Painting Company here: Employees or Subs?

I get where you’re coming from. I run a landscaping company, and my core mowing crew and landscaping crew is made up of employees for consistency. But for my tree work and fertilizer divisions, I subcontract everything to keep costs down and stay flexible. Employees can be expensive and need more oversight, but they help maintain quality where it matters. Subs are great for specialized or seasonal work, but there’s always a trade-off with control and consistency. I think having subs is a great idea, you just have to create a relationship with your sub-contractors where you hold them to a higher standard. Maybe a mix could work for you—keeping employees for key areas and using subs where flexibility matters most. It’s helped me stay competitive while managing overhead. If you are to use subs, I would make sure you still have a lead person in charge, just so you know all the work is high quality and still being done in a timely matter.