How Conglomerates Are Changing the Service Industry

Over the past year, needing help with various aspects of home maintenance (electrical, plumbing, gardening), i've noticed a trend that feels quite real. It’s one of those shifts you don’t fully grasp until you’re right in the middle of it, trying to solve what should be a simple problem. But the solution is no longer simple.

Large companies are acquiring smaller, specialized businesses. i say "businesses" in quotes because while they are indeed successful, they often consist of just one person, an expert who’s been perfecting their craft, like plumbing, for decades. It’s not a corporation with regional branches and sales targets. It’s a person with a truck, a set of well-used tools, and a deep knowledge of the local community.

This consolidation is happening quickly, transforming what used to be specialized, often hyper-local craftsmanship into parts of larger regional or national service conglomerates. Where you once had a plumber you could call for a quick faucet repair, you now have a conglomerate telling you your job is "too small" to be profitable. That single expert, who used to get to you in a pinch, is now wrapped up in layers of corporate structure, unavailable for the smaller things that don’t justify their company’s overhead.

And that’s the thing: all the overhead. We’re no longer paying just for someone’s expertise, we’re paying for the marketing, the call center, the fleet of trucks, the middle management. It feels like every simple task has turned into an ordeal. Instead of fixing a leak, it’s now about pushing a "bundle" of services. Need plumbing? Well, they’ll fix that, but they’ll also try to tack on some electrical work because, hey, they’re "full service" now. And all of it comes with the weight of higher costs, we have to pay for that overhead, after all.

The result? High-pressure sales tactics, pushing bundled services that extend beyond what you actually need. Higher prices, lower quality. We end up covering costs that were never there when we could call that one local person who had the knowledge and cared about their work.

Where we once had specialists, we now have generalists forced to upsell add-ons at extreme markups. The care, the craftsmanship, the personal touch, it’s all getting lost. The very nature of expertise is changing, it’s being consolidated, diluted, and commoditized.

It feels like something similar is happening in the business services space too. As a small business owner myself, i see these shifts up close. The values of craftsmanship, relationship, and local understanding are slowly being eroded by scale, efficiency, and corporate profit. Larger firms are buying up smaller, specialized agencies in droves, and just like in home maintenance, the promise of expertise is getting lost in the bloat of larger structures.

This is why companies like 33 Sticks, that have made a deliberate commitment to staying small and private, are more important than ever. We’ve said no to being acquired as part of a larger conglomerate because we know that true value comes from deep relationships, expertise, and focus, things that tend to fade away in environments that prioritize size and scale over substance.

In professional services, just as in home maintenance, the shift towards large-scale consolidation often leads to clients feeling like they’re just another number, facing high-pressure sales pitches and generic service offerings. But there’s still a place for craftsmanship in this world. There’s still a place for companies that genuinely care about the people they serve, that know their clients as individuals, and that see every engagement as an opportunity to make a real difference, not just to sell another bundle.

At 33 Sticks, we believe in the power of staying small and specialized. It’s not just a business strategy, it’s a commitment to a way of working that puts people first. We’re here to prove that you don’t need to scale endlessly to be impactful. That there’s incredible value in staying true to your roots, focusing on what you do best, and building meaningful relationships along the way.

Am i missing a piece of the puzzle here? Is this the inevitable future of all services, or can we find a way to hold onto the value of true local expertise?