Short Term Rental Secrets Podcast How to Hire Your First STR Team Member (and Buy Back Your Time) | The STR Scale Show with Mike Reilly | Ep 31
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Nov 6, 2025 Learn the key moments for hiring your first team member to free up time for growth. Discover who to hire first, when to make the leap, and how to onboard effectively using SOPs. Get insights on crafting a sample schedule for virtual assistants and setting the right pay. Mike shares personal stories, the importance of culture fit during interviews, and the need to focus on gaining more properties rather than just direct bookings. Don’t miss practical tips for building a structure with virtual assistants and local co-hosts!
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Hire At The Five-Property Inflection
- Hire your first team member once you hit ~5 properties to stop doing low-value $8–$12 tasks.
- Freeing that time lets you focus on growth and higher-leverage activities.
Back Into Roles From Goals
- Define your income and hours goals first, then reverse-engineer the role you must become.
- Different revenue targets require different focus: operator vs. salesperson vs. CEO.
First Hire: Sean Became Ops Lead
- Mike hired his first operations hire, Sean, when they reached seven properties and it paid off.
- Sean, a former Airbnb employee, later became their operations manager and delivered huge value.
