When Should a Tradie Put On Their First Employee?

The honest answer: later than you feel, earlier than you fear. Most solo tradies think about hiring when they’re drowning, which is the worst moment to decide anything. The right time isn’t a gut feel, it’s a set of signals you can check, and if they’re not there yet, there are better moves than a full-time wage.

The signals you’re actually ready

• You’re turning away profitable work every week, not just busy work, and it’s been consistent for months, not a seasonal spike.
• Your pricing already carries a margin. An employee paid from thin margins makes the hole deeper faster. Fix pricing first, always.
• You have a cash buffer that can cover their wage for a few months even if revenue dips while you train them.
• There’s a full week of delegatable work. Not the skilled stuff you love, the repeatable stuff someone else can learn.

What a first employee really costs

The wage is the visible part. On top sit super, workers comp insurance, leave, tools, maybe a second vehicle, and the invisible one: your time. For the first months you’ll work slower, not faster, because you’re training. Budget for the employee costing more than they produce for a while. If that maths breaks your business, you’re not ready yet, and that’s fine, because there are stepping stones.

The stepping stones before a full-timer

• Subbies for overflow. Costs more per hour, but zero commitment. Great for testing whether the extra demand is real.
• A labourer or apprentice a couple of days a week to take the low-skill hours off you.
• Outsource the admin. Often the best first “hire” isn’t on the tools at all. A few hours of bookkeeping and quote admin a week can hand you back your evenings for a fraction of a wage.

Hire for reliability, train the rest

When you do put someone on, every experienced operator will tell you the same thing: attitude and reliability first. You can teach the trade. You can’t teach turning up. Write down how you like jobs done, even one page per task, so the standard lives on paper instead of only in your head. That one habit is the difference between an employee who frees you and one who just follows you around.

Thinking about this decision right now? It’s one of the highest-stakes calls in a trade business, and it’s exactly what a free strategy session is for. Bring your numbers and we’ll work out together whether it’s hire time, subbie time, or fix-the-pricing-first time.