After interviewing Rick McFadden and Bryan Clayton on my podcast – two guys who have scaled their home services businesses, I’ve been thinking a lot about the pros and cons of hiring employees.

Is it worth the effort and stress?

And since I’m certain I’m not the only one, I decided to write about the topic in-depth.

So, in this podcast & article, I’ll dive into the advantages and disadvantages of hiring employees vs running a solo handyman business.

I’d love to hear your thoughts as well. Please comment at the bottom of this article to share your opinion.

Let’s start with the advantages of each.

Listen to the podcast version of this article, which includes extra content. Listen right here or on your favorite podcast app!

HS042 – Should You Hire Employees or Stay Solo?

The advantages of staying solo

#1 – It’s Enjoyable

Being a handyman is the most enjoyable job I’ve had, which is why I continue to do it. I get to work with my hands, buy new tools, build relationships with my customers, do something new every day, and customers pay me with a smile. Jobs are short, so looming stress is rare.

Sure, sometimes I’m doing something repetitive or boring, or I forget an essential tool and that puts me behind schedule and stresses me out, but for the most part, it’s a great career. I certainly enjoy it more than sitting in front of a computer.

#2 – It’s Healthy

Providing handyman services is relatively low-stress once your business is established and you get your systems down. Stress is a big killer in America, so this isn’t a small benefit.

Providing handyman services is also an active job without being too labor intensive. You get to keep moving all day without breaking your back, carrying heavy loads, digging with a jackhammer, or working in uncomfortable positions for long periods.

Lowering your stress and living an active lifestyle not only makes you feel better but it lowers your chances of diabetes, heart disease, and other diseases of modernity.

Then, there is the social component of the job. As social creatures, we humans need healthy relationships with others. We also need to feel needed. As a handyman, you get both of these things.

Less stress, more activity, and connection with others = better health.

#3 – Flexible Schedule

As a solo handyman, if you need some time off, you can take it. Your business won’t crumble to pieces while you’re gone.

But when you hire employees, the stakes are a bit higher. Other people are relying on you to make tough decisions and put out fires. If you get burned out, you might not have a choice to take time off. You are fully committed. In many ways, that commitment is a good thing. It will keep you motivated and help you push through challenges you otherwise wouldn’t. But that may come with a hefty dose of stress, working long hours, and burning yourself out. Of course, once you get to the point where you have good people around you managing the day-to-day of your business, then you can take more time off. But, there will inevitably be stages where taking a break isn’t optional.

A solo handyman business wins regarding the flexibility of your schedule.

#4 – It’s easy (relatively)

Starting any business is challenging because you not only have to work hard and make good decisions, but you also have to overcome setbacks and win the mental game.

However, when comparing the two, scaling a business is clearly more difficult than starting a one-person show. There is more risk, tough decisions, and pitfalls along the journey when employees are involved.

As a one-person handyman business, all you have to manage is yourself and the customer’s expectations.

#5 – It’s a fast path to profits and more leisure time.

Once you get your solo business up and running, which can be done in a matter of months with strategic effort, you can enjoy extra free time and control over your schedule.

During the first several years of scaling a business, you will likely need to work hard six or seven days a week.

Working solo is also a much faster way to a six-figure income because scaling a business requires investing much of your profits into growth, meaning a longer timeline of several years before you can have a high income, and even then, it will be limited by your motivation to grow.

When working solo, any business growth immediately translates to higher income.

Overall, a one-person handyman business is a great career with many benefits, but let’s look at the advantages of hiring employees.

The advantages of hiring employees

#1 – Higher Income Potential

One of the main reasons to scale a business is to make more money, and who doesn’t want to make more money?

As a solo handyman, you can make a solid income of well over $100,000 per year if you dial in your marketing, pricing, and specialties. But, no matter how well you dial in your business, you’ll always be limited by how much time you can work.

If you scale your business and hire employees, the income potential exponentially increases. If you go big enough, there’s no reason you couldn’t make $1M per year in profit, although I’m sure that is rare.

So, the income potential is higher, but that isn’t guaranteed, and it often means making less money for several years while you invest in your business to grow it. Growing a business is always a game of delayed gratification.

#2 – Passive Income (more leisure time)

You can make more money when you hire employees, and that money can be made passively once you get to a certain point.

This is more difficult than it’s made out to be in books like “The 4-hour Workweek,” but once you get good systems and people in place, you can take a step back from your business and let other people run the day-to-day. You can go golfing, fishing, or whatever you enjoy doing with that extra time.

As a solo handyman, you must always work to generate income. If you enjoy the work, this can be a good thing. I’ve seen handymen work into their late 80s or 90s and love what they do. They have a sense of purpose and connection, which many retirees struggle to find. Consistent movement keeps their bodies and minds younger. And, it provides a supplementary income for retirement.

Because of these benefits, many people start a handyman business after they retire!

#3 – You can hire people to do things you don’t like

As a solo handyman, in addition to providing handyman services, you’ll follow up with customers, schedule jobs, collect payment, shop for materials, estimate jobs, market your business, and more.

But once you have a team in place, you can delegate the things you don’t enjoy to people better suited for those tasks – allowing you to work on more challenging (and potentially interesting) problems related to growing the business.

You can also outsource tasks as a solo handyman, such as bookkeeping, marketing, and even phone answering. The only challenge is that justifying these expenses is more difficult because they quickly eat into your profits.

#4 – You are building an asset you can sell

A business with good systems and employees is much more valuable than a one-person handyman business if you ever need an exit strategy.

You can sell a solo handyman business, and I’ve seen it done. It’s just not nearly as valuable.

#5 – Higher Status

While being a pro handyman is an enjoyable and well-paying career, it’s not considered a high-status job in America. However, owning a successful business with a dozen employees is.

As much as I’d like to say that chasing high status is a fool’s errand, I can’t help but recall the book Behave by Robert Sapolsky, where he digs deep into this topic and concludes that, in general, higher status leads to better health, longevity, and a sense of well-being.

So, scaling a business has some compelling benefits. You can make more money, have more leisure time in the long run, eliminate tasks you don’t like, and potentially get more respect.

But are the extra benefits worth the effort?

Let’s start with money.

It’s hard to argue that having less money is better than having more. Money can solve many modern problems and reduce or eliminate many stressors. For example, a new mother who can afford a full-time nanny will likely be healthier and happier than a mother who has to do it alone.

When your car breaks down and you’re faced with a huge repair bi