I'm not completely risk averse, but I don't like taking big ones. NorthCivil - I haven't done it, but as a solo guy myself I've at least played through the thought experiment. Sounds like a good model, and particularly suited to the current, general professional work environment. RE: Scaling up from a one man band phamENG (Structural) 10 Dec 20 12:53 They are responsible for their own health insurance. Each works as an independent contractor for tax purposes and I provide global professional liability, general liability and worker's comp insurance. They have the autonomy of self-management and we are only constrained by our client's schedules. Each of them makes more money than they would working for a salary somewhere. Each consortium member bills at rates I establish and they get a high percentage of the income from that billing. We all work independently on projects that I usually generate either directly or by reputation. Since Covid, the office has become irrelevant and might stay that way. We operate as a consortium under a single corporate umbrella for name recognition. I only brought in engineers that I knew and had worked with before. Started my second business with a different model. Transferred to fully technical position (Chief Engineer type) and enjoyed that until the corporate world became too oppressive with admin crap. Started out managing a branch office and doing engineering. Sold the business to my former employer and went back to work for them in the "corporate world". Ended up with 13 employees but hated the management side of it. The first time, I ramped up with the typical business model as you described. How much bigger than 1 do you have to grow to make it worth your time? RE: Scaling up from a one man band I recall a company i worked for in my younger years, with a staff of around 12, the owner told me he made no more money running the company than he did when he was practicing solo.Īny input would be appreciated. The efficiency, quality of work and quality of service will likely drop, at least a little bit. I might have to be less picky about the work i take, in order to feed the machine. If I scale up, I will need an office, likely a part time admin, a couple engineers who I will have to train, oversee, and keep well paid, with a good chance they will move on after ive invested in them. I charge market rates, but with low costs and expenses, it's really lucrative. I can pound out the work and make a great rate, with good margins and good profit. Right now I have very low expenses, in fact a lot of tax breaks from writing off my home office, utilities, car, etc. But at what point does a company become more lucrative than sole practice? The phone is ringing quite a bit, ive had thoughts of hiring a few young guns and scaling things. I am currently a one man show, and the money is pretty good. Any engineers here with experience scaling from a sole practitioner to an office with employees?
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