Sell the work first  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

September 07, 2026   |   Read online The $1M Truck Business Sell the work first Welcome to the JackQuisitions newsletter, A single hydro-excavation truck can generate $600,000 to $1 million+ in annual revenue. With recurring commercial customers, high barriers to entry, and strong hourly rates, the economics can get interesting fast. But there’s a catch: the truck can cost $350,000 to $600,000, and every hour it sits is money lost. So before I spent a dollar on equipment, I’d do one thing first: sell the work. Here are all my thoughts on this business opportunity: Why You Should Start a Hydro Vac Business in 2026 Ready For Your Next Acquisition? Check out these acquisition opportunities that caught my eye this week: Turnkey Central Florida Plumbing Co.: Asking $1M with $731K revenue, 40+ years in business, and 25–30 recurring property-management accounts. High-Growth Electrical Contractor: Central Ohio electrical contractor asking $1.1M, with $300K cash flow, $500K backlog, and a $3M+ pipeline. Top-Rated HVAC Repair Business: Putnam County HVAC company asking $825K, with $280K cash flow, $678K revenue, and 1,200 recurring service contracts. Prove the Demand Before You Buy the Truck The economics of hydro excavation look great on paper. At roughly $350 per billable hour, one truck running six hours a day for 250 days can generate around $600,000 per year. Push utilization closer to eight billable hours a day, then layer in mobilization, disposal, emergency work, and overtime, and that same truck can start pushing toward $1 million in annual revenue. But there’s a big difference between owning a truck capable of producing $1 million and actually producing $1 million. The entire business comes down to utilization. A full-size hydro-excavation truck can cost $350,000 to $600,000. Then you have financing, operators, insurance, diesel, maintenance, water, disposal and downtime to worry about. If I financed a $500,000 truck and it sat three days a week, those economics would fall apart quickly. That’s why I’d approach this business backward. Step 1: Find the Buyers Before shopping for equipment, I’d build a list of every potential customer in my market. That would include: Utility contractors Excavation companies Plumbing contractors Electrical contractors Fiber installers Directional drilling companies Municipalities Civil contractors Gas companies The advantage here is that you don't need thousands of customers. This is a B2B business where a handful of strong commercial relationships could potentially keep a truck busy. One large utility contractor alone could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Step 2: Find Out What They're Already Spending Next, I’d start making calls. The most important question would be simple: “How much are you currently spending on hydro excavation?” I’d want to find four or five contractors already spending meaningful money on the service. Then I’d dig deeper. How often do they need a hydro vac? How quickly can their current provider respond? How long do they typically wait? What do they pay? What frustrates them about their current provider? I’m looking for evidence that demand already exists and that there’s an opening for another operator. Step 3: Sell Before You Own If I found enough demand, I’d start trying to win the work before buying anything. That could mean getting a verbal commitment, becoming an approved or preferred vendor, agreeing on pricing, or simply having customers tell me they’d start sending work my way as soon as the truck was available. The goal is to answer one question: Can I keep this truck working? Only after I had enough confidence in that answer would I start looking at equipment. Step 4: Buy Around the Demand Once the work is there, buying the truck becomes the easy part. Now I know what customers need, what they're willing to pay, and roughly how many billable hours I can expect. I can use that information to decide what truck I need, how much I can afford, and whether the numbers actually work. That’s the bigger lesson here. Whether you're buying a hydro vac, an HVAC company, or any other capital-intensive business, don't confuse having the asset with having a business. My Final Thoughts A hydro-excavation business has serious revenue potential, but only if you can keep an expensive truck working. Prove the demand, line up the customers, and then buy the equipment. Happy hunting, Jack How do you feel about today's JackQuisitions newsletter? 👍 👎 😐 Disclosure: Some of the content and links in this newsletter are sponsored or affiliate links, which means we may receive payment or earn a commission if you click through or purchase. 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