Capstone: Your AI-Powered Trades Toolkit

You’ve learned AI skills for every part of your trades business. Now organize them into a toolkit you’ll actually use — every day, on every job.

🔄 Quick Recall: Across this course you’ve covered: why AI matters for trades (Lesson 1), estimation (Lesson 2), troubleshooting (Lesson 3), code compliance (Lesson 4), customer communication (Lesson 5), business operations (Lesson 6), and marketing (Lesson 7). This capstone brings it all together.

Your AI Toolkit

Here’s every tool organized by when you use it during a typical job:

Before the Job

On the Job

After the Job

Weekly

Total weekly time saved: 10-15 hours

✅ Quick Check: You currently work 50 hours/week: 35 hours on jobs, 15 hours on admin (estimates, invoices, scheduling, communication). If AI cuts admin to 5 hours, you have 10 extra hours. What’s the most profitable use of those hours? (Answer: Take on 2-3 more jobs per week. At $150/hour average revenue, that’s $1,500-2,250/week — $75,000-115,000/year in additional revenue from the same work hours. Or, work less and keep the same income. Either way, AI pays for itself many times over.)

Setting Up Your Toolkit

Step 1: Create Your Prompt Library

Open your phone’s notes app. Create these folders:

AI Prompts/
├── Estimation/
│   ├── General estimate template
│   ├── Water heater estimate
│   ├── Panel upgrade estimate
│   └── Material takeoff template
├── Troubleshooting/
│   ├── Pre-arrival diagnosis
│   ├── Error code lookup
│   └── Spec sheet lookup
├── Code/
│   ├── NEC lookup
│   ├── IPC lookup
│   └── Inspection checklist
├── Communication/
│   ├── Appointment confirmation
│   ├── Post-job follow-up
│   ├── Scope change message
│   ├── Review request
│   └── Review response
├── Operations/
│   ├── Invoice template
│   ├── Schedule optimizer
│   └── Expense tracker
└── Marketing/
    ├── Social media posts
    ├── Google Business description
    └── Service descriptions

Step 2: Customize Your Master Prompts

Each template should pre-fill your standard information:

[MASTER ESTIMATE TEMPLATE]

Create a professional estimate:

Company: ProFlow Plumbing
Phone: (555) 123-4567
License: #PLB-12345
Insurance: Fully insured and bonded

Bill to: [FILL: Customer name and address]
Job: [FILL: Description of work]
Materials: [FILL: List with prices]
Labor: [FILL: hours] hours at $125/hour
Additional: [FILL: permits, travel, disposal]

Payment: 50% deposit, balance on completion
Warranty: 1 year on labor, manufacturer warranty on parts
Valid: 30 days

You only change the [FILL] parts for each new job.

Step 3: Build the Habit

Week 1: Use AI for estimates only — get comfortable Week 2: Add invoicing and follow-up messages Week 3: Add troubleshooting and code lookups Week 4: Add marketing (social posts, review responses)

Don’t try to use everything at once. Build one habit at a time.

Course Recap

Key Takeaways

• Organize prompts in your phone’s notes app by category — accessibility is everything
• Master prompts with pre-filled business info save the most time — only fill in job-specific details
• Start with one category (estimation) and add more week by week
• Total time saved: 10-15 hours per week, which translates to more jobs or more free time
• AI + your trade experience = a better-run business, not a different trade
• The tradespeople who adopt AI earliest will have a competitive edge in bids, communication, and customer experience