The database The margin ledger
What they actually keep
Revenue is the number everyone publishes and the number that means least. This page collects the margins documented owners have stated, trade by trade, alongside the industry averages they are measured against. One pattern runs through all of it, and it is the most useful thing on this site.
A $2 million business at 8 percent keeps less than a $400,000 business at 45. Every owner in this database learns that at a different point, and the ones who talk about it publicly tell a remarkably consistent story: the margin is highest when the owner is doing the work, and every step away from the truck costs a slice of it.
The documented figures
GoDetail, gross margin at ~$900k revenue
Industry figure, achievable only at route density
You Call We Haul, at ~$20k a month
Slam Dunkin' Junk, before crews
Bumble Bee, before management layers
Industry benchmark; 15-25% with employees
Queen City Laundry, four stores
Gray Brothers, up from 10-15% industry norm
Plan-It Vision, against a 5-6% industry average
Rising Tide, at ~$6M revenue
Bay Area Sanitation; labor ~30% of revenue
Range runs 8% to 40% by specialization
The pattern: margins are a headcount function
The clearest statement of it belongs to Kyle Landwehr, who narrated his own decline year by year. Roughly 50 percent gross in year one, working the truck himself. Thirty to 35 percent in year two with crews. About 20 percent in year three, after hiring an operations manager at roughly $75,000, at which point the business no longer required him.
Every layer of freedom is purchased with margin, and the purchase is usually worth it. The trade, stated once and true everywhere
The same curve appears in every trade that has been measured. Pool service runs 35 to 45 percent for an owner-operator and 15 to 25 percent with employees, because labor absorbs 30 to 38 percent of revenue. Detailing reports 60 percent gross with the founder in the vans. Cleaning reports 40 to 50 percent early and compresses as supervisors arrive. Daniel Tom's porta-potty fleet, with nineteen employees, sits at 20 to 25 percent while labor takes 30 percent of the top line.
The trap sits in the middle. Pool industry data describes an operator going from 50 to 100 pools, doubling revenue, and watching owner income fall, because the first full-time technician consumes the entire gain. Anyone growing through that zone should expect to work harder for less money for a year, and should decide in advance whether the freedom on the other side is what they actually want.
What raises a margin
Density. The cost that destroys route businesses is driving. Every bin, pool, or lawn on the same street as the last one is nearly pure margin, and every mile between neighborhoods is diesel. Bin cleaning only reaches 50 to 70 percent at density; scattered, it loses money.
Service mix. Trevor Kokenge reports about 30 percent against a 5 to 6 percent industry average by adding design and construction to recurring maintenance. Joshua Brown uses roof cleaning the same way in pressure washing. The maintenance keeps crews busy; the project work pays.
Pricing that has not moved. Dan Spracklin tripled a septic company partly by raising prices that had sat stagnant for years under a sleepy owner. Acquisitions in fragmented trades routinely find this.
Recurring agreements. HVAC's saving grace is the service contract, which converts an emergency trade into a scheduled one. It is also, as the exit ledger shows, what doubles or triples the multiple when these businesses sell.
Common questions
Which boring business has the highest margins?
Before hiring: mobile detailing at about 60 percent gross, bin cleaning at 50 to 70 percent with dense routes, junk removal near 50 to 65 percent, and pool service at 35 to 45 percent for owner-operators. Laundromats report about 40 percent and well-run septic over 30 percent.
Why do margins fall as a business grows?
Because labor replaces the owner. Documented sequence: 50 percent solo, 30 to 35 percent with crews, about 20 percent once a manager runs it. In pool service, labor alone takes 30 to 38 percent of revenue. The margin is what the owner's own hours were worth.
What is a good margin for a service business?
Ask whether the owner is doing the work. Owner-operators here report 35 to 60 percent; the same trades with employees report 15 to 25 percent. Industry averages sit lower again, HVAC near 8 percent and landscaping at 5 to 6, which is why the 30 percent landscaping operation documented here is an outlier worth studying.
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