Working Together — The Numbers
Collin — you asked good questions, and they deserve real numbers rather than "we'll figure it out." Here's all of it in one place.
Two things to say up front. First, everything below is founder pricing — you're my first build of this kind, and your honest feedback and a case study are worth more to me right now than the difference. I won't be able to offer this again, and I'd rather tell you that than pretend otherwise. Second, alongside each number I've put roughly what the same work runs elsewhere, so you can see what you're actually getting rather than take my word for it.
1. The build — $2,000, paid in three
No money changes hands until you've seen a mockup and you like where it's going. After that, every payment is triggered by something that is either running or it isn't — nothing depends on either of us judging whether a milestone "counts."
| When | What's true at that moment | You pay | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before anything | Google Business Profile optimized — categories, services, description, weekly posts, review strategy. You see movement before you've spent a dollar. | Free | $150–400 |
| Mockup approved | You've seen the design direction and you're happy with it. This is the go-ahead, and it's what lets me put a full week into the build rather than fit it around a maybe. | $500 | $500–1,000 |
| Site is live | The new site is up on your own domain — video hero, rebuilt gallery, mobile-first, secure, fast. Not "nearly done." Live. | $600 | a custom build like this generally starts around $3,000 |
| Assistant is live | The AI assistant is answering on your site, qualifying the job, giving a ballpark, and putting appointments on your calendar. | $900 | $1,200–2,500 |
| Total | Everything above | $2,000 | $4,500+ |
If you ever want to stop after a milestone, you stop. You own everything built up to that point and you owe nothing further.
2. The care plan — $150/month
You said you weren't opposed to a monthly, and I want to be straight about what it is: it is not a fee for nothing. An AI assistant isn't a brochure — it costs real money every month it's switched on, and software quietly breaks.
| What it covers | Why |
|---|---|
| Running costs | The AI's usage costs money per conversation. The tracked phone number has a monthly line and per-minute cost. Roughly $20–40 a month in hard costs, and it goes up as you get busier. |
| Monitoring | The failure I actually worry about is silent — an assistant that stops answering, or a contact form that quietly stops delivering. You wouldn't notice for weeks; you'd just think it was a slow month. |
| Google Business Profile | A post a week, review replies drafted for you, and keeping the listing current. This is the cheapest lead source you have. |
| A monthly report | Calls, form submissions, assistant conversations, appointments booked, and what people searched to find you. So you can see whether this is working instead of guessing. |
| Small changes | Swapping photos, updating copy, adding a finished project. Just call me. |
$150/month. Comparable care plans run $400–800. First 30 days are free while everything settles. Month to month, no contract — cancel any time and nothing breaks; you keep the site, the domain and the accounts.
3. Shared upside — about 1% of a signed job
This is your idea, and I think it's the right instinct. You wanted us both pulled the same direction. Here's the version I think protects the friendship while doing exactly that.
Roughly 1% of a typical project, set once as a flat dollar amount. So if a typical job of yours runs $25,000, that's $250 for every tracked lead that becomes a signed job — the same $250 whether the next one is bigger or smaller. We agree the number once and then neither of us ever thinks about it again: no percentages, no looking at your margins, no awkward math when a big one lands.
Why 1%, and how it compares
I didn't want to pull a number out of the air, so I looked at what you'd pay to buy a job anywhere else. What's reported across the industry for a booked job:
| Where the lead comes from | Cost per job actually booked | Exclusive? |
|---|---|---|
| Angi | $540–$1,000+ | No — shared with 3–8 contractors |
| Thumbtack | $250–$500 | No — shared |
| Google Local Services | around $170 | Yes |
| This | ~$250 | Yes — and only if it closes |
The difference worth noticing: those platforms charge you per lead, whether it ever becomes anything. Here you pay nothing until a job is signed. (Those figures are what's commonly reported in the industry rather than anything audited — treat them as the shape of it, not gospel.)
What counts, and how we'd both know
It only applies to leads that arrive through something that keeps its own log. Nothing here is a judgment call — it's a list we can both pull up:
- The AI assistant — logs every conversation and every appointment it books
- The website contact form — logs every submission
- A tracked phone number — a separate number shown only on your website, ringing straight through to you. Nothing changes on your end; it just means a call from the site is distinguishable from a call from Gowler
- Your Google Business Profile — already reports the calls and clicks that came from your listing
What doesn't count
Referrals from Gowler or Fisk. Repeat customers. Word of mouth. Anyone who already knew your name. That work is yours and always was — and the whole point of drawing the line here is that neither of us ever has to argue about it.
You'd tell me which of those tracked leads actually signed; I have no way to see your contracts and I don't want to. The amount is deliberately small enough that neither of us is ever tempted to squint at it. This runs alongside the care plan — if you ever cancel the plan, this stops too.
4. Optional — later, and only if you want it
None of this is part of the $2,000, and none of it is urgent. It's here so you can see the whole map and what each piece would cost, rather than being surprised later.
| Add-on | What it does | Founder price | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project & location pages | 8–10 written pages so you show up for "deck builder" in each of the areas you actually serve | $900 | $1,000–2,000 |
| Blog engine | You talk into your phone on site and snap a few photos; it comes back as a finished post and a Google post for you to approve | $1,200 | $1,500–3,000 |
| Proposal engine | Your pricing captured once, then proposals that build themselves from a conversation | $1,500 | $1,800–3,500 |
| Partnership page | The page for your wife's side and the lender links you mentioned | $300 | $400–800 |
| Social syndication | Finished projects publish themselves to Facebook and Instagram from the shared Dropbox | $400 | $600–1,200 |
| Social media management | Ongoing — planned posts, captions, scheduling, keeping it alive | $250/mo | $500–1,500/mo |
| Anything else | Whatever comes up that isn't covered above | $75/hr | $100–150/hr |
Google Ads — worth its own paragraph
You raised ads, and I want to price it honestly rather than fold it in and do it halfway, because run badly it's just money on fire.
- Campaign setup — $500 (typically $1,000–2,500): keyword research, the ads themselves, a landing page built to convert, and conversion tracking wired to the tracked number so we can see what each lead cost.
- Management — $300/month (typically $500–1,000/mo, or 15–20% of ad spend): watching it weekly, cutting what wastes money, and reporting cost per lead.
- Ad spend — paid by you, directly to Google. Never through me, so you can see every dollar. For deck and pergola work in the Springs I'd want to start around $1,000–1,500 a month for a season and treat the first six weeks as buying information.
My honest advice: don't start here. Get the site live, the assistant answering and the Google profile working first — those are free traffic. Ads are worth adding once we can see what a lead is actually worth to you.
5. What you own, and how to fire me
Your domain stays yours. The hosting account is in your name. Your Google Business Profile stays yours — Manager access only lets me edit, and you can remove me in one click, without asking me, and change back anything I changed.
Nothing I build is locked, hidden, or dependent on me still being around. There's no contract and no notice period on the monthly. If this ever stops being worth it, you say so and we shake hands. I'd rather earn it every month than trap you into it.
6. Summary
| Founder price | Typical | |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile optimization | Free | $150–400 |
| New site + AI intake assistant, in three payments | $2,000 | $4,500+ (you were quoted $7,500 without the assistant) |
| Care plan — running costs, monitoring, GBP, reporting | $150/mo | $400–800/mo |
| Per tracked lead that becomes a signed job (~1% of a typical project) | ~$250 | $250–1,000+ per booked job elsewhere, and shared |
Whatever you decide on the details, I'm glad we're doing this together.
— Daniel