Well, I have completed a full year on the road with my new franchise (even though I have seven years experience with another company doing the same thing). It has been a good year, and I have met, no, I should say shattered most of the goals I have set for myself. They were pretty agressive goals too!

Of course, in this year, I have not had a vacation. That's OK, I kind of planned it that way for this year.

One of the dis-advantages of my business is that I am pretty much a one man show. If I take a vacation, or get sick, or otherwise need a day off, there is no income for the business. This does not happen very often, but there are times when some time off is necessary, or might even be good to do some other planning and marketing, and the like.

I have been toying with the idea of hiring a person on a "on call" basis. Obviously, this would require the right kind of person (perhaps someone retired, who is looking for a little extra money), as most people couldn't be "on call."

I was thinking of paying a fixed dailly salary when they are used, say, $100 per day. A day on the tool truck for such a person would probably run 8 to 12 hours. Also, as compensation for them being "on call," I would guarentee them three to four days per month that I would use them. I could probably use them for busy days, days when I have an appointment, training, and general help. Obviously, with a full weeks vacation, they would make some more.

As time went on, I would use them to extend my reach, possibly being able to give them more work.


I haven't really studied it, but I believe that such a person could be considered an independent contractor, as they would be available to do work for others as well. An independent contractor would also relieve the need for payroll, or worker's comp insurance

This would also increase the service level to my customers, and it would also allow me to enjoy some of the reasons that I am in business for myself.

So, I would like to hear suggestions on this. How would I find such a person? Any other thoughts?

We are in the process of hiring a full time employee. It is a lot harder than I expected. We posted our ads on criagslist and we got a very good response. The biggest issue is finding the right person for the job. I estimate that it costs us around $1500 to hire a person and get them up and ready. So, I do not want to invest that money with the wrong employee.

My plan is to hire someone on hourly rate as 1099 for the first month and then consider moving them to a w2 if things work out. One of the things I do to keep our staff motivated is offer 10% bonus paid every six month. You can factor that bonus in your salary calculations.

Where were thinking about advertising for the job?

I was thinking of using fairly low tech advertising methods, such as an ad in the newspaper. I know, not very flashy in this day and age, but it does have a history of working.

I also thought of using an incentive plan for days that they are actually operating the route.

The right person would not have to be on call every day, as I could schedule my useage of them within reason. Obviously, this would not work for sick days, but I am not sick very often.

If you find the right person, but don't want to mess with payroll and the other things associated with hiring someone directly - you can contact a temporary agency a have them "payroll" the person for you. They get a percentage for every hour the person works, but they take care of all the employment issues (workers comp., payroll, tax withholding etc.). For instance, if you want to pay the person $10 per hour, it would actually cost you about $13 per hour. They charge less for this than their regular service since you did the recruiting for them.

Your situation does not sound like it qualifies as an independent contractor. There are many other factors that are considered besides just being available to work elsewhere (i.e. who supplies the daily direction to the employee, who supplies the tools for the job, who sets the hours etc.).

I think The Old Sarge is right with his advice.

The answer is the same if the person is clerical. Actually, it would be even harder to prove they are an independent contractor since they would have very little lattitude on how the work gets done.

If I were in your position, I would find the right person on my own, then set them up through a temporary agency to do their payroll. Or, you could take the plunge and set them up as a part-time employee and do their payroll yourself. If you are sure this is going to be long term, it might be worth doing this. You will have to research the worker's comp. requirements in your state. Don't overlook the worker's comp. part.

It seems that most of the tasks you need to get done are administrative in nature. I would consider hiring a virtual assistant to help. A VA can offer you the support with the flexible hours you need. We offer this service so if you would like you can pm me and I can give you more details.

Most of my clients are people like you. I have helped them focus on what they do best and delegate the routine tasks. I also run a business where we offer remote business support services and may be help you. PM me if interested.

Thanks for the offer, but It might be a bit difficult for someone from India to jump on the tooltruck and operate the route.

I may be able to use help with clerical at times, but I more need the physical person to see and service my customers, and collect my money, at times when I can't or want some time off.

khalidh - if your cost of hire is only $1500/person - you're probably missing something. I would guess it's a lot more.

Toolman - here are some thoughts. Hire someone on an hourly basis. It sounds like you're trying to get something for nothing by hiring the person on a flat daily rate. Going this route may work, but is most likely to cause resentment for both parties.

My recommendation would be to consider someone who is in their 40's, has no or little family obligation and is in a stable marriage (read: not going through a divorce). If someone working from home can work for you, that's something you may want to consider as well.

I wish you all the best and hope everything works out for you.