Why Finding the Right People Should Be Easier Than Ever

What if you outsourced 100% of your business operations?

I know several company owners who do exactly this. They keep minimal overhead, own their equipment, store it in their building, and bring in specialists for every aspect of their shows. These companies make good money and deliver excellent value to their customers.

Of course, this model isn’t viable for everyone. It only works for a select few — what I call “unicorn owners.” These rare individuals excel at selling shows, acquiring customers, selecting equipment, managing finances, and running operations.

But most business owners build their companies around a single area of expertise, often technical skills or show site operations. Those owners need to surround themselves with experts in other areas.

The good news? It’s never been easier to find them.

The Real Reason Talent Is Easy to Find

This shift isn’t in the labor market. It’s in our mindset.

Scalable businesses have realized they need to pay more for good talent, which means charging more for their services. When companies commit to charging appropriate rates, they become willing to pay what talented people are worth.

Early in my career as a freelancer, companies paid me $15–25 per hour but charged their clients $45–60 per hour for my services. That’s a 4x markup — and I still felt they were doing me a favor. More importantly, their customers gladly paid these rates because they recognized the value of skilled talent.

Today, most companies only charge about 1.18x what they pay their talent. The cost of good talent hasn’t skyrocketed — it’s grown steadily over the years. What hasn’t kept pace is what we’re willing to charge customers.

After asking “why” five times, you’ll discover the cause: fear. We’re afraid of our customers. We don’t want to explain our pricing, so we drop rates instead. That’s why our talent pricing is backwards.

The Right Team Structure

Don’t confuse the people you need to run your business with those you need to execute shows successfully.

Take a video specialist who owns a company. They don’t need in-house experts for audio, lighting, rigging, finance, and sales. They just need four key people:

• Sales expert for their market
• Technology and solutions specialist
• Operational procurement manager
• Financial controller

With these four positions filled by top talent, you can run a substantial operation and outsource everything else — including sales support.

The right core team can create detailed showbooks any qualified freelancer can execute perfectly. But if you’re stuck sending your staff to show sites because you can’t properly plan and communicate event details to crews, you’ll face a choice: add more people or upgrade your existing team.

Most choose to add more people. This is a mistake.

The True Cost of Average Talent

Owners often tell me, “I can’t afford to upgrade my team. These people cost more than my current staff!” This mindset needs fixing.

Good talent costs what it costs. If you base your business model on average talent, you’ll need more people, more documented processes, and you’ll lose more sleep. But one exceptional person can handle the workload of three average performers and make it look simple.

A Reality Check on “Good” Talent

Many owners tell me, “I have the best technician on staff.”

I challenge them: “If your technician were freelancing, what would he make per day?”

When they answer “$600,” I have to break the news: that’s not top talent. You’re controlling average performers that other companies are happy not to deal with.

The real experts command rates in the $900s range because they bring more value. They improve equipment utilization, reduce errors, and eliminate the need for underused salaried positions.

Once you grasp how valuable experts are to your business, you won’t just accept their cost — you’ll celebrate how much they save you.