The Owner Operator Podcast

Most land clearing bids fall apart because guys price every acre the same way. In this episode, Austin Gray and Jacob Nettesheim break down production rate tracking — the second half of a bulletproof pricing system, paired with the crew day rates covered last week.What you'll learn in this episode:The 3 types of pricing people in this business — and which one is losing money without realizing itHow to track your production rate (acres cleared per crew day) the right wayThe 3x3 rating system for vegetation, slope, and access, and why it changes everything about a bidHow to find your baseline production rate if you're new to the businessA live look at the new production rate tracker inside Clear Path AIWhy combining your crew day rate with your production rate gets you a confident, accurate bid every timeTry Clear Path AI, the first AI advisor and pricing tool built specifically for land clearing and forestry mulching companies: https://landclearing.io/pro

I spent years being the bottleneck in my own business, and I know a lot of you are still there right now — running every job, taking every call, afraid to hand anything off. On this episode I sit down with Bodhi Gallo of Stryker Digital to talk about the biggest lesson he learned in 2025: going from player to coach. Bodhi took 120+ sales calls a month for two and a half years before he figured out how to delegate without losing quality, and he's laying out exactly how he's using AI to train his team faster than he ever could on his own.If you run a land clearing, forestry mulching, or wildfire mitigation business and you're still the one holding everything together, this conversation is for you.What we get into:Why delegating too early kills a business How I use ChatGPT and Claude to turn sales calls and job recordings into training handbooksThe SOP method to onboard crewWhy a semi-exact match domain and localized Google Business Profiles beat generic keyword domains for local service businessesWhat $300K in Facebook ad spend taught Bodhi about cold traffic, and why building a real brand matters more than ever with AI changing searchHow to record one piece of long-form content and repurpose it into short-form clips across every platform, without hiring a specialist for each one

Still guessing on pricing? Jacob Neffendorf and I break down exactly how to calculate your true crew day rate using Clear Path — the first AI advisor built and trained specifically for land clearing and forestry mulching operators.What you'll learn:The 5 cost buckets that make up your true crew day rateWhy your break-even number matters more than what other guys charge locallyHow to set up your pricing blueprint inside Clear Path in under 10 minutesThe 3x3 matrix for adjusting price by vegetation, slope, and accessWhy confidence in your numbers wins more jobs, not fewer

Jacob Neffendorf and I just launched Clear Path AI — a 24/7 AI advisor trained on nearly $20 million in land clearing ad spend and thousands of hours of real operator systems and transcripts. In this episode, we pull back the curtain with a full live demo and break down what this tool can actually do for your business right now.What you'll learn:The 3 levers that control your land clearing business (leads, sales, capacity) — and how to diagnose which one is your current bottleneckWhy a guardrailed, industry-specific AI gives you better answers than generic tools like ChatGPTHow Clear Path builds SEO website structures, content calendars, and Google Business Profile strategies in real timeWhy the companies who adopt AI fastest will get the outsized returns — and what that looks like in land clearing specificallyHow to set a 12-month revenue target and work backwards from it using Clear Path

Too many decisions. Not enough clarity. Sound familiar?

Colby McArthur bought Clifton Tree Service at 22 years old and ran it as a solo owner operator for the first year — climbing trees, answering calls with a headset at 100 feet, estimating on weekends. He finished that year at $400K. One year later: $850K. In this episode, Colby breaks down the three things that drove that growth and what he's focused on as he targets $1.3M in 2026.What you'll learn:Why undercharging is the most common and most costly mistake owner operators make — and how to fix it fastThe first hire Colby made that changed everything (hint: it wasn't a climber)How to build an opener/closer sales model even when you're still in the fieldHow Colby uses Claude and ChatGPT to build a pricing tool, estimate from photos, and build SOPsWhat Colby would tell himself at $100K if he could go backTo contact Colby McArthur: colby@cliftontreeservice.com

Want a real land‑clearing business doing $20k–$40k months instead of random jobs? Join the free OWNR OPS Skool group for land clearing & forestry mulching owners. Inside you'll get: – The OPS Kickstarter roadmap to your first consistent $10k–$20k months – Real pricing examples & bid breakdowns from our own jobs – Weekly live trainings and Q&A specific to land clearing.Apply here: https://www.skool.com/ownropsMost land-clearing operators running Facebook ads are tracking the wrong metric. In this episode, Austin Gray sits down with Jacob Neffendorf — founder of Rise Online, a growth agency for land clearing businesses — to break down the real math behind paid advertising: customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and the ratio that tells you if your ads are actually working.What you'll learn:How to calculate your true cost to acquire a paying customerThe CAC-to-LTV ratio every operator should knowWhy speed to lead has a bigger impact on revenue than most realizeHow to grow without touching your own moneyWhat to look for when setting up your first Facebook ad campaignLand clearing business has some of the best margins out there — but only if you know your numbers. Stop guessing and start growing on purpose. 

Most contractors rely on word of mouth — and it creates a cycle of being slammed with work one month and completely slow the next.In this episode of the OWNR OPS Podcast, I sit down with Jacob from Rise Online Ads to talk about how contractors can stay booked year-round without burning out.Jacob also shares a story about spending $15,000 on ads and getting zero clients — and why not quitting ended up being one of the best decisions he made.In this episode we cover:• Why most contractors quit marketing too early• How paid ads compound over time• The mistake of relying only on referrals• How to stay busy during slow seasons• How to create offers that bring in better jobs• The 5 levels of customer awareness in marketingIf you run a land clearing, excavation, tree service, or home service business, this episode will help you build a more consistent pipeline of work.

In this episode, I sit down with Marlena from G&M Companies to talk about how she's using Jobber to run a $5.5M excavation, residential, commercial, snow, and boulder business — and where it works really well (and where it doesn't).We get into:How she protects margins with deposits and final paymentsHow quotes flow straight into jobs and invoicesBuilding simple checklists so sales → ops handoffs don't breakTracking time, payroll, and job costsManaging 100+ snow visits without nonstop phone callsThe real pros and cons of Jobber as you growWhy progress billing gets tricky in commercial dirt workIf you're in land clearing, excavation, snow, tree work, or residential services, this is a practical systems conversation you'll want to hear.

In this episode of the OWNR OPS Podcast, Bodhi Gallo from Stryker Digital shares about his biggest lesson from 2025:Go from player to coach — and delegate at the right time.We cover:✅ When to delegate (and when NOT to)✅ How to stop being the bottleneck✅ Simple SOPs that actually get used (short videos + quick memos)✅ How Bodhi trains sales reps faster using AI✅ AI tools they're using: ChatGPT, Claude, Replit (+ Whisper Flow)✅ Why building a brand matters more than ever for home service businessesIf you own a local service business — this will help you build systems, train your team, and get more done without burning out.

WELCOME TO SEASON 3 of the OWNR OPS Podcast.

Welcome to Season 3 of the OWNR OPS Podcast

What's the real math behind profitable growth in home services? In this episode, Austin Gray talks with Andy Walker (Stryker Digital) about using LTV : CAC (LTGP : CAC), Average Order Value, and speed-to-lead to scale—without racing to the bottom on price.Andy shares:His practical $2K podcast/production mindset applied to service marketing.A step-by-step speed-to-lead framework (3-minute call, 7-day follow-up, long-tail nurture) Facebook vs Google Ads for high-ticket services (roofing, mitigation, remodeling) Bonus-stacked offers, guarantees, and timeline commitments to win without discounting.How weekly manual reporting builds data discipline and sharper decisions Why focus beats shiny objects—and when to expand.Whether you're in the trenches scaling a local service brand or optimizing your acquisition flywheel, this episode gives you the playbook to raise AOV, improve LTGP : CAC, and outspend competitors profitably. Listen in to turn your marketing into a durable growth engine.

What's holding you back from scaling your service business? In this episode of the OWNR OPS Podcast, Austin Gray interviews Steven Nash—private equity operator and partner to dozens of HVAC businesses. Steven shares how he helps business owners go from $800K to $100M+ by solving one bottleneck at a time.You'll learn:Why small businesses stay small—and how to break throughHow to calculate your exact growth targets using simple mathThe difference between working on vs. in your businessHow systems, SOPs, and hiring checklists unlock freedomWhat founders need to understand about finance and cash flowThe visionary vs. executor framework: when to pick your laneIf you're a service-based business owner ready to scale with intention and accountability, this is the episode you've been waiting for.

What happens when a college dropout takes massive action—twice a year?In this episode, Austin Gray talks with Andrew Rampulla, the founder of two seasonal service businesses: a softwash company in New York and a Christmas lights company in Florida.Andrew shares:How he got his first client from a Facebook postWhy he alternates between NY and FL to maximize revenueHow he hires and builds systems for repeatable successHis content & review strategy to attract local leadsThe key mindset shifts that helped him cross 6 figuresThis episode is a must-listen for anyone building or scaling a local service business—especially if you're tired of 9-to-5 and want to take control of your calendar.Listen now and learn how to stack seasons, scale smart, and simplify your hustle.