Trung Huynh - The AI Apprentice

Trung Huynh
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

Trung Huynh — The AI Apprentice follows Trung, owner of a franchise handyman business, as he tackles the problems every HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and handyman owner deals with: leads going cold, hiring good people, and the back-office work that eats the week. In each episode, we share a problem we face in our business and how we solved it using AI tools. We share with you how to derived at the solution, whether it worked or not and what we learned so that you can do the same in your business. Practical advice for real world people, running real businesses.

Episodes

  1. Sep 10

    My Weekend Leads Sat for 60 Hours. I Fixed It in 10 Minutes

    In this episode of The AI Apprentice, the host explains how his business was losing paid Thumbtack leads ($25–$50 each) because no one responded after 5:30 p.m. or on weekends, sometimes waiting 12–14 hours or until Monday. He solved this “speed to lead” problem by building an xAI Grokbot agent called “Thumbelina” that logs into Thumbtack, checks for new leads every five minutes, messages prospects to gather job details, photos, timing, and address, learns the company’s brand voice by reviewing months of prior conversations, and updates their Jobber CRM. The bot also sends an 8:30 a.m. Slack summary to the CSR for a clean handoff. He highlights Grokbot’s cloud-based browser as a key advantage over clunkier, dedicated-machine browser automations and notes Thumbtack’s lack of API access made this approach essential.

  2. Aug 25

    How AI Fixed My Hiring Process In My Handyman Business!

    In this episode, Trung Huynh discusses the challenges of hiring and retaining talent in the handyman business, emphasizing the importance of using AI to enhance the interview process. He shares his experience of struggling with high turnover rates and how he revamped his hiring strategy by incorporating emotional intelligence assessments alongside technical skills. The conversation highlights the need for adaptability in a competitive labor market and the significance of using AI as a thought partner to identify blind spots in hiring practices.

  3. Aug 24

    How I saved more than 15hrs/wk with a Estimator tool I built with AI. - The AI Apprentice Podcast

    In this episode of the AI Apprentice Podcast, Trung Huynh discusses how he transformed his handyman business by implementing a custom AI tool to streamline the estimating process. He shares insights on identifying bottlenecks, creating a user-friendly web app, and integrating it with Jobber to enhance efficiency and conversion rates. The conversation emphasizes the importance of automation in reducing operational waste and improving business outcomes.

  4. Trailer

    Podcast Trailer

    If you run a handyman, HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, you already know the drill: leads that go cold before you follow up, appointments that don't get booked, hiring that never seems to stick, and hours of admin every week just to keep things running. I'm Trung — I run a $700K handyman business here in Austin, TX. This is The AI Apprentice. Every episode, I take one real problem from my business and try to solve it, usually with AI, on camera. I show you what worked, what didn't, and whether it actually saved me time or money. No theory, no polish — just real problems and real attempts. I don't have this figured out. I'm an apprentice, documenting the journey as I go, and hoping it makes trying new tools feel a little more approachable in your own shop too. New episodes weekly. Subscribe and follow along.

  • 1 Trailer
    3 Episodes

Trailer

About

Trung Huynh — The AI Apprentice follows Trung, owner of a franchise handyman business, as he tackles the problems every HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and handyman owner deals with: leads going cold, hiring good people, and the back-office work that eats the week. In each episode, we share a problem we face in our business and how we solved it using AI tools. We share with you how to derived at the solution, whether it worked or not and what we learned so that you can do the same in your business. Practical advice for real world people, running real businesses.

Information