I have been hiring one fulltime "employee" (friend who takes cash).

You would not be an employee of the brokerage, you would be a 1099 contractor, small business owner. 

I bought an existing PM company with 100 doors and have grown it to 350 doors, two offices, six employees, and a few sales agents.

Remember though, a good reputable PM will be interviewing you as well to ensure you match with them.I see a lot of investors look at their PM as their "employee" and they are in charge, and these are the types of arrangements I see fail more often than not. 

HR is a head ache with $12 an hour employees in a strong economic environment.

I am a Class A contractor in VA with many employees who can do work on a property that needs revamping.

Now, most of these smaller banks may only have 12 employees or so.

@Meg SchlesmanIf you are self-employed and have no full time employees, then yes, you can establish a Solo 401(k) and that new plan can accept a rollover from a prior pension.If the plan is making the down payment, then everything having to do with the property must be under the umbrella of the plan.  

However, as of Sept 3 I am a full time hourly employee at 25$ an hr with plenty of overtime work.

I had the luck of starting with my father's firm as an employee before branching out.