Josh Ferri Leading Lakeside Decking to $2 Million Success | F&D Mastery Podcast #33

Josh Ferri grew Lakeside Decking from about $400K in 2022 to $735K in 2023 and is on pace for roughly $2 million in production this year, largely by getting himself off the job site and leading the company from afar.

Switching from hourly W2 crews to a 1099 production-based pay model removed the risk of guessing how long a deck would take — crews now know exactly what they earn per build, and complexity like drainage systems or post wraps simply pays more.

To avoid renegotiating every surprise, Josh audited past jobs for common overages (rock in a footing, rotted framing behind a ledger) and pre-built line items with set per-unit prices so the project manager and client can resolve changes instantly.

His markup is calculated against an annual budget that intentionally includes future costs — a new truck, an office space — because those investments don't just happen and have to be priced into current jobs.

With around 38 Platinum-level competitors within a 30-mile radius, Lakeside wins on a 'white glove' process in an industry not known for it, telling clients to 'buy Lakeside Decking, don't buy the deck.'

The company spends roughly $60K a year on advertising (about $40K on Google/Facebook/Instagram PPC and retargeting), averaging 10-12 leads a week at a 20-25% conversion, and is only now layering in SEO as the slower long-term engine.

Josh's core advice for scaling: know your numbers and correct markup first, then market; diversify vendors rather than trusting one agency to 'do it all'; and give paid channels six months to work instead of killing them after a week.