Are you using AI in your business yet or still “just curious”?
Where are you at with AI right now? A) Not using it at all B) Using it for basic stuff (e.g., emails, replies) C) Using it for ops (e.g., estimating, training, reporting) D) “We run everything through AI” level—share below how you’re using it! In this episode of Masters of Home Service, PhilRisher and ryaantuttle share real-world ways home service pros are using AI to: Speed up estimating and hiring processes Create ready-to-use marketing content Prep for the shift from traditional SEO to AEO and GEO Want to put these tips into action? Download our free AI starter toolkit (includes scripts and pro tips). Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
How I Finally Delegated Estimating (Without Hiring Another Person)
For years, estimating was the one thing I couldn’t take off my plate. We changed the org chart. We hired roles. Delegated everything we could. But estimating? That was always me. Even if I wasn’t doing anything else in the business... I was still stuck quoting jobs. It was the bottleneck I couldn’t fix—until now. I built a ChatGPT-powered estimator trained with my systems, my pricing, and my language. It asks the right questions, runs the math, and delivers estimates like I would—without me being involved. Now I’m no longer the bottleneck. Customers get quick answers. I get my evenings and weekends back. Want to build your own? Map out your estimating logic. Plug it into ChatGPT. Test and refine. If you're stuck working all day and doing estimates at night and on Saturdays anddddd, sometimes even Sunday mornings when everyone's sleeping—this might be your way out. Heres my direct Zoom link if you'd like to learn more: https://calendly.com/ryaan-besthandymancompany/bh-plan-phone-consultationI built an AI assistant that runs my office
A few weeks ago I shared how I built a one-step enrollment system for my lawn care program — client enters their info, credit card goes on file, and they're enrolled. No quote approval, no back-and-forth. Automated sequences handle the welcome email, welcome text, and contact setup. One step, done. Coming from a background as an electrician, I tend to look at everything as a circuit. If there’s a break in communication or a 'loose wire' in my lead flow, the whole system fails. I decided to stop fighting the mess and started 'wiring' my office the same way I would a complex panel. I built an AI operations system that runs alongside Jobber. Every text, phone call, email, voicemail, missed call, and website form submission automatically gets logged to a centralized database through a series of Zaps. Every client has one record, one timeline, and one clear next action at all times. Every morning before I head out, I run a 5-minute briefing with an AI assistant. It reads the full client database through an MCP server — which basically means the AI has live access to every client interaction in real time. It tells me who contacted me overnight, who's waiting on a response, who's going cold, and what I should do next for each person. It drafts the messages. I review, edit if needed, and send. I also set up an AI receptionist on my business phone line. It answers calls, can answer common questions about services and pricing, takes client information, and transfers calls when needed. It can also send texts to the caller during or after the call — like a direct link to the enrollment page or the resources section on my website. It handles multiple calls at the same time. No more missed calls going to voicemail. The tools: Jobber for jobs, scheduling, and service history. An MCP-connected database for the client timeline. Zapier to connect everything. An AI assistant for daily briefings and client communication. An AI receptionist for inbound calls. Jobber stays at the center — it's my source of truth for every job, every visit, every quote. The AI layer sits on top and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks between Jobber and everything else. I'm planning my first hire this season. Not because I'm behind — because the systems are handling the admin load well enough that I can focus on growing. The AI doesn't replace a person. It replaced the office work I used to do at 10 PM after a full day in the field. If anyone's curious about how any of this works, happy to answer questions. I'm not selling anything — just sharing what I've built because this community helped me think through a lot of it.
Zapier vs Make… what’s been your experience?
I’ve been building out more automations around Jobber lately and ran into something interesting. A lot of setups I see are using Zapier, but once workflows get more complex, the cost starts climbing pretty fast. I switched a few of them over to Make.com just to test it, and it’s handled everything I’ve thrown at it so far. Feels like you get a bit more control over the logic, and it’s easier to actually see what’s going on in the workflow. Pricing hasn’t ramped up nearly as fast either. Curious if anyone else has tried it, or if most people are still sticking with Zapier?What's the best thing you've automated in your business?
Think scheduling, lead follow-ups, and customer reminders. What’s the best automation(s) you’ve set up that's made running your business easier? In this episode of Masters of Home Service, PhilRisher and WiringByron get into: The two automations every business should have How to automate estimates, follow-ups and billing to save 20+ hours/week Why "build the system once, benefit forever" is the real win Want to put these tips into action? Download the 10 automation moves checklist for this episode. Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
How do you simplify your operations to reduce overhead and grow faster?
I was watching a video on youtube last night that was talking about how Chick-Fil-A is the most successful restaurant group in the country. Per capita, Chick-Fil-A makes way more money than McDonalds, Starbucks, etc. And their success boils down to the fact that their menu is super simple. This speeds up the ordering process, the making of the food, and cuts down on overhead. So I'm curious: what are ways that you use the KISS (keep is simple, stupid) method in your business?
AI from Jobber helps me sound professional and help gain more clients.
Dad started the business in 1981. He kept his old school habits with him throughout the years. I've always begged him to change the way we do business and keep customers calling. He passed away last year in May and ive been with Jobber ever since. What a blessing.What tech tool actually made your team more productive?
What’s something that genuinely saved time or made your team better? Did it help with quoting? Payments? Share your take below. In this episode of Masters of Home Service, ryaantuttle and Rob Soper get into: Why many owners are still stuck with manual processes How tech can act like extra admin (without hiring) Simple ways to start using tech without overhauling everything Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
