An honest breakdown of when to hire help and when to do it yourself
DIY marketing costs less upfront but eats your billable hours and compounds mistakes. An agency costs $2,000-$5,000/month but delivers faster results with proven systems. If your time is worth more than the agency fee, the math favors hiring help.
Brand new businesses with more time than money, or owners who genuinely enjoy marketing.
Established businesses where the owner's time is worth more than the agency fee.
If you bill $100+/hour and marketing takes 10+ hours/month to do well, the math is simple. An agency that costs $2,500/month but frees up 15 hours is actually saving you money — plus getting better results. The key is finding one with no contract and full transparency, so you can see exactly what your money is doing.
For service businesses, expect $2,000-$5,000/month for comprehensive marketing. Less than $2,000 usually means corners are being cut. More than $5,000 is typically for larger companies or aggressive growth.
Absolutely. Many business owners start DIY, learn enough to understand what good looks like, then hire an agency when their time becomes more valuable elsewhere.
Most of our clients have. The last one took the money, stopped answering, and left nothing to show for it. That's why we built a platform with full transparency — every call tracked, every dollar traced to a booked job. No contracts, no mystery invoices. You see everything and you can leave anytime.
A good trades-focused agency should show measurable progress within 90 days — more calls, more booked jobs, better Google visibility. If an agency can't tell you exactly how they'll move the needle, that's a red flag. We guarantee results in 90 days or we've failed, not you.
$2,000/month is a realistic starting point for local service businesses. It covers the essentials — SEO, Google Business optimization, review management, and basic ad campaigns. As revenue grows, scaling to $2,500-$3,000/month unlocks more aggressive strategies like paid ads and content marketing.