Short, specific writing about the business side of a trade — getting leads, answering them fast, pricing without guessing, hiring in March, and staying on the right side of the texting rules. No growth hacks. No listicles.
We are a small agency that builds and runs software for home-service contractors, so most of what is here comes out of a real conversation with a real fence builder or pressure washer who was losing money in a specific, fixable place. Every number we cite is sourced or labelled as our own assumption. Nothing here requires you to buy anything.
The customer went quiet after your estimate. A follow-up schedule by job size, which channel each step may use under the FCC's calling and texting rules and the FTC's email rules, three plain messages, and when to stop.
Almost nobody leaves a contractor a voicemail. What the greeting is really for, four things it has to say, three scripts to copy, and the daily check that keeps a full box from turning callers away.
A one-star review gets read by every homeowner who finds you next, and so does your reply. A four-part reply that works, the details that must never go in it, why a no-review clause in your contract is void, and when Google will actually take a review down.
A discount for a five-star review breaks a federal rule, and any reward for any review breaks Google's. What the FTC's 2024 review rule and Google's policy actually say, why asking only happy customers is a trap, and a way to ask that stays inside both.
Four ways to buy customers, four different things you pay for: a lead, a contact, a response, a click. What each one charges for, who else gets the same customer, the bad-lead rules, and how to work out your cost per won job.
The FTC charged HomeAdvisor with misleading contractors about the leads it sold, and a 2023 order settled it. What the agency alleged, what the order bars, and the questions and log that let you judge any lead seller yourself.
Most owners guess how many calls they miss. One honest week of logging every call and web form gives you the real number, and Invoca's 2026 home-services benchmarks show how it compares.
About 78% of jobs go to whoever responds first. Not the cheapest, not the best reviewed. First. Here is what that actually means for a contractor who works with his hands.
Six subjects, because those are the six places we watch contractors lose money.
Why traffic is not leads, and what has to be on the page before a homeowner will hand over a phone number.
The five-minute rule, missed calls, voicemail, and why a text beats a callback almost every time.
Getting the formula out of your head and onto paper so somebody — or something — else can run it.
Finding crew who are already employed, screening without resumes, and cutting interview no-shows.
TCPA and A2P 10DLC without the legalese, so you can text customers back without worrying.
Seasonality, margin by job type, and the winter decisions that decide how March goes.
If something on the business side of your trade is costing you money and nobody has written it down clearly, send it over. We would rather write the post you actually need than guess at a topic. No email capture required — just ask.
Or email support@tailgateoffice.com.
Step two takes about thirty minutes: instant quotes on your site, and every missed call logged and answered from one inbox. Free for 30 days, no card.
