In this episode of the Huge Insider Podcast, host Sid Graef and guest Jared Skinner discuss how to create performance-based pay structures that motivate and reward high-achieving employees without sacrificing quality or compliance. You’ll learn about the importance of setting clear standards, understanding legal requirements (like the 7(i) exemption), implementing base pay combined with commission, and establishing guardrails to maintain quality. By tracking performance with dashboards and scoreboards, you can “gamify” your team’s efforts and ensure everyone is incentivized to perform at their best. These insights are especially valuable for service-based business owners looking to improve profitability, increase employee retention, and maintain high-quality services. Show Notes Guest: Name: Jared Skinner Owns multiple seven-figure businesses (window cleaning, concrete coatings, holiday lighting) Topics Covered: Why performance-based pay boosts production The 7(i) exemption and legal requirements Combining a base hourly wage with commission Setting guardrails to ensure service quality Tracking and displaying performance metrics (gamification) Resources (Mentioned & Essential): The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Foundations platform trial offer The Huge Mastermind info page Facebook Group The Huge Convention tickets and info Call in with questions or stories: (804) 600-HUGE (804-600-4843) TranscriptSid Graef (Host):Welcome back, my friend, to the Huge Insider Podcast. My name is Sid Graef, and this is the Huge Insider Podcast. It is the show for home service professionals that are striving to break the million-dollar revenue mark. If that's you, you're in the right place. Now, if you're already over a million in revenue, guaranteed, you're gonna get even more out of the show. So why do we say this is the show? There are a lot of people with big opinions and not so much experience. There's a lot of fake gurus out there, and we want to help you skip the B.S. and get real wisdom from experienced business builders. That's why we've gathered wisdom and insight directly from seven- and eight-figure business owners. These folks are running companies doing anywhere from two to forty million dollars a year. We bring you their best insights and experiences, all focused on a single topic each month. These are real owners—no armchair philosophers or fake gurus. They've done it. These are the ones quietly building empires behind the scenes. They're not on social media looking for attention; they're in business making things happen. Last month, we focused on hiring A-players. This month, we answer the question: What do you do once you hire the right person? When you get your A-player, what do you do about onboarding, pay structure, training, and more? Today, we're diving back into performance-based pay: how do you structure your pay plan to reward, motivate, and retain high performers? You're gonna meet Jared Skinner today. Jared owns a window cleaning company, a concrete coatings company, and a holiday lighting company, and they're all seven-figure companies. He probably owns more than that, and I don't even know about it. But remember, the goal here is to structure your pay in a way that is motivating to your employees and profitable for your company. This can be a tricky tightrope to walk. Everything Jared talks about is in the show notes. Just to be clear, he’s not an attorney or a tax professional—he’s a business owner speaking from experience. If there's a specific tax or legal question that comes up, talk to a professional. That said, the last thing before we dive in: we’ve got a downloadable action guide for you, and it’s available at thehugeinsider.com. With that, let’s dive into today’s topic. Jared Skinner (Guest):Everyone, welcome to the Huge Insider Podcast. Today, I'm gonna talk a little bit about pay for performa