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Unit Economics for Service Businesses: Profit Per Job Explained
You can be busy, growing, and still going broke — because growth only helps if each unit of work is actually profitable. Unit economics is the discipline of understanding the profit on a single job, and it’s the foundation of every good growth decision. Here’s how to think about profit per job.
The 12 Numbers Every Service Business Owner Should Know Weekly
You can’t grow what you don’t measure — and “the bank account looks okay” isn’t measurement. The owners who scale are the ones who know their numbers cold. Here are the 12 KPIs every service business owner should review weekly to spot problems early and steer the business on purpose.
Residential vs Commercial Work: Margins Cash Flow and Headaches
Should you chase commercial work, stick to residential, or do both? It’s one of the biggest strategic choices a contractor makes — and the two markets are more different than they look. Different margins, different cash flow, and very different headaches. Here’s an honest comparison to help you decide.
Referral Partnerships With Realtors Property Managers and Plumbers
Some of the most reliable lead sources for a service business aren’t marketing channels at all — they’re relationships with other local businesses who serve the same customers. Realtors, property managers, and complementary trades can send you steady, high-trust work for years. Here’s how to build referral partnerships that actually produce.
Landing Property Management and B2B Contracts as a Small Contractor
One property management company can send you more steady work than a hundred one-off residential jobs. B2B contracts with property managers, realtors, and facilities give a service business predictable, recurring revenue — but landing them takes a different playbook than winning homeowners. Here’s how.
How to Calculate Customer Acquisition Cost for a Local Service Business
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the number that tells you whether your marketing makes money or burns it — yet most service business owners have never calculated it. Here’s how to figure out what it really costs you to win a customer, and how to drive that number down.
Customer Lifetime Value for Home Services: The Formula Owners Get Wrong
Most owners judge a customer by the first job. That’s the mistake that leads to underspending on marketing and neglecting retention. A customer’s real worth is their lifetime value — every job, membership, and referral over years. Here’s the formula for home services, and the mistake owners get wrong.
Building a Customer Referral Program That Pays for Itself
A referral program is the closest thing to free growth a service business has — referred customers cost almost nothing to acquire, close faster, and refer others in turn. Structured right, the program more than pays for its own rewards. Here’s how to build one that funds itself.
Revenue Per Tech: Capacity Planning Before You Buy Another Truck
Before you buy another truck and hire another tech, answer one question: are your current techs producing what they should? Revenue per technician is the capacity-planning metric that tells you whether to hire, optimize, or fix your pricing first. Here’s how to use it.
Expanding to a Second City: A Market Entry Checklist for Service Companies
You’ve saturated your home market and growth is slowing — expanding to a second city is the obvious next move. But a new market can drain cash and attention fast if you enter it unprepared. Here’s a market-entry checklist for taking your service business into a new city the right way.
Adding a Second Service Line (Plumbing to HVAC Roofing to Gutters)
Adding a second service line — plumbing to HVAC, roofing to gutters, electrical to generators — is one of the most natural ways to grow: you sell more to the customers you already have. But a new service line can also stretch you thin and dilute quality. Here’s how to add one the right way.
Surviving the Slow Season: Cash Staffing and Offer Playbook
Every seasonal service business dreads the slow season — the phone goes quiet, cash gets tight, and you worry about keeping your team. But the slow season doesn’t have to be survival mode. With the right playbook for cash, staffing, and offers, you can stay profitable year-round. Here’s how.
Private Equity Roll-Ups in Home Services: What Owners Should Know
If you own an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, you’ve probably gotten the calls and letters: private equity wants to buy you. PE has poured billions into rolling up home services, and the offers can be life-changing — or traps. Here’s what owners should understand about the roll-up wave before they answer.
Annual Planning for Small Business Owners: A 90-Minute Working Session
Most small business owners never do annual planning — they’re too busy running the business to steer it. But a focused 90-minute planning session once a year can set the direction that shapes the next twelve months. Here’s a simple working-session template you can actually complete in an afternoon.
How to Buy an Existing HVAC or Plumbing Business (Due Diligence Guide)
Buying an existing HVAC or plumbing business can be a faster path to scale than building from scratch — you get customers, revenue, and a team on day one. But you can also inherit hidden problems that sink the deal. Here’s a due-diligence guide to buying an existing service business without getting burned.
What Is Your Service Business Worth? Valuation Multiples for 2026
Whether you’re planning to sell someday or just want to know what you’ve built, one question matters: what is your service business actually worth? The answer comes down to a multiple of your profit — and which multiple you earn depends on factors you can control. Here are the 2026 valuation benchmarks.
Selling Your Business in 3 Years: The EBITDA Cleanup Plan
The best time to prepare your business for sale is years before you sell it. Buyers pay for clean, predictable, transferable earnings — and getting there takes time. Here’s a three-year EBITDA cleanup plan to maximize what your business is worth when you’re ready to exit.
A Business Plan Template for Home Service Companies (With Example)
You don’t need a 50-page business plan to start or grow a home service company — but you do need a clear one. A focused plan forces you to think through the things that make or break a service business before you bet money on them. Here’s a practical business plan template, with an example.
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