"Billboards Are Dead." Do This Instead.

Take your branding to the next level in 2025.

Are you staying ahead of the game?

Sup,

Remember when billboards were the thing? I’d always drive past one and think, “Wow man, that company must be crushing it.”

Well, we’re moving away from billboards in 2025.

Yep, you heard me. For home service companies especially the digital world has created a huge shift.

Here’s the thing:

Billboards only work if you’ve got solid marketing behind them.

They reinforce a brand, but they don’t generate leads. And if you want to grow a home service business, leads are what keeps the cash flowing in on.

A few years ago, I saw this firsthand.

A company we were watching was doing $5M in revenue and spending $500K—10% of their revenue—on marketing.

And they were shrinking.

Meanwhile, we were growing like crazy. I couldn’t figure out why… until I drove past one of their billboards.

But before we get into the rest of the story…

Join Me at HCC25

HoldCo Conference Utah, is less than 90 days out—if you’re serious about acquisitions, this is where you need to be.

HoldCo Conference 2025 is the ultimate event for entrepreneurs and micro PE investors—100+ owners and operators, hanging out in Sundance, Utah. Everyone in the room is a holdco operator or owner, so big news.

I’ll be there, along with a stacked line up of awesome speakers.

📅 March 31 - April 3, 2025

📍Sundance, Utah

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This company were dumping money into billboards while their competitors (us included) were pouring it into LSAs, PPC, mailers—things that actually generate calls.

That’s why, in 2025, we’re doubling down on branding and lead gen.

LSAs, GMB, PPC—things that make people pick up the phone. Branding keeps us top of mind for tomorrow, but we’re not banking on old-school tactics that don’t convert.

The market’s shifting. Google’s making changes. AI is eating up search volume.

We don’t know exactly what 2025 and 2026 hold, but one thing’s clear:

You need a brand. And you need a system that brings in leads.

No more throwing money at billboards and hoping for the best.

We’re playing to win.

Speaking of solid leads, Modernize is where it’s at. We’ve been using them for water quality leads, and it’s been awesome from day 1.

Onboarding was super quick (just two weeks) and now every lead goes straight into our call center.

Last month? We pulled 576% ROI.

If you’re serious about boosting your leads, definitely check them out.

Want More Insights on Branding and Marketing?

This week on the pod, we spoke about branding and marketing in 2025.

What’s actually worth spending money on and what’s a total waste. If you’re trying to grow and not just burn cash, give it a listen.

  • Branding and marketing in 2025

  • Benchmarking for HVAC, electric & plumbing

  • Dominate zip codes in your local area

Have a great weekend. 👊👊

John

Want More Owned and Operated?

📻 Listen to Owned and Operated on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple 

📖 Check out the go-to resource for scaling your home service business here

🤝 Get your brand in front of 20,000+ home service business owners here

Disclosure: This newsletter includes sponsored content. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

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