-time staff is only doing revenue-producing work when they’re on the clock, you can pay them 💲a very desirable hourly rate. (Heck, I may apply!)
The Ultimate Proving Ground: Part-time employment is a brilliant, no-risk way for you to “audition” potential full-time help. If a part-timer crushes it on the job then you can confidently offer them a full-time position on your time-table. 💖
WARNING: Please just 🚫 STOP “Desperation Hiring” ! Instead, break out of this toxic cycle by testing out part-time people over time.
The “Hunger” Factor: When my home services company was absolutely slammed, my P/T workers were always eager to pick up extra hours. They wanted cash! Our F/T folks who were already burnt out after 40 long hours? Not so much.
You Spread the Risk: If your one and only full-time tech walks out on a Tuesday, your business is instantly crippled. With a roster of three or four solid part-timers, you aren’t keeping all your employees’ eggs in one fragile basket.

Steve’s ProTIP for the Weekend Warriors: Full-time techs that put in late-night or weekend emergency hours usually burn out, get resentful, and quit without notice.🥹 Even worse…

Who gets to fill that gap when a F/T emergency services tech suddenly quits? YOU DO! As in working day and night! But well-paid, P/T and/or on-call employees (working one or two 6-hour shifts a week) absolutely love their supplementary income.

NOTE: Those high-profit weekend emergency calls in HVAC, plumbing, water damage, or pest control are perfect for a hungry part-timer who wants to make great money.

Steve’s Takeaway: Stop losing sleep over the “inflexible overhead” baggage full-time employees bring. Start small, hire smart, use part-time (or on-call) workers when possible and watch your profits explode!💲💲💲

HFS:KickStart

Low Stress Scaling: Hire Part-Time Employees!