In this episode of the Off The Tools Podcast, Wayne Bettess and Andy Jones tackle one of the biggest decisions UK tradesmen face when they start to grow:

Who should your first employee be — an engineer on the tools, or someone in the office?

Many plumbers, heating engineers, gas engineers, electricians and trades business owners hit the same wall: they’re busy, overwhelmed, doing too much themselves, and running out of time. The natural thought is to hire another tradesman. But is that always the best move?

Wayne and Andy break down both sides of the argument, looking at when it makes sense to hire a field engineer, when an admin person could be the smarter first hire, and why taking on staff without systems, onboarding, training and proper pricing can quickly create more chaos.

This episode covers the real-world challenges of scaling a trades business, including managing letting agent work, builder work, private customers, job management software, customer service, reviews, diary control, onboarding, culture, cash flow and freeing yourself from evening admin.

Inside this episode, we cover:

• When to hire your first engineer
• Why admin might be your best first employee
• How office support can help you win more work
• Why answering the phone properly matters
• How admin staff improve customer experience and reviews
• The hidden costs of taking on field staff
• Why onboarding and culture are vital when hiring
• How to stop doing admin every night after work
• How to free up time without breaking the business
• Why scaling a trade business needs systems, not just more people

This episode is perfect for self-employed plumbers, heating engineers, electricians, gas engineers and trades business owners who feel maxed out and are wondering how to take the next step.

If you’re stuck doing the work, answering the phone, quoting at night, chasing customers, managing the diary and trying to grow all at the same time, this episode will help you think clearly about your next hire.

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https://offthetools.co.uk

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https://offthetools.co.uk/discovery-call

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https://offthetools.co.uk/free-resources

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https://offthetools.co.uk/podcast

Your first hire should not just be about getting another pair of hands.

It should be about creating more time, better systems, stronger customer service, more profit and less chaos.

Sometimes the smartest first hire is not another tradesman.

It’s the person who helps you finally run the business properly.

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