Paying your helper?

Johnnyboy

Johnnyboy

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I searched and didnt seem to find much info on this.

The other day I came into a situation that made me think, To start off, I dont have enough cars to be hiring a helper as I can manage what I have but the other day I had 3 jobs come in for hand washes and wax and even though I do by appointment, I couldnt turn them down......didnt have it in me. I was fine but was killing myself trying to finish the jobs and finish them without any flaws.

That day my father in law who is home and not able to find work saw what I went through and asked if he could help and I adv him I didnt have much work but that maybe he could help with the washing part as long as he goes by what and how I teach him but that I wouldnt know how much to pay him.

How many of you have a helper/s working with them and how do you go about paying them?

FYI....still not sure about letting him help anyways but I am curious though!

Feed back please
 
In the summers I get my nephew to help me, mainly just to help teach him good work ethics, and if you work hard you can make good money. That being said I only have him do things that cannot be messed up such as vaccuuming, dressing tires and so on. He is a good kid, and if he wants to as he gets older, I would be more than happy to let him help with polishing and so on. Usually I end up giving him about $10 an hour or so depending on how long he helps me out.
 
Johnnyboy said:
I searched and didnt seem to find much info on this.

The other day I came into a situation that made me think, To start off, I dont have enough cars to be hiring a helper as I can manage what I have but the other day I had 3 jobs come in for hand washes and wax and even though I do by appointment, I couldnt turn them down......didnt have it in me. I was fine but was killing myself trying to finish the jobs and finish them without any flaws.

That day my father in law who is home and not able to find work saw what I went through and asked if he could help and I adv him I didnt have much work but that maybe he could help with the washing part as long as he goes by what and how I teach him but that I wouldnt know how much to pay him.

How many of you have a helper/s working with them and how do you go about paying them?

FYI....still not sure about letting him help anyways but I am curious though!

Feed back please
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You should be paying you FIL, especially under the circumstances he's facing. Depending upon how fast of a learner he is would depend if I paid a percentage of each job, or by the hour
 
In my business (plumbing) I find it more difficult to deal with family than others. I tend to over pay them and it can make things awkward if they screw something up, its hard to fire family.
 
It sounds simple, but there are a lot of potential issues to consider including :

Is your business incorporated? If so, every dollar has to be accounted for.

  • Do you plan on paying cash? This could get you in trouble and is often not legal.
  • Will you 1099 his wages or take taxes out?
  • What if he gets hurt at work? Do you have Workers Comp Insurance?
  • I don’t want to be an alarmist, but these are just a few things to consider when you "hire" anyone to help you out, family or non-family.
good luck
 
Bacon said:
It sounds simple, but there are a lot of potential issues to consider including :

Is your business incorporated? If so, every dollar has to be accounted for.

  • Do you plan on paying cash? This could get you in trouble and is often not legal.
  • Will you 1099 his wages or take taxes out?
  • What if he gets hurt at work? Do you have Workers Comp Insurance?
  • I don’t want to be an alarmist, but these are just a few things to consider when you "hire" anyone to help you out, family or non-family.
good luck
Click to expand...


These are all things that should be considered for sure

If your just working out of your backyard, I wouldn't worry to much about it though
 
I have helped other detailers and I have had people help me when I get to busy or have a big job that needs to get finished in a shorter amount of time. I usually do a 70/30 or 60/40 split.

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On the days that I'm swamped with appointment I do ask for my father in law to assist. He is retired so it gets him out the house. He is very thero retired military. He keeps his vehicles well maintained so I have no issues there. He will do everything but machine polish and wax which works out great. I pay him cash any where from 50 to 80 buck but he always give back 20-40 saying he just wants to help me business grow even though to me his assistance and time is worth that if not more...we usually work 5-8 hours which saves me 3-5 hours in the long run. during the summer I always have some joe blow come up to me and give me their number to call if I need a hand but as most on here know washing a car is not just washing a car. so inshort find good help. I always thought if i had a helper i would do shop time. here is the reason why. an hourly person will ride the clock or drag tail but on shop time is a job takes 4hr to do on average and you get it done in 3.5hrs I pay you on 4 hrs. So 4hr x $12= $48 3.5hr x $12 =$42 they get an extra $6. It gets them to work faster to earn more. In turn you get more vehicle completed and your profites increase as well. But I wouldnt sacrific quality..the job has to be done well and not a lick and a promise. Also by paying shop time you are paying that person when they work so no vehicles to clean they don't get paid and your not wasting man hours. they will then inturn recrute jobs for you because that is how they make money...win win all the way

Sorry for the many words
 
Good advice and info! It's not that I wouldn't want to work with him but it's just that he needs to do some "training" first. If he can't be as meticulous as me then it's a no go and he knows it. It's hard to find get the word out in this business and since for me it's a weekend thing for now, I can't afford to loose the few customers I have. If he learns "proper" techniques then I would even be able to schedule a few cars during the week also so he can take care of them. I know he can do it because he loves admiring the few cars I do but he has much to learn!
 
Bacon said:
It sounds simple, but there are a lot of potential issues to consider including :

Is your business incorporated? If so, every dollar has to be accounted for.

  • Do you plan on paying cash? This could get you in trouble and is often not legal.
  • Will you 1099 his wages or take taxes out?
  • What if he gets hurt at work? Do you have Workers Comp Insurance?
  • I don’t want to be an alarmist, but these are just a few things to consider when you "hire" anyone to help you out, family or non-family.
good luck
Click to expand...

:iagree:
 
You can also hire help thru a staffing agency. I don't mean call the place and have them send just anyone over to help. I had a friend work with me for a while and I had him go thru a staffing agency, the agency sent me the bill, and that's all I had to worry about. They took care of the taxes, Worker's Comp, etc. I use the invoices for my taxes (business right-off). Easiest way to go.
 
I've never had a helper come with me along for jobs. I have received clients that wanted to help me do their car, just for something to do, and it was fine. When you do hire someone, it might be great for your culture to call them "team members" instead of helpers. - Dave Ramsey. But as far as hiring him. Consider if he has a passion for serving and detailing cars. That is what will drive him to do a phenomenal job. If he only does it for money, then it'll just be a "job" and not a passion that he gets paid for. Hope that helps!
 
If you find a helper that is as qualified as you are and he is helping you knock out more then one job at once pay them comission based. I pay my helper 30-40% of the total bill 50% goes to me and 10% goes to supplies, fuel, rent, ect. alot of times I get stuck on the phone talking to clients booking appointment ect and I cant be working and on the phone at the same time. So having a helper is great and it save me alot of time.
 
Freekin Kleen said:
You can also hire help thru a staffing agency. I don't mean call the place and have them send just anyone over to help. I had a friend work with me for a while and I had him go thru a staffing agency, the agency sent me the bill, and that's all I had to worry about. They took care of the taxes, Worker's Comp, etc. I use the invoices for my taxes (business right-off). Easiest way to go.
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Great idea. You know however that there is a cost to this method. The agency needs to make a buck
 
sullysdetailing said:
If you find a helper that is as qualified as you are and he is helping you knock out more then one job at once pay them comission based. I pay my helper 30-40% of the total bill 50% goes to me and 10% goes to supplies, fuel, rent, ect. alot of times I get stuck on the phone talking to clients booking appointment ect and I cant be working and on the phone at the same time. So having a helper is great and it save me alot of time.
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The problem with this is that a client generally want you do the work. When you let a helper do more than just help it changes the nature of the service. It become more commerical than professional. I come to you for your work I would not want your helper doing most of the job. He is not my choice
 
I make more money having a helper. As you statted, running the business takes time away from the job and it's nice to have them there. I won't pay my helper much because she's a compleat noib but she'll clean the heck out if the interior, she listens and shows up on time.
As far as customers go. Mine don't care who's wirking on their car, as long as it gets done. And my helper really only does tge interiors.

Sent from my ADR6400L using AG Online
 
Detailing by M said:
I make more money having a helper. As you statted, running the business takes time away from the job and it's nice to have them there. I won't pay my helper much because she's a compleat noib but she'll clean the heck out if the interior, she listens and shows up on time.
As far as customers go. Mine don't care who's wirking on their car, as long as it gets done. And my helper really only does tge interiors.

Sent from my ADR6400L using AG Online
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I agree that the way to increase your profits is to increase your volume and have employees do the work. That is called leverage.
However, I will not pay the same fee to have an employee do the work as I would the boss, especially when I come to the shop based on the skill of the boss. I would say that if the helpers does clean- up and minor stuff, that is ok, but once the helper become the detailer I would be gone as a customer. Except, of course, if the help was a great detailer.
 
Detailing by M said:
I make more money having a helper. As you statted, running the business takes time away from the job and it's nice to have them there. I won't pay my helper much because she's a compleat noib but she'll clean the heck out if the interior, she listens and shows up on time.
As far as customers go. Mine don't care who's wirking on their car, as long as it gets done. And my helper really only does tge interiors.

Sent from my ADR6400L using AG Online
Click to expand...

Same here they start by helping wash and clay the car while I am polishing he is tackling the interior
 
Thanks for the input fellas! This was some time ago that I had posted this. I was thinking of having who was going to be the future father in law (not sure if he will be my future father in law anymore LOL!), and I gave him the chance and tried training him. I started by showing him with the interiors first because I had a lot of interior details at the time and he failed miserably and even after going through everything on a step by step basis.....he still found the need to cut corners and that's a no no in my book. I also did a few exteriors washes with him and on the first one he did Solo.....he did not meet my expectations. He had been looking for work at that time and eventually found a job (thankfully) so I did not have to tell him that he was fired. LOL! I've been riding solo until now and I feel that it is going to remain that way for a while.
 
Johnnyboy said:
Thanks for the input fellas! This was some time ago that I had posted this. I was thinking of having who was going to be the future father in law (not sure if he will be my future father in law anymore LOL!), and I gave him the chance and tried training him. I started by showing him with the interiors first because I had a lot of interior details at the time and he failed miserably and even after going through everything on a step by step basis.....he still found the need to cut corners and that's a no no in my book. I also did a few exteriors washes with him and on the first one he did Solo.....he did not meet my expectations. He had been looking for work at that time and eventually found a job (thankfully) so I did not have to tell him that he was fired. LOL! I've been riding solo until now and I feel that it is going to remain that way for a while.
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I think you hit an important point. If someone is willing to learn, and does a competent job, they can be a great asset. If you have to babysit them and keep them from making careless mistakes, it will not be worth it in the long run.

Everyone will need training to start with, but after a certain point they should be trusted to do at least a good to really good without having to constantly check on them.

Even after they get good... always check anyway. They are not the pro, you are.
 
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