Employee Income?

I

imported_Details

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Hello all, I am a mobile detailer and my business generates about $75,000 annually... Thats roughly $1500 weekly... I have recently come to the conclusion that I, myself am too busy to expand... Between carrying out the details, chit chatting with customers, answering the phones, being on top of equipment and products, and following up with potential customers I feel like I am maxed out...

I have recently thought about bringing someone on board to free me up to continue to build my business... I would like to hire someone without expierience so that way I can teach them how to do things the right way...

Being a mobile detailer theres a good amount of time spent traveling, so I think an hourly wage would be out the question... Maybe 15% to 25% of daily income earned is what my employee would be paid. Thats roughly $225 to $375 a week or $11,250 to $18,750 a year... To work part time... I would like to only have my employee scheduled on days when theres is $300 or more of work scheduled... I can do $300 in a day easily, but anything more than that I feel like I am pressed for time...

Anybody with experience in this field, your comments are way more then appreciated!!!!
 
I believe paying a percentage is the way to go or just straight up pay them as a sub-contractor and make them file a 1099. There's a lot less paperwork and expense on your end going this route. I believe there is a number of other shops that pay their detailers this way that will probably chime in.
 
todd@bsaw said:
I believe paying a percentage is the way to go or just straight up pay them as a sub-contractor and make them file a 1099. There's a lot less paperwork and expense on your end going this route. I believe there is a number of other shops that pay their detailers this way that will probably chime in.
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There are quite a few that still do this. But the IRS is really cracking down on this. For a contractor to be properly 1099'd and not an actual employee they absoultly must use all thier own equipment, tools and supplies. If your business isn't big enough to hit the radar it's probably not an issue, but I know more and more people getting audited over this very thing. (it's really bad in the construction world) You can't supply them with anything. they have to grab a DBA and become their own business and supply themselves.
 
Can I ask an off-topic question? Obviously you live in a very large market, but what type of advertising are you doing (or what type of advertising did you do when you first opened up the business)? I'd say it's clearly working if you are booking every day.
 
toyotaguy said:
and the whole point to a 1099 is to avoid paying the employee taxes right, like 15% or whatever it is...
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Correct, along with all the other issues involved with having regular employees (taxes, insurance, benefits, etc.). Keep in mind, Details, that some business structures do not allow you hiring employees. I believe if you are a sole-prop, for example, you cannot have a payroll.



On the other side, the person working as a sub-contractor may not be interested in this because they will end up paying the taxes (and social security) on their own income that would normally be paid by the employer.
 
heres a example (from my experiance)

cons

workers comp for one employee $1800 early

cheap payroll $40 weekly

insurance ajustment $1200 yearly

hourly rate must increase to keep same profit

pros

get stuff done faster, customers want faster

get more done = more money
 
Having your help set up as Sub-Contractors are the only way to go. Speak to a Lawyer & Accountant to make sure you do it legit.
 
Thanks Anthony! I paid my people (not employees:nervous:) 30% to start and went up to 40%. Anyone that worked weekends got 10% more.



Each person:

*had a DBA that I issued check to

*their own tools

*their own supplies

*allowed to come & go as they wanted(no set schedule)

*could work for other companies

*secured sub-contractor agreement

*1099-misc each year
 
I think this would be totally different for you Americans (due to tax regulations and such), but here, only an hourly wage would work. Acting as if the employee is a "contractor" is a massive no-no, mostly thanks to WCB (Workers Comp) and CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) regulations.



Just to throw it out there, an average start for an unexperienced detailer would be ~$10 / hour, progressing to ~$12 - ~$15 an hour as they got experienced. In my particular situation, I'd be hiring a part-time employee, with no guarantee of full time hours, although it would likely come close to that.
 
todd@bsaw said:
Keep in mind, Details, that some business structures do not allow you hiring employees. I believe if you are a sole-prop, for example, you cannot have a payroll.
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That is incorrect. The only difference between business structures are the issues of taxation and liability. There are no limitations as to how you can operate as a sole prop vs an LLC or corp.



In regards to the OP's question...I think a key point to consider is who or what you are trying to hire and how that person will need to be paid. If you are only looking for a part-timer then IMO it will be unlikely that you'll find someone willing to jump through hoops to become set-up as a sub. There will be an expense on their part before they will be able to make any money. I think the sub route is best used in a large fixed location shop where techs work alone.
 
MichaelM said:
That is incorrect. The only difference between business structures are the issues of taxation and liability. There are no limitations as to how you can operate as a sole prop vs an LLC or corp.
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Thank you for the correction. I thought I read something about that and wasn't 100% sure.

:o
 
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