You hire them on to help you. The good thing for you is that you're turning work away. This means if you bring on 2-3 more guys to work with you, you should be able to get more work done with the extra hands.Gypsos said:Hi All,
Just trying to get some insight and ideas as to the best way to do things. First some background...
I am a one man band. I explain this to my customers and they take it or leave it. My core business is cutting grass for PP. I do cleanouts and repairs as a fill in. My work load is growing. At the current rate I will have to stop accepting any new work in 4 to 6 weeks. In fact, about a week ago I turned down the opportunity to take over another nearby city becasue it would be just too much for me.
The next logical step is for me to add people and equipment. So...
Those of you with crews. How do you handle picture taking and work that has to be called in from the site? (i.e. something unexpected they found when they arrived)
Do you trust a crew member (lead?) to take the pictures?
What about something that they would need to handle on the spot but would require a phone call to your customer?
My thought would be to train them personally and then give them a route to run for lawns and handle the rest myself. Your thoughts?
I guess my big fear is trusting crews not to damage my equipment.
What about subcontracting work? Do you do this, and if you do how do you handle the subs?
Gypsos said:The second is an idea I got from another guy. He simply adds them to his policy and charges them for it. Not sure of the cost or liability it opens up, but it would allow me to be able to make sure they are covered. I have to do some serious research on this one before I would move forward with it.
They would not necessarily become employees but the insurance companies do have subcontractor insurance if you wanted to insure them yourself.BPWY said:Now they are your employees. And all the liability is on your policy.
They screw up, and your ins rate will go up.
That is the direction my gut tells me to go. Let them get their own insurance, but it is a new concept to me so I want to research it just for the FYI value if nothing else.a1propertyclean said:They would not necessarily become employees but the insurance companies do have subcontractor insurance if you wanted to insure them yourself.
Insuring them yourself is a huge risk, as far as I'm concerned, since they are not liable for anything once YOU insure them. I would have them insure themselves. If they pay for their own, they understand the costs and liability involved and will, hopefully, be more responsible.
Linda
I don't know how florida law works but here in cali adding them to your policy still kinda puts you at risk. Your company would still be responsible for any damage caused by their negligence. A policy is only about 1000 a year with a 250 down payment and 65 a month. If they're serious they should have their own insurance and you should also require a certificate stating that your company is the named insured on their commercial GL policy before you sub ANYTHING to them. Yes your insurance would cover it but ultimately you don't wanna be responsible for anyone else's mistakes if that situation aroseGypsos said:Thanks for the comments. Much of what you are saying is what I am thinking about doing.
When you sub out the work there are two ways I have considered.
One is to have them carry the same insurance I do - WC & GL or maybe GL and a WC waiver.
The second is an idea I got from another guy. He simply adds them to his policy and charges them for it. Not sure of the cost or liability it opens up, but it would allow me to be able to make sure they are covered. I have to do some serious research on this one before I would move forward with it.
