I've considered your approach, Tim. Thanks. Plenty of industries work that way and it is an easy way to turn a costly employee into a profitable one. I will give it more thought, now that you've brought it to my attention again.

re: the taboo of this question: why? if any of you think you have knowledge that is too good to share then why haven't I seen your picture on the cover of fortune magazine? I don't consider these to be industry secrets, rather estimating 101. I make money on my work so I know I'm not doing anything wrong. My simple problem is I have one employee who costs me money while the rest make me money. I'm looking for a knowledge base to lean on when I confront the issue in the near future.

Before I decided to start my business 5 years ago, I spent 10 years working as a project manager in an engineering department for a paper company. I'm not green to the ways of managing people or projects. None of us are above seeking helpful advice from colleagues.

Establishing a baseline for comparing a joiner's worth should be considered valuable knowledge to all of us.