Should I hire help or raise prices instead?
Short answer
Raise prices first. If you're still drowning at the new price, then hire.
Why prices first
Hiring is a one-way door. Once you have payroll, you need the revenue forever. A price raise is reversible and tells you in two months whether demand is real or you were just cheap.
When to add the person
If the new price still leaves you booked out four weeks and turning work away, that demand can support a hire. Now you have margin to train them slowly.
Ask your version of this question
This is one business owner-tested take. Your shop size, trade, and team change the answer. Ask the exact version inside Ask a Shop Owner and get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.