Your Trail Company:
Going Pro

Photo: Allegra Trails

Supporting Emerging
Trail Companies

PTBA member companies are overwhelmingly small businesses — many are micro-businesses. For most of us, mastering the technical aspects of trail work was the easy part; navigating the complexities of running a small business is the bigger challenge.

This resource lays out what it takes to go pro as a trail company and is designed to support the emerging businesses that are fueling the growth of our industry.

This resource is meant to be informative, but in no means, comprehensive and should not be considered legal, financial, or tax advice.

PTBA asked our members what they wished they knew when they started their company:

  • I wish someone had told me to start my business sooner.

  • It takes time to build a company.

  • There’s still computer work and business skills involved in the trail industry.

  • Knowing when to say “no” is an important skill.

  • Embrace collaboration — it’s a powerful way to learn, grow, and deliver great product.

How PTBA members define professionalism

Client Relations

Communicate Clearly and Honestly: Timely, respectful, and honest communication with clients and colleagues

Serve Clients and the Community: Deliver what the client wants while balancing the needs of the community and end users

Maintain High Ethical Standards: Fairness, integrity, and thoroughness in all aspects of the work

Advocate for Quality and Sustainability: Say “no” when client requests compromise quality or sustainability

Provide Excellent Value: Complete projects on budget and use time and materials wisely

Quality of Work

Commitment to Excellence: Deliver only high-quality products

Go Above and Beyond: Elevate the trail industry through work that exceeds expectations and uplifts the community

Sustainable Trails: Create sustainable and maintainable trails.

Legacy: Every completed project is part of your legacy - take pride in your work.

Company Operations

Operate Ethically and Legally: Uphold legitimate business practices and follow relevant laws (environmental, labor, licensing)

Prioritize Quality and Professionalism: Provide high-quality work, fair pricing, and reliability in meeting deadlines

Value and Support Your Team: Pay fair wages and foster ongoing training and innovation

Safety: Actively manage safety on the jobsite and promote a culture of respect and inclusion

Environmental Responsibility: Act as stewards of natural resources and minimize environmental impacts

Communicate Effectively: Clear, transparent, and honest communication with clients, employees, and partners

Public Profile

Online + Print: Demonstrate professionalism through your website and other company documents. Be findable and accessible through clear communication channels

Objectivity: Stay objective and measured in public interactions

Knowledge and Representation: Stay informed about the trail industry and related trends, programs, and best practices

Engagement and Humility: Be an educator and collaborator, sharing knowledge and learning from your peers

Photo: Allegra Trails

Small Biz 101

This section is intended as a general overview and should not be considered legal, financial, or tax advice. The right choice for your business depends on your unique situation. We recommend consulting with an accountant, attorney, or small business advisor to ensure you’re choosing the best structure for your needs.

Also, the language is currently US-centric; however, we plan to create resources that align with terminology and processes for other parts of the world.

Business Structure

Sole Proprietorship

  • Structure: Easiest to set up; one person owns it.

  • Taxes: Income is reported on your personal tax return (Schedule C). No separate business taxes.

  • Liability: No separation between personal and business liability — your personal assets (house, savings) are at risk if there’s a lawsuit or debt.

  • Best for: Small, low-risk businesses.

LLC (Limited Liability Company)

  • Structure: A separate legal entity from you. Owned by one (single-member) or more (multi-member) people.

  • Taxes:

    • By default, a single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship.

    • A multi-member LLC is taxed like a partnership.

    • LLC income “passes through” to the owner’s personal tax return.

  • Liability: Personal assets are generally protected.

  • Best for: Companies that choose to protect themselves while staying simple.

S-Corporation (S-Corp)

  • Structure: A corporation that has elected special tax treatment.

  • Taxes: Profits and losses pass through to the owner’s personal return (like an LLC), but you avoid some self-employment tax by paying yourself a “reasonable salary” and taking the rest as distributions.

  • Liability: Limited liability protection, similar to LLC.

  • Extra admin: You must run payroll, file more paperwork (state and federal wage withholding and more) and have annual meetings.

  • Best for: Businesses making enough profit to benefit from saving on self-employment taxes (often around $50–60k in net profit or more).

LLC taxed as an S-Corp

  • What it is:

    • You form an LLC, but elect to be taxed as an S-Corp by filing IRS Form 2553.

    • Legally, you’re still an LLC, but for tax purposes, you’re treated like an S-Corp.

  • Why do it?

    • You still get liability protection of an LLC.

    • Potential to save on self-employment taxes by splitting your income into salary + distributions.

  • Best for: Trail businesses with steady, predictable profits who want the protection of an LLC but lower self-employment tax.

Business Registration

Choose a unique name

  • Check your state’s business name database (usually on your Secretary of State’s website) to see if your desired name is already taken.

  • Check the PTBA directory so that you don’t duplicate a name in our small industry.

  • Check domains as well to see if you can get your company name for your website and email address.

Get an EIN (Employer Identification Number)

  • This federal tax ID is essential if you hire employees, work with agencies, or open a business bank account.

  • This IRS website has more information.

  • If you are a sole proprietor, you may not need a business EIN.

Register with your State (typically the Secretary of State)

  • You will have to pay a small fee and provide basic information about your business.

Open a business bank account

  • In general, you need an EIN and a certificate of good standing from your state to open a business bank account.

  • Keeping your personal and business finances separate helps with legal protection, liability, taxes, and recordkeeping.

Set up accounting and bookkeeping systems

  • You can use software like QuickBooks or FreshBooks, or engage an accountant, especially if you have payroll for multiple employees.

Operate Legally

Licenses: Some states require a contractor license for trail project construction. Make sure you know the requirements where you work!

Permits: Understand the permits that are required and their relevant compliance activities on the lands where you work - you can learn more in general about permitting in the Trail Project Life Cycle web resource and multiple webinars linked on that page.

Labor Laws:

  • 1099 vs W-2: Make sure you understand the difference between a W-2 employee on payroll and a 1099 contractor. In general, if you control how and when the work is done, the person should be a W-2 employee; if they decide how and when to do it, they’re likely a 1099 contractor.

  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the federal floor for wages, overtime, and record-keeping—but your state might require more.

  • Federal (Title VII, ADA, ADEA) and state laws prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.

Insurance + Bonding

Types of Insurance Common to the Trail Industry

Having insurance that matches your company’s operations not only protects your company, but it is also required for many trail contracts. Below are types of insurance that may apply to your company or be required by clients.

General Liability/Commercial Liability: Protects your business if you’re held legally responsible for injury to others or damage to property that happens as a result of your work.

Commercial Automobile: Required for many contracts; underwritten based on type of vehicle; drivers, radius of use and territory of operations

Professional Liability (also called Errors and Omissions): Focus is on professional services like trail planning, design or education.

Workers’ Compensation: Mandatory if you have employees

Inland Marine: Covers property that’s in transit, mobile, or not tied to a fixed location such as tools and equipment that travel between job sites, materials being transported to and from job sites, rented equipment, and equipment stored off-site (i.e. in trailers, vehicles, or at job locations).

Property Insurance: Covers buildings (like an office or workshop); fixtures and permanent equipment that are part of those buildings; inventory and materials stored at a fixed location; damage from risks like fire, theft, vandalism, wind, hail, and some other natural disasters.

Excess/Umbrella: This is an additional layer and can extend over auto, liability, and employers liability.

Pollution Liability: Covers accidental spills of fuels or lubricants from equipment in remote or sensitive natural areas, runoff or erosion from trail work that damages nearby water sources or habitats, and use of certain materials (like treated timbers or sealants) that leach into the environment.

Granite Insurance and Marsh & McLennan Agency are insurance providers who are part of
the PTBA Vendor Network.

They have provided education and Q&A sessions for our member companies - and have demonstrated
understanding of the trail industry.

Key advice: Be transparent about your company operations and build a relationship with your
insurance agent.

Bonding + Trail Projects

A bond (or surety bond) is a financial guarantee that a contractor (like a trail company) will fulfill its obligations—whether that’s finishing a project, paying subcontractors, or following the law.

Bonding can be required for trail contracts:

  • Public trail projects (municipal, state, or federal contracts often require bonds).

  • Large-scale or high-stakes projects where the client wants extra security.

Types of bonds applicable to trail projects:

  • Bid Bond: Guarantees that if your company wins a bid, you’ll sign the contract and provide the required performance/payment bonds.

  • Performance Bond: Guarantees that you’ll finish the project to the agreed-upon standards.

  • Payment Bond: Guarantees that you’ll pay subcontractors and suppliers.

  • License and Permit Bond: a type of surety bond specifically tied to getting a license or permit to legally operate your business or perform specific work.

Key roles in the bonding process:

  1. Principal – the company doing the work

  2. Obligee – the one who requires the bond (like a government agency or land manager).

  3. Surety - the bonding company that guarantees the principal’s performance. While bonding is a financial transaction, it is
    still an insurance product.

Learn more: Bonding Webinar

Ben Todd from Granite Insurance and Nick Hogan from Cincinnati Insurance provided this webinar to guide viewers through essential aspects of surety bonding for trail projects, covering:

  • Key roles in the bonding process

  • Who needs bonding and why

  • Requirements and acceptable collateral

  • Tips to streamline the bonding process

  • What happens when a bond is triggered and the impact on company owners

Safety + Risk Management

Risk management webinar

safety programs

OSHA

Contracting + Proposals

Contracting

Contracting for a trail-related project typically begins with the development of a project bid and ends when the scope of work is complete. PTBA created this web resource to provide an overview of multiple solicitation tools, contractual elements, and processes as they vary with scope of work, resources, and timelines. This resource was developed as part of this 2021 webinar posted on YouTube: From IDIQ to SOQ, Trail Contracting models and a Trail Contracting presentation delivered in 2024.

Photo: Great Lakes Trailbuilders, Patagonia

Getting Projects: Your SOQ

A Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) is a document that summarizes your company’s experience, capabilities, and expertise. It’s like a resume for your business and is often an integral part of a proposal. A typical SOQ includes:

  • Company overview: Basic info about your company, size, and structure.

  • Key personnel: Resumes or bios of your leadership and project team.

  • Other information you can include: Certifications, licenses, and bonding; Safety and risk management protocols

  • Relevant experience: Summaries of past projects similar to the one you’re pursuing. For each project, you could include:

    • Project Name and Location

    • Client (Company/Agency Name, Contact Name & Title, Phone & Email)

    • Project Description

    • Contracted Scope (and if it is a subcontract)

    • Completion Deadline per Contract; Actual Completion Date

    • Photo Documentation of each project

  • Other information you can include: Certifications, licenses, and bonding; Safety and risk management protocols, letters of reference

Tip: Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design tool that helps people create professional-looking visuals.

Website, Email, Social Media

Many trail companies use their website as their online portfolio, populated with the projects from their SOQ, and they use their social media to showcase ongoing projects. Many proposal reviewers will research both through their evaluation process, and some perspective clients will search online to find a trail company near them, so being findable is important. Lastly, an email address that reflects the legitimacy of your business (i.e. name@yourtrailcompany.com) is another way to demonstrate professionalism.

The Trail Skills Project

The Trail Skills Project serves as the workforce hub for the trails community providing connections to trails education, trail expertise, professional development, and job opportunities. PTBA has been a leading partner in the Trail Skills Project since its inception in 2021.

On the Trail Skills Project, you can:

  • Create a profile, designed to be a 'linked in' style snapshot focused on trail experience and aligned with the competencies

  • Identify trail professional development goals through the competency self-assessment

  • Find training opportunities to meet those goals

  • Find and post job opportunities 

  • Connect to trail-related organizations, companies, and agencies

PTBA Membership

Why Apply to Join?

Networking, training, support, and camaraderie

To be recognized as legitimate professionals in the industry

To connect with and learn from more experienced peers

PTBA represents the best of the best...it has a rigorous acceptance process.

…. read more

Eligibility

  • As the trade association for the trail industry, only private sector companies are eligible for PTBA membership.

  • A majority amount of the company’s work must be in trails (planning, design, construction, maintenance, or industry related business activities) defined by percent of gross revenue and/or people hours worked.

  • All applicants must have a PTBA Member Company Sponsor.

  • All applicants must meet all New Member Criteria demonstrating the company’s quality, professionalism, and experience with an online portfolio that includes experience documentation, letters of reference, qualifier’s CV/resume, and a letter from a PTBA Member Company sponsor.

  • The applicant company must have been formed and active for at least three years prior to the date of application.

  • PTBA membership is for companies that provide trail-related services (construction, design, planning, etc). If your company sells products that support the trail industry (i.e. tools, equipment, bridges, trail counters, etc), please consider the PTBA Vendor Network.

  • PTBA membership is a company membership, not for individuals. If you are interested in demonstrating your individual trail acumen, you can create an individual profile/portfolio at the Trail Skills Project (PTBA is a partner).