🚨 The 70-Hour Week That Was Costing Him $4,000 a Month
Travis runs an electrical shop outside Houston. Six trucks, decent crew, calls coming in faster than he can return them.
He was on the road by 6am, in the office by 5pm, and writing estimates until 10. Seventy hours a week. He hadn't taken a Saturday off since November.
When he finally sat down and added it up, he realized he was losing about $4,000 a month in jobs that fell through the cracks. Voicemails he never returned. Estimates he never sent. Customers who got tired of waiting and went with the next guy.
He set up two AI tools. One picks up every call he misses, qualifies the lead, and books the walkthrough on his calendar. The other turns voice notes from the truck into clean written estimates by the time he gets back to the office.
Six weeks later he's home for dinner three nights a week and his close rate is up. He didn't hire anybody. He just stopped letting work pile up where nobody could see it.
If your week looks anything like Travis's used to, the AI Readiness Assessment shows you the exact spots where you're leaking time and money. Two minutes. Take the Quiz →
📰 Quick Hits
• Copper futures are still climbing into Q2. Reprice any quote sitting more than two weeks old before you send it.
• The skilled trades shortage is now estimated at 540,000 unfilled roles. Retention is cheaper than recruiting in 2026.
• A new round of A2L refrigerant rebates dropped this month for residential HVAC installs. Check your state utility programs.
• ServiceTitan rolled out an AI scheduling assistant in their April release. If you're on it, turn it on.
• Texas, Florida, and Arizona lead the country in new residential permits this spring. If you're in those states, the work is there.
🤖 One AI Tip of the Week
Stop writing follow-up emails from scratch. Open ChatGPT and paste this:
"Write a friendly follow-up email to a homeowner I quoted three days ago for a [job type]. Keep it short, no pressure, and offer to answer any questions. Sign it from [your name], owner of [your company]."
Save the result as a template in your email. Next time an estimate goes out, fire it off 72 hours later and watch your close rate climb.
💰 The Estimate Edge
Steel and copper are both pushing prices up heading into May, and tariff news on imported electrical components is making suppliers twitchy. Lock your material orders for any May or June jobs this week if you can. Twenty minutes on the phone with your distributor could protect three or four points of margin per job.
⚡ AI in Action
A plumbing shop in Spring, Texas was missing about 20 calls a week after-hours. We set up an AI receptionist that answers, qualifies, and books the appointment straight onto their calendar. Within a month they'd added 14 booked jobs they would have lost. Total monthly cost: $29.
Want to see what this would look like in your shop? Book a Free AI Audit →
🎵 The Drifter's Dedication
This week's dedication goes out to BVAC Services in Bryan, Texas.
Jose and Priscilla Gonzales were high school sweethearts at Travis B. Bryan High. When COVID hit in 2020 and families were stuck at home with broken AC in Texas heat, Jose decided it was time to stop working for somebody else and build the company he'd always dreamed of. Priscilla runs the office, Jose runs the calls, and five years later they're one of the most trusted HVAC shops in the Brazos Valley.
Listen to "High School Sweethearts & Texas Heat" →
Know a contractor who deserves their own song? Reply to this email with their name and story.
📅 Trades Calendar
• The Trades Room launches in Conroe, Texas — coming in 8 weeks. A private community for trades business owners. Peer groups, in-person dinners, and real conversations with people who actually get it. No vendors, no pitches, just operators helping operators. Doors open mid-June. Watch your inbox for the invite.
• PHCC Legislative Conference — May 5–6, Washington DC. Plumbing and HVAC contractors meet lawmakers on energy and workforce policy.
• ASHRAE Annual Conference — Jun 27–Jul 1, Austin TX. Building automation, energy management, and where HVAC is headed next.
📣 Community Corner
Quick question for you: what's the one thing you wish you could stop doing this week so you could go home on time? Reply to this email. I read every single one, and the best answers show up in next week's issue.
🎬 Free Custom Video — Just for You
Here's what I want to do for you.
Tell me the next person you wish you could hire — office manager, estimator, dispatcher, lead follow-up, whatever it is — and I'll record you a personal video showing exactly how AI can handle that job for about $25 a month.
No meeting. No sales pitch. Just a 5-10 minute screen recording where I walk you through the exact tools, the exact setup, and what it would look like in your business.
Why? Because I know you're busy. You don't have time to sit through a demo or figure this out on your own. So I'll just show you.
Takes 60 seconds to fill out. I'll send your video within 48 hours.
Ready to see where AI fits in your business?
The AI Readiness Assessment takes two minutes. No pitch, no pressure. Just a clear look at where you're leaking time and money.
Take the Free AI Readiness Assessment →
Until next time,
Greg Adams
The AI Memo