I've been running my brokerage as a one-person operation for 4 years and everything lives in my head. If I got hit by a bus tomorrow, nothing would get done. Starting to think about hiring and realizing I need to document my processes first. How do you all handle SOPs? What tools do you use?
I'm thinking about bringing on 2-3 loan officers and building a small team. I've heard different comp structures: salary + bonus, straight commission, or a split. What's working for people who have successfully built teams?
I'm doing about $8M/month in loan volume solo. I'm at capacity and turning down deals. I know I need to hire but I'm scared of the overhead and management responsibility. When did you hire your first employee and what was the trigger?
I'm at the point where I'm turning down deals because I don't have bandwidth. Closed 18 deals last year, on pace for 25 this year. Thinking about hiring someone but not sure what role makes the most sense first. Options I'm considering: 1. Loan processor (handles doc collection, follows up with borrowers) 2. Marketing/admin assistant (handles lead gen, scheduling, paperwork) 3. Junior broker (brings their own deals, I mentor them) What did you hire first and would you do it differently?