Podcast Summary: The Koerner Office – "Make $1K Per Job While Outsourcing the Hard Work" (Ep. #240)

Host: Chris Koerner
Guest: Jeff, Owner of a Concrete Leveling Business in Houston, TX
Date: October 29, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features a deep dive into the concrete leveling business as a highly profitable, outsourcer-friendly side hustle – one that allows individuals to earn $1,000+ in profit per job, with no equipment purchase, no need for employees, and the ability to keep a regular job. Chris sits down with Jeff, who started his concrete leveling venture just 3 months prior and is already approaching a $100,000 profit run rate. They discuss how the business model works, onboarding customers, subcontracting labor, differentiating in a saturated industry, and practical steps to replicate Jeff’s surprising success.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Concrete Leveling as a Lucrative & Flexible Side Hustle

• Business Model:
  Jeff outsources all fulfillment to subcontractors, keeping operations lean—no equipment to buy, no direct employees.
  "It's not unreasonable to say that someone with a full time job could run this business. In five hours of quoting per week, they can make 10,000 a month of profit." (Chris, 00:12)

• Impressive Early Results:
  In just 90 days, Jeff generated nearly $20,000 in revenue, with 30-40% gross margin.
  "We are just shy of $20,000 and majority of that has come in the past 60 days." (Jeff, 01:11)
  His goal for year one: $250,000 in revenue, $50-100K profit.

2. Market Opportunity & Differentiation

• Target Markets:
  Jeff focuses on under-served towns (200K–300K population) without established providers, aiming to copy and scale across Texas. (02:40)

• Partnering with Solo Operators:
  He offers established solopreneurs extra work beyond their revenue goals, adding his margin while leaving hands-on work to those already equipped. "So everything after that is just gravy for them. What I want to do is create a process that is repeatable and can be copy and pasted..." (Jeff, 02:55)

• Stand-Out Tactics:
  Adds free power washing to every job (and upsells further cleaning), resulting in positive customer experience and easy differentiation. "Hey, you level your driveway with us, we’ll power wash your driveway for free." (Jeff, 07:54)

  • Pro Tip: This idea came from persistent questioning of Jeff, the CEO of a major industry supplier:
    "I badgered him for three plus hours...How do I differentiate? ... At the end of the second day, [he said]...we have seen success with this one thing that not many people are doing." (Jeff, 09:14)

3. Customer Acquisition Strategies

• Multi-Channel Approach:

  • Facebook Ads are highly effective, delivering quick and cheap leads (e.g., $4.60 per lead, first customer in two hours!) (04:40)
  • Organic channels: Nextdoor, Google search, website/chatbots, referrals.
  • Outbound SMS campaigns targeted at HOA/property managers for steady, long-term opportunities.
  • Website is minimal (built free on Replit), optimized to capture qualified leads via forms and chatbots. (07:20)

• Key Lesson:
  Automating follow-ups and fast response times are crucial.
  "The ease of a lead coming in and then setting up automations to reach out to that person is pretty low hanging fruit and it goes a long way." (Jeff, 21:56)

4. Quoting & Fulfillment System

• Remote Quoting:
  Jeff does all quotes virtually (by phone with photos), skipping time-consuming site visits. Trades a lower close rate for massive efficiency and volume. (12:53)

• New Tool:
  He's developing a website widget for customers to self-quote jobs, reducing friction and accelerating pipeline volume. (13:51)

• Fulfillment:
  All jobs are subcontracted, requiring all subs to carry their own insurance. Jeff manages scheduling (never books jobs the same week) and enforces check-ins with photos on job day.

  • Typical job: $2,500 revenue, $1,000 profit, takes just a few hours of sub work.

5. Scaling & Vision

• Growth Pathways:
  • Large/commercial opportunities: E.g., quoting $60K parking lot jobs with potential for $30K+ profit.
  • Bidding on municipal projects (e.g., Houston, Harris County) as the ultimate goal.
  • Exploring a SaaS-like model: "Concrete leveling as a service" subscription for property managers—provides recurring, predictable revenue and a competitive edge. (16:04) "I want to be an insurance-like product that gives them unlimited or up to a certain amount of concrete leveling at each property on an annualized basis..." (Jeff, 16:06)

6. Operations & Work-Life Balance

• Side Hustle Feasibility:
  The business can be run in 5–10 hours per week after ramp-up, suited for anyone with a full-time job and systems in place. "It’s not unreasonable to say that someone with a full-time job could run this business… in five hours of quoting per week, they can make $10,000 a month of profit." (Chris, 21:26)

• Tech Stack & Systems:

  • CRM: HighLevel for lead tracking and SMS automations.
  • Website: Built on Replit, $0 cost.
  • Main ongoing expenses: CRM + website (<$500/month total).
  • All insurance managed by subs (each must carry $1M–$2M policies).

7. Industry and Environmental Context

• Why Concrete Leveling:
  • Huge, validated market; Texas accounts for ~20% of all U.S. new concrete.
  • Environmental angle: Extending lifespan of slabs is greener than pouring new.
  • Industry is "a laggard to technology," so there’s major opportunity for disruption (marketing, quoting, software). (10:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Starting Out:
  "I was like, babe, this is too easy. I'm doing something wrong. What is going on?" (Jeff, 05:14)

• On Business Potential:
  "If concrete were a crop, then Houston would be the largest farm in North America. If concrete were a standalone entity or country, it would be the third highest carbon emitter globally." (Jeff, 09:53)

• On Big Wins in Entrepreneurship:
  "When you’re an entrepreneur, you go up to bat and you’re going to strike out, strike out, strike out. But then you’ll have a grand slam that will make up for all the strikeouts times 10, right?" (Chris, 24:01)

• Giving Credit:
  "A lot of credit goes to my wife. She gets the wife of the year award, for sure ... I've just been so blessed to have the ability to manage my time in a way that I need." (Jeff, 18:11)

Important Timestamps

• 00:12 – Side hustle potential: $10k/month profit (no equipment, no quitting job)
• 01:11 – First 90 days: revenue and profit margins
• 03:20 – Market entry & partnering with solo providers
• 04:40 – Early customer acquisition and lead gen channels
• 07:54 – Differentiator: Free power washing upsell tactic
• 09:53 – Why the concrete leveling business?
• 12:44 – Average job size ($2,500), profit margins, virtual quoting
• 13:51 – Launching "quote yourself" tool for customers
• 16:04 – Developing a recurring "leveling as a service" offer
• 18:42 – Balancing W2 job, family, entrepreneurship
• 21:26 – Realistic weekly time requirement for $10k/month
• 22:36 – Cost structure ($500–$600/mo for tech; insurance via subs)
• 23:12 – Most profitable easy jobs & big pending contracts
• 25:01 – Should you get your own trailer? Expansion strategy

Conclusion & Where to Find Jeff

Jeff proves that a newcomer can break into a crowded market by leveraging process, smart marketing, and strategic outsourcing—building a substantial business with minimal capital, scalable systems, and achievable profits, even as a side hustle. For anyone considering concrete leveling (or similar service businesses), this episode offers a detailed, actionable roadmap.

Contact Jeff / Learn More:
Website: texaslabguys.com

• Open to connecting with those in real estate, concrete leveling, or anyone along the Texas coast.

Summary by TKOPOD.COM | The Koerner Office