sns-network-solutions/businesses/01-infrastructure/sns-infrastructure-hiring.md

# 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.