Keep Your Money Local
What if the money you spent on home services stayed in Eugene and Springfield, instead of disappearing into corporate ad budgets?
How This Started
I'm Wade Wilder, owner of Wilder Cleaning Solutions. I've been in the pressure washing business for over 10 years, serving homes and businesses throughout Lane County.
Recently, I was reviewing our advertising costs - specifically the lead generation platforms we've been using. And I had a moment of clarity: we're all paying too much, and most of that money is leaving our community.
For the last five years, I've spent September through March cleaning hazardous surfaces for free - helping seniors, disabled, and elderly folks in our community stay safe in their homes. I've seen firsthand what happens when people care more about community than profit margins.
So I built Our Town Trades. Not as a side hustle or investment opportunity, but as a solution to a problem I was living every day.
The Problem We're Solving
Traditional lead generation platforms charge contractors 15-40% per lead, sometimes more. That cost gets passed directly to you, the customer. It's artificial inflation, and it's extracting wealth from Lane County.
Here's the thing: these platforms perform a service (connecting customers with contractors), but they charge like salespeople. Salespeople earn commissions because they do the footwork, make the calls, close the deals. Ad agencies and lead platforms don't do that work - contractors do.
The Pay-Per-Click and Pay-Per-Lead models are artificially raising the cost of goods and services across the board. I see it firsthand. Every month, millions of dollars leave Eugene and Springfield, going to corporate platforms headquartered elsewhere.
If that money stayed here, it could be reinvested in our local economy - better wages, better equipment, lower prices, stronger businesses.
A Better Way
Our Town Trades operates on a subscription model, not commission extraction. Contractors pay a flat monthly fee for access to job opportunities - no commission per lead, no percentage of the sale, no hidden fees.
This changes everything:
- Lower costs for customers Contractors aren't padding their quotes to cover 20-40% lead fees
- Fair competition You don't win by having the biggest ad budget. You win by having the best reputation
- Predictable business costs Contractors know exactly what they're paying each month
- Money stays local Our Town Trades is based right here in Eugene, owned and operated locally
I built this platform as both a contractor and a consumer. I know what contractors need, and I know what customers deserve.
What Makes Us Different
Purpose-Driven, Not Money-Driven
There will likely never be another subscription-only platform that provides these services. Why? Because it's too easy for corporations to dip deeper into everybody's pockets and extract maximum monetary rewards. We're choosing a different path.
Quality Tier System
We're the only platform that segments the market by service level - Essential, Reliable, Elite, and Signature. Customers know what to expect. Contractors can position themselves honestly. Everyone wins when expectations are clear from the start.
Fair Contractor Rotation
Our matching process is fair and community-driven. Contractors are rotated based on reputation, availability, and how recently they were featured - not who pays the most for ads. This encourages quality work, not just deep pockets.
Verification & Trust
We verify contractor insurance and CCB licenses. We use a two-way review system where contractors can also rate customers. This builds a community of accountability and respect on both sides.
Hyper-Local Focus
We're focused on Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County because I know the neighborhoods. My friends and family live and work here. This isn't a nationwide rollout from a faceless corporation - it's neighbors helping neighbors.
For Customers
When you post a job on Our Town Trades, you get:
- Access to verified, local contractors with transparent reputations
- Clear quality tier expectations (Essential, Reliable, Elite, Signature)
- Competitive pricing without inflated lead generation fees baked in
- Real reviews from real customers
- Control over how many contractors contact you (3-10 slots per job)
- Free to post jobs - you only pay the contractor you hire
For Contractors
When you join Our Town Trades, you get:
- Predictable monthly costs - no commission extraction on every lead
- Fair access to job opportunities based on reputation, not ad budget
- SEO-optimized business profile page with backlink to your website
- Customer review collection and display system
- Quality tier positioning that matches your business model
- Freedom to run your business without inflated costs
- Support from someone who actually works in the trades
Where We're Going
We launched recently. We're growing thoughtfully, with a pilot program that gives early adopters free access while we refine the platform based on real feedback from real contractors and customers.
Our goal isn't to become a massive corporate platform. Our goal is to build something sustainable that serves Lane County well - that keeps money local, rewards quality work, and makes life easier for both contractors and customers.
We're building this together, one job at a time, one honest contractor at a time, one satisfied customer at a time.
Join Our Town Trades
Whether you're a contractor looking for a fairer way to grow your business, or a customer looking for quality local services, we'd love to have you.
Questions?
I'm happy to talk. Really. I built this because I care about our community, and I want to hear from you.
Wade Wilder
Founder, Our Town Trades
Owner, Wilder Cleaning Solutions
Email: OurTownTrades@gmail.com
3015 North Delta Highway
Eugene, OR 97408