Editors Note

I owe you an explanation.

If you've been a subscriber for a while, you've noticed that DDI went quiet for most of the past year. No weekly issues. No YouTube drops. Radio silence from a guy who built this newsletter on the promise of being your insider voice in this industry.

Here's what actually happened.

The last nine months have been some of the fullest of my life — in every direction at once. Two of my daughters got engaged. One of them got married. I've been on the road delivering and training new operators on Legion LED Trucks. And quietly, behind the scenes, I've been doing something I've never done before: I've been learning AI — not just using it, but studying it deeply enough to building amazing tools with it.

Because I saw something coming that I believed would completely change what's possible for a small startup operator in this industry.

So while the newsletter went dark temporarily, I was building. And what I've been building is something this industry has never had — a full technology ecosystem designed to give an independent MDB operator the infrastructure of a media company, without the overhead of one.

There's more to share on that, and I will. But first — I want to talk about something that's been bothering me for years and that I've been getting more vocal about.

The billboard industry is broken. And if you're one of the small business owners paying $3,000, $4,000, or $5,000 a month to rent space on a board you don't own, in a rotation you don't control, with results you can't measure — this issue is for you.

Let's get into it.

M.D.B. Startup Focus

The Billboard Industry Is Broken. Here's Who's Fixing It.

Let me paint you a picture.

You're a local business owner. Maybe you run a personal injury law firm, a roofing company, a CBD dispensary, or a chiropractic practice. You've been around long enough to know that visibility matters. That brand recognition is the difference between the phone ringing and the phone sitting silent. You've tried social media, Google ads, direct mail — and some of it works, some of it doesn't, but none of it quite gives you the feeling that you own your market.

So you call Lamar. Or Clear Channel. Or your local outdoor advertising rep.

And you sign a contract for a digital billboard.

Maybe it's $3,000 a month. Maybe it's $10,000. In a bigger market, maybe more.

And here's what you get:

Your ad runs for 8 seconds. Then someone else's ad runs. Then someone else's. Then yours again. In a loop with anywhere from 6 to 10 other advertisers, all competing for the same eyeballs on the same screen. Your ad appears — if the math works out — somewhere around 11 minutes out of every hour.

You have no control over which businesses share your rotation. You have limited input on placement — you can request a general area or direction, but your options are whatever inventory they have available, and that can change. You can update your creative faster than a printed board, but you're still filing requests, waiting on approvals, and working on their timeline — not yours. And while most providers do offer some form of proof of performance, what you get is typically an affidavit and a photo of the board — not proof that your specific customer saw it, acted on it, or walked through your door because of it.

And at the end of the month, you write another check.

This is the billboard industry as it was designed — and it hasn't changed much in decades.

The result is a closed system — one where the available inventory, the pricing, and the terms are all controlled by the same few players who benefit from keeping it that way.

Lamar, Clear Channel, and Outfront are good at what they do. But what they do is designed to serve their shareholders first. The roofing company in Omaha and the chiropractor in Tulsa are line items in a recurring revenue model — not the reason the system was built.

That's the problem LLT is here to solve.

The Math Nobody Shows You

Here's where it gets interesting — and where most business owners have a genuine "aha" moment when I walk them through it.

The average monthly payment on a LED Truck is somewhere between $3,000 and $6,000 per month, depending on the purchase price, quality of build, new vs used, and financing structure.

Let that land for a second.

You are likely already spending that much — or close to it — to rent space on someone else's billboard. A board you don't own. A screen you share with 6 to 10 competitors for your customer's attention. A fixed location that sits in one spot whether your ideal customer drives past it or not.

Now imagine instead that you own the screen.

You control where it goes. You control what's on it. You drive it through the neighborhoods where your best customers live, work, and spend money. You run your own ad on it as much as you want.

And then — because the Total360 Local Shared Model was designed specifically for this — you sell the remaining ad spots to other non-competing local businesses at $995 to $3,495 per month each. You can fill up to 8 spots on a single route. Do the math on even half of those filled, and your truck payment doesn't just get covered — it gets eliminated, with revenue left over.

You stopped renting media. You started owning it. And now the media pays you back.

This is what I mean when I say LLT is democratizing the billboard industry. We're making it possible for the small business owner — the one who was never supposed to win this game — to own the platform instead of feeding it.

What I've Been Building While I Was Gone

I told you in the Editor's Note that I've been building something. Let me give you a look inside.

For years, the biggest gap I saw in this industry wasn't trucks. Legion LED Trucks solved the truck problem. It wasn't training — the Total360 system solved the operational and sales training problem. The gap was technology infrastructure.

Independent MDB operators were running their businesses out of spreadsheets, text threads, and manually edited playlists. They had no professional way to manage ad scheduling, demonstrate proof of performance to clients, or build the kind of operational credibility that justifies premium pricing. The big billboard companies have proprietary software platforms worth tens of millions of dollars. The independent operator had nothing.

So we built it. Here’s a sneak peak as to whats coming:

ScreenFleet is our LED screen management platform — and it fills a hole that has existed in this industry since the first LED truck hit the road. With ScreenFleet, operators can manage their screen content, build multi-zone layouts, build playlists, and schedule campaigns — from a single dashboard. For an advertiser-facing business where client confidence is everything, ScreenFleet changes how you show up. You're not a guy with a truck and a laptop. You're a media company with infrastructure.

We are currently in beta testing with a full rollout planned by end of 2026.

LegionOS is the operator's central command hub — the nerve center that ties everything together. It includes a full CRM, marketing tools, diagnostics, operations management, and the licensing infrastructure for the Total360 model. If ScreenFleet is the client-facing layer, LegionOS is the business engine underneath it. Every operator in the Legion ecosystem will run through LegionOS — which means your operations, your client relationships, your route management, and your sales pipeline all live in one place, purpose-built for this business.

Beyond those two platforms, we've been building tools for AI-powered marketing and content creation, intelligent lead generation, and local SEO — capabilities that even six months ago would have required a full agency team to execute. Now a solo operator can deploy them from a single login.

I spent the better part of a year going deep on AI — not just using the consumer tools, but understanding how to build with it. What I've learned is that the gap between a well-resourced media company and a one-truck startup is closing fast. The operators who understand this early and build on the right infrastructure are going to have an enormous advantage over the ones who wait.

That's exactly why we built this ecosystem.

One More Thing: The Lease Is Coming

I mentioned the truck payment math above — $3,000 to $6,000 per month depending on the truck. But here's something most people don't find out until they're already deep in the process: financing an LED truck is genuinely hard. The traditional lending industry doesn't understand this equipment, doesn't recognize it as an established asset class, and treats it like a question mark. Even buyers with strong credit and a solid down payment routinely get turned away — or hit with interest rates of 15 to 25 percent — because they're setting up a new LLC with no three-year financial history to show a bank. It's one of the most frustrating barriers in this industry, and it has stopped good operators before they ever got started. We've been working for over a year to solve it from the inside.

Later in 2026, we're rolling out something that's going to lower the barrier even further: an LED Truck Lease product, designed specifically for new truck purchases through Legion LED Trucks.

Leasing changes the entry math in a meaningful way — lower monthly obligation, potential tax advantages, and a structure that makes it easier to get your first truck on the road and generating revenue before you've committed to full ownership. I don't want to get too far ahead of the announcement, but if the payment math has been the thing holding you back, stay tuned. This changes the conversation.

We're Also Getting Busier With Something We Didn't Expect

One thing I want to be transparent about: we've seen a significant increase in service and support requests from operators who bought trucks from other builders — and who have nowhere to turn when something goes wrong.

It's a real problem in this industry. You buy a truck, something breaks, and the company that built it or sold it either can't help you, won't help you, or no longer exists. LED truck technology is not like taking your car to any mechanic on the corner. It requires specific expertise.

We've stepped in to help wherever we can — because that's the right thing to do, and because this industry only grows if operators succeed. If you're in that situation, reach out. We're not going to turn you away.

The Opportunity Is Real. The System Is Ready. The Question Is Whether You Are.

Here's where I want to land this.

If you're a small business owner spending $3,000 or more per month on billboard advertising — and you're frustrated by the lack of control, the lack of proof, the rotation you share with your competitors, and the feeling that you're feeding a system that was never designed for you — there is a real, structured, proven alternative.

You can own the platform. You can control the message. You can move with your audience. And you can build a business around it that pays you back every single month.

It's not for everyone. It requires real commitment, real investment, and a willingness to operate a business — not just drive a truck. But for the right person, it is one of the most compelling media business opportunities available today. And with the technology infrastructure we're building around it, the operators who get in now are going to be positioned in a way that future operators simply won't be able to replicate from scratch.

The industry is broken. The opportunity is clear. The tools are being built.

If you want to have a real conversation about whether this is right for you — not a sales pitch, an actual conversation — I do a limited number of Industry Discovery Calls each month.

You can book yours at www.jerryteeter.com/consulting

Come with your questions. Come with your skepticism. Come with your numbers. I'll give you the straight answer — the same one I wish someone had given me before I lost $100,000 on my first truck.

Keep it simple, keep it profitable, and build the legacy while you build the business.

Is This the Right Move for You?

I want to be straightforward with you. This business isn't for everyone — and I mean that literally. Over the years I've told plenty of people, after a real conversation about their situation, that I didn't think they should get into it. Some listened and thanked me later. Some didn't listen and learned the hard way. A few got mad at me for not just telling them what they wanted to hear. But that's exactly the difference between what we do and what most truck sellers do — they're motivated to feed the dream because it closes the sale. We're motivated to give you an honest assessment because our reputation is built on operators who actually succeed, not just on trucks that move out the door.

Every month I set aside a limited number of Industry Discovery Calls for people who are serious about exploring this. These are not sales calls. I'm not going to pitch you or pressure you into anything. What I will do is give you a straight, honest assessment of whether this business makes sense for your situation — the same conversation I wish someone had given me before I made a $100,000 mistake on my first truck. Come with your questions. Come with your numbers. Come with your skepticism. I can work with all of it.

If that sounds like the conversation you need, you can book your call at www.jerryteeter.com/consulting. Spots are limited and I keep it that way intentionally — because the conversation is only worth having if I can give it the attention it deserves.

LED Truck Financing Options

Financing Your LED Truck With Ascentium Capital

Legion LED Trucks has partnered with Ascentium Capital to offer flexible financing and options for both new and used LED trucks! Whether you’re looking to start or grow your MDB business, these financing plans provide an affordable way to get on the road with minimal upfront investment.

Ascentium’s flexible structures combined with 100% financing means you avoid substantial out of pocket costs. Apply without financials up to $400k. Most credit decisions within 1-2 hours.

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