A simple, low-cost service business you can start this week with free AI tools
Most home-service business owners lose money every night without realizing it. When a customer calls after 6 p.m., the phone usually rings into voicemail—or worse, doesn’t ring at all. That missed call could be a $300 repair, a $1,200 installation, or a recurring client.
Now imagine offering those same business owners an AI-powered “after-hours receptionist” that answers calls 24/7, takes messages, filters emergencies, and even transfers urgent ones directly to the owner.
That’s the business we’re building today—and you can set it up in less than an hour.
Step 1 – Pick a Profitable Niche
You can use this model in almost any local industry that gets high-value calls outside normal hours.
Here are strong examples:
Garage door repair
Plumbing
HVAC
Electricians
Pest control
Locksmiths
Roofing
Pool repair
The key is to target high-ticket services—the ones worth answering the phone for at midnight.
💡 Tip: Skip industries dominated by large franchises or private-equity roll-ups (national HVAC chains, for example). Aim for smaller owner-operators who still answer their own phones.
Step 2 – Gather Business Leads (15 minutes)
You’ll need a list of local companies to reach out to.
Use a Google-Maps scraping tool such as Outscraper.com to pull:
Business name
Phone number
City
Website
Filter for mobile numbers so you can text them later.
Example:
Search “garage door repair Dallas,” “plumber Austin,” or “roof repair Tampa.”
Export 500–1,000 results to Google Sheets. This usually costs $10–$30 depending on volume.
Then:
Delete irrelevant columns.
Remove duplicates.
Keep only mobile numbers.
Randomize your list so outreach looks organic.
Step 3 – Build Your AI Voice Agent (20 minutes)
You’ll create an AI receptionist that answers calls and captures customer info.
Tools that work well:
Platform | Free Trial | Notes |
|---|---|---|
GoHighLevel / HighLevel | 30 days | Simple “AI Employee” setup, local numbers, transcripts |
Twilio Studio + OpenAI API | Pay-as-you-go | More technical but fully customizable |
Free tier | Great for quick AI call flows |
Basic setup:
Create a new voice agent
Assign a local area-code number
Greeting example:
❝“Hey, thanks for calling [Business Name]. How can I help you today?”
Info to collect: Name, Address, Issue
Working hours: 24/7
You can also set the AI to forward urgent calls to the owner’s cell (use simple “if urgent = yes → forward” logic in your workflow).
Step 4 – Create a Knowledge Base (5 minutes)
Use ChatGPT to generate your agent’s knowledge base.
Example prompt:
“You are an after-hours AI voice agent for a local [industry] company.
Your job is to sound friendly, gather caller details, and forward urgent jobs.
If a call is not urgent, thank them and schedule a call-back in the morning.”
Paste that script into your AI platform’s “Knowledge Base” or “Custom Instructions.”
Step 5 – Test It (2 minutes)
Call your own number and verify:
It answers quickly
It collects name/address correctly
You receive a transcript or email summary
It forwards “urgent” calls as intended
If the call runs smoothly, your product works.
Step 6 – Send 50 Personalized Texts (10 minutes)
Use a texting platform such as StraightText.io, SlyText, or TextMagic to contact local business owners.
Upload your cleaned list of mobile numbers, then send a short, simple message:
“Hey — I’m here in [City]. Do you still take after-hours calls for [service]?
I’m testing an AI answering service that can take your calls 24/7 and send you the lead instantly. No setup cost.”
Keep it conversational. Don’t oversell.
You should expect a 30–60 % response rate and roughly 1–3 % “yes, interested” replies on the first outreach.
Step 7 – Make the Offer
When they reply, follow up with something like:
“Totally understand. Here’s how it works:
My AI answers your calls after hours and forwards real jobs directly to you.
You only pay when you close a lead — $50 per booked job.
No contracts, no monthly fee while we’re testing.”
Once you get your first yes, you’re officially in business.
Step 8 – Pricing & Profit Math
Model | Charge | Example | Your Cost | Profit Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Per Lead | $25–$100 | Home-service job | ≈ $1/call | 95 % + |
Flat Monthly Fee | $299–$499 | Unlimited leads | ≈ $30/mo tools | 90 % + |
Hybrid | $99/mo + $25/lead | Best balance | – | – |
With 50 paying clients at $299 each, you’re at $15,000/month recurring revenue with almost no overhead.
Step 9 – Scale & Automate
Use these automations:
Zapier / Make.com: forward call transcripts → Google Sheets
Stripe: automatic recurring billing
Airtable: client dashboard
ConvertKit / Beehiiv: nurture and upsell sequence
At scale, a single virtual assistant can manage dozens of clients since the AI handles the calls.
Step 10 – Freedom Formula Takeaway
Speed is leverage.
The faster you test, the faster you learn what works.
You don’t need branding, a logo, or an LLC to make your first dollar—you just need a working offer and someone who says “yes.”
⚡ Freedom Formula Mindset:
Every day you delay launching is a day someone else is collecting your leads.
Start scrappy, start small, start now.
Recommended Starter Tools
Purpose | Tool | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Lead scraping | $10–$30/run | |
AI receptionist | GoHighLevel AI Employee | Free 30-day trial |
Text outreach | $29/mo | |
Call forwarding & automation | Zapier / Make.com | Free tier |
Knowledge base creation | ChatGPT | Free |
Payment processing | Stripe | Free setup |
