January 16, 2025
I want to push back on something I hear constantly in the trades: the idea that there simply aren’t enough good people out there.
Ismael Valdez, who built a significant following in the home services space through his work in marketing and recruiting, had a line that stuck with me. He said there isn’t a labor shortage. There’s a wage gap between what you’re offering and what great people can actually earn somewhere else.
That framing matters. Because if you believe there’s a labor shortage, the problem is outside your control — it’s the market, it’s the economy, it’s the generation, it’s something. You’re a victim of circumstances. But if there’s a wage gap, the problem is inside your business. And that means you can fix it.
Great people know what they’re worth. They have options. When they look at your offer — your base rate, your commission structure, your earning potential — they’re comparing it against what they know they can make somewhere with a well-designed pay plan. If your plan doesn’t stack up, they’ll go somewhere it does. Not because they’re disloyal or mercenary, but because they’re rational adults who want to earn what they’re capable of earning.
The flip side of this is equally powerful: when you build a pay plan that genuinely rewards top performance, recruiting becomes easier. You stop chasing people and start attracting them. Your best current employees become your recruiters — they tell their friends, they share what they’re making, and the kind of people who want to work hard for real money start showing up.
Retention gets easier too. When high performers are paid well and can see clearly how their effort translates directly into income, they don’t leave for $2 more an hour somewhere else. They stay because the earning ceiling is high and the rules are fair.
And something else happens that owners often don’t anticipate: the low performers self-select out. When pay is tied tightly to performance, the people who were comfortable coasting on a flat wage start feeling uncomfortable. They either step up or they leave. Both outcomes are fine. The ones who step up improve your team. The ones who leave open space for people who will.
Ismael was remarkable at this — he was exceptional at recruiting and building teams that were excited about their pay plans. Part of what made him effective was that his plans were genuinely worth being excited about. They weren’t a trap or a trick. They were a real opportunity for people who wanted to perform.
If you’re struggling to find and keep good people, I’d encourage you to stop blaming the labor market long enough to honestly look at your pay structure. Ask what a top performer could realistically earn in your company in a great month. Ask whether that number is competitive. Ask whether the plan is simple enough that a great candidate could get excited about it in a job interview.
If the answers make you uncomfortable, that’s the wage gap showing itself. And closing it starts with you.
