The First Five Hires for a Growing Renovation Shop

Every renovation shop hits the same ceiling at 2 people. The owner does everything customer facing (sales, estimates, project management, billing) plus a big share of the actual work. Growth stops because the owner is the bottleneck. The next 5 hires unlock a shop that can run 8 to 12 concurrent projects. Get the order right and you save a full season of growth.

Hire 1. A dedicated lead carpenter or foreman

Not a helper. A lead carpenter who can run a job site independently, own quality, and manage subs. This is the hire that gets the owner out of daily field work and into sales. Salary range in 2026 is $65k to $95k depending on region. Non negotiable qualification. Has run projects worth $100k plus without owner supervision.

Signs you are ready. You are turning down profitable projects because you are already stretched thin. You have at least 6 months of visible pipeline.

Hire 2. A part time bookkeeper (10 hours per week)

Not a full time office manager. A part time bookkeeper who handles invoicing follow up, reconciles bank statements, tracks receivables aging, and closes the books monthly. This hire pays for itself in the receivables you stop losing.

Rate. $30 to $55 per hour, remote is fine. Non negotiable qualification. Has closed books for at least one construction or renovation business.

Hire 3. A second carpenter or apprentice

Now that hire 1 is running one crew, hire the second body for that crew. This is when your project throughput doubles. Costly mistake to do this before hire 1 because you become the lead carpenter for a two person crew and end up back where you started.

Rate. $22 to $38 per hour. Apprentice route is great if you have the patience to train.

Hire 4. A dedicated estimator or salesperson

Somewhere between $200k and $500k in monthly pipeline, you hit the point where estimating becomes a full time job. Hire the estimator when your close rate starts dropping because you are rushing through estimates in 30 minutes at 9 pm. Sales is a hire, not a skill you can add to a lead carpenter.

Rate. $60k to $90k base plus 1 to 2 percent commission on closed projects. Non negotiable qualification. Has closed at least $1M in renovation revenue in the past year.

Hire 5. A second lead carpenter (crew 2)

The fifth hire is what turns a 5 person shop into a 6 to 8 person shop. Second lead unlocks parallel projects (two active jobs at once) and lets the owner focus purely on sales, hiring, and margin management. This is the final "operator" hire before you become a pure business operator instead of a working carpenter.

The order that fails

Most owners hire in the wrong order. Common mistake. Hire an office manager first because paperwork feels overwhelming. Result. You still can't get out of the field. Second common mistake. Hire two apprentices instead of one lead. Result. You are now training two people, running the crew, and doing sales. Growth stops.

Stick to the sequence. Lead carpenter first, always.