How I'm planning to make my dad an extra $100,000 this year with Local SEO

I have been teasing this for a while, but I finally had the time and got my dad's head around doing this.

My dad is 63 years old. He's a retired correction captain, but he has also been running a cooling tower cleaning business for his buddy the last 10-15 years.

His buddy's business just sold at private equity and has all new owners, so he has become way less interested in running that business now and actually has been starting not to like it.

So he came to me and asked me what type of business could he do on the side that would just make him an extra $100,000 a year.

By no means are we strapped for money, but he doesn't want to stop and retire fully and is already doing Generac maintenance as a side hustle for a local electrician that's a good family friend of ours.

So he came to me and said he would like to build this into a small little business.

This weekend, I finally said screw it, let's start this thing.

I got him a Google business profile, and we just built out a website. So now we are starting to roll out this little micro business with a $10,000 investment and gonna see what happens.

The Marketing Strategy

Here's where it gets fun.

The website - rocklandcountygenerac.com is built specifically for conversion rate optimization with every single location page already done.

We're not waiting to "build out content over time." The site launched with dedicated pages for every town in Rockland County.

When someone in Pearl River searches for Generac maintenance, we have a page for that. Suffern? Page for that. New City, Nyack, Haverstraw, Spring Valley? Done, done, done, done.

We went with an exact match domain because we have zero intention of scaling this beyond Rockland County.

This isn't a roofing company we're building to flip for 3x revenue.

It's a cash flow machine to keep my dad busy and put an extra $100K in his pocket. If we exit in a few years, it'll be a small sale to a local electrician who wants the recurring revenue. That's it.

The link building strategy is aggressive out of the gate.

We're starting with PR links from local news stations to establish some authority fast.

And here's the unfair advantage — I'm leveraging my existing portfolio of companies I work with in the target area and building links from their websites onto this one.

Most guys starting a Generac maintenance business don't have access to a network of local business websites they can tap for backlinks. We do.

The $10K Investment Breakdown

I said we're starting this with a $10,000 investment, so let me show you exactly where that money is going.

Website & Domain $3,500 This includes the exact match domain (rocklandcountygenerac.com), full website build with conversion rate optimization, and every location page for the towns in Rockland County.

Not a template slap-up job a real site built to rank and convert. (dummy data on site right now) s/o StrykerDigital team

@gowithquo $500: First month plus setup for phone answering and customer communication. This is the system that makes sure my dad never misses a lead while he's under a generator.

Ignition $200: First few months of billing and contract software. Professional proposals, e-signatures, automated invoicing. Makes a one-man operation look like a real company.

Tools & Supplies $2,000: Oil, filters, spark plugs, basic diagnostic equipment, and the consumables needed to actually do the maintenance.

My dad already has a truck and most of the big tools from his years doing this work, so we're not starting from zero here.

Initial Link Building & PR $2,500: This covers the first round of PR placements with local news stations and the initial link building campaign to get the site some authority out of the gate.

Insurance & Legal $1,000: General liability insurance and basic legal setup. Nothing fancy, just enough to operate legitimately.

Buffer $300: Miscellaneous. There's always something.

Total: ~$10,000'

The Profit Machine

The beautiful thing about this business is the low startup cost. We're not buying a $50K truck or $100K in equipment.

We're not signing a lease. We're not hiring employees.

It's a website, some software, and the knowledge my dad already has from doing this work for years because its super niche and not really a "big enough" business people can really scale.

I'll Keep You Posted

That's the plan. $10K investment, 300–350 maintenance contracts, $100K in profit for my dad.

Will it work? I think so. The math checks out, the competition is asleep, and we've got an unfair advantage on the marketing side. But I've been wrong before.

I'm going to document this whole thing as we go — the wins, the losses, the stuff that works and the stuff that doesn't. If you want to follow along, I'll be posting updates here and on Twitter @irentdumpsters

First update will be in 90 days with real numbers.

See you then.

Disclaimer:
Stryker Digital may occasionally share case studies, performance data, and real results from clients we work with. These examples are for educational and illustrative purposes only. They are not guarantees of results, earnings, or performance. Every business is different, and actual outcomes depend on numerous factors outside our control, including market conditions, competition, budget, and the business’s ability to implement recommended strategies. Nothing in this email should be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of future earnings or results.