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I was approached by a fella that recently quit a large volume detail shop. he wants to work for me, but I don't think I'm ready for this yet. I wanted to bounce this thought off you guys and see if this would work. what if I told this guy he would be responsable to bring in customers on his own, he would do the work on those cars he got, I would supply the tools, supplies, and space. I could pay him say 30% of whatever car he brought in. so a 100 dollar detail would get him 30 bucks, I would have to pay 25% for rent, then I'd keep the rest...is that fair, or ???? oh, i forgot to add he does excellent work, I know that for a fact....

Your intent is fair but I really doubt that he will only want to take $30.00 from each detail. He could bring in many cars but will only be limited to how much work he will be able to preform. I fully understand your overhead & tools to be supplied. He on the otherhand would have to work himself to the bone to make ends meet. You have supplied a fair price, your detail price would have to be slight higher to get a higher price for him to stay there.

His work is probably excellent & you will also take that into consideration for hiring outside work. Use your best judgement & put the pros & cons down on paper & see which one out weights itself. Also take into account, what is he gets hurt on the premises, who pays for that or will that be arranged into the verbal discussion? Good Luck on how everything turns out.

I agree with Todd, he would have to work his fingers to the bone to make a decent paycheck at 30%. If he is as good as you say he is and can supply his own customers maybe you should just consider renting him a bay. He supplies his own chemicals, towles, tools, ect... and he either pays you monthly rent or take a percentage of each vehicle.... maybe 30%. If you supply the work than I would probably go with a contract labor agreement to eliminate the tax paper work. 1099 him at the end of the year.

Turbo:

Here is something to think about. My advice would for you to carefully consider what you what under your companies "umbrella". and what sort of liabilities you may be sharing by doing so.

Even the best of detailers may run into problems that can be nasty.

If you are supplying the space for a subcontract detail our of your shop and something goes sideways with your subcontractors job..... might this come back to you and in what form ?.. What things might you put into place to make sure that you remain at arms length under these circumstances.

My thought is that you may just want to bring him on board or let him do his own thing.. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the contemptated arrangement.

Just my thoughts... good luck with your plans

Good advice all around, heres some thoughts to think about. Maybe you should keep him like you said, an employee, and work together with him, then give him %30 if he brings the customer in, if not, pay him hourly. Thats all I have to add. Good luck!

Not much to add to this, great help in here! Does he have any clients lined up?
If you rent a stall to him, make sure there's a liability agreement separating you from any potential problems.
If you give him a job to do, maybe charge him 10-20%; try to give him around 50%. If he brings in X amount of cars a day, maybe give him a 5% bonus or something, maybe a free refill on product. He'll be happy longer and if he brings in enough clients, it'll cover you rent no time flat
Something else to consider might be retailing the cleaning products to him. This way, if he gets used to the products you are using, he'll keep using them. This way, if he wants to go off on his own, you still have some money coming in with product purchases
Good Luck

Carmen