Cog Mission
Community-Led Growth · Annual report

The 2027 State of Small Service Businesses

Evidence from owners, not assumptions from vendors

Small service businesses run on compromises the industry stopped questioning. This report names them — backed by survey data, owner interviews, roundtables, and anonymized workflow patterns.

Built from owner research

Publication target: 2027-Q1

  • 5,000 survey responses
  • 800 owner interviews
  • 150 roundtables

What the report will cover

Every chapter is backed by owner surveys, interviews, and roundtables — not vendor marketing decks.

  1. Chapter 01

    Executive Summary

  2. Chapter 02

    What Keeps Owners Up at Night

  3. Chapter 03

    The Compromises We Normalized

  4. Chapter 04

    What Software Actually Changes (and What It Doesn't)

  5. Chapter 05

    Scheduling & Dispatch: The Gap Between Office and Field

  6. Chapter 06

    Getting Paid Without the Chase

  7. Chapter 07

    Industry Snapshots

  8. Chapter 08

    What Owners Want Built Next

Target: 5,000 survey responses · 800 interviews · 150 roundtables

Help us write it

Join owners helping shape the 2027 report

Pick your trade, take the five-question survey, and join Founding Members. Your answers shape both the report and what we build next.

20 industries. One report.

HVAC, plumbing, cleaning, landscaping, and more — each trade gets a research page and a seat at the table.

Browse all industries →