@Brian Shepherd Brian, honestly the creek and terrain issue you ran into is probably one of the most valuable things you could have learned on your first job. I’d take that experience and immediately add it to how you qualify and estimate future projects. Before you ever visit the property, start collecting the parcel address, approximate acreage, terrain, known creeks/drainage, slopes, access points, structures/utilities and a few photos. Pull the property up on satellite/topographic imagery beforehand too. You still won't catch everything — obviously that creek was hidden by vegetation — but you'll start walking onto properties already looking for the things that can turn a 32-hour estimate into 41 hours. I’d also keep a little “what slowed me down?” log after every job. Terrain, hauling, cleanup, travel, machine repositioning, wet ground, rocks, customer add-ons, etc. After 10–20 jobs, that information becomes incredibly valuable for estimating because you're pricing from your own production history instead of guessing. I also agree with the guys saying to think in crew days rather than just seat-time hourly rate. Your machine might run 8 hours, but the business also paid for loading, hauling, fuel, maintenance, insurance, marketing, quoting, admin and your time. The pricing worksheet in this course makes the same point: calculate the full hard cost of a crew day, add the profit you actually want, and use that to establish your target day rate. On the review — don't waste this one. 😂 You have an ecstatic first customer, a bigger-than-expected project, an additional acre they trusted you to do, great before/after footage and a finished result they're thrilled with. That's marketing gold. I wouldn't specifically ask him for a 5-star review. I'd send one friendly follow-up asking for an honest Google review and make it ridiculously easy by sending the direct review link again. Something like: “Hey, I really appreciate you trusting me with the property. I’m glad you're happy with how everything turned out. I'm just getting the business going, so an honest Google review would mean a lot and helps future customers feel comfortable hiring me. Here's the direct link again whenever you get a minute. Thank you!”

Benjamin, We do both. I wouldn’t want the customer walking away from the site visit having absolutely no idea what the project is going to cost, but I also wouldn’t feel pressured to throw out a number before I’ve had a chance to make sure the math is right. During the walk, I’d be qualifying and taking notes on the same things every time — scope, access for the truck/trailer, terrain, rocks, structures/utilities, hazards, estimated crew days, cleanup expectations, etc. That’s actually very similar to the sales flow taught here: qualify first, inspect the property consistently, then price based on the scope and your target day rate. If it’s a straightforward job and you know your numbers, I see nothing wrong with giving the price right there: “Based on everything we walked through, clearing this area, opening this access and getting it to the finish we discussed, you’re looking at $7,500.” Then stop talking. Let them process it. Interestingly, that’s basically what the sales-flow worksheet recommends too: recap the scope in simple language, confidently give the price, and then stop talking. Afterward, I’d still send the official written quote through Jobber so everything is documented and professional — exact scope, exclusions, price, deposit, payment terms and scheduling. If there are variables you need to calculate, I’d give a range rather than accidentally locking yourself into a bad number: “Based on what I’m seeing, I think we're probably in the $6,000–$8,000 range. I want to run the numbers before I promise you something, though. I’ll send you the exact written quote tonight.” I think the bigger opportunity is actually before the site visit. Your lead form could collect the property address, approximate acreage, what they want done, terrain/access information and photos. Then you can pull up satellite imagery beforehand and walk onto the property already understanding quite a bit about the project. That makes the site visit feel completely different. You’re not showing up saying, “So what are we doing?” You’re showing up saying, “I looked at the property before I came out. Show me exactly where you want to start and where you want to finish.”

Christopher, first off, congrats on your son! And I actually think you’re doing this the right way. You’re handling a lot of the boring stuff now that becomes a nightmare if you wait until the phone starts ringing. One thing I’d add to your pre-launch checklist is start building your digital footprint now instead of waiting until April. You have roughly 6 months before launch, which gives you something most new land-clearing companies don’t have: time. I’d get a simple, well-built website up early and start building out the services you eventually want to be known for. Not just a page that says “forestry mulching and land clearing,” but individual pages explaining each service, your process, the equipment/methods involved, the problems it solves, and what the property looks like when you’re finished. Then start building out the areas you plan to serve in New Hampshire. Each important market can eventually have its own useful page talking about the service, local property/terrain conditions, access considerations, common clearing needs, nearby towns you serve, FAQs, etc. I’d also start documenting this entire journey. Dealer visits. Equipment comparisons. Why you chose one machine over another. Learning the business. Preparing for launch. Eventually the first jobs, before/afters and customer questions. That gives you months of legitimate content instead of launching in April with a brand-new website, empty social pages and zero history. Once you’re eligible for a Google Business Profile, I’d make sure your website, GBP, business information, services and service areas all reinforce each other. Then start getting reviews as soon as you're actually serving customers. By April, the goal shouldn’t be “Okay, now I need to start marketing.” It should be “We’re officially open, and everything is already built to support it.” I work with land-management businesses on this side of things, so if you ever want another set of eyes on the website/local visibility piece while you’re building everything out, I’d be happy to help. You have a nice runway right now to do it correctly instead of rushing it later.

@Christopher Fortier Absolutely, and it sounds like you’re already much further ahead on the website than I realized. I also wouldn’t worry too much about pages “sitting idle” before April. Think of these next several months as building the library before you need the traffic. You’re already capturing a ton of useful information with Claude. Start turning some of that into content — equipment comparisons, why you’re choosing certain equipment, lessons from starting the company, things you’re learning about land clearing in NH, and eventually actual projects. There’s also one thing I see a lot of operators miss that I think is SUPER important from the marketing/visibility side: build relationships outside of your own niche. Don’t just network with other land-clearing guys. Get your business into legitimate local/industry directories and start building relationships with complementary contractors — landscapers, excavation companies, agricultural fencing contractors, septic companies, builders, tree companies, surveyors, etc. Think about what happens before and after your part of the project. Maybe you clear an overgrown field and the customer needs it seeded afterward. Have a landscaping company you trust. Maybe you reclaim a fence line and they need agricultural fencing installed. Have somebody you can recommend. And it should work both ways. When that fencing contractor gets a customer who says, “We can't even get to the old fence because everything is overgrown,” who are they recommending? Hopefully you. We actually have a small group of contractors we trust where everyone recommends each other's services when it makes sense. Nobody is trying to do everybody else's job. Each company stays in its lane, but the customer gets pointed toward someone reliable. You can bring some of those relationships online too. If you're creating educational website content, there are natural opportunities to mention or link to trusted local companies when they're genuinely useful to the customer, and ideally those companies are doing the same for you.

@Scott Rossman Scott, I actually like how you’re looking at this because cost per lead can be one of the most misleading numbers in this industry. A $25 lead that wants $500 worth of work isn’t necessarily better than a $100 lead for a $10K clearing project. Before putting another $3,400 into ads, I’d look hard at the entire path after someone clicks. For land clearing/mulching, I like a multi-step form that does some of the qualifying before you ever talk to them. I’d want to know: 1. What are they trying to accomplish? Clearing for a homesite, pasture reclamation, trails, development, ROW, vegetation management, etc. 2. Approximate acreage/project size + terrain/access. 3. Property/parcel address. This is a big one. Now you can look at satellite imagery before spending time on the lead. 4. Contact information + photos if possible. I’d rather create a little friction and get fewer qualified opportunities than make the form incredibly easy and celebrate a cheap CPL. I’d also look at the landing page itself. Someone coming from an ad for forestry mulching shouldn’t necessarily land on a generic homepage with 10 different services. Continue the exact conversation from the ad: their problem → your process → proof → desired outcome → qualification. Then I’d track much farther than Facebook’s CPL: Ad → Lead → Contacted → Qualified → Estimate → Sold → Actual Revenue That’s where you can start finding the real problem. Maybe Facebook is generating garbage. But you could also discover one creative generates fewer leads but dramatically larger jobs, or that a particular service has a much higher close rate. One other thing I see owner-operators overlook: answering the phone and speed-to-lead. You can have a great campaign and still lose the opportunity while you’re on equipment. I’m a big believer in immediate text follow-up plus a 24/7 receptionist that can actually answer, gather the project information and keep the lead moving when you can’t.

Rennan, 5 real leads in your first 36 hours at $20/day is actually a pretty good start. I wouldn’t start changing everything just because they all came in during the first 12 hours. Ads don’t always deliver leads evenly throughout the day. I’d give it some time and start paying attention to cost per lead AND lead quality, not just how many hours have passed without another one. The bigger thing I’d work on right now is what happens after someone becomes a lead. If you’re paying to make the phone ring or get someone to fill out a form, speed matters. I’d have an automatic text go out immediately, and if they call while you’re running equipment or on another job, make sure somebody—or a 24/7 receptionist system—can answer. A lead you already paid for that goes unanswered is where advertising gets expensive fast. I’d also qualify them before spending time driving around giving estimates. I like a simple 4-step form for land-management companies: 1. What do you need done? 2. Approximate acreage/size + terrain/access conditions 3. Property/parcel address 4. Contact info + ability to upload photos That address is especially valuable because you can look at satellite imagery before you ever drive out there and have a much better idea of what you’re dealing with. Then keep track of the whole funnel: Ad → Lead → Contacted → Qualified → Estimate → Sold → Revenue Because eventually “I got 20 leads” doesn't tell you much. I’d rather have 8 qualified leads that produce $15K in work than 30 people asking how much it costs to clear their backyard. And definitely save the ad/creative that produced those first leads. Start testing new versions against it instead of constantly replacing what’s working. I help land-management businesses build the lead capture, follow-up and 24/7 receptionist side of this stuff, so if the ads keep producing and you want some ideas for the system behind them, I’m happy to help.