# SNS Infrastructure — Operator Hiring Plan (Business #1) **Goal:** Stand up SNS Infrastructure LLC as the first operating business and hire **one trusted person to truly run it day-to-day** — kept **deliberately right-sized**, not scaled aggressively. Success = the business runs profitably and **stands on its own** with minimal owner involvement, freeing the owner to launch Business #2. **Parent:** SnS Network Solutions Holdings LLC · **Division brand:** [`sns-infrastructure.md`](../../divisions/sns-infrastructure.md) > Business/HR playbook, not legal or tax advice. Have an Indiana employment > attorney review the offer letter, profit-share terms, and restrictive-covenant > language, and a CPA/payroll provider set up withholding and workers' comp before > hiring. --- ## 0. What "Right-Sized" Means Here This is a **stay-small-on-purpose** business — a stable, high-quality local operation, not a growth-at-all-costs company. Target shape: - **Team:** the Operator + **project-based contractors via Field Nation / Work Market** for labor. Convert to W-2 techs only once steady work justifies more than ~2 people. Owner is part-time and hands-off after ramp. - **Territory:** South Bend / Michiana + roughly a 1-hour radius. Don't chase work across the state. - **Clients:** a curated base of the brand's target customers (small/medium businesses, churches, medical/law offices, etc.) with **repeat and referral work** — not one-off low-margin jobs. - **Posture:** protect **margin and reputation over volume.** Say no to bad-fit jobs. Add a tech only when utilization genuinely demands it. Why this is a good strategy, not a limitation: higher margins, lower stress, less capital at risk, easier to run without the owner, and a quality reputation that feeds referrals — exactly the "trusted long-term partner" the parent brand wants. --- ## 1. The Real Decision You are hiring the person who will **be** the business day-to-day and be trusted to run it. Three archetypes: | Archetype | What they do | Cost | Fit for a right-sized shop | |-----------|--------------|------|----------------------------| | **A. Cheap installer** | Pulls cable, follows orders | Low ($18–24/hr) | ✗ Can't run anything; you'd still be the boss | | **B. Operator-Lead (working manager)** ✅ | Runs day-to-day *and* does billable field work | Mid–High ($75–95k + profit-share) | ✓ **The right hire** — one person runs a small, tight operation | | **C. Pure General Manager** | Manages/sells only, no hands-on | High ($90k+) | ✗ Overkill; a small shop can't carry a non-billing manager | **Recommendation: hire Archetype B — an "Operator-Lead."** For a deliberately small business you need one dependable person who **runs the operation and still turns a wrench**: schedules and delivers work, quotes jobs, keeps clients happy, manages 1–2 techs, and owns the outcome — without needing you day-to-day. --- ## 2. The Ideal Candidate Profile **Title:** Operations Lead / Working Manager (Founding Operator) A dependable senior network/low-voltage professional (7–12 years) who wants to **run their own shop without the risk of owning it.** They're organized, honest, client-friendly, and take pride in a job done right — the type who wants stability and responsibility, **not** to build an empire or spin off their own competing company. Temperament matters as much as skill here: you're handing over the keys. Look for someone motivated by **ownership of outcomes and steady, fair upside**, who embodies the brand's principles — **open standards, security by design, documentation matters, automate repetitive work, build for tomorrow.** --- ## 3. Responsibilities **Do the work (Day 1):** - Structured cabling (Cat6/6A, fiber), termination, and certification testing - Network install/config: routers, switches, VLANs, firewalls, VPNs - Wireless: site surveys, AP placement, controller config (UniFi/Meraki/Aruba) - Rack build-outs, labeling, and as-built documentation **Run the business (once ramped — this is the "truly run it" part):** - Scheduling, dispatch, and project delivery - Site walks, scoping, estimating, and proposals - Owning client relationships and repeat/referral pipeline - Vendor/distributor accounts (Graybar, ADI, Wesco/Anixter) - Maintaining SNS install standards, documentation, and pricing - Managing 1–2 technicians and their quality/safety **Steady-state (NOT aggressive growth):** - Keep utilization healthy and margins protected - Add a technician only when demand clearly requires it - Maintain the reputation and client base — protect quality over volume --- ## 4. Skills & Certifications **Must-have** - 7+ years hands-on networking + structured cabling - **Cisco CCNA** *or* **CompTIA Network+** (routing/switching competence) - Structured cabling + fiber termination; comfortable with a cable certifier (Fluke) - **Operational maturity** — can schedule, quote, manage a small crew, and be relied on to run the shop - Proven client-facing communication and clean documentation habits - Valid driver's license + clean driving record (company vehicle) - Able to lift ~50 lbs, work on ladders/lifts, pass a background check **Strongly preferred** - **BICSI** (Installer 2 / Technician) or **RCDD** for design - Wireless vendor certs (Ubiquiti UEWA, Cisco Meraki, Aruba) - **CompTIA Security+** (bridges into the future SNS Secure division) - Estimating/quoting experience; has run jobs end-to-end **Bonus** - Has run a small crew, branch, or their own service operation *reliably* - Local relationships with GCs, electricians, property managers, businesses - Linux/automation familiarity (aligns with SNS Systems) **Screen out on:** all theory / no hands-on, no documentation discipline, can't explain tech simply, unexplained job-hopping, or signals they really want to start their **own** company (that's a future competitor, not your operator). --- ## 5. Compensation — South Bend Market (verify at hire) > **See [`operator-compensation-proposal.md`](./operator-compensation-proposal.md) > for the current, detailed pay proposal** (loan-funded 6-month runway, base + > commission + build bonus, and the contractor labor model). The summary below is > the general framing. Local 2026 reference points: low-voltage/cabling techs average ~$25/hr (~$43k/yr); experienced network engineers in South Bend run **$80k–110k**; lead comms/data techs $100k+. An Operator-Lead who runs the shop sits at the **top of the technician band into the engineer band.** **Recommended structure — solid base + profit-share (fits a stable, right-sized business better than growth commissions):** | Component | Range | Notes | |-----------|-------|-------| | Base salary | **$75,000–$95,000** | Pay fairly — you're trusting them to run it | | **Profit-share** | **10–15% of the division's net profit**, paid quarterly/annually | The key lever: rewards **profitability and stability**, not chasing volume | | Retention/quality bonus | modest annual | Tied to client retention + clean delivery, reinforcing "right-sized" | | Company vehicle | ~$400–700/mo (lease) or mileage reimbursement | | | Tools + certifier | $5,000–15,000 one-time | Fluke certifier is the big line item | | Cert reimbursement | ~$1,500/yr | Keeps skills current, builds loyalty | | Phone/laptop | ~$100/mo | | **Why profit-share, not equity:** you want to keep full ownership under the Holdings company and move on to Business #2. **Profit-share (cash) makes the Operator treat the business like their own without giving up any ownership** — and because you're keeping it small, a healthy net-profit share is genuinely motivating. (Equity/vesting is optional and only worth considering later if this person becomes irreplaceable — get attorney/CPA advice first.) **Fully-loaded first-year cost:** base + **~25–30% employer burden** (payroll taxes, workers' comp — higher for field/low-voltage class codes, benefits) + vehicle + tools. Budget roughly **$115,000–$145,000 all-in for year one**, front-loaded by the one-time tools/certifier purchase. > **Cash-flow reality:** this person costs money before the division earns it. > Hold **6–12 months of their loaded cost in reserve**, or start them > part-time / contract-to-hire until the pipeline supports full-time. --- ## 6. Keeping It Running Without You (this is the whole point) Because you intend to **step back and move to Business #2**, key-person risk is your #1 threat: one person will hold the clients and the know-how, and could leave — or leave *and compete*. The goal is a business that runs without you *and* can't walk out the door. Non-negotiables: 1. **Stay involved until it's genuinely self-sufficient** (see §11), then step back deliberately — don't disappear on day one. 2. **Own the assets, not just the labor.** Client contracts, the phone number, domain, website, documentation, pricing, and vendor accounts belong to **SNS Infrastructure LLC** — never to the individual. 3. **Document everything** (a core brand principle). Standards, processes, client as-builts, and pricing live in the company so it survives any one person and a new tech can be onboarded from the binder. This is your real insurance policy. 4. **Profit-share retention.** A fair net-profit share is the strongest reason a dependable operator stays and runs it well instead of leaving to start their own. 5. **Restrictive covenants** — narrow non-solicitation, see §9. 6. **Don't let one person be a single point of failure forever.** Even at "right-sized," a second cross-trained tech means the business isn't hostage to one person's calendar or mood. --- ## 7. Where to Find This Person (South Bend / Michiana) - **Ivy Tech Community College (South Bend/Elkhart)** — networking/IT programs; junior-tech pipeline plus further-along grads/instructors. Build the relationship early. - **Poach from local/regional integrators, AV/security firms, and ISPs** — a seasoned tech tired of big-company bureaucracy who wants to run a shop is the ideal fit. - **Electrical/low-voltage contractors** — cross-trained field techs. - **Referrals** — ask your network first; the best trade operators rarely apply cold. - **BICSI directory / LinkedIn / Indeed** — filter CCNA/Network+/BICSI within ~50 mi. - **South Bend Regional Chamber & trade groups** — candidates *and* future clients. --- ## 8. Screening & Interview Process 1. **Phone screen (20 min):** experience, why leaving, comp expectations, license, and *what they actually want* — running a stable shop vs. starting their own. 2. **Technical interview (60 min):** walk through a past project end-to-end; have them *design a small office network + cabling plan out loud*. 3. **Operations interview:** how they'd schedule a week, quote a job, handle an unhappy client, and keep a crew organized. You're testing whether they can *run it*, not just wire it. 4. **Hands-on assessment:** terminate a Cat6 cable + explain a cert test, or review a real quote — confirm the hands match the résumé. 5. **Client-communication test:** explain a technical concept to a "coffee-shop owner." Make-or-break for someone who owns client relationships. 6. **References (2–3):** former manager + a client. Probe reliability, documentation, honesty, and how they leave employers. 7. **Background + driving-record check** (client premises + company vehicle). 8. **Contract-to-hire / trial project** — strongly recommended to de-risk handing someone the keys. --- ## 9. Legal & Employment Setup (Indiana) - **Employer of record:** a **W-2 employee of SNS Infrastructure LLC**, not the Holdings parent — keeps employment liability walled off in the subsidiary. - **Payroll & taxes:** register Indiana withholding (INBiz BT-1) + a payroll provider (Gusto/QuickBooks/ADP). Get the **subsidiary's EIN**. - **Workers' comp — required in Indiana**, essential for ladder/field work; rates for low-voltage/construction class codes are meaningful — budget for it. - **Employment agreement:** Indiana is **at-will**; still put duties, base, the **profit-share formula and how net profit is calculated**, confidentiality, and IP assignment in writing to avoid disputes. - **Restrictive covenants (Indiana-specific):** Indiana enforces non-competes / non-solicitation **only if reasonable** in scope, duration, and geography and tied to a protectable interest (client lists, training, trade secrets). Courts "blue-pencil" (strike overbroad terms, won't rewrite), so **draft narrow**: a **non-solicitation of SNS clients/employees for 1–2 years** is far more enforceable — and more useful — than a broad "can't work in networking" clause. Attorney-drafted. - **General liability insurance** for on-site work. --- ## 10. First 90 Days (onboarding) - **Week 1:** entity/payroll/insurance live; company email, vehicle, tools issued; review SNS standards, documentation templates, and safety expectations. - **Weeks 2–4:** shadow/lead first jobs *with you present*; set up vendor accounts and the standard estimate/quote and as-built templates. - **Month 2:** they own scoping and quoting; you review before it goes out. Confirm the profit-share formula and reporting. - **Month 3:** they run delivery end-to-end; you shift to reviewing numbers, not doing the work. Agree the written self-sufficiency milestones (§11). --- ## 11. "Standing On Its Own" — the trigger to start Business #2 Move to Business #2 only when SNS Infrastructure clears these, ideally sustained **3–6 months**: - ✅ Positive **net profit** for 3–6 consecutive months **without the owner doing billable work**. - ✅ The Operator independently handles **sales, quoting, delivery, and client relationships**. - ✅ **Processes and pricing are documented** — a new tech could be onboarded from the binder. - ✅ A **cash reserve** (several months of operating cost) is maintained. - ✅ Owner's weekly involvement is down to **a few hours of review** (numbers, approvals, exceptions). Until then, keep at least one foot in the business. --- ## 12. First-Hire Cost Summary | Item | One-time | Recurring (yr 1) | |------|----------|------------------| | Base salary | — | $75,000–95,000 | | Employer burden (~25–30%) | — | ~$19,000–29,000 | | Profit-share | — | 10–15% of net profit (variable) | | Vehicle | — | ~$5,000–8,500 (lease) | | Tools + Fluke certifier | $5,000–15,000 | — | | Cert reimbursement | — | ~$1,500 | | Workers' comp + GL insurance | — | varies (get quotes) | | Payroll software | — | ~$600–1,200 | | **Rough all-in year one** | | **~$115,000–145,000** | **Bottom line:** hire a dependable **Operator-Lead** who wants to run a shop without owning the risk. Pay a fair base plus a **net-profit share** so they treat it like their own, keep all clients/assets/documentation in the LLC, protect **margin and reputation over volume**, and stay involved until the business **stands on its own** (§11) — then step back and start Business #2.