“These vehicles are so painfully expensive.” 🥲🚚
Sadi Ingallina (Grow Your Tree Co.) knows the repair bill is only part of the cost. When a shovel went through one of her chippers, it meant a $16,000 repair. 👍 Vote below what’s your biggest challenge with work vehicles. What do you wish you’d known sooner about fleet management? Let us know in the comments. In this Masters of Home Service episode, Sadi, Kyle MacDonald (Force Fleet Tracking), and Beau Batcheller (Five Stones Landscape) break down setting clear rules for drivers, how dash cams and GPS tracking can help protect your business, and ways to stay ahead of maintenance and downtime. Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.How Fast Do You Pick Up a Phone Call or Call Someone Back After a Missed Call?
Curious how everyone here handles this, because a new Jobber survey of recent homebuyers turned up a stat that stuck with me: 15% had to follow up repeatedly just to get a response from a contractor 9% never heard back at all Losing potential business due to something that is not a pricing problem or a skill problem should be a wake up call. In a world where 75% of new homeowners hire a pro within their first two years of buying, being the one who calls back first might be the easiest job you win all week! So, what's your business standard? Do you answer within a certain time frame or let it go to voicemail and call back same day? Are there systems set up so nothing slips through the cracks? 👉 Recent Homebuyer Report: It's got homeowner quotes on what made them trust (or ditch) a contractor, plus a breakdown of how each generation actually finds a pro.
What’s Actually Working for Marketing in 2026? 🚜📈
Trying to figure out what actually works for marketing a small service business in 2026 feels like throwing darts blindfolded sometimes. 😅 Facebook boosts? Marketplace? Reels? Before & after photos? Community groups? Google Business? Word of mouth? Door hangers? I run a veteran-owned rural property management company in New Brunswick, Canada, and I’m curious what’s genuinely bringing people, real customers lately — not just likes and views. For the people actually getting calls and booked jobs: • What’s been your most successful marketing approach? • What gives the best ROI for a small budget? • What completely flopped for you? • Are you finding people respond more to personality/branding or straight-up service ads and pricing? Would love to hear real experiences from other small business owners and operators. 🚜🔥
What are you doing right now to make the phone ring for your business?
what is your go to advertisements or sales tactics to get lead generation? We have been in business for over 17 years now servicing the Tampa bay area and this year has hit us the hardest. I am an isa certified arborist and I do engage in networking and community events but despite our best efforts we are still experiencing a lack of leads. I don't want to just throw money at the wall but we are running out of options. what are some things that are working for you?Would your best technician actually want to be a manager? 🤔
Being great at the work doesn’t always mean someone wants to manage a crew. Some technicians want to keep growing in the field, while others enjoy helping people learn and making the tough calls that come with leading a team. 👍 What’s the first thing you’d consider before offering a technician a management role? Vote in the poll below. Have another factor you look for? Drop it in the comments! In this Masters of Home Service episode, Sadi Ingallina (Grow Your Tree Co.) and Rich Camacho (BlueRecruit) share the signs they look for in future managers, how they test leadership potential with small opportunities, and what helps them decide when someone is ready for more responsibility. 👉 Want to put their tips into action? Download our free team readiness checklist for this episode. Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
AI in Home Services — What’s Actually Working for You?
I’ve been testing a few tools in my tree care business and wanted to get real feedback from others in the field. Recently switched from Ooma Office to Quo (formerly OpenPhone), and one feature that’s been working well is automatic text follow-up when a call is missed. Instead of voicemail, it asks for the address and service needed. It’s helped keep leads engaged and reduced missed opportunities. Also using different call flows based on business hours, which has improved response consistency. That said, AI voice receptionists still don’t feel fully there yet. Most customers can tell, and in this industry people usually expect to speak with a real person—especially for larger or safety-related jobs. Curious to hear from others: What AI tools are you actually using in your business? What have you stopped using? What are the top 3 reasons you’ve kept a tool long-term? Looking for real-world experience, not hype.What Should Home Service Businesses Automate First to Save Time?
Small manual tasks start stacking up, catching up on follow-ups, re-adjusting scheduling, invoicing, review requests, the list goes on and on. Sound familiar? What’s one task you’re still doing manually that you know could be automated? What’s stopping you from setting it up?Roll call! Meet & introduce yourself to other Green & Exterior Service pros
If you’ve ever thought, “How are other businesses like mine handling this?” you’re in the right place! This space is for Green & Exterior Service pros to connect, compare notes, and talk shop with others who understand the day-to-day realities of running your type of business. 👋 Introduce Yourself Drop a comment and tell us: Your name Business name Industry Years in business Location (City/State/Province) Let us know if you’re joining us for LIVE networking on March 17 (more details below) The more context you share, the better connections you’ll make. 🙌 Pro tip: Search your city or state in the forum to easily find other pros in your area. 📅 Want to connect LIVE? We’re running a pilot to host virtual weekly LIVE Industry Networking starting on March 17, running until April 7. If you’d be interested in joining for the first or following sessions (don’t need to commit to all but you're welcome to join!), make sure to let us know in the comments. 🤝 Culture of this space Think of this forum board like a room full of peers who understand your world. Share what’s working. Ask real questions. Talk through challenges. The goal is to power your success and raise the standard of home service industries together. 💬 Looking for conversation starters? This space works best when conversations are industry-specific and experience-based. You might jump in with something like: “How are other [industry] pros pricing this service right now?” “Is anyone else seeing this shift in their market?” “What’s been working for you when it comes to ____?" 🤔 Why are industries grouped together? We’ve intentionally clustered similar industries to keep conversations active and relevant. These groupings reflect shared business models, operational challenges, and pricing conversations so you can learn from peers who “get it,” even if they’re not in your exact trade. If your question applies to all home service businesses, feel free to post in our broader forum boards. Pro tip: Check out the industry tags to get even more specific Looking forward to seeing this space come to life. 🚀What's a job you'd hand off if you knew it'd be done right every time?
Whether it's estimates, scheduling, field work, or customer calls, there's usually one task that's really hard to let go of. What’s yours? And if you've successfully handed something off, what finally gave you enough confidence to do it? In this Masters of Home Service episode, Austin Rogers (arogersavai) and Sadi Ingallina (Grow Your Tree Co.) break down one of the toughest transitions for home service owners: stepping out of the field. They share lessons on hiring, training, creating SOPs, and building a business that doesn't depend on the owner being there every day. Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
