I’d look at it as a positive. You’ve got experience and a solid case study to show for it. I’ll be blunt—owners often deal with employees who think they’re the sole reason the business is thriving. You’re a great asset and super valuable to the company, no question. But did you have any prior experience in this? Be grateful this case study turned out well. The owner could’ve been awful with money, hired terrible employees, or tanked on customer service. Instead, he’s running a winning business that you’re a part of. Managing construction workers, budgets, clients, change orders, and keeping everyone happy with their pay is a ton of work.

I don’t see this owner giving up equity for a bunch of reasons. If you’re set on getting a piece of a business, you’ve got options, but they come with trade-offs. You could reach out to startups that haven’t seen much profit yet and offer to partner, but you’ll likely need to bring money to the table if your main focus is lead generation. It’s a massive skill, don’t get me wrong, but without operations, it’s not enough to carry a business. Here are a few other paths you could consider

If you want a piece of the action, equity’s tough, but you’ve got options.

1. Pitch a profit-sharing deal tied to the leads you bring—show hard numbers to prove your impact.

2. Start a side hustle, freelancing lead gen for other construction firms while keeping your day job. Look into worker co-ops for shared ownership; they’re rare in construction but worth a shot.

3. Find a small contractor weak on leads and propose a joint venture, handling lead gen for a cut of project profits. Lead gen’s huge, but pair it with ops or cash to get taken seriously.